Help! My .dwg Is Too Large For Email

I was on tech support when a client called in with a question about making a .dwg file smaller. The client had used Revit to export a floor plan to a .dwg to hand off to a consultant, but once exported, the file size was too big to send via email.

In response, I shared some things to consider when exporting a Revit view to a CAD file:

• Although exporting a view creates a .dwg, it doesn't create an optimized .dwg. Here are a couple of ways to try to optimize it:

1. After exporting the view to a CAD file, open the .dwg in AutoCAD, use the PURGE or the -PURGE commands to purge the model and clean up the file. 
2. Save the file.
3. Check the file size. Is it smaller? If not, go to the next bullet point.

• After the .dwg has been exported, open the file.

1. Use the WBLOCK command to create a new .dwg using the Entire drawing option. See the image below.
2. Specify a location and name for the new .dwg.
3. Specify the Insert units for the .dwg.
4. Press [OK]. This will create a new “native” .dwg from the exported Revit view .dwg. This .dwg should be optimized and be the absolutely smallest the CAD file can get without deleting geometry.
5. Check the file size. The file should be smaller and optimized for working with AutoCAD consultants.

Use this process to optimize and reduce the size of your exported .dwg files prior to sending to consultants. 

Until next time, 
Ron

For more information on the software solutions, training and consulting Ideate provides, please visit the Ideate Inc. website.

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Ron Palma
AEC Application Specialist
Ron has 25+ years of experience in the architectural industry as a drafter, designer, lead project designer, trainer, and a CAD manager implementing Autodesk Architectural Solutions for residential design firms. His instructional accomplishments include: Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), trainer, support technician, educator at Portland and Clackamas Community Colleges, as well as a U.S. Army certified instructor. Ron holds a BA in Instructional Design suma cum laude, is a member of the Oregon Army National Guard, where he is a First Sergeant of an Infantry Company, specializing in training and mentoring soldiers in their careers, and has been deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Resolute Support. Ron is a published author and continues to write professional technical training manuals and shorts for AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, and Revit. As an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Revit Architecture Autodesk Certified Professional, Ron continues to provide Revit Architecture and AutoCAD training and support for various AEC firms. @RonPalmaAEC

Revit Live: Explore Your Model

Transform your Revit models into interactive visualizations you can step into and explore with Revit Live! 

This cloud-based software allows you to move around your model, from outside to in, up and down stairs, and through doors that open when you approach them. You can also easily explore the model from any height; view it from the perspective of a toddler or wheelchair user. It even comes with options to control the time of year and day, giving you a good idea of how your structure will appear in different light and weather conditions.

It’s easy to convert your Revit files into Revit Live. Simply create a 3D view that contains the things you want to see in Live. Click a button, and all your content is carried over, including materials, lights, and Rich Photorealistic Content (RPC) Families – no need to rework anything. Your terrain model will be extended to the horizon to produce a robust 3D landscape. Then it’s easy to move around and present with the simple click and drag method and by using the mouse wheel.

One of the most promising features of Revit Live is non-Revit users can really get a feel for your design without owning Autodesk Revit Software. All they need to do is download a free 30-day trial of Revit Live.

Options for exposure control and animations are available in Stingray – but I will save that for a later post.

For now, check out the accompanying video to this post to see Revit Live in action. 

For more information on the software solutions, training, and consulting Ideate provides, please visit the Ideate Inc. website.

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Jim Cowan

AEC Senior Application Specialist

Jim Cowan’s extensive AEC design industry experience, Autodesk design solutions expertise, and status as an Autodesk Certified Instructor have made him a sought after university curriculum developer, instructor, and presenter. Jim’s areas of expertise include eLearning, interoperability between solutions, and overcoming barriers to the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM). Educated in Architecture at Edinburgh College of Art/Heriot–Watt University and in Landscape Architecture at the University of Manitoba, Jim has a special focus on sustainability issues: daylight analysis, sun studies, lighting analysis, modeling buildings, and conceptual energy modeling (models with shading devices). You can learn more from Jim on his YouTube Channel.

BIM 360 Team: Service Unavailable?

