Hardware & Operating system:
Intel i5 , 4 gb RAM & Windows 7 Professional 64 bit
Software:
- Revit Architecture 2012
- Microsoft Access 2010 (* see note at the end of this page for other versions)
- Autodesk Revit DBLink for 2012.
- From the Subscription Center, from the list of Product Enhancements, download "Autodesk Revit DBLink for 2012", from this link:
Steps:
- Once you have downloaded and installed DBLink, the next time you open Revit, there will be a new tool, named as "External Tools" > "Revit DBlink" in a tab named as "Add-Ins" on the ribbon.
- Open a project, for example the "rac_basic_sample_project.rvt"
- Do: Add-Ins > External Tools > Revit DB Link.
- From the "Link Revit Model with Database" dialog box, from the ODBC tab, select "Select a new connection" and click on "Export".
- From the "Select Data Source" dialog box, click on "New".
- From the "Create Data Source" select "Microsoft Access driver" and click "Next.
- From the "Create New Data Source" dialog box, provide a name for the connection, such as "My connection". Click "Next".
- From the "Create New Data Source" dialog box, click "Next", and click "Finish" on the next dialog box.
- From the "ODBC Microsoft Access Setup" dialog box, click on "Create".
- In the "New Database" dialog box, type the name of a new database, such as "my sample project", and the path where you want the file to be created. It will be created as a ".mdb" file. Click OK.
- There should be a confirmation message letting you know that the file was created successfully. Click OK.
- Back into the "ODBC Microsoft Access Setup" dialog box , click OK.
- Here is something strange: I always get an error message, saying that "The file data source was not saved". Just click OK to that message.
- Back into the "Select Data Source" dialog box, browse or scroll to the right until you find your "My connection.dsn" file, and click OK.
- Back into the "ODBC Microsoft Access Setup" dialog box, click OK (again!)
- There will be a window on the screen, entitled "Link Revit Model with Database". It will begin linking... after a few seconds it will say "(Not responding) Don't panic, just wait... it is working... actually, you now have an Access file (my sample project.mdb) with all the data.
- From the ribbon, click again on "External Tools > Revit DBLink".
- From the "Link Revit model with database" dialog box, from the ODBC tab, select your connection, that should be now on the list, and click on "Edit and import".
- After a few seconds, you will see a big window, named as "Edit Database before Import", from where you could see all the data of the model, in database format.
Comments:
The process for setting up this connection definitely has some flaws. I did this using the latest and greatest in hardware and software, and I still got some strange errors, that should not have happened. Anyway, if you follow the steps described above, DBLink will be now up and running. Finally!
Note:
* If you don't have Microsoft Access 2010, but other previous versions, you need to download and install the proper drivers from Microsoft, either 32 or 64 bits, from this link:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=13255
In your "Create New Data Source" step above, Step ~6, You say that you're supposed to select the "Microsoft Access Database" and click "next." This option doesn't appear for me and I only have the "SQL Server" and the "SQL Server Native Client 11.0" options. Do you know why this would happen?
ReplyDeleteDo you have Microsoft Access installed?
ReplyDeleteYes. 2010. 32-bit. I downloaded the AccessDatabaseEngine.exe file from your link above but I guess I'm not using it correctly. The various drivers still don't appear in the ODBC Data Source Administrator through Revit. I can find them when I access the ODBC through Windows but not through Revit. Argh!
ReplyDeleteDon't know what the problem is... Try creating a new thread at www.revitforum.org - Maybe someone else can tell you.
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ReplyDelete