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Sunday, September 20, 2026

Free SheetEX: Batch Export to Popular Formats, Plus DWG Merge & Image Binding

Summary

SheetEX is a free Autodesk Revit add-in presented in public internet sources as a sheet and view export utility for Revit 2022 through Revit 2027. It is focused on speeding up drawing-package output by supporting batch export to common deliverable formats, custom naming and folder organization, and advanced DWG workflows such as merging multiple sheets into one DWG and binding image references directly into DWG files.

Primary Purpose

The add-in is designed to reduce the time and manual effort required to export Revit sheets and views for issue packages, coordination deliverables, consultant exchange, and archive sets. It targets workflows where users need repeatable export settings, organized output folders, and reliable naming conventions instead of manually exporting sheets one by one or renaming files after export.

Supported Export Formats

  • PDF exports for drawing issue sets.
  • DWG exports for CAD coordination and consultant exchange.
  • DWF exports for review workflows.
  • IFC exports for openBIM coordination.
  • NWC exports for Navisworks-based coordination.
  • Image exports such as JPG or PNG, depending on workflow requirements.

DWG Merging and Image Binding

One of SheetEX’s most distinctive reported features is the ability to export separate sheets or merge multiple Revit sheets into a single DWG file. Public descriptions also highlight the ability to bind JPG and PNG images directly into DWG files, creating self-contained DWG deliverables without broken external image references. This is useful when Revit sheets contain raster logos, images, consultant backgrounds, title-block graphics, or other linked image content that must remain visible when the DWG is opened outside Revit.

Saturday, September 19, 2026

Draftmate: AI for Sketch or CAD Plan to Revit Model

Editor's Note: whenever I check Linkedin, which is several times a day, there are new posts about AI and Revit (or related product) modeling. It's impossible to keep up. Ironically, almost all of these modeling examples are of recreating existing buildings or details. Draftmate stands out as an AI tool tailored for converting sketches or CAD plans into new design BIM models. Read on for details.

Summary

Civly Draftmate AI, based on information available from its website, is best understood as an AI-powered BIM drafting and coordination platform. Civly positions the product around moving from sketches, CAD files, or early design intent into editable, coordinated BIM outputs while keeping human professionals in control of approvals.

Primary Product Positioning

Civly describes itself as a BIM drafting and coordination platform for engineering teams. Its public messaging emphasizes moving from drafting to designing, creating one source of truth, and helping architecture, structure, MEP, engineering calculations, and local compliance checks stay coordinated within a shared BIM baseline.

Relationship to Revit

The civly.dev website describes a workflow that creates full editable, compliant BIM models from CAD, Rhino, sketches, or CAD plans.

Core Capabilities

  • Transforms sketches and plans into structured model proposals.
  • Supports discipline drafting across architecture, structure, and MEP.
  • Keeps proposed outputs reviewable, traceable, and editable.
  • Provides plain-language rationale for human-in-the-loop approvals.
  • Produces editable output that project teams can continue developing.

Friday, September 18, 2026

Product Roundup: SVS Team

From the Autodesk Design and Make Marketplace:

About

SVS Team develops practical BIM productivity tools for Autodesk Revit users. Our add-ins help architects, engineers, and BIM teams automate daily documentation tasks, including sheet exports, schedule exports, parameter management, site coordinate workflows, and model export coordination. We focus on simple interfaces, reliable project workflows, and responsive support for AEC professionals.

Editor's Note: Ratings are static and accurate at press time. For up-to-date ratings, visit the Autodesk Design and Make Marketplace.

UAE accessibility design review for Autodesk® Revit® with municipality profiles, linked-model scanning, editable TXT rules, focused navigation, and CSV/HTML reports. | Free 
No ratings yet

Navisworks-style automated 3D clash detection directly inside Autodesk Revit. Avoid heavy model transfers and expensive external licenses with built-in, saved clash test matrices, rules-based clearances, status persistence, and localized privacy. | Pricing not known
Not on the Autodesk Design and Make Marketplace

Thursday, September 17, 2026

SVS Clash Guard: Clash Detection and Clearance Checking Inside Revit

Summary

SVS Clash Guard is a Revit add-in from SVS Tools/SVS Team that brings clash detection and clearance checking directly into Autodesk Revit. Public SVS material describes it as a Navisworks-style coordination tool for native Revit workflows, intended to help users detect model conflicts, review hard and soft clashes, track issue status, and navigate directly to problem areas without exporting heavy models to a separate coordination application.

