Exporting from REVIT to DWG issue

[Anonymous]

Hi,

I have tried to  export our project to dwg format from Revit 2017, but there is a strange issue. It works randomly to export but not as a perfect file but a blank file or with just two or three layers in AutoCAD. My revit version is 2017.2 and I used the same setting I used in Revit 2015 for previous projects. It is frustrating and I have never co,e across this kind of issue. DWG files are almost blank and 20 kb. Attached are screenshots of DWG file and pdf of same plan.

Thank you

[Sahay_R]

I tried out of Revit 2017.2 - and achieved a perfect export. 

1) 

2) 

3) This is what I got in AutoCAD - 

Can you share your file? Let's see what's going on with it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you rsahayUZMK9  for the response. Yeah, I did the same thing and it is the same configuration for our previous projects and we tried it out in another machine in other place it worked but in our machines in office randomly it exports same sheet or sometimes doesn't. Autodesk currently is working on it to see what cause this issue.

[Sahay_R]

Glad you're  getting this taken care of! I would be very interested to know what is going wrong. Keep me posted.

[Anonymous]

Sure, I will keep you posted. I am really curious what is this issue, it is a weird one.

[Judy_S]

Hi, Ali_BK,

I'm Judy, a Revit specialist. I'll see if I can help with your dwg export problem. I've got the models you sent and exported a random sheet (A-2.05) with no problem. Is the export problem happening with all sheets, or just some sheets? Please let me know if there's a particular sheet I should try. If it's a particular sheet, it's possible that that sheet, or the view that's on it, is corrupted. You could try creating a new view (don't duplicate the existing one, as that will duplicate any problems in that view) and/or a new sheet as a test.

You indicated that this issue is rather random, so I'm not sure what's going on. Sometimes a bit of computer housekeeping can help:

1. Empty your temp folder. With Revit closed, open the Windows Start menu and type %temp%. Select everything inside this folder and delete it (a few things may not be able to be deleted, which is okay). 

2. Empty your trash.

3. Open Revit and create a new local with the Audit box checked. (Best practice is to make a new local each time you open the model.)

4. Sync to send the cleaned-up data to the central model.

5. Try the export again. 

Also, please make sure you have have plenty of available disk space. You can delete all existing local models and the corresponding backup folders from My Documents on your computer, and then empty the trash, to free up more space. 

If that doesn't help, please send me a journal file from the Revit session where the export fails. Journal files can be found at C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 2017\Journals.

Thanks, and let me know what happens. 

Cheers,

Judy Staicer

[Anonymous]

Hi Judy,

Thanks. As you said, I have audited the file and cleaning of machine and it worked perfectly. However, file was new when it started to make random cad files specifically from sections and elevations. In case of further problem with this I will contact you again and let you know about it.

Thanks again

[Anonymous]

Hi ,

I followed Autodesk instruction to audit the file and clean the machine cache and temp folder and it worked properly.

Thank you

[Judy_S · Accepted solution]

Hi, Ali_BK,

That's great news! I'm glad to know the "computer housekeeping" worked. Thanks for letting me know! If you'd  be kind enough to press the "accept as solution" button, it will help others find this answer if they have similar problem.

Please feel free to get in touch any time if you have any problems we can help with. Have a good day!

Cheers,

Judy Staicer

[Anonymous]

We are experiencing this behavior at an office I consult at. The above workflow worked for one export then started outputting blank files after that. I can close the model and go through the steps above, but get the same result. One export is good and that's it. Using Revit 2017.2.5. This occurs with all sheets. I'll keep hunting...

[Judy_S]

Hi, JasonF,

This is Judy here from Revit support. If I understand correctly, you're getting blank or 0kb files when you export to dwg in Revit 2017, right? If that's the case, this issue was determined to be a bug in the software which was fixed in Revit 2019.2.1. This issue has also been seen in models with steel elements or steel connections. There's more information in Empty or 0kb-sized files when trying to export to DWG from Revit.

I realize you may not be able to upgrade your production model to a newer version, but perhaps you could save a copy of the model in 2019 (make sure all the updates are installed!) and export to dwg from the upgraded copy. 

I hope this helps!

