External Access Links Manager
Digitally signed app
Description
The 'External Access Links Manager' addin enables Autodesk® Revit® users to view the links in Revit project files without having to open them.
Once a Revit project file is selected, the 'External Access Links Manager' interface populates with data about the links in that project. Actions can then be performed on those links including re-pathing and setting the links to be loaded or unloaded the next time the project is opened. The user can also generate TXT or Microsoft Excel reports which will list out information about every link associated with that Revit project file.
A summary of the 'External Access Links Manager' addins functionality is shown below. For a more detailed explanation please refer to the help documentation.
Interrogate Links
The interface (Shown in the screenshots below) allows the Revit user to view the 'Last Saved' state of the links in a Revit project and the 'status which will be applied to the links when the Revit project is next opened'.
The following information about each link will be visible to the user:
Project Name (Batch Tool only)
Link ID (The Revit element ID of the link)
Link Name (The full file name of the link)
Link Path Type (Relative or Absolute)
Link State (Loaded, Unloaded or Not Found)
Link Path (The full path of the link (including the filename))
Last Saved (The Last Saved date of the link (Will show 'Date Not Found' if link isn't found))
Re-path Links
The interface allows the Revit user to re-path multiple links at the same time, each of the links individually, or all links of that type (Types include Revit, DWF and CAD) to one folder, making it quick to re-path links if a folder containing links has been moved for instance.
Set Links to be Loaded or Unloaded
The interface allows the Revit user to set links to be loaded or unloaded when the Revit project is next opened. Simply use the checkboxes in the 'Is Loaded' column, use the 'Load All' / 'Load None' checkboxes, or select multiple rows and use the 'Unload / Load Selected Rows' buttons (Refer to the screenshots below).
Generate TXT or Excel Reports
The Revit user can generate TXT or Microsoft Excel reports which list out information about every link associated with that Revit project file. The following information about each link will be printed to a TXT 'tab delimited' file, or a new Excel Workbook.
Project Name (Batch Tool only)
Link ID (The Revit element ID of the link)
Link Name (The full file name of the link)
Link Path Type (Relative or Absolute)
Link State (Loaded, Unloaded or Not Found)
Link Path (The full path of the link (including the filename))
Last Saved (The Last Saved date of the link (Will show 'Date Not Found' if link isn't found))
The Microsoft Excel output also includes a 'Link Type' field, and filtering is automatically applied to the columns to enable quick interrogation.
The TXT and Microsoft Excel reports can be generated without any changes being made to the Revit project file. They can also be generated after changes have been made. In each case the 'Last Saved' state of the links in a Revit project and the 'status which will be applied to the links when the Revit project is next opened' will be printed to the file.
Saves time by reloading new links without having to open projects first, closing worksets etc. It's so good it should be an OOTB feature. Can't imagine working without it.
Being able to put this into excel means we can analyse the links quickly, with little manual input. Gret for keeping projects healthy when under the pump.
Very Usefule App. Any update to work this for Revit 2021
Very Useful app. Any possibility to extend its working for Revit 2021.
Thanks
Could this be used when models are in BIM360?
Repath links to BIM 360 Model?
works for me. open the local files on C drive and try to path through C drive into AD drive original location
Fantastic.
One issue: When reconnecting downloaded Revit Server models to network files, it adds the network location to the server address. Is there a way to clear to the server reference before adding the network path?
thanks for helping to make it less painful.
Hi Firstly, Thankyou for this awesome App. Has probably saved a few hundred hours over the last few years for our Entire Team. Btw any plans to update for Revit 2020?
Thanks for your feedback Amrit. I'm intending to update the app within the next two months. Hopefully it will continue to be useful to you. Best, Mike
Can you please make possible to use Links Manager with Revit Server?
Is there any chance to have the app for Revit 2020?
Great app! but why is not possible to find the "type of link" (overlap / attached)?
Thanks for the question Emilio. The tool uses a part of the Revit api called TransmissionData, which allows certain link properties to be read and written without opening the Revit project. Unfortunately it is a bit limited and doesn't cover all the functionality you would get if you had the project open (like switching between overlay and attached). Another example of its limitation currently is with cloud based files, which it won't read. Hopefully this will change in the future. Hopefully this answers your question, basically you would need a tool which opened a project, performed actions and closed the project if more functionality was needed. Best, Mike
As mentionned in previous review, it should be in every bim manager arsenal.
It also lets you scan pre 2016 files and get links status...
Excellent job, thanks for shring freely this Mike
Thanks Jean-Marc, i'm glad you find it useful. Hopefully you like the updates in this latest version too. Best, Mike
This app will literally save us days of unloading and querying links. With over 300 models to which we have to apply some processes, not having to wait for links to load will be a huge time saver. The subfolders update turned this app into a life-saver. Thanks Mike!
Thanks very much for your review Mike, I'm glad you find it useful. Best, Mike
Mike, thank you for creating a tool that should have been part of Revit in the first place! You have saved me a lot time; many thanks.
I wonder if you could export a text file, and make changes via notepad, and import that text file back to update your links. A great feature for down the road, but the existing features is better than not having any at all.
Thanks Nelson. Just to let you know; I've updated the app now so it works with Revit 2019 (plus a few updates). I have done some testing already with importing from Excel. I've got it working, but it needs more testing before i can release it. I'll let you know if I get the time to progress with it. Best, Mike
Great App
Thanks for the review Sam. I've updated the app now so that it works with Revit 2019 (plus a few other updates). I hope you like them. Best, Mike
Helle,
it's Updated to work with Revit 2019 ??
thanks
Hi Mickael. I'm now testing an updated 2019 version (with some improvements). I'm hoping to publish to the App Store next week, but it might take a little time after that for Autodesk to approve it. Thanks for your review. Best, Mike
Many, many thanks for sharing this great app Michael. It is saving us so much time and a tedious task every time a new model comes in. It's the sort of thing that should be built into Revit.
Keep the great work up.
best wishes,
Mark
Thanks for the review Mark. An updated 2019 version will be published soon. I've made a few improvements, including export to excel and repathing by selection of multiple rows. Best, Mike
Hi Michael. Your app is fantastic and save me from spending a lot of time checking in each file not working links.
I've got a request for you: it would be possible to manage Point Cloud linked file (*.RCS or *.RCP)? It would be the best thing if these file can be handled in a separate tab.
Thanks for your work!
Would be nice if you could perform a reload from on the links from this dialog. Currently after upgrading our models from r16 to r18, I had to reload from all links that had the 2016 suffix to the 2018 suffix manually.
Works great for local based files, would be nice to be able to use it with Autocad BM360/C4R. Currently when you go to select Browse projects, it only see local project locations.
Sounds like a very useful idea.
Should be in every BIM Manager's arsenal.
Thanks for the review Daniel, much appreciated.
Great app; When will we see 2018?
Thanks for the review Gene. All being well I'll be working on a 2018 version in the next couple of weeks.
Hi Gene. The apps been updated to 2018 now and hopefully you'll like the new Batch tool as well. Best Regards, Mike
This application works great and its saving me tons of time!!! It would be awesome if you could path multiple files instead of one at a time, perhaps, next release?