Consign to PDF

Objectives

  1. Understand the customized settings earlier press.
  2. Be able to solve any issue that comes up from printing.

Prerequisites

  1. User has basic skills in BIM modelling with Revit Software, and understands the language used.
  2. User has bones skills in PDF printing.

Clarification

This guideline explains the process of generating PDFs from Revit files. It explains how to deal with multiple views and sheets,  explains the features, benefits and handicaps of dissimilar settings, and useful complementary tools.

Procedure

Print Setup

At the Print Setup bill of fare we can define whether we want to generate several independent PDFs, or if we want to join all sheets into one unique PDF. We can also establish if we desire to apply raster or vector processing, and adjust the configuration of special objects as links, reference planes, or tags, amongst others.

Combine Multiple Selected Views/Sheets into a Single File

At the File section we tin can select the option Combine multiple selected views/sheets into a unmarried file , so we'll generate a single PDF file that contains all of the selected views and sheets.

The specified filename volition exist the name of the single file containing multiple views/sheets.

Create separate files

At the File section we tin select Create separate files .

If you are printing multiple views and sheets and you select Create split files , you cannot abolish the print job once it starts.

If y'all are generating multiple PDF files, the specified filename is used as a prefix. It is appended with the names of the selected views and sheets.

PDF print settings

If you are using Revit to create split up PDF files for several views or sheets, the default settings of the PDF printer force you to provide a filename for each PDF file as it is created.

To avoid the need to provide individual file names for each PDF document, change your system's default PDF settings.

There are many printers for PDF (PDF Creator is the almost common one), but f you are using Adobe PDF you have this option:

  • On the Windows Control Panel, click Devices and Printers.
  • In the Devices and Printers window, double-click Adobe PDF.
  • Click Printer >Printing Preferences.
  • At  the Adobe PDF Settings tab, for Adobe PDF Output Binder, select Documents\*.pdf option or browse to select an specific folder.
  • In whatever instance, practice not choose the choice "Prompt for Adobe PDF Filename".
  • Articulate View Adobe PDF results.
  • Click OK.

You can as well admission and change this options through the Print Menu in Revit, for whatever printer yous might be using:

Vector Processing and raster Processing

It'due south highly recommended to apply vector processing whenever possible, equally information technology keeps the vectorial nature of objects. Revit automatically uses vector processing, it only prints with raster processing if any of the following statements is true:

  • The view uses shading, shadows, gradients, or sketchy lines.
  • The view is rendered.
  • The view contains an image.
  • The view uses point clouds.
  • The view contains a decal.

Raster processing printing fourth dimension depend on the dimensions and the amount of graphics included in the view.

Vector processing

Vector processing fourth dimension vary depending on the number of views processed and on view complexity. Vector processing typically produces much smaller print files than raster processing, and vector processing is usually faster.

Utilize vector processing whenever possible.

Raster processing

If you are printing a set of sheets and views and y'all have selected Vector Processing, Revit uses raster processing for individual views that run across any of the mentioned criteria.

Yous can employ raster processing to amend the display of certain graphics when vector processing cannot procedure the view correctly due to its complication.

Raster processing generally takes more time to complete than vector processing due to the rasterizing process, and it may also consequence in lower quality PDFs. You tin can improve their quality by adjusting the Raster Quality setting in the Print Setup dialog box. Using higher quality settings volition result in longer print times and heavier files.

The quality when using raster processing may also be afflicted past the driver you lot are using. Verify that you are using the latest driver available for your device or when printing a file to ensure the best quality possible.

Print Settings Boosted Options

  • View links in bluish: View links are printed black by default, just information technology's adjustable.
  • Hibernate ref/piece of work planes (Recommended): select this choice if you do not want to impress reference planes and work planes.
  • Hide unreferenced view tags: select this option if y'all do not want to impress view tags for department, elevation, and callout views that are not on sheets.
  • Region edges mask ancillary lines: select this option if you want the edges of masking regions and filled regions to cover lines with which they coincide (this option is bachelor only if the Vector Processing selection is enabled).
  • Hide scope boxes: select this option if you practice not want to impress scope boxes (recommended).
  • Hide crop boundaries: select this option if you do not want to print crop boundaries (recommended).
  • Replace halftone with thin lines: if views display some elements in halftone, select this option to replace the halftone drawings with thin lines.

Print Oversized sail

Go to Print/Layout/Advanced/PaperSize/Postscript custom page size:

Save print settings

You can salve print settings in a project for later reuse:

If you lot click OK before clicking Save, your changes are not saved to the selected print setting. The starting time time you click OK, notwithstanding, y'all are prompted to save your changes to the modified print setting. If you click No, the changed settings are applied to the in-session impress setting. Any future changes you brand without saving are besides applied to the in-session setting. These changes are lost when you go out the Revit session.

The print setups are saved with the project, and then they can exist used beyond multiple sessions.

Y'all tin transfer print setups to some other project using Transfer Single:

Modify sheets guild

Y'all accept a fix of sheets and would like to print them to PDF in an gild different than showing in the project browser. Revit transport sheets to be printed in alphabetical order. You tin can then take 2 dissimilar ways: by exporting sheets to DWF, and past mail service addressing their order with Adobe Acrobat Professional.

