To maintain a connection between a CAD file and a Revit model, link to the CAD file instead of importing it.
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MicroStation® DGN
- Trimble® SKP
When you link a CAD file to a Revit model, Revit maintains a link to that file. Whenever you open the model, Revit retrieves the current, saved version of the linked file and displays it in the model. Any changes to the linked file are displayed in the model. If the linked file changes while the model is open, reload the file to retrieve the latest changes.
This ability to retrieve the latest changes to a CAD file is the difference between linking and importing. When you import a CAD file, Revit uses the version of the file that you imported. It does not retrieve or display changes to the imported file.
When you link (or import) a CAD file to a project, you can do the following:
- Query objects in the file.
- Hide or delete selected layers in the file.
- Preserve or discard graphic overrides for linked files.
- Make global changes to the graphic display of layers.
- Make view-specific changes to the graphic display of layers.
When you link a file to a model, you can control whether the linked file is visible only in the current view, or in all views. As a 2D drawing, the linked file is displayed only in relevant 2D Revit drawings, such as floor plans. In a 3D view, the linked file is displayed as flat, 2D shapes.
You may want to use linked files as follows:
- Some team members use CAD applications to create details or elevations, but the rest of the model is created using Revit. You want to link the CAD drawings to the model and place them on sheets. These drawings can then be included in the set of construction documents that Revit generates.
- Team members from other disciplines are using CAD applications to plan their part of the project. You want to link their CAD drawings to a Revit model to use them as underlays for views.