To Work with Data Exchanges

Learn how to share data between Revit and Inventor using Data Exchanges.

What's New: 2023

To open a data exchange, do the following:

1. On the Collaborate tab, in the Load panel, click Data Exchange. Alternatively, in the File menu, click Open > Load Data Exchange. Opening an exchange, with no other documents open, creates a new assembly with the exchange referenced into that assembly.
2. In the Data Exchange window, click the Project dropdown and select the project. The list of available exchanges for that project displays.
3. Select the data exchange you want to retrieve. You can preview the exchange content before loading it.
4. Click Load to open the exchange in a new Inventor assembly document. A progress bar displays. When loaded the Assembly browser updates to show the exchange data as a subassembly in a new Inventor assembly. A cloud icon helps to easily identify exchange data in the model browser.

Update an Exchange

When you open an assembly that contains exchange data, a check is performed to see if an exchange update is available. The check occurs once, when opening the assembly. If an update is available, the state icon (cloud) next to the browser node updates displaying a lightning bolt with the cloud. Right-click the exchange node in the browser and click Update. Only the changes are used to update the exchange.

You can use Check for Updates at any time to query for changes. If changes have occurred, the browser node displays a state icon with a lightning bolt. Then, you use Update to consume those changes in your design. Alternatively, you can wait until you next open the assembly for the changes to be incorporated in the design.

You can defer updates by using the Suppress Link option in the top-level reference node context menu. Automatic checking for updates is turned off and Check for Updates (context menu) is disabled. Unselect Suppress Link to restore automatic updates and Check for Updates.

Edit an Exchange

You can modify an exchange using Autodesk Docs or use Revit to modify the original data and update the exchange. Once loaded in Inventor, you can work with the data exchange in the same manner you would with an imported Revit file, adding and constraining other parts and assemblies adjacent to the data exchange.

Browser Node

You can rename the exchange browser node; however, the node tooltip will always report the original exchange name and version that was downloaded.