Export the sheets to DWF (See ExportToDWF guideline). Once you have exported them, open such DWFs with Design Review, at the top left, under the Thumbnail tab, elevate and drop the sheets to match the order you wish to impress:

Then impress the set to PDF.

Troubleshooting

Surface patterns are partially submerged: in the Impress Setup dialog, nether Hidden Line Views, select Vector Processing.

Imported images impress differently from the on-screen brandish: ClickPrint (Print Setup), in the Print Setup dialog, under Hidden Line Views, select Raster Processing.

When using "black lines" to impress you lot expect the result to testify blackness lines but the solid color fills are printing in colour. Possible solutions:

  • This result could exist caused by elderly drivers.
  • Updating the commuter for the printer.
  • Updating the video driver.
  • Re-check the settings in Revit and in pdf printer.

If Raster Processing is selected to impress a cropped view, some of the model elements may exist missing from the printed output.

  • This incident has been resolved in Autodesk Revit 2022 and more recent versions.
  • In the views for which this could happen, the crop regions have a not-rectangular shape.
  • Supervene upon the non-rectangular crop region with a rectangular ingather region and use masking regions to hide elements.
  • If possible, impress the view with vector processing.

Printing inconsistencies: using vector processing to plot complex views may result in display inconsistencies, such as lines that are missing or merged incorrectly, or shaded views that are plotted incorrectly, among other issues. Y'all tin can frequently eliminate these issues by switching to raster processing when print from Revit.

Print views/sheets as separate files. This operation cannot be canceled: this bulletin displays when y'all are printing multiple views and sheets to PDF as divide files. Once the print job begins, you lot cannot cancel information technology.

Only a portion of a print job comes out on a sheet:

  • Several printers take limited on-board memory to process print data.
  • When printing large format sheet sizes to plotters such every bit the HP DesignJet, alter the plotter'south settings then that the data is candy in the computer.
  • To change the settings, click (Impress). Select the correct printer, and click Properties. In the dialog, click the Avant-garde tab. Select the option to procedure the document in the computer, and click OK.

Improving functioning

To improve performance and stability when printing views and sheets, practice the following before you lot starting time a print job:

Make certain that you have installed the most recent version of the printer driver.

If shadows are non needed for the views to exist printed, turn off shadows.

Unload all links that are not necessary for a particular view that is existence printed. This strategy should reduce the retention resource required to open the file.

To increase the print speed of elevation views, department views, and perspective views, use the Far Clipping belongings for these views.

Vector printing is usually faster than raster press. Apply vector processing if possible. Encounter About Vector Processing and Raster Processing .

If yous are working on a workshared file and you observe printing issues, ask the users who needs to print, and disassemble their local copies to work locally. This strategy conserves network resource and reduces communications between local files and cardinal files.

Do non open other applications while printing.

If the print job is of substantial size, the status bar displays a Cancel button.

3D PDF

Check out the guide Converting Revit to 3D PDF . It allows to make 3D PDF files that are much smaller than the original Revit model. These files are very useful considering they can be viewed with the free Adobe Reader.

Differences between 3D DWF and 3D PDF

3D PDF is much larger than DWG.

Both are built around self-contained files that support multiple pages, printing, and password protection. Both offer a free product for viewing and printing files.

Export to DWF is easier but stakeholders are more used to PDF formats.

In DWF files yous tin can make transparent some revit elements, create markups and import them back in the revit file.

Bachelor Add Ins

  • 3D PDF Converter for Revit is an add together-in from 3DA Systems
  • SOFiStIK 3D PDF Export
  • From RVT to IFC, and then PDF (free): Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended

Tips&Tricks

You can also export construction documents to DWF. DWF files are smaller in size than PDF files, and they tin be hands shared for online review.

Batch Print provides an easy way to print a large number of drawings (views and sheets) from a Revit model unattended. Batch Print is available to Autodesk Subscription customers. After preparing the default printer and the project, employ Batch Impress to send any number of drawings to the printer and to command the order in which they impress. When you commencement the print job, Batch Impress manages the printing of the drawings, requiring no further interaction from you. If desired, you can monitor the progress of the print job using a status dialog. When the current default printer is a virtual printer, such as Adobe PDF or Autodesk DWF Author, Batch Impress either will non impress or will only print ane page merely. Batch Print is currently not designed to handle virtual printers.

Utilise Print Preview to see a draft version of the current view or canvass before printing information technology. If the print job is of substantial size, the status bar displays a Cancel button. The file size necessary to trigger this selection depends on system speed and amount of memory.

When printing from Revit to PDF, the resulting PDF files are unusually large when using non-rectangular crop regions , leading to slower prints and larger PDF files.

  • Reduce the resolution specified in the PDF Printer properties (600DPI or lower).
  • Use a PDF printer that handles non-rectangular crop regions correctly. For example, Nitro Reader is a complimentary PDF printer that generates appropriately sized PDF files from Revit files.
  • Replace the non-rectangular crop regions with rectangular ingather regions. You can also apply masking regions to achieve the non-rectangular crop shape.

Determination

Printing is a usual task that everybody is used to, but sometimes it could alter to a tricky outcome. The main goal of this guideline is to solve some of the about mutual bug related to printing, and provide some tips nearly the installed drivers.

Associated Files

  • ExportToDWF