Learn more about how BIM subcategories authored in Inventor enable Informed Design to deliver Revit families with native visibility and graphics control.

There’s a moment on many projects where momentum pauses. Someone asks “Is this dimension allowed?” At that point, the process shifts into static reference materials, a BIM tool, or an engineering review.   That shift is manageable for architects and designers, since they already use the Informed Design Add-in for Revit to configure products within the supplier’s allowable range – but the buying process doesn’t stop with the architect. Clients, procurement teams, and other project collaborators want to evaluate options for a product outside the BIM authoring context.   With the new Informed Design APS Viewer Extension, that same rule-driven validation designers access through our Revit Add-in is now available directly in the web browser.   The Foundation: Autodesk Platform Services Viewer   If you’ve used the Autodesk Viewer through Autodesk Docs (soon to be Forma Data Management), Fusion Team, or Shared Views functionality, you’re already familiar with high-performance 3D model viewing in the browser.   Our Informed Design Viewer Extension is built on that same APS Viewer SDK to enable not only visualization, but rule-driven product configuration and BIM-ready output generation, directly in the browser.   For Product Suppliers   As a supplier publishing products using the Informed Design Add-in for Inventor, you can now open your published releases in the 3D web viewer.     Open a release and preview variants in the web browser   Open the Informed Design Web Portal. In the header navigation, select the Forma hub and project that host your products, then open the Releases tab. Note: Project Admin–level permission in the Autodesk Docs (Forma Data Management) project is required to access the Releases tab. Select a product from the list on the left, then choose a release from the table. Note: Products appear based on the folders selected in the Folders filter. If the list is empty, click the Folders filter button above the list. In the Filter products by folder dialog, select at least one project folder containing published products and click Apply. Open the release: Click View in 3D at the top of the Releases table. The Informed Design APS Viewer Extension opens in a new browser tab and loads the selected release. The Informed Design toolbar appears on the far right of the viewer, after the APS Viewer’s standard navigation and selection tools. It includes the following options: Release details – Displays read-only summary information such as the release date and Revit Family (.rfa) output's Category. Form – Shows the release’s input parameters, values, and controls, which are editable when the release’s configuration rules allow it. Variants – Opens a table listing all variants created for the release. From here you can access the web-viewable (.svf) outputs of completed variants and monitor those still in progress. Preview existing variants: Click the Variants toolbar button to open the variants table. Select any row to display that variant in the 3D viewer.   Configure variants and track output status   If the release is Configurable, you can use the Form to create new variants directly in the 3D viewer. Each validated configuration you generate in the browser automatically becomes BIM-ready content, building your Revit Family (.rfa) library as you go.   Open the configuration form: Click the Form toolbar button to display the release’s configuration form. Note: For releases published as Static, form controls are read-only. Open the Variants table to browse the supported configuration in its available model state representation(s). Create a variant: Use the form controls to select the desired values. Once the configuration passes validation rules, click Generate to create the variant. Note: If a release has the Obsolete status, it can still be opened in the viewer and existing variants can be previewed. However, form controls and the Generate button are disabled because new outputs cannot be created from an obsolete release. Open the Variants dialog. After you submit a configuration, a new row appears in the Variants table. Track variants in progress. Two columns track output status: SVF shows the status of the web-viewable model displayed in the browser. RFA shows the status of the generated Revit Family (.rfa). For variants that support Revit output, both the web-viewable (.svf) model and the Revit Family (.rfa) are generated in parallel. Identify BIM-ready variants: When generation completes successfully, a checkmark icon appears in the status column: When the variant's SVF column is checked, the web-viewable model is displayed in the browser. When the variant's RFA column is checked, designers with permission can immediately load that Family into their Revit projects through Informed Design's Revit Add-in. This relationship works both ways – when a designer generates a variant .rfa using the Informed Design Add-in for Revit, the corresponding web-viewable .svf is created automatically and appears in the 3D viewer's Variants list.   Variants created through the API   In some releases, the Variants table may contain rows where the Representation column shows “Not specified”, and the SVF and RFA columns display question-mark icons. This occurs when a variant was created through the API. API-first variants do not require a representation when they are generated (see POST /variants). However, both the .svf (web-viewable model) and .rfa (Revit Family) outputs depend on a representation (see POST /outputs) so their availability cannot be determined automatically. To resolve this, open the Form and select a representation from the dropdown menu in the dialog footer. The dropdown lists the representations available for the .svf output type. Then click Generate to display it in the viewer. If the selected representation also supports .rfa output, the Revit Family will begin generating in parallel and you’ll see a progress spinner. If it does not, the RFA column will display a ban icon (circle with a dash), indicating that .rfa output was not made available for that representation in the current release.   For Developers and Partners   The Informed Design Viewer Extension is also available as an embeddable component. This allows suppliers to integrate interactive 3D product exploration directly into their own web platforms.   Access the Viewer SDK and reference materials in this repository.    The README provides the information needed to get started. For more detailed implementation guidance, refer to the Informed Design Viewer Extension docs.     Still have questions? Leave a comment below or visit the Informed Design Forum. 

