Newforma Project Information Link (Revit) Overview

Newforma Project Information Link enables you to quickly share project data between Autodesk Revit and Project Center, including project properties, spaces, record documents, and building models and elements. You can also share project data by batch publishing sheets from Revit to PDF or DWG.

This topic contains the following sections:

●        Features Overview

●        Record document synchronize and add record documents rules

●        Register and enable Newforma Project Information Link

●        Initialize Newforma Project Information Link

●        Use Newforma Project Information Link

Features Overview

 Newforma Project Information Link streamlines the process of sharing data between Revit and Project Center, making it easier to keep project information synchronized. Use Newforma Project Information Link to:

●        Import data from Revit to Project Center:

●        Populate the Project Center Spatial Index activity center from Revit;

●        Populate the Document Control activity center from Revit;

●        Populate the Building Models and Elements activity center from Revit.

●        Import any selected set of Revit elements (see below) and their parameters.

●        Import data from Project Center to Revit:

●        Import Project Center project properties to Revit project information parameters;

●        Create un-placed rooms or link existing rooms from the Spatial Index activity center or Microsoft Excel;

●        Import sheets defined in the Document Control activity center;

●        Import any building elements such as doors or family instances along with their parameters;

●        Edit data in a spreadsheet and re-import it (synchronize).

●        Link markup sessions, action items, and other Project Center items with Revit elements and enclosures (rooms, areas, and spaces).

●        Publish sheets from Revit to PDF as individual sheets or as a single, multipage PDF.

●        Publish sheets from Revit to DWG

Related Project Center activity centers

●       Building Information Management activity center

●        All linked Revit projects are listed as building models here.

●        Linked building elements are also listed here under the All Elements category.

●       Spatial Index activity center

●        All Project Center spaces are listed. Space types are listed under their own category.

●       Document Control activity center

●        Linked Revit sheets are associated with record documents.

●        Project Markup Sessions activity center

●        You can create markups from Newforma Project Information Link.

●        Action Items activity center

●        You can create action items from Newforma Project Information Link.

Extended Properties

●        Extended properties apply to spaces, building elements, and record documents. They allow you to add new custom fields to these items on a per project basis.

●        Extended properties allow custom Revit parameters to be synchronized to Project Center.

Publishing Sheets to PDF

●        Using the Newforma Project Information Link, you can select, sort and publish multiple sheets from Revit to generate PDF files using one of the supported PDF drivers.

●        The following PDF drivers are supported:

●        Newforma PDF

●        BioPDF

●        Adobe

●        Bluebeam

●        You can use any available Revit sheet parameters to sort the selected sheets into the desired order. If you are creating a multisheet PDF, the sheets are added to the PDF based on the sort order.

Publishing Sheets to DWG

●        Using the Newforma Project Information LInk, you can publish DWGs of sheets at the same time that you generate PDF files. This makes it easier to meet contractual obligations to provide multiple file types when issuing drawings.

Synchronization

●        Using the Newforma Project Information Link, you can synchronize project properties, building elements, spaces, and sheets. You must set up exactly how each type of item synchronizes for each project.

●        You can sync built-in properties such as name, number, keywords, or user-defined extended properties to or from Revit parameters.

●        The Synchronize and Add Revisions option simultaneously synchronizes the sheet properties and generates an updated PDF of the latest revision, which is automatically linked to the record document revision in Project Center.

●        Alternately, you can choose to synchronize only the metadata (properties) of the record documents from Revit and then choose to link image files to the record documents at a later time in the Document Control activity center. You also have the option to edit data in a spreadsheet, then import the updates.

Note that you should NOT combine synchronization methods for a project. For example, if you use Synchronize and Add Revisions, you should not also edit data in a spreadsheet or use Synchronize Sheets only and then add files from revisions in Document Control. Mixing synchronization methods can cause data misalignment for your record documents.

Record Document Revision Synchronization Rules when using Synchronize and Add Revisions

The Newforma Project Information Link applies a number of rules to the Synchronize and Add Revisions process to ensure that the integrity of the revisions is maintained.

The rules that are applied depend on the selected mapping behavior. When managing revision numbers in Revit (default behavior), Mapping Behavior is set to Revit --> Newforma. When managing revision numbers in Project Center, Mapping Behavior is set to Newforma --> Revit. The rules for both cases are detailed below.

The rules described below do NOT apply to the process of selecting Synchronize only, then using the Add Revisions from Files option in the Document Control activity center. That process follows the same rules that applied in Tenth Edition.

