Rooms, Room Data Structures, Groups and Room Data can be Import/Update into dRofus from Excel:
Prepare Excel-fil for import
In the example below, new rooms are being imported and an update is being performed by adding Room Name Descriptions and updating the Programed Area (fields in red) to the Rooms that we imported and then updated.
Note: The only rows that we have included the Department (Number) and Department (Name) are those new rooms that are being imported. The rooms that are being updated, the Room Function # as Identifier Room to indicate which rooms in the project should be updated.
2. Select Rooms Module
3. Import/Export tab
4. Select Import/Update Rooms. Window will appear:
Select Excel-file
Select sheet within the excel fil.
Select the first row within the Excel-file that dRofus should read data from.
When updating rooms a Identifier has to be selected. In this case, the Room Function # as Identifier Room to indicate which rooms in the project should be updated (see highlight from the image above). At this point in the process, it is important to check to confirm that the program recognizes the column names and check to make sure that the Import/Update dropdown is set to Update Existing (included in highlight).
Enter the column within the Excel-fil
Select “Import”
The import/update process will run and if it is successful, a message indicating how many rooms have been imported and updated will appear (see below).
If the import or update fails, you will receive an error message along with an error log.
The end results in dRofus:
Step 1: Set attribute configuration for Rooms.
Read more: Revit Attribute Configurations
Step 2: Set dRofus Room Function structure.
Identify the Room Parameters within Revit which contain Functions / Sub Functions information.
Example on Revit Room Parameter:
"Building" as the 1st Function level,
"Level" as the 2nd Function level
"Department" as the 3rd Function level
2. Define if the Revit Parameters includes name, number or both:
a) Name only: When the Room or Space parameter includes only the Function name, it will generate a new Function in dRofus bearing that name (if it does not exist), and automatically assign a number to it during import.
b) Number only: When the Room or Space parameter includes only the Function number, it will create a new Function in dRofus with that number (if it doesn't already exist) and keep its name blank.
c) Number and Name: When the Room or Space parameter contains both the Function name and number, separation character used to split the name and number has to be specified.
If you haven't yet determined which Functions/Sub-Functions you want your Rooms/Spaces to be imported into within the predefined Function Structure, you can import them into a temporary Function in dRofus and then relocate them to the desired Functions/Sub-Functions in the dRofus Client at a later time.
Step 3: Define which Rooms that will be included in the import to dRofus.
Tick box “Only placed” to include only Room(s) or Space(s) that are placed in the model.
Tick box “Only primary design option” to only include rooms that fall under the Primary Design Option.
Use checkbox to define which rooms that should be and not be included in the import to dRofus
Step 4: Select “Import Rooms”
Import Example:
Import Rooms in level 9:
Result in dRofus:
Note that the Function "LEVEL 9" has acquired "12" as its Number. This can be easily changed within the "Properties" panel on the right-hand side:
It is possible to import ArchiCAD Zones with any associated information from an ArchiCAD model directly into the dRofus database.
This feature can be used to load data into a dRofus Project from an existing ArchiCAD model. This function is also used to dynamically add Zones being created in ArchiCAD into dRofus. For example, after having placed all of the dRofus Rooms in the ArchiCAD model, you might later add all the additional ArchiCAD created Zones (such as Corridors) into dRofus.
What data is imported?
Like all other operations in the ArchiCAD Add-On this process also relies upon the active Room Attribute Configuration. By default it will use the Configuration you have defined as Default, but you can also create a customised Configuration for importing Zones. If so, make sure you select the correct Attribute Configuration by clicking on the active Attribute Configuration to use within the "Import Rooms to dRofus" dialog (highlighted below):
When importing Zones to dRofus the directions of all the mapped attributes within the Attribute Configuration will be reversed in order to write data FROM ArchiCAD TO dRofus. For example, if you have defined that "Notes" on a Room should go from dRofus to ArchiCAD in the active Attribute Configuration, when you carry out the ArchiCAD Zones import, it will actually push the values the other way - i.e., from ArchiCAD to dRofus. However, note that it will not update any Attributes that are read-only in dRofus (such as system or calculated attributes). These attributes will be displayed in half tone within the Attribute Configuration editor to indicate which ones cannot be updated.
Where should the Zones be imported to in dRofus?
Every Zone that is to be imported in to dRofus must be located somewhere within the pre-defined Function Structure. So before importing Zones into dRofus you must decide which Function and / or Sub-Function to import to.
