Colors when exporting from inventor to revit

[b0brd0br]

Hi! Perhaps someone knows a solution to the problem. I export an assembly from Inventor to Revit, in Revit the colors are displayed correctly, even for parts inside the assembly, but when exporting to IFC, the colors of the parts at the top level are correct, and for assembly everything is painted the same color. Thank you in advance

[rena_andrews]

Hi @b0brd0br, thanks for reaching out. Unfortunately, I think this might be a current limitation of IFC export. 

If possible, would you mind sharing your assembly? (You can send to me privately with a direct message.) I would like to try some workflows to verify whether or not there is a solution, and if not to try to come up with a possible workaround.

Thanks!

-Rena

[b0brd0br]

Hi! I am attaching the assembly file, this is not the same one, but it will do as an example. If you upload small files to Revit, the colors do not change, but in large assemblies everything is the same color, although the assembly that I sent is not so complex. Filename - Assembly

[rena_andrews]

Hey @b0brd0br, thanks for sharing the clear example. I see the loss of color issue with this file as well. After discussing further with the team, it appears to be a result of how IFC export is generated from Inventor (first it's translated to RFA, then RVT, then IFC). Between the RFA > RVT or RVT > IFC process, most if not all of the bodies become surfaces or mesh, seemingly causing them to lose their color as well. There is traction to improve this translation method which would fix this issue, but the timing is not set, so it unfortunately appears to be a limitation for now.

In the meantime, I've tried a couple possible workarounds and am wondering if they would work for you. I notice the colors aren't lost when I export the file to RFA, but I'm not sure if this will suit your needs compared to IFC.

One other method I tried that I'm less certain about is exporting the assembly as RVT, then (since you have access to Revit), exporting this RVT as IFC from Revit. When I import this resulting IFC into Inventor (a new capability as of Inventor 2025), I see the colors persist. For some reason when I open this same IFC in Revit, I don't see the colors as clearly, but perhaps I need some additional settings as I'm not a Revit expert.

Do either of these work for you? Happy to discuss and try out further ideas.

Hope that helps.

-Rena