This article describes the steps and settings that impact publishing Revit models to Stratus and importing specific data back into the Revit model. The Stratus Addin is required to publish and import drawing data.

Videos

Publishing Settings - 07/01/24

Prepare Revit Models for Publishing - 07/01/24

Publish Revit Models to Stratus - 07/01/24

Revit Publish Model (General Steps)

The Revit Publish Model (General Steps) are the basic publish steps. See the sections below for more details about the publishing process. Note: With the release of version 6.1.3 on 3/2/2023, publishing can also be accomplished using the GTP Stratus Import Silent and GTP Stratus Publish Silent commands where there are no prompts. See the Silent Import / Publish sub-section for more information.

• Revit Publish Considerations 

• Stratus Publish Settings

• Import

To publish a model:

1. Before publishing, your Stratus administrator can configure settings that will impact the process and data synchronization of the publish and import process including the Assembly Conflict settings Stratus is always right or Revit is always right. See the Settings (Admin) article for more information.
   
   

2. Before publishing, configure the BIM 360 Publish Folder Path. See the Configure BIM 360 Publish Folder Path section for more information.
   
   

3. In Revit, the GTP Stratus palette ribbon menu add-in will display.
   
   
   
   

4. Login to Stratus and Autodesk

   1. Stratus Login - If a user attempts to publish but is not signed in to Stratus, the following prompt will display. The user will enter their credentials.

      Open

      

      
      
      
      

      1. If the model has not been previously published, the following prompt "Model Not Found in Stratus" will display.

         Open

         

          

         1. Publish as New Model - Click Publish as New Model to proceed.

         2. Cancel Publish - Click Cancel Publish to stop the publish or to review the model.

   2. If a user attempts to publish from Revit or AutoCAD but is not signed into Autodesk, the following prompt will display. If the user clicks OK, the GTP Stratus Sign In dialog will display.

       

5. The Publish dialog will display:

    

   1. User - The user who is publishing the model.

   2. Model -  The Model name.

   3. Company - Select a Company from a list of the logged-in users permitted Companies.

   4. Project - Select a Project from a list of the logged-in users permitted Projects.

      1. Note: See the Configure BIM 360 Publish Folder Path section for more information on configuring the BIM 360 Publish Folder Path.

   5. Default 3D View - Select the Default 3D View which will display on the Models > Viewer page. 

      1. Note: There must be at least one active 3D view in order to publish to Stratus.

      2. Note: The Default 3D View drop-down list only displays selected views.

      3. Note: After the model has been published, the Default 3D View will display on the Models > Viewer page in Stratus. For users who have permission, Views can be manually changed in Stratus.

   6. Include References

      1. Checked (Default) - When Include References is checked linked models, if any, will be included in the publish. When included with the master model publish, these separate files are also uploaded to BIM 360.  Only loaded reference files will be published. Reference models do add time to the publishing process. Reference models will be made available inside Stratus for background viewing. See the Filters Reference section of the Models Viewer article for information.

      2. Unchecked - When Include References is unchecked and the model contains references, those references will not be published.
         
         

6. Click the Publish button and the following will occur:

   1. Publish Activity - Publish activity will display.

       

   2. The Publish and Close buttons are disabled to indicate the publish is in process.

   3. Fabrication Database Cannot Be Found - If the Fabrication database cannot be found, a message similar to the following will display.
      
      
      

      1. Yes - Click Yes to continue the publishing process knowing that some Fabrication property values will not be populated depending on the company's default Fabrication database.

      2. No - Click No to end the publishing process and review the model.
         
         

   4. Locked Model - For anyone working within Stratus on a project based on the model being published, the Parts and Assemblies will be locked and view only.

      1. Below is a summary of features that are "Locked" and "Not Locked".

         1. Locked Options

            1. Create New Assembly

            2. Add/Remove Parts To/From and Assembly

            3. Edit/Rename Assembly

         2. Not Locked Options

            1. Packages – Parts and Assemblies can be added to or removed from a Package.

            2. Tracking Status – The Tracking Status of any item (Part, Assembly, Package) can be changed.

            3. Cut Lists – Cut lists can be created and processed.

            4. Reports – Reports can be used and edited.

            5. Categories – Categories can be used and edited.

            6. Filters – Filters can be used and edited.

            7. Part Templates – Part Templates can be edited.

            8. Attachments – Attachments can be used and edited.

      2. When a model is being published and the model is “Locked”, users will notice the following:

         1. Models Viewer - The Models > Viewer canvas is highlighted in red, the publish icon displays next to the model name, and the Actions > Assemblies buttons hover text reads “Disabled during publishing.”

             

         2. Assemblies Viewer - The Assemblies > Viewer canvas is highlighted in red and the publish icon displays next to the model name.

             

         3. Assemblies Dashboard - The publish icon displays next to the model name, the Assemblies > Dashboard buttons to Edit or Delete an assembly item are disabled, and the hover text reads “Disabled during publishing.”