Learn more about how BIM subcategory assignment in Inventor gives Revit users native control over visibility, graphics, and plan representation without post-processing families.

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What's New?   Previously, Revit users had to leave the Revit project context to generate manufacturing output files from instances of Informed Design Families. To obtain 2d drawings, bills of materials, native 3D datasets, and neutral CAD files from Family instances, you had to upload your Revit model to an ACC project folder and open it in the Informed Design Web App. We've now made it possible to request these output file types directly in Revit, at any stage of design maturity – no need for ACC sync!     Use the new Generate Outputs command in the Informed Design ribbon to request supported deliverables without leaving your model. Single-instance selection (today): You can select one instance in the canvas and request outputs for that instance’s release and variant. Why this matters Until now, Revit users had to leave Revit to request output files from Informed Design instances. That meant context-switching, extra coordination, and—often—a long wait while the Revit model syncs in ACC.   Previous Workflow: 1. Place Informed Design instances in your Revit model. 2. Publish the RVT to ACC (processing can take up to 24 hours). 3. Sync with Central to update the ACC model (typically 30–45 minutes). 4. Launch the Informed Design web app and open the Revit model from ACC. 5. Select the desired instances, and set up and submit the request for outputs.   By enabling output generation inside Revit, we remove many steps, reducing friction. Output generation in Revit provides easy access to output files, even when the Revit model is not yet ready to share with project collaborators in ACC.     Benefits   For new Informed Design users Try the full end-to-end workflow, natively in Revit Request outputs and access the uploaded results within minutes—ideal for pilots, training, and proof-of-value. For designers (Revit users) Less context-switching: design, validate, and request outputs in one place. Faster iteration: confirm downstream impacts earlier (BOM, spec sheets, drawings). For vertically integrated firms Tighter feedback loops: designers can generate the documentation manufacturing needs, earlier in the cycle Smoother handoffs: reduce back-and-forth when coordinating with manufacturing/fabrication teams.     How to use it (today) In Revit, place an Informed Design product and select a single instance in your view. On the Informed Design ribbon, choose Generate Outputs. Pick from the outputs the publisher made available for that release (for example: Bills of Materials, spec drawings, cut sheets, etc.).   What you can generate?   Availability is set by the product publisher at release time. Typical downstream outputs include: Bills of Materials Product/assembly specification drawings Neutral CAD formats: STEP files for example   For more information about controlling output availability as a Product Publisher, check out Changes to Access Permissions here.     FAQs Does this replace the web app? No. The web app remains essential for broader administration, analytics, and advanced flows. The Revit-side generate feature is focused on speed and iteration for day-to-day design work and first-time trials.   Where do the files go? Your files will go to the existing destinations applied, typically ACC Docs folder where the Revit project is located.    Why can’t I select multiple instances yet? This initial release prioritizes reliability and simplicity. Multi-selection and project-wide runs are actively in development.   What if an output type I need isn’t listed? Output availability is defined by the product publisher per release. Ask your manufacturer/publisher contact to mark the relevant representations/templates as available. Get started Try it now in Revit with Autodesk Sample products (switch the Public Content toggle On in the Revit Add-in Insert dialog.) Share feedback on what would make this truly end-to-end for your team. If you publish products, review your output templates and availability settings to ensure designers can generate what they need from inside Revit.   Feedback? Leave a comment here or create a post in the Informed Design Forum.

