BuildingTopos From Sketchup to Revit

[@catchristy]

Thank you SO much for this! I can't believe it's so simple! I've been battling with toposurfaces in Revit for years! SO grateful I found your video!

[@DavidRBeach]

The site in SketchUp is 1:1, and the scale base in both programs match in what they define as a unit in the program (i believe both use 1 to 1" - this is as opposed to maybe 1 to 1cm). So, the imported topography in Revit will be at 1:1 as well. Scale the image underlay to match the geometry in Revit. Some programs, like moving Revit to Unity, use a different scale base, and then you have to worry about applying a scale factor.

[@sleeknub]

I used this method and the image has different proportions than the topography...any idea why that might be? I guess I'll assume the topography is correct and the image is incorrect.

[@forever518]

thank you for posting this, i spent a lot of time trying to figure it out xD

[@mocoroh]

Great tutorial, straight to the point. Thanks.

[@DavidRBeach]

Hi Thomas - sorry, the only way(s) to smooth out the topography using this method, that i am aware of, is to either: Increase the resolution of the mesh imported from SketchUp (zoom in closer to the site), or to add points in revit to smooth out the contour lines.

[@marinesmodestodacruz1216]

Thank you so much! I never knew how to put the image, but is so simple! thank you!

[@BBuck3114]

I'm having the same problem... however I did not have AutoCAD installed on this computer, so I am installing it and seeing if that created the solution. I will check back in with you shortly.

[@marceloalmeida07]

What would the programs without CAD Sketchup. Everything gets easier with SU. I was looking for a tutorial regarding this issue and now learned much more. Thank you for the tutorial. This text was translated with google translator and may have grammar errors.

[@ronwagoner8358]

That was cool!

[@onetwoby4]

It helped me a lot as I was doing such task for the very first time. I'm just curious to know that why I'm getting this warning every time I import the file into Revit. Warning: A boundary on this surface could not be autodetected. Revit will impose one, but it may be larger than you want.

[@DavidRBeach]

ABM - to be honest, i am not 100% sure, but the best i can tell is that it has something to do with a bit of an inconsistent edge in the geometry around the perimeter. This causes a bit of an overlap as the points are stitched together to for the terrain geometry. You will notice the errors around the outer edges of the terrain if you look close - points not forming the correct geometry when they become a terrain. Happy it helped out!

[@onetwoby4]

Thank you sir for taking the time to read my comment. What you've explained makes a lot of sense to answer my question.

[@DavidRBeach]

SketchUp should bring in the topography in relation to the x,y,z axis - not latitude and longitude. That data is lost in the conversion to .dwg, or the importing of a .skp file into Revit. Perhaps the .fbx format could pick that up sometime - it does about everything else. At least, i think that is what is happening...

[@jonoozzo737]

great tutorial. worked first go except the delete part. I didn't delete it because the terrain came out flat when I do that

[@hamids4550]

Brilliant. Thank you

[@BBuck3114]

That worked! thank you!!

[@reginat177]

Unfortunately revit has issues with scaling. When I try and overlay my image it doesn't line up at all

[@DavidRBeach]

Hey Regina! Off by how much?? If it is off by what would amount to around 10-20 feet at the edges, with a slight difference in rotation, i would say that is common. This is why i describe the method as being "accurate-ish" but not survey level quality. Good enough for early ideation and academic studies, not good enough for documentation.

[@drvlive2023]

How can I find missing objects in Revit? The part was missing in Site View, but is present in 3D and Elevation Views? I even increased the view range in site plan to unlimited, but it's still not showing.

[@DavidRBeach]

Not 100 sure i understand...but, not seeing something is usually one of two reasons. It is hidden, or behind the view plane. To figure out if something is hidden click the light bulb at the bottom. You can find out if something is behind the view plane by clicking on your elevation tag in the plane view, and visually referencing that to what you WANT to see. Remember, in Revit, pretty much everything is actually a section, including elevations. If the cut line for the elevation (section) is not on the correct side of your object it will not show up.

[@drvlive2023]

@@DavidRBeach I forgot to add this, but the toposurface suddenly disappeared after finishing the conversion process. Even with unlimited view range, nothing is showing up in the plans.

[@DavidRBeach]

@@drvlive2023 - oh! Wow...not sure on that one at all. You might try this: Take the base file that you are working with (the topography imported from sketchup or wherever) use Revit to export it as a *.dwg. Re-import that *.dwg file, and use that specific file to create your topography. Revit, in its newer releases, seems to have become very picky about what format it will create a topo file from. Formatting the file as a cadd file (*.dwg) from Revit has helped in many instances. The other thought i would have is to make sure you are looking in your site plan view. Topography objects do not, by default, show up in any of the plan views. Only the site plan view.

[@drvlive2023]

@@DavidRBeach edit: it is indeed in *dwg Another thing is that maybe I should just redo the whole document.

[@drvlive2023]

@@DavidRBeach update: I repeated eveything and these are what happened: Toposurface generated in 3d view, but the file is still in import symbol in all floor plan views. I don't know anymore.