You need to identify the Zone properties within ArchiCAD which contain Functions / Sub Functions information. In the following example, for Zones on LEVEL 9, the ArchiCAD IFC property called "Building" is used to define the 1st Function tier, "Level" as the 2nd Function tier and "Department" as the 3rd Function tier (highlighted below):
In order to view the IFC properties for Zones within the "Import Rooms to dRofus" dialog, you will need to select at least one Zone (that contains all the required IFC properties) prior to bringing up the "Import Rooms to dRofus" dialog:
Within the "Import Rooms to dRofus" dialog, you select the Zone properties that contain the Function / Sub Function definitions. You can then specify whether the values within each property contain the Name value, Number value, or both. The default is that it contains the Name only.
If the Zone property contains only the name of the Function, it will create a new Function in dRofus with that name (if it doesn't already exist) and auto-generate a number for that Function during import.
If the Zone property contains only the number of the Function, it will create a new Function in dRofus with that number (if it doesn't already exist) and leave its name empty.
An example of using Name only against the 3 levels of Functions is as follows:
There is a filter to indicate which Zone(s) to consider for importing in to dRofus as Rooms:
Checkboxes to include only specific Zone(s) and / or lowest (identified) Function(s)
Using the "Name only" option for all the 3 Function tiers, and after clicking on "Import Rooms", 1 x 2nd tier Function called "LEVEL 9" and 3 x 3rd tier Functions called "Balcony", "T&E" and "Unit" along with the 13 Room instances have now been created within dRofus as follows:
Note that the Function "LEVEL 9" has acquired "12" as its Number. This can be easily changed within the "Properties" panel on the right-hand side:
Info
If you have not yet decided the Functions / Sub-Functions (within the pre-defined Function Structure) in to which you'd like your Zones to be imported in to, you could just import the Zones into a temporary Function in dRofus, and then later move them to the desired Functions / Sub-Functions within the dRofus Client.
If the active Room or Space Attribute Configuration has been mapped with dRofus' "Room Name" --> ArchiCAD's "Zone Name" - "Room Name"s of the new Rooms created in dRofus will be blank and "Zone Name"s of the Zones within the model will be blanked out.
If the active Room or Space Attribute Configuration has been mapped with ArchiCAD's "Zone Name" --> dRofus' "Room Name" AND the "Disable edit room names" within dRofus Client is checked by the Project Administrator - an error message saying "Changing the list of predefined Room Names is not allowed" will appear, followed by another message saying no Rooms have been imported / created within dRofus.
If the active Room or Space Attribute Configuration has no mapping of Names between dRofus and Revit - "Room Name"s of the new Rooms created in dRofus will be blank while "Zone Name"s of the Zones within the model will remain unchanged.
The Apply Template option is available for all Rooms regardless of what the Status of the Room was set to previously. When you apply a Template to a Room it will set all statuses (Room Data, Item lists, Finishes) to the selected template.
Selecting the Room(s) within the Rooms List
Selecting "Apply Template" within the Ribbon. Window bellow will appear displaying the list of templates:
3. Select template
4. Select “ok” and window will appear:
5. Select which part(s) of the Room Template you would like to apply to the Room(s).
6. Select “ok”
The template has been added to the room
When using Apply Template to a room previous Room Data status and Room Data will be deleted and replaced with the ones from the selected Template. This is also communicated through a warning in the dRofus client
The function “Synchronize” facilitates the transfer of data between dRofus and Revits parameters:
dRofus Room <--> Revit Room
dRofus Room Template <--> Revit Room
dRofus Room <--> Revit Spaces
dRofus Room Function <--> Revit Area
Synchronization with Room Templates allows you to work with standardized data before a Room list has been established within a dRofus project.
Step 1: Set Attribute configuration for the synchronization you intend to perform.
Duplicate Key Attribute
If there are duplicate key attribute within the selected Revit parameter or within the selected dRofus attribute, synchronization will not be possible for those specific pairs. It's highly recommended to audit these duplicates before initiating the synchronization process.
In case any duplicate values are detected at any point during the process, a message will be displayed, and you can which elements that are duplicated in the “Link Status”.
Step 2: Synchronize
1. Select “Synchronize” in the ribbon menu
Window bellow will appear:
2. Select what you intend to synchronize
3. Select Filter if the synchronization is to be limited to some Rooms/ Spaces / Areas.
If the project is large and the Revit Rooms are spread across multiple design models, it's important to use the Model Name feature to manage them effectively. Without applying a dRofus filter, using this feature could accidentally clear a significant amount of data. To prevent this, make sure to add a filter that specifically targets the Rooms that should be present in the current model. Read more about Use Model Name to work with multiple design models
4. Select the tasks you want the synchronization to perform. Read more about the option Add Image of Revit Room and Synchronize Project Information.
5. Validate that the right configuration is selected.
6. Select “Synchronize”
Once the synchronization is complete, a notification message will appear indicating what actions have been performed.
- Synchronize window interface
- Synchronize Project Information.
- Working with Revit Design Options
- Send data from Revit to dRofus Room Data
- Add Image of Revit Room