Primary Purpose

The add-in is designed to reduce the friction of traditional clash-detection workflows by keeping coordination review inside Revit. Standard BIM coordination often depends on exporting models to Navisworks or reviewing cloud-based clash issues through Autodesk Construction Cloud. SVS Clash Guard is positioned as an in-line Revit alternative for faster internal checks, early discipline coordination, and iterative design review before formal model federation or coordination meetings.

In-Revit Clash Detection

SVS describes Clash Guard as having an in-Revit real-time clash engine that can detect physical collisions and clearance-based tolerance violations without requiring model export. This makes it useful for quick checks during active modeling, especially when a team wants to identify conflicts before issuing a coordination model or running a full Navisworks clash test.

Hard Clashes and Soft Clearance Checks

The tool is described as supporting both hard collision detection and soft clearance tolerance checking. Hard clashes identify elements that physically intersect, such as a duct passing through a beam. Soft clashes identify elements that may not touch but violate required clearance space, such as maintenance access, service clearance, or coordination offsets. This distinction is important because many BIM coordination issues are not true geometry intersections but still represent constructability, access, or maintenance problems.

Using Microsoft Copilot AI to Generate Content on Revit Add-ons

With so much buzz around AI, and in the interest of transparency, I thought it was worthwhile to share that I'm now using AI to generate content for Revit Add-ons. I use Copilot in Word and specify the prompt, "Create a detailed summary of the [name] add-in for Revit from the Internet." Copilot pulls from available sources, usually the Autodesk Design and Make Marketplace (formerly the Autodesk App Store), online documentation, the developer's website, and any reviews that have been written. From these sources, Copilot creates a uniquely structured document that is at once more comprehensive than any of the single sources. Of course, proofreading is a must, but Copilot does a remarkably good job. 

From there, it's a simple copy and paste to my blog's editor, formatting the post, adding images and videos when appropriate, and adding attribution.

I hope you're enjoying the new feel of Revit Add-ons that Microsoft Copilot enables!



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Wednesday, September 16, 2026

Free SVS MEP Room Sync: Copy Room and Space Information onto MEP Elements

Summary

SVS MEP Room Sync is a free Autodesk Revit add-in from SVS Tools/SVS Team that helps MEP teams copy room and space information from linked Revit models onto supported MEP elements. It is designed to keep spatial coordination data connected to the model elements that need it, making room-based schedules, review workflows, and coordination tasks easier to manage.

Primary Purpose

The add-in addresses a common Revit MEP coordination problem: room and space data often resides in an architectural linked model, while many MEP components exist in the host MEP model and may not automatically inherit useful room information. SVS MEP Room Sync helps bridge that gap by reading spatial information from rooms or spaces and writing selected values to MEP elements for scheduling, tagging, checking, and review.

Room and Space Data Synced

  • Room or space number.
  • Room or space name.
  • Room or space description, where supported by the workflow.
  • Source link information used for the lookup, supporting traceability back to the linked model.

Supported Scope Options

The tool allows users to choose the scope that fits the task. Based on the available SVS public description, users can sync across the entire model, the active view, or a current selection. This makes the add-in flexible for both broad model-wide updates and targeted coordination checks on a specific view, zone, or selected set of elements.

MEP Coordination Value

For BIM and MEP teams, the main benefit is reducing manual room-data entry and improving consistency between the architectural model and the MEP model. When room or space values are written onto MEP elements, teams can create clearer schedules, filter or group equipment by room, audit unassigned elements, and support downstream coordination or handover workflows. This is especially useful on projects where equipment, fixtures, devices, terminals, accessories, or other MEP elements need to be associated with the spaces they serve or occupy.

Tuesday, September 15, 2026

My 3Dconnexion Setup Review

This is a review of the 3Dconnexion devices I bought recently, The CadMouse Pad, CadMouse Pro Wireless, Keyboard Pro with Numpad, and SpaceMouse Enterprise. Let's start small with the CadMouse Pad.

