How to Import Autodesk Revit Files in BricsCAD BIM

Disclaimer: unless otherwise indicated, “Revit” in this article refers to the Revit® software and its peripherals by Autodesk®.

Quick answer: Revit import brings RVT files into BricsCAD as 3D solids, along with most project data and model metadata, BIM classification, spatial information, composition data for walls, slabs, roofs, beams, and columns, materials, and more. You can filter what’s imported by 3D Views, Family Categories, Levels, or Worksets, depending on how the source Revit project was set up.

Supported Revit Versions

For a model created in a later Revit version than currently supported, import it as an IFC file instead, the same workflow covered on this hub’s IFC import and export page.

Importing a Revit File

1. Open a new BricsCAD file.
2. Set RVTRFALEVELOFDETAIL (defaulting to Fine), which controls the level of detail for imported elements, and RVTVALIDATEBREP (defaulting to Enabled), which activates BREP geometry validation. Only experienced users familiar with how Detail Levels are set within Revit’s Family Elements Visibility Settings should change these from their defaults.
3. Type Import, or click the BricsCAD icon in the ribbon and choose Import.
4. In the Import file dialog, choose Revit Project (*.rvt) under Files of type, select your file, and click Open.
5. You’re prompted to choose elements: All, by Views, by Categories, by Levels, or by WorkSets.
6. If you chose by Views, the selected view’s Detail Level (as set in Revit) is used instead of RVTRFALEVELOFDETAIL.
7. For every other option, RVTRFALEVELOFDETAIL and RVTVALIDATEBREP control the import.
8. Select what you want to import and click OK; the file imports as 3D solid geometries, complete with BIM classification, materials, and compositions.

The Four Import Filter Options

• All: imports every element in the RVT file.
• by Views: select a view in the View Import dialog (structured by View Type); elements import based on that view’s Visibility or Graphics Overrides settings in Revit. Revit’s 3D Views import as BricsCAD Named Views, carrying over camera position, view type (perspective or orthogonal), and scale. Layer states generate to control visibility of elements in a section, and imported sections (plan and elevation) come in as volume state. Importing via a 2D view (like a floor plan) only brings elements actually visible in that view’s settings, not necessarily every element hosted to its corresponding level if hidden there.
• by Categories: select one or more built-in Categories and Element Types in the Revit Project Import dialog; elements of those types import.
• by Levels: select one or more levels in the Import By Levels dialog; elements hosted to those levels import.
• by WorkSets: select one or more worksets in the Import By Worksets dialog. Works best on a workshared Revit model; importing the Central Model ensures the latest information (detaching it first is optional). A non-workshared model only offers Workset1. A workshared model (Central or Local) shows its user-created worksets, and elements belonging to the chosen ones import. Shared Levels and Grids, plus Workset1, are created by default whenever Worksharing is enabled in Revit.

Composition Data Imported

• Wall, Slab, Roof composition data.
• Family Instances with a structure material parameter (typically Beams and Columns, based on tested RVT files).
• Plies, including Physical Material, Function, and Thickness.
• For Physical Materials, appearances (custom hatches) extract into individual PAT files, stored in the RvtPatterns folder inside the Support folder, the same Support folder location covered elsewhere in this hub.
• The reference face setting for walls, before their composition is assigned.

How Different Family Types Import

Some Revit system families, walls and floors, for example, import into BricsCAD as 3D solids you can manipulate directly, the same applies to Model-In-Place components and Element Types like fascias defined by a profile.

Other system families with built-in constraints, stairs and curtain walls, for example, import as separate Block References instead. A Curtain Wall Type’s Curtain Panel and Curtain Wall Mullion Types, for instance, exist as separate Block References. This also applies to every other loadable family, like furniture, placed within the Revit model.

For importing individual Revit families rather than a whole project, see this hub’s separate article on importing Autodesk Revit families.

Texture and Graphics of Imported Geometries

To keep imported 3D solids’ appearance consistent with the original Revit graphics, make sure your RGB colour and transparency settings in Revit’s Material Browser are set to the values you want before importing (for example, RGB 149, 134, 119 and 0% transparency).

If the imported element is a Revit System Family with a defined structure assembly (a multi-layer Wall Type, for example), BricsCAD applies the colour template from the outermost materials, on both the exterior and interior sides, to the corresponding geometry faces (the materials on the outermost layers of that assembly, for instance a cladding layer and a plaster layer). Otherwise, BricsCAD applies the colour and transparency settings directly to the 3D solid, replacing the corresponding parts of the Revit Family, the same applies to loadable families and components within the imported project.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if my Revit model is from a version newer than BricsCAD currently supports? Import it as an IFC file instead, covered on this hub’s IFC import and export page.

Where do extracted material appearances (custom hatches) get saved during a Revit import? The RvtPatterns folder inside the Support folder.

Why do stairs and curtain walls import as Block References instead of solids? They’re system families with built-in constraints in Revit, unlike walls and floors, which import as directly manipulable 3D solids.

What happens if I import a non-workshared Revit model by WorkSets? Only Workset1 is available, since worksharing hasn’t been enabled on that model.