Import and Link Options

When you import or link files to the Revit project, you can control many aspects of the process, such as colors, layers, and positioning.

The following options apply to linked or imported CAD files. The options display on the dialogs that open when you click Insert tabImport panelImport CAD, or Insert tabLink panelLink CAD.

Positioning options also apply to linked Revit models (when you click Insert tabLink panelLink Revit).

Option	Definition
Current View Only	Imports a CAD drawing into the active view only and elements behave like annotation. For example, you might want an AutoCAD object to appear only in a Revit floor plan view and not in a 3D view. This option is not available when importing to a 3D view. If you are using worksharing, the import will belong to a view workset. If the option is not selected, the import behaves like model geometry and is available in all views. If you are using worksharing, the import will belong to a model workset. Note: If you are importing data from a CAD file for use in creating a toposurface, do not select this option because the 3D information is required to create the toposurface. When a CAD file is imported into a Revit project, you can select Current View Only to limit where the CAD import/link is displayed. When using the Current View Only option in a Family file, the CAD file will be added as a symbolic element in the family. By doing so, the CAD file can be seen in all parallel views once in a project.
Category	Available only when importing geometry whose file type is SAT (ACIS) or 3DM (Rhino). Specifies a category for the imported 3D geometry. See About Importing 3D Shapes. When you select SAT or 3DM for the file type, the remaining options described in this table are not available.
Colors
Invert	Inverts the colors of all line and text objects from the imported file to Revit-specific colors. Dark colors become lighter, and light colors become darker. This can improve readability when the file is in Revit. This option is set by default.
Preserve	Preserves the colors defined in the imported file. Note: RGB colors are imported as index colors and converted back to RGB color. RGB colors may not be a 100% match to the original file.
Black and White	Imports the file in black and white.
Layers
All	Imports or links all layers. Layers that are not visible in the link are turned off in the current view in Revit.
Visible	Imports or links only visible layers.
Specify	Allows you to select the layers and levels to import or link (on the dialog that displays). Layers not selected are deleted. If you select Visible or Specify and you are linking the file, when you later reload the linked file, still only the selected or visible layers originally linked are loaded. Any layers not selected or visible are not linked. If you later want omitted layers to be linked, you must delete the link and relink the file. Tip: If you want to be able to see and hide layers as needed, you can link to all layers, and then click View tabGraphics panelVisibility/Graphics to control the visibility of different categories in a view. (See Visibility and Graphic Display in Project Views.) Or you can link to all layers, and then query the import and hide a selected layer in the active view. (See Query Objects in Layers.)
Import Units	Explicitly sets the unit of measure for imported geometry. The values are Auto-Detect, feet, inch, meter, decimeter, centimeter, millimeter, and Custom factor. If you specify Auto-Detect for an AutoCAD file created in Imperial (English), then the file imports with feet and inches as the units. If the AutoCAD file was created in metric, then the file imports into Revit with millimeters as the units. For MicroStation® DGN files, Revit uses the unit specified in the Master Units setting. Feet, inches, meters, centimeters, decimeters, millimeters are all supported. If the DGN file has custom units, then the unit in Revit defaults to feet. Note: If you import a file into a project with opposing units (for example, a metric file into an Imperial project), the units in the host project prevail. If the imported file has a custom unit, select Custom factor for Import Units. This enables the text box adjacent to the selection list so that you can enter a scale value. For example, the file has a unit called widget where one widget equals 10 meters. When importing the file, select Custom factor for Import Units and specify a value of 10 in the adjacent text box. Each unit from the source file is now equal to 10 meters in the Revit file. The value you enter here displays in the Scale Factor type property of the import symbol. If the units are known, you can select Custom factor and enter a scale factor. This can increase or decrease the size of the imported elements in Revit.
Correct lines that are slightly off axis	Selected by default, this option automatically corrects lines that are slightly off-axis (less than 0.1 degree) and helps avoid problems with Revit elements generated from those lines. You may want to clear this option when importing/linking to site plans.
Positioning	See Positioning for Imports and Links. That topic also describes the Place At and Orient to View options.
Place at	Select a level or named horizontal reference plane in the model to position the CAD file. The selected reference is set as the base level of the CAD file in the model.