We’re excited to share a major milestone in the Informed Design workflow — our first publicly discoverable content experience is launching in Revit!    With this feature: Building product manufacturers will be able to share their published Informed Design products with the general public instantly, with literally the flip of a switch. Revit users, like architects and engineers, can discover these public Informed Design products, customize them according to the manufacturer's pre-defined rules, and use them in Revit projects — without needing ACC access at all.   Why Public Content?   Benefits for Publishers   Up until now, as a manufacturer publishing Informed Design products, it was only possible to share them with architects, designers, and other consuming audiences in two ways:    Direct Project Folder Access: Invite each individual to the product's ACC project folder by email. This option requires every recipient's email address. ACC Bridge Outgoing Automation: Set up an Outgoing sync between your product's ACC project folder and each recipient's ACC project, so their project members can access your published products.  This option requires knowing each outside firm's ACC project, to create the Bridge syncing data from yours to theirs. But what if you want to share your products with anyone who might be interested in using them – without having to know exactly who they are in advance?    With the new Public setting, manufacturers can share Informed Design products with minimal administrative effort – no manual invites, and no more ACC access requirements or folder permission checks standing in the way of their products' potential audience.   Benefits for Consumers   Previously, as an architect or designer using Informed Design in Revit, you needed both an ACC subscription and specific project folder permissions to access published products – either as a direct member of the ACC project folder or via ACC Bridge Incoming Automation.    The new Public setting for published products removes those hurdles and opens product discovery to everyone:  No ACC Access Requirement: Access public Informed Design products without being invited to an ACC project folder, and without being an ACC user at all.  Streamlined Product Browsing: Browse all publicly discoverable Informed Design products in a single list in the Revit Add-in, with options to filter by Publisher or Revit Category.    How to Access Public Content   As a Publisher   👉 Ready to make your products public? Join our tech preview: Get started here.    Publishers participating in the tech preview follow the process below to share their products publicly.   Create a Publisher: For each manufacturer, our team is creating a new Publisher profile under their chosen brand or business name, and links that Publisher to the manufacturer's designated ACC account. From then on, every product published to project folders in that account will be eligible for public sharing. Publish Products with Appropriate Output Availability: In the Informed Design Add-in for Inventor, set the output availability carefully. Output files can be requested by the Permission-Unenforced audience from any representations and drawing templates you set to Available (toggle On) on the Outputs tab. The Permission-Unenforced audience includes recipients of ACC Bridge Outgoing Automation, and the general public when the product's Public setting is switched On. Share Products Publicly: Each product published in the Publisher-linked ACC account will have a Public toggle in the Informed Design Web App, located in the product administration UI on the Releases tab. When the Public toggle is switched On, the product becomes available in the Informed Design Add-in for Revit. In the Revit Add-in, the product is listed under the manufacturer's designated Publisher name, and both the Permission-Enforced and Permission-Unenforced audiences can design with any of its usable (non-Obsolete) releases.   As a Consumer   👉 Architects and designers using the Informed Design Add-in for Revit can start browsing public content today!   New products will become available in the upcoming weeks as publishers join our tech preview and start sharing. Here's how to discover and use them.   Design with Public Products: In the Insert dialog of the Informed Design Add-in for Revit, turn on the Public Content toggle to display all products shared publicly by manufacturers. Public products can be refined by Revit Family Category or by Publisher using the dropdown menus. After selecting a public product release, any designer can customize it to create variants, and insert those variants into their Revit projects as RFA – with no ACC access needed.  Request Outputs from Public Products: Anyone accessing a public product can request files from output representations and templates the publisher marked as Available at publish time, without any ACC permission checks. Select an instance of a public product, then activate the Generate Outputs command on the Informed Design ribbon. If the command is enabled, a dialog will let you choose from the non-RFA outputs available for the release. Results of these output requests are uploaded to a designated folder in ACC Docs or Fusion Team – you will need access to either ACC or Fusion Team to view and download these files.   Changes to Access Permissions   👉 To simplify the administration of published Informed Design products – both privately and publicly shared! – we've altered our access permissions model to better align with authorization in the Informed Design API.    A product may be accessible to a Permission-Enforced audience only, or to the Permission-Unenforced audience as well, depending on how its access is currently scoped.   Permission-Unenforced Access In the Permission-Unenforced access mode, we do not check the ACC project folder's member list in the origin project before granting access to the product.    ACC Bridge Access (Public = Off): the Permission-Unenforced audience includes individuals with indirect access to the product's ACC project folder, as recipients of an ACC Bridge Outgoing Automation. Public Access (Public = On): the Permission-Unenforced audience is the general public. Anyone can access the product without logging into ACC. The Permission-Unenforced audience can request outputs from any representations and templates that were set to Available (toggle On) for the release on the product definition's Outputs tab.   Permission-Enforced Access In the Permission-Enforced access mode, we confirm that the user is on the ACC project folder's member list before granting access to the product.    The Permission-Enforced audience for a product includes only individuals with direct access to the product's ACC project folder, as project members with sufficient folder-level permission. The Permission-Enforced audience can request outputs from all representations and templates that were listed for the release on the product definition's Outputs tab, including those set to Unavailable (toggle Off.)     Impact of output type availability in the product definition.     Feature Availability for Permission-Enforced Access Users   This chart lists the features available to the Permission-Enforced audience at each access level.   Each access type in the Informed Design API is listed with the minimum ACC project folder permission needed to meet its authentication criteria.   Feature Availability for Permission-Enforced Access Users   Still have questions? Leave a comment below or visit the Informed Design Forum.   

