Revit - Arkio

Importing models from and to Revit requires a Pro or Enterprise license. You can learn more about our paid features and start a free trial to try this.

Revit 2018-2027 are currently supported, allowing the export of large Revit models to Arkio and back. Our Revit plugins are included with Arkio's Windows Installer, available on our download page.

Revit to Arkio

To export models from Revit, you must have Arkio installed on your Windows device and open Revit in a 3D view with the elements that you want to export visible. Then, press the Add-Ins > Arkio > Export button. This opens an export menu with settings for preparing your current 3D view for Arkio. You can control whether your Revit file directly opens in a new Arkio scene. Select which Revit Families, by category, will be converted into movable objects, and control the level of detail for your export. You can reduce the detail of 3D models for mobile devices by selecting a lower LOD and clicking OK to confirm.

After a model is exported, Arkio opens on your PC and displays it in a new scene (if selected). The processed import can be found in the Create > Import tab. From there, you can also manually place it in the scene.

Synchronize imports with other Arkio devices

To synchronize your imported files across multiple Arkio devices, such as your PC, Meta Quest, and iPad, you can link your PC and other devices to the same Arkio Cloud device group. The status of your Arkio Cloud shows in your main tool ribbon. After linking, new imports will automatically be synced with other linked devices.

You can also share your scenes, including all placed imports, via a live meeting or a URL from the cloud portal.

Placing models in Arkio

All files imported to Arkio or synced via the cloud will show in your Create > Import drawer. You can sort these imported resources by name, date, or type and click the file to open a preview with placement settings for that resource. In your model preview tab, you can see the number of triangles and movable elements for that imported object.

With the placement tab open, you can click anywhere in the scene to manually place an instance of that model. Or press the green Place at origin buttons to place the model, pinned in the current scene or a new one. Models placed at the origin can be aligned with other models, enabling a round trip between your design tools when exporting Arkio-added geometry back to your existing tools.

After you place the imports on one device, you can start a live meeting with your other device to share the scene, including all imported geometry. You can also link your PC to the same Arkio Cloud to automatically synchronize new imports to your other devices.

Model location and orientation

Revit's origin and Project North will be used for placement. From that placement, you can use the map feature to load a site around your design to enable more precise sun studies for your project. Arkio's default modeling axis will align with Revit's project North, so placed objects in Arkio will align with your newly imported Revit model.

If the Revit model has geometry under the 0 level (origin), the green table terrain can be cut away using Arkio's modeling tools. Making the void bigger than the loaded model enables teleporting and modeling on your underground geometry.

If your model is floating or far from the center, it means it is modeled far from the origin. It's best to keep your geometry close to the origin in 3D tools to prevent geometry inaccuracies. You can address this in two ways:

1. Place the model manually by clicking in the Arkio scene and pin it in place. When you export from Arkio back to your design tool, you must manually align your imported geometry to your original coordinates.

2. You can adjust your model coordinates by linking your Revit project to a new file. Move your linked model closer to the intended origin point and then export it to Arkio from that file.

Movable objects

Revit families, with the Revit category selected as movable in the export settings, are converted into individual movable objects in Arkio. These objects can be moved, duplicated, deleted, edited, and painted like any other objects in Arkio. In your view settings, statistics, you can see how many movable objects are in your scene.

Objects that are moved outside their original position will be exported back into your original design tool to enable a round trip, along with all newly added Arkio geometry and sketches. Cross-tool workflows are also supported, so you can convert movable Rhino blocks or SketchUp components to Revit families.

Layers and BIM data

Your Revit-exported files contain layer information in Arkio, mapped to the Revit Categories available in your project. If you like to have more customized control over your Layers in Arkio, for example, to present your design options, you can create several 3D views with view settings that contain the geometry you want to control in Arkio separately.

You can export multiple Revit models and 3D views into a single Arkio scene (and models from other supported design tools), and align them at the origin to gain additional control over layers in your scene, as you can control the visibility of all loaded files separately.

For Revit files, you can prepare 3D views for different Section Box fragments, Design options, Worksets, Linked files or other 3D view settings. To control more precisely which parts of the design are shown during your collaboration.