[@AiSuzuki]

How can I cut the image or the topo if I want to following a specific bearing of the lot?

[@DavidRBeach]

In Revit or SketchUp?? In Skup...it is probably an issue of deleting or doing a boolean on the geometry. In Revit you can use the topo tools (split surface) to keep only what you want. If this is an image issue (texture map) then you are using Photoshop and positioning processes of the image in Revit. Just make sure that any changes you make to the image allow for the scale of the image and the scale of the geometry to match. If the scales don't match, you end up with a fictional site. Cool??

[@BBuck3114]

Great Tutorial. Thank you!!

[@267BISMARK]

excellent

[@oliverh9774]

how do i scale down the toposurface once imported into revit?

[@DavidRBeach]

The scale should come in correct without any modifications. To verify, use the measurement tools in each piece of software to make sure the out to out dimensions match.

[@DavidRBeach]

Hey guys, sorry things have been crazy here and haven't had time to share the work around. This is ridiculous but: Import the .skp file of the terrain into Revit. Make sure the terrain is the only object in your 3d view. Export the geometry in that view as a .dwg file. Delete the .skp geometry in Revit. Import the .dwg file, and convert that to topography. As mentioned, it is ridiculous. Or, buy the pro version of sketchup - it is worth the $. -dave.

[@reality_jest]

thanks for a nice tutorial

[@davidwalsh2082]

BuildingTopos From Sketchup to Revit: After I hit the "select region", make the selected area as small as possible and hit "grab" it just goes back to the unselected region. And I have to close the popup window to proceed. I have tried multiple times in different locations. Any suggestions? I have sketchup pro 8.

[@thomastakeshi08]

Hi, can anyone tell me how to make the smooth contour lines in Revit using imported Sketchup/ dwg mesh file? My topo points always seem to snap to large rectangular grids (mesh) of dwg from Sketchup..

[@mariannnz88]

why cant I download it to Revit?? it appears an advice that it's not possible to download it

[@dylanmcclintock1547]

Very helpful, thank you

[@tcia14]

i love you

[@wantedvr]

Excellent. Thank you/

[@lisalee7181]

Thank you so so much!!!

[@sarthakverma2918]

Is that ted mosby??😂

[@DavidRBeach]

Nope, no need to set the Revit scale (bottom left) when exporting. The export process will assume that you want to a 1:1 version. It is ABSOLUTELY schematic. Employ the services of a professional/registered Land Surveyor. This process is about helping students understand sites and topography modification on academic projects, and collecting initial site data as an architect.

[@sleeknub]

I must say I was always frustrated as a student that we were taught how to do things for "academic" projects, rather than real world projects. We go to school to learn how to do things in the real world, so why not teach us the real world way of doing things?

[@jasongeving7180]

I realize this is an older video. Two questions, first, is there any reason to not just export a 2d graphic and then edit it photoshop? second, does anyone know why when you import the location and then export it, its slightly askew ?

[@DavidRBeach]

Howdy Jason! Yes, exporting a 2d graphic and editing in Photoshop works great as well. When teaching college kids (my primary audience), i sometimes add extra steps to reduce variables that can go wrong (like forgetting to set the view to 2d). We have also started grabbing images from Google Earth, overlaying those on the 2d graphic from Skup, and essentially "uprezzing" the pretty terrible resolution on the imported image map - takes a bit of time, but worth it for much higher fidelity results. On the off axis issue...someone posted the reason why this happens on why of my videos a while back, it had something to do (if my shaky memory serves me correctly) with the way georeferencing happens in programs that use real-world values (Flux, Google Earth, etc.) vs programs like Revit and Skup. If i can put my hands on that answer again i will be happy to share it, but my initial search came up empty.

[@jasongeving7180]

Thank you for this reply. Anxious to know more about the axis issue.. however, is there any way to counter it, or do we just assume minor editing and trust that errors are negligible? Thanks again

[@colincrow482]

I am unable to save file as jpeg. Only option is .kmz. Would appreciate any help.

[@amr.Khalifa]

THANKS!

[@sweetcherri]

oh yeah i figured. so i installed the pro trial version :)

[@dabocket]

how 2 download sketchup pro?

[@timothyrakstang6134]

I have revit and autocad still cant export as a .dwg file. What gives?

[@reginat177]

You have to have sketchup pro

[@sweetcherri]

i can only export type as collada file or google earth file?... :L

[@treva0724]

thank you

[@hazemelsayed7807]

I NEED LEVE OF THE GOOGLE MAP START FROM -or+ 0.0m ( zero level ) not ander the zero level.

[@DavidRBeach]

hazem elsayed In Revit, in an elevation view, you can move the terrain up or down to establish 0, or relative height anywhere on the terrain.

[@rostislavmares5498]

No Sketchup is needed. You can do this just in Revit: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKineJqVo9iGfJI

[@BBuck3114]

Well.. Horrible news.. Only SketchUp Pro allows you to export as a DWG... Pretty awful considering the software is $495 and I would literally only use sketchup as a briefy conceptualization tool... and for this exact purpose. #RealDesignerProblems