It is recommended that all revision information should be mapped in a single direction: either from Revit --> Newforma or vice versa. Mixing mapping directions is not recommended.

Default Mapping Behavior

By default, the following built-in parameters must be mapped for synchronization between Revit and Newforma. The default mapping is as follows:

●        Current Revision (Revit) mapped to Revision Number (Newforma)

●        Current Revision Date (Revit) mapped to Revision Date (Newforma)

●        Sheet Number (Revit) mapped to Number (Newforma)

●        Sheet Name (Revit) mapped to Title (Newforma)

Sheet Size and Scale are recommended but not required.

If any of the required parameters are not mapped, a warning message appears. You cannot synchronize revisions without mapping the required parameters.

Manage Revision Numbers in Revit (Revit --> Newforma)

The following synchronization rules apply when managing revision numbers in Revit:

●        If Current Revision in Revit = Null, then Revision Number in Newforma = 00.

●        If Last Revision Number in Newforma = Current Revision in Revit, one of the following rules applies:

●        If Last Revision State in Newforma = Draft then replace the existing revision's linked file (PDF) with the new PDF in Newforma. The Sync Action message that appears for this action in the Synchronize and Add Revisions dialog box is Synchronize and Replace Existing Revision.

●        If Last Revision State in Newforma is Issued then do not sync. The Sync Action message for this instance is None: Revision <revision number> Already Issued.

●        If the Last Revision Number in Newforma is < Current Revision in Revit then add a new revision in Newforma.

●        If the revision number from Revit is not sequential from the last revision number in Newforma, the new revision is added to Newforma but the following Sync Action message appears: Revision Not Sequential (expected <revision number>).

When comparing revision values of letters and numbers, numbers are considered to be a lesser revision value than letters.

●        If the Last Revision Number in Newforma is > Current Revision in Revit, then do not sync. The Sync Action message for this instance is None: Revision Already Present.

●        If the Revision Date in Newforma is > Revision Date in Revit, then do not sync. The Sync Action message for this instance is None: Newer Newforma Revision Date (<Revision Date>).

Manage Revision Numbers in Newforma (Newforma --> Revit)

The following synchronization rules apply when managing revision numbers in Newforma:

If the default mappings are changed manually to map the built-in Newforma property Revision Number to the custom Revit parameter Revision Number:

●        If Last Revision Number in Newforma = Draft, then send that value to Revit and while linking the PDF, replace the file associated with the last revision in Newforma. Change the Revision Date to Today's Date.

●        If the Last Revision Number in Newforma = Issued, then send the next incremented value to Revit and while linking the PDF add a new revision in Newforma with the Revision Date = Today's Date and Status = Draft.

Newforma's Revision Number property value cannot be null or 0.

Revision Date Hierarchy

The Newforma Project Information Link applies a specific hierarchy to determine the Revision Date value when using the Synchronize and Add Revisions process.

The rules that are applied depend on the selected mapping behavior. When managing revisions in Revit (default behavior), Mapping Behavior is set to Revit --> Newforma. When managing revisions in Project Center, Mapping Behavior is set to Newforma --> Revit. The rules for both cases are detailed below.

Default Mapping Behavior - Revit --> Newforma

●        If the Current Revision Date in Revit is not Null, then the Revision Date in Newforma = Current Revision Date in Revit.

●        If the Current Revision Date in Revit = Null, then the Revision Date in Newforma = Sheet Issue Date in Revit.

●        If the Current Revision Date and Sheet Issue Date in Revit = Null, then the Revision Date in Newforma = Today's Date.

●        If the user has set up custom mapping then use the Custom Field value, then Today's Date.

If there is no mapping set for Revision Date, Today's Date is used to populate the Revision Date in Newforma.

Mapping Behavior changed to Newforma --> Revit

If the default mappings are changed manually to map the built-in Newforma property Revision Date to the custom Revit Parameter Revision Date, the following hierarchy applies:

●        If the Last Revision Number in Newforma = Draft, then the Revision Date in Revit = Revision Date in Newforma.

●        If the Last Revision Number in Newforma = Issued, then the Revision Date in Revit = Today's Date.

 

Register and enable Newforma Project Information Link

See Set Up Project Information Link.

 

Initialize Newforma Project Information Link

See Set Up Project Information Link.

 

Use Newforma Project Information Link

See Use Newforma Project Information Link.