Best,

Judy_S

[Anonymous]

Yeah that's what we ended up doing. FWIW I got a tip from support to try and clear the journal folder as well. That non-workshared models will have a copy saved there and may cause issues such as this. Didn't work for me but maybe worth a try as part of the above workflow. With Revit closed:

1. Delete contents in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\<product name and release>\Journals 
2. Don't forget to empty the Recycle Bin afterwards. 

[Judy_S]

Hi, JasonF,

Thanks for the update. I do want to make one slight correction to your post: clearing the TEMP folder is a good thing to do, as it can help keep Revit running smoothly. But clearing the JOURNALS folder won't do anything to resolve any problems, and doing so destroys information that may be needed for troubleshooting. There's never a need to clear the journals folder. The journals are a record of everything that happens in Revit, and that's one of the first places we support techs go to look for answers to "why is this happening?" 

If my post solved your problem, please click the Accept Solution button to make it easier for others to find the answer they need. Thank you and have a good weekend!

Best,

Judy_S

[Anonymous]

The information I posted came directly from Autodesk support. Maybe he should have clarified to only delete the models I found. They do in fact take up space and will accumulate over time so probably not a bad idea to clear from time to time. I disagree with NEVER deleting journal files. I've dealt with chronic issues and had journal files accumulate to 20MB with tens of thousands of lines to sort through. Like in this case, it didn't matter I cleared the journal folder because a new journal was generated when I opened the model to test and we had all the info of the errors generated. My ticket with upper level support was escalated so I'll see what they say.

[Judy_S]

Hi, Jason,

Just to clarify the idea about upgrading the model: the suggestion was to open a copy of the production model in 2019 and export DWGs from the 2019 software, where the issue of the empty DWG exports has been resolved. I do understand that you can't upgrade your project permanently at this time. If you open the model detached in Revit 2019, you won't be accidentally upgrading the model, and then you can export your files. Does that help? Have you tried the other workarounds mentioned in the article I posted earlier? 

In answer to your last post, yes, it's helpful to clean out non-workshared backups of Revit models from the journals folder; these can accumulate and take up a lot of space. And true, each time you open Revit a new journal is created, but it is sometimes helpful to have additional history for troubleshooting in older journals. I'm not sure if you meant individual journal size or sum total of journals could reach 20 MB; if single journals are that large, that suggests that Revit has been running for probably more than a day. It's a best practice to close and reopen Revit about every 4 hours or so to clear its memory.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions.

Best,

Judy_S

[Anonymous]

Hi Judy,

I perhaps wasn't clear. We ended up creating a model in 2019 and exported what needed to go out. Sure it's a workaround, but I hate having to tell users, "Autodesk fixed this in 2019!". 

Not to get off topic, but I never knew that's why journal files got so large. I do find single journals up to 20MB on users machines. And it's not uncommon to have information from other models that were opened that may not have to do with the issue at hand. I try to get people to close once during the day. 

Thanks for clarifying!

[halukuzuner]

Hi Judy,

I tried all instruction you wrote. But it didn't work for me. It exports 3KB DWG file. I can't open it and When I want to delete it I get "The action can't be completed because the file ,s open in Autodesk Revit" message. My journal file in "C:\Users\Haluk\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 2019" folder is attached. I can't export any DWG file, but I can export DXF file.

Sincerelly.

Haluk Uzuner

[Judy_S]

Hi, @halukuzuner ,

Welcome to the Autodesk Forums! Thanks for your post and for sending the journal files. I had a quick look at them and can't pinpoint the problem, but I see that you do have a number of 3rd party add-ins; sometimes these can interfere with Revit. You might try disabling the add-ins to see if this fixes the issue.  Also, try auditing the model. If these steps don't help, I would suggest logging a support case so we can look into the issue in more detail with you. 

Best regards,

Judy_S

[halukuzuner]

Hi Judy,

I uninstalled all add-ins and opened project as audited. When I try to export dwg it exports one 3KB file. I ried on another compuer. It worked there. My journal file and error screen is attached.

[Judy_S]

Hi, @halukuzuner,

Thanks for trying those tests and sending the journals. Please do log a support case or schedule a phone call with support - we'll need to look into this in more detail. It would be helpful if you can include in the case 1) a detached copy of the model, 2) the zipfile of journals you just sent, 3) a journal from the computer where you can successfully export to DWG (make sure it's a journal from the session where you could successfully export to DWG so we can compare it with your journal). Thank you, and we look forward to helping you out!

Best regards,

Judy_S