             

   5. BIM 360 - The model will be published to your BIM 360 project.  In BIM 360 a published model file is automatically organized under Project Files > Model Name > Stratus > and the authoring tool abbreviation (RVT or DWG).

       

   6. Republish is not allowed - While a model is being published, a second publish of the same model cannot be started. A message similar to the following will display:

       

7. Close button enabled - When the Stratus Addin completes the publishing process, the Close button is enabled and the elapsed time displays. 

    

   1. Close indicates that the model and related data files have been uploaded to the BIM 360 folder.

   2. The model cannot be viewed in Stratus until the Forge translation completes.

   3. If an existing version of the model or drawing exists, the Stratus publish will overwrite the file with a new version of the file. Stratus always references the most recently published version of any file it displays, assuming it was published using Stratus. You can access older versions as needed.
      
      

8. Post-publish messages - Depending on the content of the model post-publish messages might display.

   1. Below is a dialog that provides information about Elements with unresolved connectors. To locate the Element in the model, the Element ID listed can be copied and then pasted into Revit under Manage > Select by ID.

       

   2. The number of dimension points is capped to 40 for any published element. If the number of dimension points published was capped, the Publish was successful dialog will display the following recommendation to use the Stratus sPoint feature.

       

9. Forge Translation - Behind the scenes, Autodesk will translate the file so that it can be viewed in the Autodesk Forge viewer (which is embedded in Stratus). The Models > Viewer page will display a message similar to the following until the Autodesk translation is complete.  This step can take a few minutes to several hours depending on the size of the model.
   
   
   

10. Multiple Publishes - A model with the same name can be published multiple times to Stratus.  Stratus operates on the most recent revision.  Packages will be retained, as they reference unique CAD IDs that remain constant from one publish to the next. 

11. Initial Tracking Status - After the initial publish to Stratus, the initial tracking status of all parts in the model will be set to Design or the #1 tracking status configured under Admin > Company > Tracking Statuses. Subsequent publishes will retain the Stratus tracking status.

12. Assemblies - Assemblies that were created in Revit will be accessible in Stratus in the Assemblies Viewer.

13. New Revit Parameters - Newly created Revit parameters are automatically added to Part Templates where the Item Number setting will be unchecked by default. As a result, it will not change whether or not the part is unique in relation to Item Numbering Rules. Below is an example of a newly created Revit parameter published to Stratus with the Item Number checkbox set unchecked. 
    
    
    

14. Model Publish Notification - After a model is published, the person who published the model will receive an automated email notification similar to the following that indicates the publish completed or failed.

     

15. Republish Model - After a model is published, if the Publish is clicked, Stratus will determine if data needs to be imported. If so, the import will begin automatically.  If there are import conflicts based on company or project settings (see the Settings (Admin) article for more information), the user will receive prompts to resolve issues. Once data is imported the publish process will continue.  An import is required when a model in Stratus has new assemblies or packages, or parts have been moved from one assembly or package to another, or when a tracking status has changed.

Silent Import / Publish

The GTP Stratus Import Silent and GTP Stratus Publish Silent commands for Revit were added in version 6.1.3 on 3/2/2023. Running these commands from the Revit ribbon will import and publish the model without any prompts or selections. The real power of these commands to enable Revit customers to schedule the model import/publish process by calling these Revit commands with a separate (non-GTP) tool.

Perquisites to use either GTP Stratus Import Silent and GTP Stratus Publish Silent commands:

1. Install the v6.1.3 Stratus Addin.

2. Open a model that has been previously published. If the model path has changed since the last publish, using this tool will result in an error.

3. Make sure you are Signed In.

4. Check that Stratus is always right or Revit is always right under Admin > Company > Settings > AutoCAD & Revit > Specific to Revit > Assembly Conflict Resolution.

   1. Note: For any conflicts, there will not be any prompts and the tool will automatically accept all defaults and import data.

To manually use the GTP Stratus Publish Silent command:

1. Under External Tools, click GTP Stratus Publish Silent.

    

2. The first step is to execute the GTP Stratus Import Silent. You may see import dialogs but the user will not be prompted for any information or clicks. The command will automatically accept all defaults and import data.

3. Once complete, the model will be published. You may see a publish dialog but the user will not be prompted for any information or clicks. The company, model, and folder will be automatically selected based on the previous model publish settings.

To manually use only the GTP Stratus Import Silent command:

1. Under External Tools, click GTP Stratus Import Silent.

    

   1. Note: Do NOT use either the GTP Stratus V1 Import or GTP Stratus V1 Import Silent commands that are visible in external tools.

2. You may see import dialogs but the user will not be prompted for any information or clicks. The command will automatically accept all defaults and import data.

