Importing data into Revit

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Part of putting your drone to work is having the right data for analysis. DroneDeploy allows you to export your data quickly from cloud to your desktop for integration with third-party software.

This guide covers how to import into Revit the GeoTIFF, contours DXF and point cloud files exported from DroneDeploy. Additionally, we will cover how to overlay the DXF file on top of the GeoTIFF resulting in a bold, data-rich display to share with your stakeholders.

Export Data from DroneDeploy

Select the map you wish to export from the DroneDeploy dashboard and follow the steps described in our Exporting Your Data guide for a full walkthrough the export process.

For this guide, we have downloaded the elevation GeoTIFF, the contours DXF file, and the point cloud LAS.

Data Export Formats
Please visit our [Data Export Formats](https://support.dronedeploy.com/docs/data-export-formats) support documentation to check the file formats that are available to export on your DroneDeploy subscription.

Importing data into Revit

Once you have your data saved to your computer and extracted the data from the zipped files, proceed to open Revit.

The first step is to create a new project, to do so, click on New under the Projects section to create a new project template:

Import the DXF Contour File:

To select and open the DXF file go on the Insert tab and click on the Import CAD option. Make sure to select the correct Import Units and the Positioning. In this case, we will leave it with the default values (Auto-Detect). Click Open to confirm

To select the DXF file, make sure to select the DXF (*.dxf) option in the Files of Type box.

Import the TIFF File:

Now that the DXF file has been opened, we can continue importing the GeoTIFF file. To do so, go to the Insert tab, and select the Image option within the Import section:

To select the TIFF file, make sure to select "All Images Files" option in the Files of Type box.

Coordinate system note:
The raster within Revit does not take into account any coordinate system. This has to be scaled and adjusted manually to line up with the DXF file.

This is how your overlaid map should look like in Revit:

If you would like to save this drawing as a DWG file format you can go to File > Save As > Drawing.

Having trouble viewing your DXF?
A commonly-seen error when importing a DXF into Revit is '*None of the created elements are visible in Floor Plan: Level 1 View. You may want to check the active view, its Parameters, and Visibility settings, as well as any Plan Regions and their settings*.' You can troubleshoot this problem by [viewing this Autodesk Support article](https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Revit-None-of-the-created-elements-are-visible-in-the-view.html), or by contacting Autodesk support.

View the Point Cloud file:

AutoCAD is compatible with RCP (.rcp) or RCS (.rcs) point cloud formats. To learn how to convert the LAS file exported from DroneDeploy to RCP using Autodesk Recap, please visit our guide Importing Point Cloud into Recap.

Once you have the RCP file, within Revit go to the Insert tab and click the Point Cloud button located in the Link section:

Import RCP Point Cloud into AutoCAD

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