Revit is one of the AEC software with the largest number of add-ins. The purpose of those add-ins is to expand Revit’s functionality and automate tasks. Here we present the list of 10 essential free add-ins that can be native Revit functionality.
Developed by various companies and independent developers, Revit add-ins usually solve specific problem and have a paid license. However there are a lot of free add-ins covering some basic functionality that almost every Revit user benefits from. Also there are a large number of Dynamo scripts that complement those add-ins, or provide same or similar functionality. This is the list (with brief descriptions) of the most essential free add-ins:
- ProSheets (by DiRoots). This is a very useful tool when you create documentation from Revit model. You can batch export sheets and views to PDF, DWG, IFC and other formats and create custom naming rules.
- Tiny Tools (by Archilizer). This add-in includes five commands to automate tasks when you work with views and sheets. Automatically align views (i.e. viewports) on sheets, duplicate views and sheets, create sheets from views, and rename views and sheets in bulk.
- DiRootsOne (by DiRoots). This is an application bundle that includes eight (formerly independent) productivity plugins developed by DiRoots. These plugins are: SheetLink, FamilyReviser, OneFilter, TableGen, SheetGen, ReOrdering, ParaManager, and PointKit (PointCloud toolkit).
- pyRevit (by Ehsan Eiran-Nejad). Access the Revit API and add your own Python scripts to automate boring and repetitive tasks. This add-in brings a functionality in Revit similar to command line interface in AutoCAD.
- Isolate Warnings (by Russ Green). Provides additional functionality to Revit Warnings (Manage > Warnings) so you can easily locate elements with warning. The plugin creates two new 3D views to highlights elements with warnings (see it in context) and to isolate elements with warnings.
- Spatial Element Tools (by TwentyTwo). Contains tools that help you when working with spatial elements (rooms, spaces, and zones) and their associate tags.
- HotGearProject (by HotGearProject). Collection of tools to automate and improve your productivity so you can reduce time in your everyday work in Revit. The commands are about parameters, families, levels, tags, visibility, aligning, etc.
- OnboxApp (by Thiago Almeida). An open-source add-in with similar goal as previous add-in: to provide various tools so you can be more productive in your daily Revit workflow. These tools deal with the topics of renumbering, creating structural elements, joining structural and non-structural elements, toposurface manipulations. Also the add-in includes a tool to zip all project-related files.
- Boost Your BIM Terrific Tools (by Boost Your BIM). An open-source project with a lot of useful tools that covers various topics. Some of the included tools are: Topo From Lines – create and update a toposurface from contour lines (model lines or DWG), Pin Comment, Select Intersecting, Parameter String Search, Select by Type (enhanced “Select All Instances” tool), Level Displacer (create exploded views), Wall Opening Area Measurement, Image-o-Matic, etc.
- Master Purger (by Hippo BIM). Clean up your Revit files from one place. You can immediately remove unplaced views, legends, schedules, imported/linked CAD files, unplaced rooms/spaces. Also plugin informs you about dimensions that will be lost when you purge specific CAD files so you can make decision about it.