3Dconnexion CadMouse Pad Review

The 3Dconnexion CadMouse Pad is a purpose-built mouse surface aimed at CAD, engineering, architecture, and design professionals who want smoother, more predictable cursor control than a generic desk surface or low-cost mouse pad can provide. It is designed as a companion to 3Dconnexion’s CadMouse line, but its core benefits—consistent tracking, low-friction movement, and a stable base—can apply to other high-quality professional mice as well.

Design and Build Quality

The pad uses a three-layer construction: a micro-textured top surface for precise movement, a rigid middle layer for flatness and stability, and a non-slip silicone base to keep the pad from shifting during use. This gives it a more engineered feel than a soft fabric mouse pad. The result is a firm, uniform surface that should appeal to users who work long hours in CAD or 3D modeling environments where small cursor movements matter. I will note that, while engineered not to slip on the surface with its third layer, mine still slips on my desk.

Surface Feel and Tracking

The defining feature is the low-friction, micro-textured coating. 3Dconnexion describes the surface as optimized for its mouse sensors and for use with CadMouse PTFE feet. In practical terms, that means the pad is intended to provide a balanced glide: smooth enough for broad multi-monitor movement, but controlled enough for accurate cursor placement in detailed CAD work. I can attest that this is the case.

Free SVS Smart Vision Suite: A Productivity and Model-Quality Toolkit

Summary

SVS Smart Vision Suite is a free productivity and model-quality toolkit for Autodesk Revit developed by SVS Team. According to its Autodesk Marketplace listing, it is intended to bring common project setup, sheet creation, parameter exchange, model-health review, and grid-dimensioning workflows together under one consistent SVS ribbon for Revit 2022 through Revit 2027.

Primary Purpose

The add-in is designed to streamline repetitive Revit production and coordination tasks that are commonly performed by BIM coordinators, model managers, and project teams. Instead of focusing on a single task, Smart Vision Suite combines several utilities into one toolkit: project setup automation, batch sheet creation, sheet renumbering, parameter export/import, model health reporting, and automated grid dimensioning.

One-Click Project Setup

One of the suite’s central tools is One-Click Project Setup. It can apply Architecture, MEP, Coordination, or saved setup profiles for project information, worksets, levels, views, and sheets. The tool is described as opening with a safe Empty profile, with no default rows and every creation option disabled, which helps prevent unintended project changes. Users can preview changes before applying them, making the workflow more controlled and suitable for real project startup conditions.

Monday, September 14, 2026

Free SVS Accessibility Checker: Review Modeled Accessibility Conditions

Summary

SVS Accessibility Checker is a free standalone Autodesk Revit add-in developed by SVS Team for reviewing modeled accessibility conditions inside Revit. It is aimed primarily at UAE accessibility design review and uses selectable municipality or authority profiles, linked-model scanning, editable TXT rule files, focused navigation, and CSV/HTML reporting to help project teams identify potential accessibility issues during design coordination.

Primary Purpose

The add-in is designed as a model-based accessibility review assistant rather than a legal compliance or permit approval tool. Its purpose is to help users check whether modeled conditions appear to align with selected accessibility requirements, based on the available Revit geometry, family parameters, adopted rule profile, and project-specific rule settings.

Key Accessibility Checks

  • Door clear-width and threshold checks.
  • Door maneuvering-clearance screening.
  • Corridor width and pinch-point checks.
  • Turning-circle checks for accessible maneuvering space.
  • Ramp slope and ramp clear-width checks.
  • Room-to-room accessible-route connectivity review.

Rule Profiles and Regional Focus

The tool includes built-in profiles for Abu Dhabi DMT Sahel 2025 for new and existing assets, Dubai Municipality 2025, RAK Municipality 2026, and legacy Abu Dhabi 2013. Other municipality entries are identified as coordination baselines that require authority confirmation, which is important because they should not be treated as automatically approved interpretations.

Sunday, September 13, 2026

SVS Exporter: A Revit Productivity Suite and Export Utility

Summary

A Revit productivity suite for batch exports, schedule Excel workflows, site/model data management, and common BIM documentation tasks.

