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Monday, September 21, 2026

Free DimGen: Intelligent Annotation Tools for Structural Workflows

Summary

DimGen is an Autodesk Revit add-in published by Revix on the Autodesk Design and Make Marketplace. Public descriptions position it as an intelligent automation tool for structural engineers, BIM modelers, architects, and draftsmen who need to automate repetitive structural dimensioning and tagging tasks in Revit.

Primary Purpose

The add-in is designed to reduce the manual effort required to dimension structural drawings. Instead of placing repeated strings of dimensions and tags by hand, users can run task-specific tools that identify structural elements, relate them to grids or axes, and generate dimensions and related annotation automatically in the active Revit view.

Core Dimensioning Capabilities

  • Automatic column and grid/axis dimensioning in the active view.
  • Dimensioning for floors, slabs, isolated foundations, and continuous foundations.
  • Support for walls, foundations, axes, and linked models.
  • Smart offset controls for dimension-line placement.
  • Automatic column tagging as part of the column-and-axis workflow.
  • Detailed summary reports after running supported tools.

Linked Model and Rotated Element Support

One of the notable claims on the Autodesk Marketplace is support for full linked models and rotated elements. This matters in structural BIM workflows because grids, columns, foundations, and slabs often need to be coordinated against linked architectural or structural models, and not all building geometry is aligned to the project’s primary orthogonal grid. Support for linked and rotated conditions can make automated dimensioning more useful on real projects where geometry is not perfectly simple.

Structural Workflow Value

For structural engineers and BIM production teams, DimGen’s main value is time savings and consistency. Structural plans often require repeated dimension strings to columns, grids, slab edges, wall faces, footings, and foundations. Automating these repetitive tasks can reduce drafting time, improve package consistency, and free modelers to focus on checking the design rather than constructing annotation manually.

Relationship to Native Revit Dimensioning

Revit includes native dimensioning tools, but they are largely manual and depend on the user selecting references, placing strings, and managing offsets one view at a time. DimGen appears to extend this workflow by combining element detection, grid/axis relationship logic, offset placement, and tagging into single-purpose automation commands. This makes it most useful in standardized structural documentation workflows where drawings follow repeatable annotation patterns.

Target Users

  • Structural engineers preparing structural plans.
  • BIM modelers producing documentation views.
  • Draftsmen responsible for repetitive dimension and tag placement.
  • Architects or multidisciplinary teams needing faster structural annotation support.
  • BIM coordinators evaluating automation tools for documentation productivity.

Limitations and Cautions

As with any automated annotation tool, DimGen should be tested against office standards before production deployment. Users should verify dimension references, spacing, offsets, tag placement, linked model behavior, rotated element handling, view scale, annotation standards, and whether generated dimensions meet project documentation requirements. Automated dimensions can save time, but they still require drafting review and professional judgment before drawings are issued.

Overall Assessment

Revix DimGen appears to be a focused Revit productivity add-in for automating structural dimensioning and tagging. Its strongest reported features are one-click structural dimensioning, column-and-axis automation, floors and foundations support, smart offset controls, linked model support, rotated element handling, automatic tags, and post-run reports. For structural BIM teams, it could offer meaningful time savings and improved consistency on repetitive documentation tasks. Its effectiveness will depend on how well its automated references and annotation placement align with firm standards, project templates, and engineer-reviewed documentation requirements.









DimGen is brought to you by Revix. It's free.

This add-in is compatible with Revit 2027, 2026, 2025, 2024, 2023, and 2022.

There's more information available on the Autodesk Design and Make Marketplace »


Editor's Note: Okay, this add-in may be focused on just one discipline, but it's a huge time saver and free! That's Editor's Choice worthy!



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