The Arkio Revit plugin exports all the available BIM data for objects. The panel can be opened from the Review panel > BIM data tab, and hovering over the Revit-imported elements with the laser/mouse/touch.

The BIM data includes built-in Revit parameters like Level, Family Name, Phase, and Workset and any custom-added parameters of families (shared/non-shared, Type, and Instance parameters)

Updating a Revit model in Arkio

You can update an existing imported model by overwriting your Arkio import files with the same name. You can update an existing imported model by overwriting the model with the same name. In Revit, this can be achieved by rerunning the export from the same filename and 3D view, which will show a green arrow in Arkio above your current model, indicating that a new version is available. You can click this arrow to replace the older file in the scene with the new version on the same coordinates.

Arkio will retain older versions of your imported models, allowing you to revert to a previous version by selecting the desired date in your import preview menu and clicking "Update".

Arkio to Revit

Arkio scenes can be exported to solid Revit geometry and families using your File browser and selecting the desired export format. Your scene will then be exported locally to your device and, if active, via the Arkio Cloud.

Once back in Revit, you can import this Arkio file into your active project from AddIns > Arkio > Import. This will open an import settings panel where you can select the file to import and configure the import settings.

To organize your Arkio imports in Revit, you can best activate a Workset or Design option in Revit before you start the Arkio imports command. This will make it easier to filter your Arkio-generated geometry and ensure that the imported geometry complies with your company's Revit standards.

Import settings

Select file - shows all available Arkio Revit exports on your PC. When you make an export from Arkio connected to the same cloud device group, the export you make with Arkio on other devices will also be synced to your PC when the Arkio PC app is running. The path where you can find all your Arkio Revit exports on PC is \Documents\Arkio\Export\Revit.

You can also use Browse to manually select an .arkioexport file on your system.

Import to category - allows you to select the preferred conversion of your Arkio shapes into 3 Revit categories:

• Generic Model families - All glued Arkio shapes will be combined inside generic model families

• Mass families - All glued Arkio shapes will be combined into massing families

• Generic direct shapes - Arkio geometry will be individually loaded as generic model direct shapes in the main project

Arkio’s solid geometry will be converted to native 3D solid shapes with materials. When combining the geometry into families, they will be named Arkio_GM_01 or Arkio_Mass_01, corresponding to their unique geometry, so that families can be easily sorted and filtered. Generic direct shapes will also load properties, such as program information.

When importing as Revit mass families, you can use Revit massing features for gross calculations and generate floors and facades from Arkio's designed mass shapes.

Import materials - selects if you want to bring in all materials from your Arkio scene into your Revit project (main materials) or if you want to not bring in any materials (all white)

Arkio only adds the materials used in your scene and follows the following naming convention:

• Arkio_Color_”type” for Arkio colors

• Arkio_Arch_”type” for Arkio textures

• Arkio_”importname”_”materialname” for other imported models from Arkio

Previous Arkio Import - allows you to remove any previously imported Arkio files to clean up after multiple round trips between Arkio and Revit and to prevent duplicate elements.

Arkio props and custom imports

All Arkio geometry will be converted into Revit families that can be used as custom design elements or as temporary 3D design references. Arkio-built-in props, such as people, cars, trees, and furniture, have corresponding optimized native Revit families that are loaded into your project for you to manage.

Custom-imported models placed in Arkio will also be loaded as instanced Revit families, which can be updated to other families within your project. Even your 3D map buildings and sketches will be loaded into Revit, allowing them to be used for site creation, coordination, or model reviews of your project.

All Arkio props will be exported as native Revit families, complete with their respective positions and rotations. These families are also compatible with Enscape and other rendering tools and can be customized or replaced once loaded into your projects.

BIM program data

Program data from Arkio gets imported as property fields when importing as Generic direct shapes. Using a filter and a Generic Model schedule, the Area outcomes of Arkio can be easily translated to schedules.

Troubleshooting

• Avoid issues and long processing by exporting only the geometry you need, using a smaller section box, and hiding unnecessary categories. See tips to optimize your geometry on this page

• Sometimes, failing imports affect other files from loading in Arkio. Clearing your temporary resources often resolves most issues.

• If you have models that don't load well in Arkio, we'd love to review the file to improve Arkio’s importer. You can contact us at support@arkio.is