With cloud computing becoming more prevalent these days, much of our data is now being stored in “The Cloud.” So, what happens when The Cloud is unavailable? Does all work come to a screeching halt? In some cases, the answer may be yes. But have no fear, we have a recommended practice for moving forward with Revit projects stored in the BIM 360 Team cloud.

With Collaboration for Revit (C4R) and BIM 360 Team (cloud storage space or “the hub”), Revit models are processed via C4R and stored in the BIM 360 Team hub. Essentially, the Revit model “central file” is stored in The Cloud, with BIM 360 Team being the interface to manage and view the model.

After a Revit model has been processed and stored in BIM 360 Team, a cache file is created on the local machine that was used to process the Revit model. This cache file enables faster loading and synching times when working between C4R and BIM 360 Team. Other team members can use Revit with C4R to open models from the BIM 360 Team hub, which in turn creates a cache file on their local machines. Essentially, this becomes their copy of the Revit model.

Since the local copy of the Revit model is a cache file, it is hidden from the everyday user, and is assigned an arbitrary name with letters and numbers, as depicted below.

The fact that cache files are created by initially opening a file from the BIM 360 Team hub and then updated each time the Revit model is synched means that a local copy of the model can be worked on in the event the BIM 360 Team service becomes unavailable.

To locate the cache file for a project, use Windows Explorer and copy/paste one of the following addresses:

• For Revit 2015: %localappdata%\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 2015\CollaborationCache

• For Revit 2016: %localappdata%\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 2016\CollaborationCache

• For Revit 2017: %localappdata%\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 2017CollaborationCache

Once the folder has been located, look for the Revit (.rvt) model with the naming convention described and depicted above. Once the cache file is located, determine amongst your team members the copy that should be used.

Ideate’s recommendation is to use Revit to open and detach the cache file, then process the file as a new Central model on your local network. Note that once detached, the file will no longer synch with the model stored in BIM 360 Team. This will allow users to create local copies to work from in the traditional work sharing environment. Later, when the BIM 360 Team service becomes available, the Central model can be detached from the local network and processed back to the BIM 360 Team hub for cloud collaboration.

Alternately, the cache file can be detached, worked on, and saved. When the BIM 360 Team service becomes available, the changes can be copied from the detached copy of the Revit model, then pasted into the Revit model in BIM 360 Team. Note that this is a less desirable process, as Revit building element relationships may not be coordinated correctly and can be time consuming.

We realize that both methods are not ideal courses of action, but if time working on the model is critical, the above suggestions will help you move forward.

For more information on the software solutions, training and consulting Ideate provides, please visit the Ideate Inc. website.

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Ron Palma
AEC Application Specialist
Ron has 25+ years of experience in the architectural industry as a drafter, designer, lead project designer, trainer, and a CAD manager implementing Autodesk Architectural Solutions for residential design firms. His instructional accomplishments include: Autodesk Certified Instructor (ACI), trainer, support technician, educator at Portland and Clackamas Community Colleges, as well as a U.S. Army certified instructor. Ron holds a BA in Instructional Design suma cum laude, is a member of the Oregon Army National Guard, where he is a First Sergeant of an Infantry Company, specializing in training and mentoring soldiers in their careers, and has been deployed to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Resolute Support. Ron is a published author and continues to write professional technical training manuals and shorts for AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, and Revit. As an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Revit Architecture Autodesk Certified Professional, Ron continues to provide Revit Architecture and AutoCAD training and support for various AEC firms. @RonPalmaAEC

Build Great Things

Ideate, Inc. is proud to partner with Connect2Classes, a Seattle based website where prospective students can search and register for local and online classes.

Focused on customer satisfaction, Connect2Classes (C2C) is your go-to resource to find learning opportunities in the Seattle area for hundreds of varied topics.

After receiving frequent requests for Revit classes, C2C and Ideate have partnered to address the growing market demand. Ideate’s emphasis on quality education is a perfect fit for the C2C business model and we are proud to offer monthly Revit Architecture classes at our downtown Seattle office, as well as online.

Visit C2C’s website for additional details.

For more information on the software solutions, training, and consulting Ideate provides, please visit the Ideate Inc. website.