Overview

SVS Exporter is a productivity add-in for Autodesk Revit developed by SVS Team. It is designed to automate repeated documentation and model-management workflows, especially the kinds of export, schedule, parameter, and coordination tasks that can consume significant project production time. The Autodesk Marketplace listing describes it as a toolset for exporting sheets, schedules, site data, model formats, and managing common BIM tasks.

Unlike a single-purpose exporter, SVS Exporter combines several practical utilities in one ribbon-based Revit interface. Its published feature set includes PDF and DWG sheet/view export, schedule export and import through Excel, schedule template creation and syncing, parameter copying, site-coordinate tools, model export options, style transfer, level reassignment, family orientation, grid/link/CAD reference controls, license activation, update notices, and an in-app user guide.

Primary Purpose

The primary purpose of SVS Exporter is to reduce repetitive manual production work in Revit. BIM teams often spend time exporting sheets, creating DWG deliverables, pushing schedules into Excel, reimporting updated data, cleaning CAD references, adjusting element levels, and preparing model exports. SVS Exporter gathers these recurring tasks into a set of focused commands so teams can work faster and more consistently.

For architects, engineers, BIM coordinators, and documentation teams, the add-in functions as a practical production assistant rather than a design-authoring platform. It helps standardize export workflows, streamline schedule data exchange, and simplify common Revit model-management operations.

Saturday, September 12, 2026

BIMS: A Broad Revit Productivity and Automation Suite

Summary

A multi-purpose Revit productivity suite for automating structural, architectural, MEP, parameter, geometry, and documentation workflows.

Overview

BIMS is a productivity suite for Autodesk Revit designed to automate repetitive modeling, quantification, detailing, data management, and exchange tasks. Unlike a narrow single-command add-in, BIMS bundles more than 30 specialized tools across general BIM production, structural workflows, geometry utilities, formwork, plastering, reinforcement, sanitary installations, DWG import, DWG sheet export, and Navisworks preparation.

Based on current online information, BIMS is positioned for structural, architectural, MEP, and BIM coordination teams that need to reduce time spent on element-by-element manual work. Its commands are designed to operate on multi-element selections, so tasks that would normally require repeated modeling, parameter editing, exporting, or quantity extraction can be completed in larger batches.

Primary Purpose

The primary purpose of BIMS is to speed up high-volume Revit production tasks while keeping results as editable native Revit elements whenever possible. This is important because many BIM workflows involve repetitive operations such as assigning nearest grids, copying parameter values, creating formwork surfaces, generating plastering quantities, placing reinforcement, exporting sheets, or preparing geometry for coordination. BIMS attempts to reduce these manual steps while preserving data that can be scheduled, tagged, reviewed, and modified inside Revit.

For BIM managers and production teams, the add-in is best understood as a workflow accelerator rather than a design-authoring replacement. It automates common tasks, proposes results for review, and helps teams produce quantities and documentation faster, but professional judgment and discipline-specific review remain necessary.

Friday, September 11, 2026

Orkestra: An Automation Deployment and Governance Platform

Summary

A Revit-integrated automation deployment platform for managing, securing, and scaling Dynamo, Grasshopper, and OkPy tools across AEC teams.

Overview

Orkestra is an AEC automation platform with a dedicated Revit add-in that brings firmwide script and tool deployment directly into the Revit interface. Rather than functioning as a single-purpose modeling utility, Orkestra acts as an automation management layer: it helps teams organize, distribute, document, secure, and run DynamoBIM, Grasshopper, and OkPy tools from a controlled library.

Based on current online information, Orkestra is positioned for firms that have already invested in visual programming or custom automation and now need a scalable way to deliver those tools to production users. The Revit add-in is especially relevant for BIM managers, computational designers, design technologists, and application engineers who need to make automation accessible without requiring every user to open, understand, or maintain the underlying scripts.

Primary Purpose

The primary purpose of Orkestra for Revit is to replace informal script-sharing workflows with a managed automation environment. In many firms, Dynamo graphs and custom tools are stored in shared folders, passed around through Teams or email, or maintained locally by individual power users. Orkestra addresses that problem by giving teams a central interface for hosting tools, controlling access, organizing versions, and presenting approved automations through user-friendly Revit ribbons and panels.

