IMAGINiT has recently released an updated set of Utilities for Revit (2013). If you renew your Autodesk software subscription through us, you can get these for free – everyone else?... sorry… but they are still available for a nominal fee…
We have three significant new tools for 2013:
Parameter Concatenater – Using this, you can assemble multiple parameter values into a single text parameter using a custom expression.
Dim Text Update – Easily override the text in multiple dimensions using user-specified options.
Revit Excel Link – Export Revit project data to Excel and Import data from Excel to a Revit project.
Looking at these, changes are that the Excel Link is the most appealing one in the mix, so here’s a quick rundown on how it can work for you.
It’s an easy find in our IMAGINiT toolbar, with two commands, one to export information to Excel, and another to import from Excel.
Once you’ve started an import or an export, you’ll be asked to specify a template to control the process. This template defines what category of objects and related parameters get exported or imported – we have a few defaults built in, but you can create your own templates too. Make sure you have one field that provides a unique identifier for the objects you are exporting – we use that to map the data to the correct objects when we import from Excel later on. (Element ID can be a good one for this)
From here, you can filter what object information gets exported by specifying all objects, a selection set, a phase, or more.
Once the information is in Excel, edit to your heart’s content, save the file, and start the import process in Revit. You'll get a preview of the import during the process you can ensure that all of the information appears correct - green highlight data can be imported, greyed out information will not be imported.
If there are any errors on import, we let you know what has happened so appropriate actions can be taken. In this case, it looks like someone may have been borrowing a room object, so for me it was set as read only.
But looking a little deeper, aside from general text field changes, we can also make edits in Excel that cause geometric changes in the Revit model. In the example below, you’ll see that we export a Door Family and Door Type parameter to Excel and can make a change there – effectively changing a single door to a double door through Excel!
Doors before:
Door Parameters before and after edits:
But while this can be really neat, you also need to be careful – changing an object’s Type setting or dimensions might change the geometry in unanticipated ways. In this specific case, the single door grew into a double door, but also grew into the neighboring wall.
This utility provides you with a lot of power, but you must use it with caution and only for good.
Have Fun!
This is amazing!
I am really looking forward to using the import/export Revit-Excel tool!!
Good call tool developement people!
Posted by: Abbie | 10/31/2012 at 04:50 PM
how much is it?
Posted by: joe | 12/01/2012 at 05:34 AM
These utilities are free to IMAGINiT's Autodesk Subscription clients via our Client Portal (contact your account manager for more information if needed). For non-subscription clients, it is around $195.
Posted by: Joe Eichenseer | 12/03/2012 at 09:39 AM