Exporting from Revit to Navisworks
As you may already know, Navisworks will opening revit file natively. While this is a good thing, Navisworks can be very slow to open and it might take along time to translate that file. While doing this, also, some data doesn't quite make the jump across the transition all so well. When we physically export a Revit model to a Navisworks format, not only does all the data come across, by your Navisworks model will open much faster. Also, you can control what objects are pushed over to the Navisworks format, but turn them on or off in the view you are exporting.
This video will focus on preparing Revit to be exported to a Navisworks file format. Also, we'll look at the enablers needed to perform this task. To get started, let's open up Revit. Under the Projects, let's click Open. Let's go to the directory where you're keeping your documents. Let's go to the Revit directory. Let's grab the architectural model. Next click open. Now as we open a model, it's a good idea to go to a three D view, that way you can see everything that you're trying to export. Revit will export to Navisworks specifically what you have turned on in this view.
If I didn't want, for example, this roof to show, what I would do, is I would select this roof. I would right click, and I would hide it in view. We won't do it now, but what would happen is, Navisworks would not export that item that you don't want shown. Hit escape a couple of times to clear the selection. Now, what you need to do if you don't have the add-ins is, you need to install Revit first, and nava-script second. This will give you the available add-ins that you need.
If you still don't have the add ins. Go to the auto desk.com website and search for enablers. Right now I'm going to click on add ins, and for my external tools, I'm going to click the drop down. And I'll go to navisworks 2015. You can save this where you saved your other files. And you can keep the file name architecturally, but before you save it let's look at the settings. Click on navisworks settings, this'll bring up a dialogue. In this dialogue its going to go straight to file readers and to revit.
It's important that you know the coordinate system of the authoring software, such as Revit. In this case, we don't want shared. We want to go project internal. Now, as we look at some of the choices, you can convert linked files. You can convert element properties. Don't click on linked files, but click on element properties. Scroll down a little bit, and you can see where it says Export Current View. This is what's recommended. Let's uncheck Export Room Geometry. Let's hit okay. Notice that it will save it as Navisworks Cache file, and you cannot change that.
Once you've done all your preparation, click the save button. And Navisworks will export this file. And that's really all you need to do. Obviously, the larger the model, the longer this process is going to take. I've exported some real whoppers in my time and have never had an issue with this work flow.