Revit – Using predefined layers from dwg/dxf file

By Garry Stockton

Whilst training I’m often asked about importing layer standards into Revit projects, with this in mind please read the following.

Inserting CAD Data

Using predefined company layer standards or settings for inserted CAD data can often save time later in the project, just follow these simple steps and save them to your project templates.

When you are inserting data from a DWG/DXF file (or Microstation, dgn), you can create some predefined settings to control its appearance within the Revit environment. Some settings are controlled at the time you insert a CAD file, but other settings can be configured and saved. The two ways you can configure this data are by mapping layer colours to Revit line weights and converting fonts.

Mapping Layer Colours

For inserted CAD files, layers within the file are assigned a Revit line weight based on the weight assigned to each layer by the CAD application that created the original files.

If the layer line weights are set to ‘Default’ in the CAD file, they will follow a translation you can configure that maps the layer colours to Revit line weights. To access these settings, select the Insert Tab and expand the arrow in the Import panel.

Doing this opens the ‘Import Line Weights’ dialog box as seen below.

Select load and you will see settings are stored in a text file (txt) in the data folder where Revit is installed. There are several predefined text files based on UK and International CAD standards for your layer colour. Alternatively, you can create your own company layer standards based on different projects.Thanks for reading my blog.