Silent Publish Will Fail in these Cases:

• On first publish

• No access to central model

• If worksets cannot be checked out

• If publishing is disabled in Stratus

• If the model is being published by someone else (or is stuck in a prior publish)

• The import bundle cannot be retrieved from Stratus in less than 1 hour

• The imported stratus tracking statuses do not match the fab db

• Failure to obtain Stratus or Bim360 credentials

• If the model file name starts with a leading space

• If the model is empty

• If the model contains duplicate guids

• If you moved he model location since last publish

Revit Publish Considerations

For Revit users, there are some additional steps you can take to control what is published and improve performance. When publishing models from Revit, it is up to the user to specify which 2D views, 2D sheets and 3D views will be available in Stratus.  The views under Collaborate > Publish Settings, must be specified inside Revit prior to running the Stratus publish command.  This is an especially important step for the Stratus assembly viewer, because if the 3D view for each assembly is included, then the assembly will load much faster inside the Stratus assembly viewer.  If the 3D view for an assembly is not included, then, Stratus will first load the entire model and then will filter the model to the selected assembly which is a much slower process.

Configure BIM 360 Publish Folder Path

See the following sections for how to configure the A360 Publish Folder Path

• Configure Publish Folder Path - Default Settings

• Configure Publish Folder Path - Existing Projects

• Configure Publish Folder Path - Newly Activated Projects

Configure Publish Folder Path - Default Settings

1. By default, the A360 Publish Folder Path for each project is set to Project Files\Stratus.

    

2. The project can be selected in the Publish dialog.

    

3. After the model has been published, Stratus will create sub-folders (Ex. Hosptial and RVT). 

    

   1. Note: This will create a folder named “Stratus” in the folder you chose. If you already have a folder named “Stratus”, this will be the root folder used when publishing. If you have a folder name like “Stratus”, where the case does not match, please rename it to be spelled with all caps.
      
      

4. Sub-folders (Ex. RVT, ESJ, MAJ, Parts, Assemblies and Assembly Names, Packages and Package Names, Reference, CSV) will be created as those file types are generated in Stratus. 

   1. Syntax: Project Files\Stratus\Project sub-folder\

   2. Example: Project Files\Stratus\Hosptial \RVT\Hosptial.rvt

      1. Note: For publishes after 11/5/21, Reference files are located in the RVT sub-folder.

   3. Example: Project Files\Stratus\Hosptial \ESJ\Hosptial .esj

   4. Example: Project Files\Stratus\Hosptial \MAJ\Hosptial .maj

   5. Example: Project Files\Stratus\Hosptial \Packages\GTP00002-FP-0001\Attachment01.pdf
      
      

5. If this file structure is not how your company organizes files, then see the following sections for more information. 

• Configure Publish Folder Path - Existing Projects

• Configure Publish Folder Path - Newly Activated Projects

Configure Publish Folder Path - Existing Projects

Warning: The A360 Publish Folder Path can be edited for existing projects, however, any models that have already been published to an A360 Publish Folder Path will continue to be published to the same BIM 360 folder path. In other words, a model can only have one A360 Publish Folder Path. Only newly published models will use an edited A360 Publish Folder Path.

By default, the A360 Publish Folder Path for each project is set to Project Files\Stratus. To set the A360 Publish Folder Path to a different \Project Files sub-folder:

1. In BIM360, create a Project Files sub-folder (Ex. NEBRASKA).

    

2. In Stratus, go to Admin > Company > Projects and identify the project whose path needs to be edited (Ex. GTP - ITM - CAD - Revit).

3. Under A360 Folder Path, click the cell, and edit the path to match the BIM360 path. (Example: Project Files\NEBRASKA)
   
   
   

   1. Note: The path must include Project Files\

   2. Note: If the Project Files sub-folder was not created in the correct path in A360, a message similar to the following will display:

       

4. With the project selected in the Publish dialog, the model will be stored in the A360 Folder Path (Ex. Project Files\NEBRASKA).

    

5. The model will be saved to A360. Sub-folders (Ex. RVT, ESJ, MAJ, Parts, Assemblies and Assembly Names, Packages and Package Names, Reference, CSV) will be created as those file types are generated in Stratus.

   1. Syntax: Project Files\NEBRASKA\Project sub-folder\

   2. Example: Project Files\NEBRASKA\School\RVT\School.rvt

      1. Note: For publishes after 11/5/21, Reference files are located in the RVT sub-folder.

   3. Example: Project Files\NEBRASKA\School\ESJ\School.esj

   4. Example: Project Files\NEBRASKA\School\MAJ\School.maj

   5. Example: Project Files\NEBRASKA\School\Packages\GTP00002-FP-0001\Attachment01.pdf

Configure Publish Folder Path - Newly Activated Projects

A newly activated project is a new BIM 360 project that has been added to Stratus by clicking the Add Projects from BIM 360 Docs button under Admin > Company Projects. The Default Company A360 Root Folder Path provides for a consistent folder structure for all newly activated projects. By default, the Default Company A360 Root Folder Path is set to Project Files\Stratus. 

