User Guide

ExcelLink for Autodesk® Revit® — Version 1.0 · Compatible with Autodesk® Revit® 2022–2027

Installation

Run the .exe installer downloaded from the Autodesk® App Store. The installer automatically detects your installed Autodesk® Revit® versions and places the add-in files in the correct location.

For all users:

%ProgramData%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ExcelLink\

For specific user:

%AppData%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ExcelLink\

After installation, start Autodesk® Revit®. ExcelLink appears as a new panel on the Add-ins ribbon tab. No manual configuration is required.

To uninstall, go to Windows Settings → Apps, find ExcelLink for Autodesk® Revit®, and click Uninstall.

Trial Mode

ExcelLink for Autodesk® Revit® includes a built-in trial mode that is active until a license key is entered. In trial mode:

Export is limited to 10 elements per category.
Cells beyond the limit display "Trial Limit Reached" and are skipped during import.
No registration or internet connection is required to use trial mode.

Trial mode is a great way to verify that the export/import roundtrip works correctly for your project before purchasing a license.

License Activation

After purchasing, you will receive a license key by email. To activate:

Open Autodesk® Revit® and click the ExcelLink button on the Add-ins ribbon.
Click Enter License Key in the dialog.
Paste your license key and click Activate.
ExcelLink will validate the key online. An internet connection is required for the initial activation.

Once activated, ExcelLink works offline for up to 30 days between license checks. This covers use on construction sites and in environments with limited connectivity.

To purchase a license, contact: [email protected]

Exporting Parameters

1 — Selecting Categories

Open ExcelLink from the Add-ins ribbon. The left panel lists all Autodesk® Revit® categories that contain elements in the current model. Each category shows the number of elements it contains.

Check one or more categories to include them in the export.
Enable Include Linked Documents to also export elements from loaded Autodesk® Revit® link files.
Enable Include Type Parameters to include family type parameters alongside instance parameters.

2 — Selecting Parameters

After selecting categories, the right panel lists all parameters found across the selected elements. Check the parameters you want to include as columns in the Excel output.

Drag parameters up or down to reorder the columns in the exported file.
Parameters are deduplicated — a shared parameter appearing in multiple categories is listed only once.

3 — Running the Export

Click Export to Excel. Choose a file name and location in the save dialog. ExcelLink generates the .xlsx file and opens it automatically in Excel when complete.

Important: Do not modify or delete Row 1 (hidden metadata row) or Column A (Unique ID). These are required for the import to correctly match rows back to Autodesk® Revit® elements.

Working in Excel

The exported file contains one worksheet per category (or a single sheet if you selected the combined export option). Row 2 contains column headers. Each subsequent row represents one Autodesk® Revit® element.

You can freely edit any white cell. Save the file in .xlsx format before importing. Do not change the file structure — do not add, delete, or reorder columns.

Decimal numbers are always written with a period as the decimal separator regardless of your system locale. Enter edited values in the same format.

Cell Color Coding

ExcelLink uses background colors to communicate parameter status at a glance:

White — Writable instance parameter. You can edit this cell.
Light Pink — Read-only parameter. Shown for reference, cannot be written back.
Light Yellow — Type parameter. Affects all instances of the same family type. Reference only.
Brick Red — The parameter does not exist on this particular element.
Light Gray — Element belongs to a linked document. Cannot be imported back.

Importing Back to Autodesk® Revit®

After editing, save the Excel file and return to Autodesk® Revit®:

Open ExcelLink from the Add-ins ribbon.
Click Import from Excel.
Select the .xlsx file you edited.
ExcelLink reads each worksheet, matches rows to Autodesk® Revit® elements by Unique ID, and writes the updated values in a single transaction.
A summary dialog shows the number of values successfully written, skipped, and any errors encountered.

The import uses the element Unique ID (not the Element ID) for matching. Unique IDs are stable across model transfers and worksharing operations.

Saving Configuration

Your current category and parameter selection can be saved to a .json file for reuse:

Click Save Configuration to write your current selection to a file.
Click Load Configuration to restore a previously saved selection.

Configuration files are project-specific — save them alongside your Autodesk® Revit® project files for easy access.

Linked Documents

When Include Linked Documents is enabled, ExcelLink exports parameters from elements in loaded Autodesk® Revit® link instances alongside host model elements. Linked elements are marked with a gray background in the Excel output.

Linked document elements cannot be imported back. The import process only writes values to elements in the currently open host document.

Known Limitations

Parameters from linked documents are exported for reference but cannot be written back during import.
Read-only and type parameters are always exported as reference only and are never written back.
Calculated value parameters (e.g. Area, Volume) are read-only by nature and cannot be overwritten.
Trial mode limits export to 10 elements per category.
The Excel file must remain in .xlsx format. Other formats (CSV, ODS, XLSM) are not supported for import.

Support

For bug reports, feature requests, or license inquiries, please contact:

[email protected]