For Revit users, this means Dynamo-based workflows can behave more like standard add-ins: they can appear on the ribbon, launch from curated tool buttons, use preset inputs, and operate without exposing users to the complexity of the underlying graph. For administrators, it provides a way to standardize tools, reduce dependency on local file paths, and improve governance around automation.

Thursday, September 10, 2026

Free Eazy Struct: Coordination Accelerator for Concrete-Heavy Architectural/Structural Workflows

Summary

A coordination-focused Revit add-in for detecting concrete model mismatches, managing openings, and improving architect-structure communication.

Overview

Eazy Struct is an Autodesk Revit add-in designed to improve coordination between architectural and structural models, with a particular emphasis on concrete elements and opening coordination. The tool focuses on identifying mismatches between linked models, helping teams resolve issues directly inside Revit instead of relying on external clash-detection workflows or manual model review.

Based on available online information, Eazy Struct is positioned as a practical coordination utility for BIM coordinators, structural engineers, architects, and MEP teams who need to reduce field surprises, improve accountability, and speed up issue resolution during design coordination.

Primary Purpose

The main purpose of Eazy Struct is to automate concrete coordination checks between architectural and structural Revit models. Instead of asking users to visually compare walls, floors, beams, columns, openings, and related linked-model elements, the add-in calculates conflicts, classifies coordination conditions, and gives users tools to navigate directly to the affected geometry.

In practice, the add-in attempts to close one of the common gaps in Revit coordination: the difference between model ownership and physical constructability. Architectural, structural, and MEP teams can each model elements correctly within their own discipline, but coordination issues still occur when the linked models do not align. Eazy Struct provides a Revit-native workflow for detecting and communicating those issues.

My 3Dconnexion Setup

I received a package from 3Dconnexion yesterday. I pretty much ordered one of everything, a Keyboard Pro with Numpad, a CadMouse, and a SpaceMouse Enterprise (and I already had a CadMouse Pad). 

I had a SpaceMouse Pro previously, and wrote a review of it, but I sold it when I wasn't working for an extended period. I also previously had a CadMouse, which I also reviewed, but it went belly up awhile back.

I only recently became aware of the Keyboard PRO, and wanted one, so I bit the bullet and bought it. I had a mouse I liked, but right now, when you buy a Keyboard Pro Kit, which includes the Numpad, you effectively get a CadMouse at a deep discount. The kit costs $139. The SpaceMouse Enterprise cost an additional $399, but it's a beaut.

My 3Dconnexion setup

I'll write a review on what it's like to have all these devices once I'm used to using all of them together. Right now, my experience isn't entirely positive, but that may change with use. I still have a lot of things to figure out, and I've got to train my offhand. So, more to come in perhaps a month or so. 

In the meantime, you can check out 3Dconnexion's offerings at https://3dconnexion.com/.

Update 9/16/2026: My review of these devices and my setup is up!



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Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Autotag: Automated MEP Tagging

Summary

Autotag by Bimrock AI is a Revit-native add-in designed to automate MEP tagging and annotation workflows in Autodesk Revit. Its primary purpose is to replace repetitive, manual tag placement with reusable, rule-based tagging profiles that can be applied across views, sheets, levels, disciplines, and documentation sets. The add-in focuses on ducts, pipes, cable trays, conduits, electrical equipment, and other MEP-related elements, while also noting support for some general architectural elements.

Purpose and Core Value

The add-in addresses one of the most time-consuming production tasks in Revit MEP documentation: placing, moving, aligning, and cleaning up tags by hand. In dense mechanical, electrical, and plumbing views, teams may need to tag hundreds or thousands of elements, then adjust leaders and elbows to avoid overlapping annotation. Autotag is intended to reduce that manual effort, improve consistency, and help teams produce cleaner documentation with fewer redlines.

Workflow 

Autotag uses a profile-based workflow. Users create a tagging profile by selecting the Revit categories to tag, choosing the appropriate tag families, defining filtering criteria, and setting placement and orientation rules. These profiles function like annotation-focused standards that can be reused across views, sheets, or projects. Once a profile is applied, Autotag places tags automatically, attempts to avoid overlaps, and gives users post-placement tools for bulk editing, leader organization, and elbow alignment.