To configure a different Default Company A360 Root Folder Path for future projects:

1. Under Admin > Company > Projects, click the Default Company A360 Root Folder Path link.

    

2. Enter the path with sub-folders separated by backslashes (\) (Ex. Project Files\Stratus - Pipe). 

    

3. When the model is published the Default Company A360 Root Folder Path sub-folders in A360 will be created.

Collaborate > Publish Settings

1. In Revit click Collaborate > Publish Settings to display the Publish Settings dialog.
   
   
   

2. Select one or more Select Sets at the top of the dialog.  

   1. Note: Changes that you make in the Edit Set list of checkboxes only modifies the selected “Select Set”,  “BUILDERS WORKS” in the example above. Be sure to check the “Include” checkbox for the set at the top of the dialog before clicking Save & Close.

3. Use the Show in list drop-down and Search criteria to correctly check the views and sheets you want Autodesk to translate for web viewing. GTP suggests that you check all 3d assembly views and the default 3d ortho view to be displayed in the Stratus model viewer. If you want a Revit sheet to be displayed in Stratus, it must be included in publish settings. If you don't find the a specific spool assembly sheet in STRATUs, you can determine if it was published by open the model RVT in BIM 360 and locate the 2D sheet. If it's not there, it won't be in Stratus either.

   1. Note:  If a view isn't checked, it won’t be in Stratus.

   2. Note: It is important to select the view that you will choose in the Stratus Publish Dialog under the Default 3d View option.

   3. Note: After the model has been published, the default 3d ortho view will display on the Models >Viewer page, the 3d assembly view will display for each Revit assembly you select in the Assemblies > Viewer, and, if you selected any sheets, you can click the Sheets tab in the Assemblies > Viewer to display the selected 2D sheet.

   4. Note: For a cloud workshared model, you must use the Synchronize with Central tool to update your changes, and use the Manage Cloud Models tool to publish the latest version of the model in the cloud.

4. Click Save & Close.

   1. Don't ignore this warning if it displays. It means that all views will be published which can take significantly longer to publish.
      
      
      

Control the Color of Published Content

You can control the color of published content by using view filters in your Stratus publish views and setting the view to shaded.

1. Create the filters on your content. For example, you may want to differentiate branch lines from feeders, or, something based on worksets.

2. Apply visibility overrides using those filters on the colors for solid pattern and the lines.
   
   
   

3. The color changes will display in Stratus after publishing.

Local Model that has Pending Changes Cannot be Published

A Revit user cannot publish an out-of-date model. If a Revit user tries to publish a local model that has pending changes which have not been synched from the central model, the user will be blocked from publishing until the model has been synched.

Fabrication Database Tracking Statuses Must Match Stratus Tracking Statuses

1. For Fabrication users, before publishing, all Stratus tracking statuses must match (case sensitive) a tracking status in your Fabrication database. Otherwise, an error will display.

   
   
   

    

2. Otherwise, an error will display. In this case, the Fab “Status” will not be updated, but if the “Stratus Status” is setup it will update properly.

    

3. When a fab part gets updated to a tracking status in Stratus that is not in the FAB DB the Stratus Status will still import into Revit if the Stratus Status parameter is setup. Note: The best solution is to update the statuses in the Fab DB.

   1. In instances where the status is in the FAB DB the statuses will match and both be correct.

Fabrication Parts Duplicate ID's

During the Stratus publish process, Duplicate ID’s are filtered out so no data is published. If Fabrication parts have Duplicate ID’s, something similar to the following will display where no data displays under Properties when the part is selected. To fix this issue in your Fabrication database, see the How to Fix Fabrication Parts that have Duplicate ID's article.

Fabrication Database Blank Description Error

When custom data has a blank description in the Fabrication Database, a warning message will display in the publish dialog (Ex. Custom data ids which have no names: [#]. To correct these, ensure that each custom data field exists in the fabrication database.) will display in the publish pop-up dialog.

Override Insulation Visibility

Before publishing, the modeler should use visibility graphics to override insulation visibility.  The Autodesk Forge viewer thinks insulation is a separate part. As a result, you need to publish the model without insulation.

Model Conflict Dialog

During the publishing process, the Model Conflict dialog may display if the model had been published from a different location, which means that Stratus has detected that the path of the model being published has changed. Those who publish from a central model will not get this dialog. Stratus best practice - Do not move or copy the model once it has been published.  If it is moved or copied, the Model Conflict dialog will display. Users should verify that they are publishing the latest model. When the I Moved It button or the I Copied It button is clicked, Stratus will overwrite the existing model in BIM 360 and may change parts, assemblies, and packages in Stratus.

The Model Conflict dialog displays the following options:

1. I Copied It - If you copied the model to a new location and click the I Copied It button, the Import Process will stop and the QR code and package properties will be cleared from the model. When published, the model will be published as a new model.
   
   
   
   

2. I Moved It - If you moved the model and click the I Moved It button, the import will proceed as normal. When you publish the model, it will overwrite the model in Stratus.

    

3. Cancel - Click the Cancel button to cancel the import process. 

Work-Sharing Conflicts

To avoid work-sharing conflicts:

1. If User A does not have session ownership of the model attempts to Import the model, a message will display informing User A that User B must sync the model before changes can be imported. 
   
   
   

2. If User A does not have session ownership of the model and attempts to Publish the model, a message will display informing User A that User B must sync the model before it can be published.
   
