Revit - Arkio

Importing models from and to Revit requires a Pro or Enterprise license. You can learn more about our paid licenses on our website and start a free trial from Arkio to try this. The Revit, Rhino, and Sketchup plugins are all included with our Arkio Windows installer on our download page.

Our Revit plugin allows you to export Revit models to Arkio and import them back with all your markups and geometry as native Revit elements. Revit 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 are currently supported.

Revit to Arkio locally

To export your models from Revit you need to have the Arkio plugin installed, open a 3D view with all the elements visible you want to export and press the Local Export button. This will show a dialog to select your level of detail. The default settings should be good for most cases. If you want to optimize your model for mobile devices like the Meta Quest we recommend hiding heavy categories in your view, using a smaller section box, and pushing the LOD slider lower.

After a model has been exported locally it will open Arkio on Windows where the model will be available to load and inspect in the scene from the create>import tab. Local imports are the fastest way to process large files using more powerful desktop hardware. If the model is looking good you can directly share it with less powerful devices using an Arkio meeting.

Revit to Arkio via cloud

You can also upload your 3D view to Arkio Cloud to distribute the files to multiple devices that joined the same cloud group. This allows you to directly access your models on Quest and other mobile devices without needing to start an Arkio meeting.

To export to the cloud you first need to join the same cloud group with your Revit plugin and devices. After that, you can export the active 3D view similar to a local export. Your exported cloud files will automatically be downloaded on the devices linked to the same cloud group from where you can load the files in your Arkio scene. 

Loading model in Arkio

Local export files are placed in \Documents\Arkio\Import after processing in Arkio they can be placed in the scene from the create>import drawer. Your uploaded models will also show here if your device is linked to the same Arkio cloud group.

From the import panel you can click on the filename of your import to open the placement sub-menu where you can set if you want the placement of this model to be:

Movable - place the model freely as a movable Arkio prop that can be pinned later

Pinned at origin - use the model's origin and pin the geometry so it stays in place for round trips

You can also set if you want the placement in the current scene or a new Arkio scene.

Models will be loaded in Arkio based on Revit's Origin and Project North so the map feature can be used to load and erase any surrounding buildings. When you load a Revit model in the scene the default modeling axis is changed to the Revits project North so added objects in Arkio will align to your Revit model.

If the Revit model has geometry modeled under the origin the blocking terrain can be cut away using a void primitive shape in the Arkio table. Making the void slightly bigger than the model enables teleporting on this underground geometry. If your Revit model is floating in the air or far away from the center it means your Revit origin is far from your model. There are two ways to work around this:

• You can place the model manually as a moveable object and pin it in place, this will however not export your added Arkio geometry to the same coordinates when going back to Revit.
• You can fix your import coordinates by linking your entire Revit project in a new empty Revit file. Move your linked model geometry closer to the Revit origin and export that model to Arkio.

BIM data

The Arkio Revit plugin exports all the available BIM data for objects. The panel can be opened from the Review panel (eye icon) switching to the BIM data tab. and hovering 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

When a change is made in Revit you can overwrite your model with a new version by exporting the same project and view name again. When the new version of this model is available a yellow update icon will show above the model in the Arkio scene. Clicking this icon with your laser or mouse will update that model with the newer version. 

Arkio will keep the older versions of your imported models around so you can always go back to a previous version by selecting the date in your placement menu and clicking "Update". This only works for replacing models that were placed pinned at origin.

Arkio to Revit

To export your active scene back to Revit you can use the export to Revit button in the scene viewer. 

You can export your scene via Arkio Cloud or locally by toggling the cloud export option on the top of your export panel. In Revit, you can then download the latest cloud files and import them using the Local Import command. You can find your downloaded and locally exported .arkiorvt files in \Documents\Arkio\Export\Revit.

Import category

Arkio shapes can be loaded to Revit into 3 categories:

Generic Model families - All glued Arkio solid shapes will be combined in one named generic model family that can be found in your Family overview

Mass families - All glued Arkio solid shapes will be combined in one named generic model family that can be found in your Family overview

Generic direct shapes - all Arkio solid geometry will be individually loaded into the project as generic model direct shapes

Arkio geometry will come into Revit as native solid 3D shapes with their assigned materials that can be cut and further modeled on or replaced by other families in your project. When importing as a generic model or mass families Arkio's geometry will be combined inside that family type. These families will be named Arkio_GM_01 or Arkio_Mass_01 corresponding to their unique family types so Arkio families can be easily sorted and filtered. Generic direct shapes will also load properties like program information. 

When importing as Revit mass families you can use Revit massing features for gross calculations and generate floors and facades from the Arkio's designed mass shapes. Once in Revit, you can turn your Arkio design into a building documentation set using Revit's drawing annotation and view features.

Arkio props and custom imports

All Arkio geometry will be converted to Revit direct shapes, Generic Models, or Mass families that can be used as custom design elements or as a temporary 3D design reference from your collaborative meetings. Arkio built-in props like people, cars, trees, and furniture all have their corresponding optimized native Revit families that will be loaded into your project for you to manage.

Custom imported models placed in Arkio will also be loaded as instanced Revit families that can be updated or changed to other families and types in your project. Even your 3D map buildings and sketches will be loaded into Revit so they can be used for site creation, coordination or model reviews of your project.

All Arkio props will be exported as native Revit families with the corresponding position and rotation. These families are compatible with Enscape and can be customized or replaced once loaded into your projects.

Import materials

You can also set how you like to import your Arkio materials to Revit.

Main materials - Main materials will import all the Arkio painted materials and textures assigned to Arkio solid shapes. The geometry and materials of any custom-placed imported 3D objects in the Arkio scene will also be converted to Revit materials so custom families can be created as Arkio props that will still look great once loaded back into the Revit project 

Program materials - Import colors from the program view mode instead of the main render materials

All white - Arkio native and custom imported materials will be ignored and all objects will be imported as the default white material instead

Other import settings

Delete previous import - When there are already Arkio components loaded in the Revit project and you want to load in a new proposal you can decide to delete all the previously Arkio elements to avoid duplicated Arkio geometry.

If you want additional control over your Arkio imports in Revit you can best activate a Workset or Design option in Revit before you load Arkio imports. This will make it easier to organize and filter the Arkio-created geometry and to the imports comply with your company's Revit standards.

BIM data

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

Known issues/limitations:

• Avoid long processing times, performance issues, and crashes by only exporting the geometry you need (visible in view) when working with mobile devices like the Meta Quest.
  
• If you experience issues loading your exported models in Arkio try to open the glTF exported file in Windows 3D viewer, Blender to see what geometry might be causing the issue.
• Sometimes failed imported models affect the loading of other files in Arkio. Cleaning your temporary ResourceCache files can solve most issues.