As we expand support for publishing to non-US Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) accounts, our users based outside the US have asked important questions about where data is stored, when it’s processed, and what regional implications that might have. This article outlines how Informed Design stores and processes product-related data, what role ACC plays in access control, and why no building project data ever leaves your region — even when publishing or using products linked to non-US based ACC accounts.   All Product Data Is Stored and Processed in the US   All product-related data in Informed Design is stored in our US-based Informed Design service and processed using our US-based APS Automation services. This includes: CAD files or model references Parameters and rules Product variations (configurations and model state representations) Output file definitions (such as Revit Families and bills of materials)   At the time of publishing a new product or a product update, users of the Informed Design Add-in for Inventor are shown a clear notice:  By using Informed Design, your project data may be processed and stored in the US.   The notice also mentions the following limitation:  Currently, Bridge functionality is supported for Informed Design products published in US-based accounts only. This means that as of now, ACC Bridge folder automations between non-US based ACC projects will omit Informed Design products. All other files will sync as expected.   What About Non-US ACC Accounts?   Informed Design integrates with ACC — the Files tool in Autodesk Docs — to manage access permissions, not for file storage or data regionalization. This lets your team use the familiar ACC environment to control who can work with your published products in the Informed Design Add-in for Revit and the Informed Design Web Portal.   You can now publish to any Docs project folder, regardless of the ACC account's regional data storage.    ⚠️ Important: Publishing to an ACC account based in the EU, Australia, UK, Germany, Canada, India, or Japan does NOT mean product data is stored or processed in that region.    When Does Data Enter the US?   New user-defined data is submitted to our US-based service only at a few specific points.   When the user publishes a Product or Release: Creating a Product (POST /products) Updating a Product (PATCH /products/{productId}) Creating a Release (POST /releases) Updating a Release (PATCH /releases/{releaseId}) These publish-related actions send and persist your product definition, CAD files or model references, input parameters, and output types to our Informed Design service, hosted in the US. When the user submits a Variant: Create Variant (POST /variants) This action sends and persists your specified parameter values as constrained by the published product release, and in some cases, your chosen variant name. Our US-based APS Automation services use this information to build your requested variant on-demand using the CAD dataset. Variant creation submits no new user-defined data to US-based services other than your request parameters, and variants contain no reference to specific building models or Revit files.   When a user requests Output creation based on a Variant : Create Outputs (POST /outputs) This action sends and persists the alphanumeric identifier of the variant you've specified, and your choice of output types (such as a Revit Family or shop drawings) to be created from that variant.  Our US-based APS Automation services use this information to create your requested output file on-demand using the previously-generated variant. As you'll see in the payload schema, output requests submit no user defined-data to US-based services other than your choice of variant and output file types.   When a user requests file upload based on an Output : Create Upload Request (POST /uploads) This action sends and persists the alphanumeric identifiers of the outputs you've specified, and your choice of upload location for the resulting files. Our US-based Informed Design service uses this information to create files using your previously-generated outputs and place them into your selected ACC or Fusion Team folder. Upload requests submit no user-defined data to US-based services other than your choice of outputs and folder for the uploads.   What Happens in Downstream Workflows?   Once a product and its releases are published, the additional workflows described above use our US-based services, but do NOT introduce any building design or project-specific data to our system.   Instead: Variants are created by modifying parameters and model states of the already-published release; no building-specific context is involved. Outputs (Revit Families, shop drawings, etc.) are generated from those variants using our APS Automation engine, based on already-published product and release data. Uploads refer to our service placing generated output files into your selected ACC or Fusion Team folder; no incoming files are transferred from your building project. No Revit models, building geometry, or project-specific design context are ever uploaded to or processed by the Informed Design or APS Automation services.   What This Means for Data Privacy and Sovereignty   Even when publishing to a non-US ACC account: Your building project files stay in your region by design, thanks to ACC Regional Data Storage.  Your published product data is stored and processed in the US. After publish time, all downstream activity is driven by users acting upon the already-published product and release data. With this architecture, your building project-specific information remains within your chosen ACC data region.   For Developers and Partners If you want to dive deeper into exactly what data is transmitted, when it’s sent, and how each request is structured, our full API documentation provides a complete technical reference — including endpoints, payload schemas, and response formats.   Explore the Informed Design API Reference.   We hope this helps you and your team make legally and operationally compliant decisions when working with Informed Design across international projects. Still have questions? Leave a comment below or visit the Informed Design Forum. 

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