Using an Excel Spreadsheet to Manage Revit Data with Ideate BIMLink

Verifying and updating data in Autodesk® Revit® software can be time consuming, and because it is monotonous work, it is prone to errors. Ideate BIMLink, one of the Revit add-in tools developed by Ideate Software, makes it much faster and more accurate by exporting from Revit to Excel, where it can be easily managed, and then the changes can be imported back into Revit. Excel doesn’t even need to be installed for Ideate BIMLink to read and write Excel files.

Ideate BIMLink supports the following file formats for both import and export for Revit Projects:

• Excel 2007 - 2013 Workbook (*.xlsx)

• Excel 2007 - 2013 Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)

• Excel 97 - 2003 Workbook (*.xls)

Using Ideate BIMLink

Here are a few notes on how to use Ideate BIMLink. Details on everything, from how to get started to step-by-step workflow instructions, troubleshooting, and customization are available in the Ideate BIMLink Help files on our Ideate Software website.

Associate an Excel Spreadsheet with a Link Saved in a Revit Project

1. The name of Excel worksheet tab must match the link name exactly.

2. Each of the Excel column headings must match the corresponding link property name exactly.

3. The first column in the Excel spreadsheet must contain a valid Revit element id assigned by Revit and used to identify an element within the Revit model.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If any of the above information changes, Ideate BIMLink won’t be able to associate the Excel spreadsheet with the link used to create that spreadsheet. You can find more information on this subject here: Import Messages when importing Revit to Excel.

Tip: The name of the Excel file (.xls or .xlsx) is arbitrary, and it can be changed to identify different spreadsheet tabs created by the same link.

To export elements from Revit to Excel, go to Ideate BIMLink

· Click the “Export…” button to publish the data specified within the selected link definition to Excel

· Select a new or existing Excel spreadsheet file to receive the exported Revit properties.

o New File: Ideate BIMLink will create a new Excel file with one new worksheet. The new worksheet will have the same name as the link.

o Existing File: You will have the option to either insert a new worksheet, or overwrite an existing worksheet. For more details, see Exporting to an Existing File.

Editing Revit Property and Cell Units with Microsoft Excel

· Default Units

Ideate BIMLink exports numeric property values from Revit to Excel by using the default units defined in Revit. If the default unit is set to feet and fractional inches, Ideate BIMLink will export the values as decimal values with three places. Numerical values imported from Excel to Revit are interpreted as having the default units defined in Revit as well.

NOTE: The Properties palette in Revit doesn’t use the unit format specified within Project Units; it has its own, hard-wired format.

· Imperial Units - Fractional Inches

Microsoft Excel doesn’t support imperial format for length values in the same way as Revit, with both the feet and inches syntax. When working with imperial length units:

o Feet and fractional inches are displayed as decimal feet

o Fraction inches are displayed as decimal inches

Even though the values are exported using numerical values, for importing purposes, these number formats are acceptable: 6'1 or 73" or 6'-1".

· Formatting Dates

Excel will automatically try to convert certain types of text string data into Date format when an edit is made. E.g., If you type “3-03-12,” it will change the cell format from "General" to "Date," and it will change the underlying cell value. This also alters how the information is imported back into Revit via Ideate BIMLink. Here are two workarounds to prevent this from happening:

o Type this character ' in front of the date to force the cell to retain its "General" text string format and read exactly as written. E.g., Type: '31-05-13 to signify May 31st, 2013, and the value will read into Revit as expected.

o Use the dd/mm/yy, mm/dd/yy syntax and Excel will won’t try to convert it to a text string.

Learn about all Ideate Software Solutions for Revit Users

Visit our website to learn more about our Revit BIM tools. When you’re ready to take the next step, contact us, get 30-day trial versions, or choose the subscription option that best meets your needs.

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