DWG Export Setup Modifiers

[Jim_BIM]

hello folks. Does anyone know a way to get Lines subcategories to export to dwg using their subcategory name I have some 400+ line styles in our template and they all transfer to the same layer A-DETL 

(I am using the option Export all Properties by Layer and create new layer for overrides) 

• When looking at the Modifiers and the preview of layer name marked in Red it shows as expected combining category lines and subcategory 00_Test so I expected when I export to dwg the layer name will show as the preview Lines: 00_Test but it does NOT. It keeps coming into the dwg A-DETL
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• If I delete the A-DETL from the layer name thinking if it is blank it will take the subcategory name but it did NOT! it resets to {Lines} and the layer in the DWG are all exported to the same layer Lines

Q1: How do these Modifiers work? Isn't there any Guide?

Q2: Aren't there triggers which one can add like %t for Type or %s for Sub category or something. Autodesk could not have expected us to type in 400 Layer names in Revit! or did they?

Q3: I wish to have each line subcategory on its own layer that matches its subcategory name! Is it me who is unable to crack it or is this a primitive dwg exporter? 

Q4: Is there no way to edit these in Excel and load them back in at least there one can copy the value of the sucategory column and paste it in the Layer column

Q5: On the same topic of modifiers, for Lines it shows Phase created as an available modifier! since when lines have phases?

[RDAOU · Accepted solution]

In reply to your Q1 & Q2, I haven't used exports and export setups for quite some years, at least not for the purpose of detailing and documentation, but I think Modifiers had some limitation with respect to certain categories namely annotative ones like detail lines vs model lines, raw or in a family, boundaries of a raw filled region vs a filled region in a detail component...I just cant remember the workarounds. I can check for you on monday with the architect who does these; she should know better as she uses them regularly.

In reply to you Q3 and Q4, you can create your own setup file similar to the AIA and BS ISO ones there. its a Tab delimited .txt file. Just needs some patience. Is it a primitve exporter? I'm not sure how to answer this question but I can for sure say it could use some improvements or maybe more flexible. The parameters are there so I do see why there should not be an option in the exporter that allows you to pull them into the layer naming convention. This may be a suggestion for the IDEAS FORUM

In reply to Q5, As I have mentioned earliers, Model Lines vs Detail or Symbolic lines. These also fall under Lines category and they do have a phase. Symbolic ones dont

[Jim_BIM]

So there is no way of doing this except through entering each value manually in the setup or in the txt file you mentioned? No modifiers for lines and filled region?

[RDAOU · Accepted solution]

@Jim_BIM;

beside that and/or a 3rd party exported that allow for using subcategory as a modifier, the answer is NO. The built in exporter ignores them for in-place detail lines and in-place filled regions. And even if it didn't the modifiers made available do not include Subcategory...but filling them in in an excel and saving that as a tab delimed file can make your life easier.

[Jim_BIM]

I have already started filling them in last time when asked the question thinking just in case there is no other way but now I noticed that unlike Autocad here there is no export option for those settings so the txt file you keep bring up seems to be the better option.

Two days of work wasted.

[RDAOU · Accepted solution]

@Jim_BIM not really, you didn't because you can use Transfer Project Standards to push them from one revit file to the other...or to add them to your firm's project template. That way they are there every time you start a new project

In the future, instead of using raw detail lines and raw filled regions directly in the model, try to use line based detail items and regions inside Detail components. For these you have a wider and more flexible options when it comes to DWG exports