   
   

Revit Shared Nested Parts

When Revit shared nested parts are used AND Stratus is being used to assemble those components, the following workflow needs to be followed:

1. Under Settings, uncheck Publish Nested Family Assemblies and under Assembly Conflict Resolution, set Stratus is always right.

    

2. The first publish brings Revit content into Stratus.

3. In Stratus use the Window Select tool to create assemblies that include a parent family with child shared nested parts. If the Window Select tool is not used, the Stratus assembly will not include the shared nested parts and child components.

4. Run the Stratus Import inside of Revit which will create the Revit Assemblies and will then include the shared nested components.

5. Publish from Revit and the Stratus Assemblies will now include all of the shared nested components.

Workflow to Utilize CAD Sheets

If you plan to annotate sheets in Revit and utilize the CAD Sheets in Stratus under Assemblies > Viewer > CAD Sheets, the following are the recommended steps: 

1. Publish Revit model without assemblies to Stratus.

2. Create Assemblies in the Stratus website.

3. Import assemblies back into Revit.

4. Annotate assembly sheets in Revit.

5. Make sure assembly sheets are included in Revit publish set.

6. Publish to Stratus.

7. View assembly CAD Sheets in Stratus.

Exclude Selected Part Properties During Publish

Part Properties can be excluded from being published and from being available in Stratus once they are published. This is especially useful when a third-party software has added hundreds of properties to parts in the model which significantly increases the publish time. For more information see the Exclude Selected Part Properties During Publish section of the Part Templates (Admin) article.

Purge Evolve Parameters from Revit Model

An Evolve Revit model can include 500+ parameters for each part which can really slow down the Stratus model publish process and loading models in Stratus viewers (Models, Packages, and Assemblies). Some customers report that Stratus sync times are reduced from 1 hour to 5 minutes. Below are steps to purge unused Evolve parameters from Revit model. These steps can be done in template files and will not add all the other parameters each time they are opened.

1. Within the Revit model, click the eVolve Mechanical tab > Utilities > Settings > Manage Mechanical Properties.

    

    

2. The Project Manage Mechanical Properties dialog will display. Click the Disable All button and then Apply.

    

3. Necessary parameters can be added back and applied.

4. Note: The Export/Import feature can also be used in other projects to only include the Shared Project Parameters your company uses.

How to Configure Revit Shared Parameter Property

A Revit Project Parameter Property can also be configured, but a Revit Shared Parameter Property has the advantage of being taggable and reportable in Revit.

Note: If the Shared Parameters on a RVT file match the names in the fabrication database, then there is an overwrite, and the values in Stratus are not translated back-and-forth between multiple import-publish cycles. To fix this, users will need to rename the duplicate Shared Parameter name(s) so that they are not the same names as in the FAB database.

Below is an example of configuring a Revit Shared Parameter Property.

Configure Revit Shared Parameter Property Example

Below is a Revit electrical model example where you can associate Revit assemblies and sheet views in Stratus. You’ll map the Property To Associate Sheets With Assemblies and the Property To Map to Assemblies (formerly Property To Recognize For Assemblies) Stratus settings to project parameters in Revit and in Stratus.

1. To create a project parameter in Revit, go to Manage > Project Parameters.

   1. Add the new project parameter Ex. Conduit Prefab ID, set the type to Text, select the Values can vary by group instance, and apply it to Conduit Categories.

   2. Add another project parameter Ex. Stratus Sheet, set the type to Text, select the Values can vary by group instance, and apply it to the Sheet and Views Categories.

       

2. In Stratus, under Admin > Company > Settings, enter the project parameter names:

   1. Property To Map tp Assemblies(formerly Property To Recognize For Assemblies) Stratus = Conduit Prefab ID

   2. Property To Associate Sheets With Assemblies = Stratus Sheet

   3. Auto-Generate Assembly Views and Sheets – Unchecked as you probably don’t want to auto-generate assembly views and sheets. This still generates the Revit assembly if an assembly is first created in Stratus, just not the assembly views and sheets to go along.

       

3. In Revit, set each assembly name in the Conduit Prefab ID project parameter and create your sheets.
   
   
   

4. In Revit, under Collaborate > Publish Settings, select the Sheets that need to be published as well as any other 3D Views.
   
   
   

5. Publish the model.

6. The following will be published to Stratus:

   1. In the Models > Viewer, the selected assembly displays a link to the assembly.

       

   2. In the Assemblies > Dashboard, all the assemblies are defined using the “Conduit Prefab ID project parameter” display.
      
      
      
      

   3. The Revit assembly sheet will display.
      
      
      

7. If you create new assemblies in Stratus and then Import the model, you’ll find that:

   1. Currently, the Revit assemblies are created.

       

8. In the future, there will be an option to populate the “Conduit Prefab ID project parameter” with the Stratus assembly number.

Exclude Imports into Fabrication "Item Number" Property

A checkbox setting called Exclude Imports into Fabrication "Item Number" Property in the [Company Admin > Settings > AutoCAD, Revit… > Specific to Revit] page directly under the Property to Map to Item Number setting.

