PREPARING CAD FILES

Any CAD files linked into Revit must follow a careful process.

1- BIND XREFS: Xrefs can cause problems. Open the Xref

dialog box and Bind them all, preventing duplicate layers.

2- RUN “PURGE”: This removes unused layers, linetypes, blocks, etc.

3- RUN “SETBYLAYER”: All lines settings should be set to

layers, ignoring any color, linetype or lineweight overrides. Use
the Setbylayer command to quickly resolve this problem.

4- FREEZE USELESS LAYERS: Freeze all layers not required in Revit.

5- SAVE A COPY: Keep the original DWG file just in case.

Save the modified file in a Revit “CAD Links” subfolder.

USE LINK CAD, NOT IMPORT CAD

Now that your DWG file is ready, you can bring it
to Revit. You will notice that there is two options to
bring the DWG file: Import and Link.

Avoid using Import CAD. It makes your model heavier, causing

performance issues. Link CAD is better: it loads the latest version of the
DWG each time you open Revit and is more efficient to manage the files.

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 9 TIPS FOR EFFICIENT CAD USE IN REVIT

1- USE THESE LINKED CAD FILES SETTINGS

You have many settings to adjust when linking a DWG file.

Follow the tips below for the best results.

ACTIVATE CURRENT VIEW ONLY: If left unchecked, the DWG

file will appear in all views of the model. In most cases it is better
to import to a single view only.

COLORS: BLACK AND WHITE: The default setting is Colors, but you

should change that to Black and White. It provides better visibility.

LAYERS: VISIBLE: By default, all CAD layers will be

imported. Set the option to Visible, which means layers
that are hidden or frozen in AutoCAD won’t be imported.

POSITIONING: The best way to position DWG file is usually to use

Manual - Center option.

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2- USE QUERY TOOL TO HIDE CAD LAYERS

Select a DWG file inside your Revit Model. In the contextual tab,
you will find the Query tool. Click a line inside the DWG, then use
Hide or Delete to make the layer invisible.

3- SET BACKGROUND OR FOREGROUND

Set the instance properties of the CAD file to Background or Foreground.

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4- RELOAD OR ADJUST DWG FILE IN “MANAGE LINKS”

Go to the Insert tab and click Manage Links. Go to the Cad Formats
tab in the menu. Click Reload to refresh to the latest version of the
CAD file, or Reload From... to replace the DWG by a different file.

5- USE COLORED OVERRIDE ON DWG

Need to use information from a DWG to create a Revit model?

Set a colored override to distinguish the CAD from the model.
Use the tool in the contextual tab.

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6- NEVER EXPLODE A CAD FILE INSIDE REVIT

Exploding a DWG file inside your model will create a

linetype for each CAD layer. That means you will create
complete chaos inside your model. Don’t do it. Ever.

7- IMPORT CAD DETAIL INSIDE FAMILY

If you plan to use CAD for Revit detailing, the best way is to
import the CAD inside a family and use the Pick Lines tool to
recreate it with Revit Lines.

If you are short on time, you can also keep the DWG intact inside the
family. In the image, we import a DWG file to a Mullion Profile family.
Using the Visibility Settings, we set it to be visible only in Fine settings.

Whatever technique you use, avoid using DWG detail files

directly on the model, always insert them in a family first.

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8- ADJUST LINKED CAD FILES LINEWEIGHT

Go to the Insert tab and click on the little diagonal arrow below the
Manage Images icon. This will open a menu containing Lineweight option
for DWG. You can either load a file containing settings or manually adjust
them. The numbers in the left column are associated with CAD colors,
while the column on the right are associated to Revit weight styles.

9- CREATE Z-CAD WORKSETS

For easy control of DWG files visibility, create a Z-CAD workset

and put all the linked CAD files inside it. Set the workset to “not
visible” by default and manually activate it for the required views.

If you are an advanced user, you can avoid using worksets for this purpose
and instead use filters and View Templates to control CAD visibility.

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10- CONTROL CAD LAYERS IN VISIBILITY GRAPHICS

All layers from a CAD files can be controlled in the Visibility

Graphics menu for each view. Collapse the menu for the
required DWG file. Then check and uncheck layers you want to
see. Add overrides for each layers if required.

To control the visibility for a CAD file in all views, go to Object Styles.

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 HOW TO EXPORT TO DWG
Want to create CAD files from your model? Click the big R on
the upper left of the screen, then select CAD format and DWG.

You might want to adjust export settings. To do that, click ... in

the export setup.

Select Units & Coordinates and the specific CAD version you want
to export to. Also select if you want to export using XRefs or not.

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 ASSIGN SPECIFIC LAYERS

In the export settings layers submenu, you can set a custom layer
name to be assigned to each category. Also select an AutoCAD color.

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