Importing and Exporting Files from Revit to Navisworks: A Comprehensive Guide

Welcome back to the Navisworks video series. In this video, we'll be covering how to import and export files from Revit to Navisworks. This video will be divided into three parts because there are a few different ways to export from Revit into Navisworks, and we'll be looking at all three methods along with the benefits and drawbacks of using each.

The first method we'll cover is opening RVT files directly in Navisworks and letting Navisworks convert the files for us.

The second method involves exporting to.dwg from Revit, and the third method covers exporting to.nwc format from Revit. Now, to open a file in Navisworks that is in RVT format, go to the Application button and select Open. Navigate to your Lesson 2 folder. We'll be using the BIM361-ARC.rvt file. Navisworks will convert the RVT file in the background to an.nwc file and open it on screen.

Once it finishes converting and opening, you'll see something like this. It's important to note that when you import an RVT file into Navisworks, it automatically looks for a three-dimensional view called "Navisworks." In this file, we do have a 3D view named "Navisworks, " and Navisworks has imported and converted that view into a Viewpoint. You'll also see that Navisworks imported the grid lines.

Take a look at your Selection Tree and expand the BIM361-ARC.rvt file. You’ll see a series of levels, which are layers that contain all hosted elements.

For example, casework on Level 2 is nested under Level 2. Then, the casework is organized by Revit family category. Under each category, we have the families, then the family types, and finally the instances. You can append files just like we did with the Bath City model by going to the Home tab and selecting the Append button.

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In your Lesson 2 folder, you'll find a BIM361-MEP.rvt file. Let's append that to our BIM361-ARC model. Once the file loads in, you can navigate around to check if it has loaded properly. A quick check I like to do is to temporarily turn off the architectural model and view only the MEP model. To do that, select the architectural model and press CTRL+H on your keyboard, or right-click and choose Hide.

You’ll see that the MEP model in the Selection Tree includes all three trades, and that it also contains a Navisworks View imported as a Viewpoint. To bring the architectural model back, just select it again and press CTRL+H.

Now let’s append our structural model.

You’ll see that the structural model shows the base of the building. To isolate the structural model, you can hold down CTRL, select both the architectural and MEP models, and then press CTRL+H to hide them. This will leave just the structural model, which is correctly positioned. You can then turn the MEP model back on, and you’ll notice it appears in blue.

That’s because it is currently selected. To deselect it, just hit Escape. Just a quick note:

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I’m turning the architectural model back on for this demonstration. With the RVT import, some shaded properties from the materials are also imported. For instance, you can see material textures around the window frames. The windows are transparent and include some color.

Note that when we perform the.dwg export later, this material information will not be retained.

This file is currently unsaved. You’ll see that it’s listed as “untitled.” Let’s save this model by clicking the Save button. In your Lesson 2 folder, save it as BIM 361-Revit. The file extension will be .nwf.

That’s all there is to importing your file from RVT. In the next video, I’ll cover how to import these files using the Autodesk.dwg format.