When enabled the Stratus Revit addin will NOT import your Stratus.Part.Number values are added to the Fabrication “Item Number” property. This can be useful when using Revit groups as they do not support unique Item Number values on parts contained within them.

Revit 2022 Notification

If you use Revit 2022 you may receive the Revit “Stop running this script?” message during the Import process. Autodesk provides information on how to resolve the issue at: Manage Cloud Models in Revit

Currency Configuration

During publish, the currency selected in AutoCAD will be imported and used as the currency for the model in Stratus.

Import, Settings, and Scenarios

Based on Stratus Settings, importing Stratus data into the model and then publishing the model back to Stratus presents many different scenarios. This section covers the import process under different settings and scenarios. For mapping property data back to the model like "item number mapping", see the Property to Map sections below.

Import Failures

An import will fail and an error message will display if either of the following is true:

1. For Fabrication users, before publishing all Stratus tracking statuses must match (case sensitive) a tracking status in your Fabrication database. If Stratus detects a mismatch, a dialog similar to the following will display. Click OK and then you must match the Tracking Statuses between the Fabrication database and Stratus before proceeding.

    

    

    

2. Another import failure will occur if the person who attempts to import from Stratus cannot write to the Fabrication database.

Property to Map to Stratus Name (Setting) - Assign Tracking Statuses

Property to Map To Status Name is Empty

1. If the Property to Map To Status Name has a value Ex. Stratus Status, it means that on import, the Import process will attempt to set a Revit Project Parameter named Stratus Status to the value in Stratus.

    

2. Import the model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, a list of tracking statuses that can be changed in Revit should display. However, since a Revit Project Parameter has not yet been created, the import FAILS and the dialog indicates that the Revit Tracking status property does not exist for part or assembly [Element ID]. Note: The same result would be true if a Revit Project Parameter were created but the name did not match the Stratus Property to Map To Status Name.

Property to Map To Status Name has a value and the Revit Project Parameter is correct

1. See the Example Stratus Knowledge Base article Settings (Admin) and the Configure Revit Project Parameter Property section for more information.

2. If you have configured a Revit Project Parameter and set a matching value in the Property to Map To Status Name, then Import the model.

3. The Imported Changes dialog will display. The result should list tracking statuses that can be changed in Revit. In this case, there are mixed results:

   1. Parts, like walls, whose categories were not added to the Revit Project Parameter, will FAIL, but that’s okay. To verify, select the part’s Element ID (the number in brackets) in the model. Determine if the category should be included in the Revit Project Parameter setting for Stratus Status. If so, add the category to the Revit Project Parameter. If not, it is safe to ignore.

       

4. Scroll down and you’ll find that the import also successfully assigned tracking status for parts and assemblies. The part’s Element ID is the numbers in brackets and can be selected in the model.

    

Assign Assemblies

Below are descriptions of the dialogs to delete an assembly, rename an assembly, remove parts from an assembly, or add parts to an assembly. It is important to note that these operations are controlled by the Admin > Company > Tracking Status > Can Assemble flag (checked) for the tracking status the part is in. In order to see results for any of these operations, the Can Assemble flag must be checked for the part.  

When an assembly is created in Stratus, it is assigned a Stratus Assembly ID.  When this assembly is imported into Revit, Revit creates an assembly object for the assembly and assigns a different Assembly ID.  When the model is re-published, the Revit ID replaces the Stratus ID. When the model is imported again into Revit, the Revit Assembly ID and the Stratus Assembly ID match.

Resolve Conflicts Log

A .TXT log of all changes, including Resolve Conflicts, can be opened on the computer of the user who published the model via Windows Explorer by entering: %appdata%, and then in the GTP Stratus Logs folder under either AutoCAD or Revit folder there will be a list of published models will display.

Create an Assembly in Stratus

1. In Stratus, create an assembly. The assembly can be included in a Package or not.

2. Open the Revit model.

3. Click the Import button in the Revit model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, 36 parts were “automatically assigned part to [Element ID] to [assembly name].

    

4. Click OK to accept the changes.

5. In the Revit model, under the Project Browser > Assemblies the new assembly will display.

    

6. Sheets have not yet been created.

Rename an Assembly in Stratus

1. In Stratus, go to the Assemblies > Dashboard.

2. Click the Edit selected item button associated with the assembly.

3. Rename the assembly and Save. The assembly name should reflect the new name in the Dashboard.

4. Open the Revit model.

5. Click the Import button in the Revit model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, 27 parts were “automatically changed part [Element ID] from one [assembly name] to the new [assembly name].

    

6. Click OK to accept the changes.

7. In the Revit model, under the Project Browser, expand Assemblies and you should see the renamed assembly name.

    

8. In Stratus, the Auto-Generate Assembly Views and Sheets can be checked before the import.

    

9. If this is done, then in the Revit model, under the Project Browser, expand Assemblies and you will see the assembly name. Stratus has added one or more assemblies to the model. Notice that the assembly can be expanded.
   
