Revit OBJ Exporter 2

Download
Download from www.inglegreen.com.
After download check that the files particularly RevitOBJExport2.dll are not blocked
on your PC. RightMouseButton click on files, select Properties and if necessary click
on Unblock.

NOTE:
This addin should work with Revit 2015 variants - it may not work on previous
versions.
Written in C# compiled against dotNET Framework 4.51.
No responsibility is accepted for any damage or loss caused as a result of using this
addin.
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Installation
There is no installation procedure for RevitOBJExport2.
Simply copy the 2 files RevitOBJExport2.addin and RevitOBJExport2.dll to the Revit
Addins directory. Example directory paths are :C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\2015\
C:\Users\<user>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\2015\
either location will be ok ...
Start Revit in the usual way. RevitOBJExport2 will not be available if any Errors are
displayed during Revit startup.

Using RevitOBJExport2
You can create an OBJ file from a Revit Project file or a Family file. You will need to
select a valid 3D view (not a camera view).
Use the Visibility/Graphics Overrides button in the Properties panel to turn on/off
the Categories you require to export.
You can use a Section box to restrict the amount of your model that will be exported.
Select RevitOBJExport from the Add-Ins top menu in Revit either by clicking on the
OBJ Export 2 button graphic or by using the dropdown menu External Tools.

The options you select will be stored in an XML configuration file for recall the next
time you use the Add-In. The file is called RevitOBJExport2_config.xml and is stored
with the DLL file.

Export Filename: You can export to the default filename shown, or you can either
edit the filename in the textbox or clock on the Change button to select a name and
directory of your choosing.
Export Units:

Select the required units for the exported OBJ file.

Flip YZ-axis: Most 3D softwares have a different axis orientation to Revit. Ticking
this checkbox will flip the YZ axis during export.

Rotation:
elements.

Select either Project North or True North for the rotation of the exported

Group Elements: Elements with the same material will be grouped together as a
single mesh. This option is not available when Label Elements by Name is selected
(see below).
Selected Elements: Only elements that have been selected in the Revit 3D view
will be exported to the OBJ file. This can be useful for replacing elements that have
been modified in Revit or simply to export a part of the Revit project.
Level of Detail: Use the slider control to change the LOD value. If this value is
positive Revit will use the suggested level of detail when tessellating faces. The
permitted positive values are from 0 to 15. A low number will reduce the number of
triangles and accuracy, a higher number will increase the number of triangles and
improve accuracy. The higher the number the larger the resulting OBJ files. The files
may be too large for the destination 3D software/PC memory. The normal value in
Revit is 8. The single negative value of -1 allows Revit to decide on the level of detail.
Include Materials: If ticked a materials (.mtl) file will be created containing material
definitions and material assignments will be included in the OBJ file.
Include Textures: If ticked RevitOBJExport2 will attempt to identify the texture
image files assigned in the material for generic appearance and also for bump
appearance. These texture image files will be copied to a sub-directory textures
located with the OBJ file.
Scale Factor: Default 1. Change this value as desired.
Directory: Texture image files are stored with the Revit project/family. Files will be
stored in the named sub-directory. The directory will be created if it does not already
exist. If the textbox is blank the texture image files will be stored in the directory
containing the Revit project/family file.
Label Elements by Material:

Output meshes according to their material.

Label Elements by Name: Output meshes according to their element id, category
and name. The Group Elements option is not available with this setting. However
some 3D softwares will group identically named meshes together.
No Label ID:

Unique Revit numerical ID will be omitted from element name.

Label ID Before:
name.
Label ID After:

Unique Revit numerical ID will be placed in front of element

Unique Revit numerical ID will be placed after element name.

Tag as OBJ Objects: Meshes will be tagged in the OBJ file as objects (o name).
This setting can be used generally.
Tag as OBJ Groups: Meshes will be tagged in the OBJ file as groups (g name).
This option was requested by users of Unity.
Export OBJ File:

Click on this button to start the OBJ export.

Notes
The export method is based on material rather than geometry as problems were
experienced in the previous version with regard to attributing materials for elements
from linked files. This may make it more difficult to edit meshes in the destination 3D
software. However it is expected that the OBJ file will be used mainly for rendering
and material editing.
Revit doesnt seem to have a common structure for material definitions. This makes it
difficult to identify the texture image files, particularly the bump texture.
RevitOBJExport2 uses two different methods to achieve this. However whilst the
generic texture is quite reliable, the same cannot be said for the bump texture. Please
excuse any omissions or mistakes.
Latest version 2.5
All registered trademarks acknowledged

2015 inglegreen.com