   

    

Delete an Assembly in Stratus

1. In Stratus, go to the Assemblies > Dashboard.

2. Click the Delete button associated with the assembly and confirm the deletion.

3. Open the Revit model.

4. Click the Import button in the Revit model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, 27 parts were “automatically removed part [Element ID] from [assembly name].

    

5. Click OK to accept the changes. The Autodesk Revit warning will display. This Revit message notes that because the assembly doesn’t exist, the views and sheets will also be deleted.

    

6. Click the Delete Elements button.

7. In the Revit model, under the Project Browser, the assembly has been deleted.

    

8. Publish the model back to Stratus.

9. After the Publish completes and the model is refreshed in the Stratus Models > Viewer, go to the Assemblies > Dashboard and refresh the page. The deleted assembly does not display. At this time, the assembly is fully deleted from the database.

Assembly Parts Removed in Stratus

1. In Stratus, go to the Models > Viewer.

2. Go to Actions > Assemblies and select an existing assembly.

3. Hover over one of the assembly parts, press tab, and then click to select one part.

4. Click the Remove selected parts from assembly button. The part will be removed from the assembly.

    

5. Repeat as needed to remove additional parts.

6. Click the Import button in the Revit model. The Resolve Assembly Conflicts dialog similar to the following will display. It notes that it is Resolving 1 of 5 assembly conflicts. This dialog displays because for the given Revit Element ID, the Revit Assembly Name exists, but the Stratus Assembly Name does not exist. The Import process cannot determine whether a part has been removed using Stratus or if a part has been added in Revit. 

    

7. The user will need to make two decisions:

   1. To either Reassign to the Assembly specified in Stratus or Keep the Assembly in the Revit Model.

      1. Reassign to the Assembly specified in Stratus – Clicking this option will reassign the Revit Element ID to the assembly specified in Stratus. The Stratus Assembly Name is blank, so the Revit Element ID (part) will be removed from the Revit Assembly Name.

         1. After clicking the Reassign to the Assembly specified in Stratus button, the import process will continue, and the Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, 2 parts were “Manually removed part [Element ID] from [assembly name].

             

         2. Click OK to accept the changes or Cancel Import to cancel the process. 

         3. Select the assembly in the model and the 2 parts manually removed parts will not be part of the assembly.

             

      2. Keep the Assembly in the Revit Model – Clicking this option will keep the Revit Element ID associated with the Revit Assembly Name.

         1. When the model is Published, the parts previously removed in Stratus above will be re-added as part of the assembly.

             

   2. To either Apply to all remaining conflicts or Apply to all parts in this Assembly

      1. When checked, the Apply to all parts in this Assembly option replaces the necessity to resolve conflicts for each part and enables the person importing the model to resolve conflicts for each assembly.

      2. When checked, the Apply to all remaining conflicts option will apply your selection to all remaining conflicts.

8. Cancel Import – Click this option to cancel the import process. This gives the person importing the model an opportunity to stop the import and investigate if needed.

9. Publish the model to Stratus.

10. Once the publish is complete, refresh the Models > Viewer page.

11. Go to Actions > Assemblies and select an existing assembly.

    1. If the Reassign to the Assembly specified in Stratus decision was made above, the 2 removed parts will not be part of the assembly.

        

    2. If the Keep the Assembly in the Revit Model decision was made above, the 2 removed parts will be part of the assembly.

Assembly Parts Added in Stratus

1. In Stratus, go to the Models > Viewer. In this case, add 2 parts to the selected assembly.

    

2. Go to Actions > Assemblies and select an existing assembly.

3. Select the 2 parts and then click the Add select parts to the assembly button.

    

4. Click the Import button in the Revit model. The Resolve Assembly Conflicts dialog similar to the following will display. It notes that it is Resolving 1 of 2 assembly conflicts. This dialog displays because for the given Revit Element ID, the Revit Assembly Name does not exist, but does have a Stratus Assembly Name. The Import process cannot determine whether a part has been added using Stratus or if a part has been removed from a Revit assembly.  

    

5. The user will need to make two decisions:

   1. To either Reassign to the Assembly specified in Stratus or Keep the Assembly in the Revit Model.

      1. Reassign to the Assembly specified in Stratus - After clicking the Reassign to the Assembly specified in Stratus button, the import process will continue, and the Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, 4 parts were “Manually assigned part [Element ID] to [assembly name]."

          

         1. Click OK to accept the changes or Cancel Import to cancel the process.

         2. Select the assembly in the model and the 2 parts manually added will be part of the assembly.

             

      2. Keep the Assembly in the Revit Model – Clicking this option will keep the Revit Element ID associated with the Revit Assembly Name.

         1. When the model is Published, the parts previously added to the assembly in Stratus above will be removed as part of the assembly.

             

   2. To either Apply to all remaining conflicts or Apply to all parts in this Assembly

      1. When checked, the Apply to all parts in this Assembly option replaces the necessity to resolve conflicts for each part and enables the person importing the model to resolve conflicts for each assembly.

      2. When checked, the Apply to all remaining conflicts option will apply your selection to all remaining conflicts.

   3. Cancel Import – Click this option to cancel the import process. This gives the person importing the model an opportunity to stop the import and investigate if needed.

6. Publish the model to Stratus.

7. Once the publish is complete, refresh the Models > Viewer page.

8. Go to Actions > Assemblies and select an existing assembly.

   1. If the Reassign to the Assembly specified in Stratus decision was made, the 2 added parts will be part of the assembly.

       

   2. If the Keep the Assembly in the Revit Model decision was made, the 2 added parts will not be part of the assembly.

Property to Map Package Name (Setting) - Assign Packages

Property to Map To Package Name is Empty

1. Under Admin > Company > Settings, if the Property to Map To Package Name remains Empty and then the model is imported, it means there is no field in the Revit model that the Stratus package name can be mapped to.

    

2. Import the model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, there should be no imported changes.

    

3. Since there are no changes to import, the user should click the Cancel Import button.

Property to Map To Package Name has a value, but Revit Project Parameter not set

1. If the Property to Map To Package Name has a value Ex. Stratus Package, then, it means that on import, the Import process will attempt to set a Revit Project Parameter named Stratus Package to the value in Stratus.

    

2. Import the model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. However, since a Revit Project Parameter has not yet been created, the import FAILS and the dialog indicates that the Revit Order Property [Stratus Package] does not exist for part or assembly [Element ID]. Note: The same result would be true if a Revit Project Parameter were created but the name did not match the Stratus Property to Map To Package Name.
   
   
   

Property to Map To Package Name has a value and the Revit Project Parameter is correct

1. See the Example Stratus Knowledge Base article Settings (Admin) and the Configure Revit Project Parameter Property section for more information.

2. If you have configured a Revit Project Parameter and set a matching value in the Property to Map To Property Name, then Import the model.

3. The Imported Changes dialog will display. The result should list of parts or assemblies that have been assigned the Package Name.

Property to Map Item Number (Setting) - Assign Item Numbers

Property to Map Item Number

1. Under Admin > Company > Settings, if the Property to Map To Item Number remains Empty and then the model is imported, it means there is no field in the Revit model that the Stratus status can be mapped to.

    

2. Import the model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, there should be no imported changes.

    

3. Since there are no changes to import, the user should click the Cancel Import button.

Renumber Item Numbers

1. In the Assemblies > Viewer, assembly item numbers can be changed in Stratus. Below, the left image shows item numbers from Revit, the right image shows parts renumbered after clicking the Renumber All Items for Assembly button.

    

Property to Map To Item Number has a value, but Revit Project Parameter not set

1. If the Property to Map To Item Number has a value Ex. Stratus Item Number, then, it means that on import, the Import process will attempt to set a Revit Project Parameter named Stratus Item Number to the value in Stratus. And, if the Apply Item Numbers During Model Import is checked, then Stratus will update the Property to Map To Item Number with the renumbered item numbers.
   
   

    

2. Import the model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. However, since a Revit Project Parameter has not yet been created, the import FAILS and the dialog indicates that the [Stratus Item Number] property does not exist for part or assembly [Element ID]. Note: The same result would be true if a Revit Project Parameter were created but the name did not match the Stratus Property to Map To Item Number value.
   
   
   

Property to Map To Item Number has a value and the Revit Project Parameter is correct

1. See the Example Stratus Knowledge Base article Settings (Admin) and the Configure Revit Project Parameter Property section for more information. It will display in Revit.

    

2. Once you have configured a Revit Project Parameter and set a matching value in the Property to Map To Item Number, Import the model.

3. The Imported Changes dialog will display.

    

4. The Stratus Item Number has been sync’ed with the part in the model.

Property to Map To QR Code (Setting) - Assign QR Code

Property to Map To QR Code is Empty

1. Under Admin > Company > Settings, if the Property to Map To QR remains Empty and then the model is imported, it means there is no field in the Revit model that the Stratus package name can be mapped to.

    

2. Import the model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, there should be no imported changes.

    

3. Since there are no changes to import, the user should click the Cancel Import button.

Property to Map To QR Code has a value, but Revit Project Parameter not set

1. If the Property to Map To QR has a value Ex. Stratus QR Code, then, it means that on import, the Import process will attempt to set a Revit Project Parameter named Stratus Status to the value in Stratus.

    

2. Import the model. The Imported Changes dialog will display. In this case, a list of QR Codes that can be changed in Revit should display. However, since a Revit Project Parameter has not yet been created, the import FAILS and the dialog indicates that the [Stratus QR Code] property does not exist for part or assembly [Element ID]. Note: The same result would be true if a Revit Project Parameter were created but the name did not match the Stratus Property to Map To QR Code.
   
   
   

Property to Map To QR Code has a value and the Revit Project Parameter is correct

1. See the Example Stratus Knowledge Base article Settings (Admin) and the Configure Revit Project Parameter Property section for more information.

    

2. If you have configured a Revit Project Parameter and set a matching value in the Property to Map To QR Code, then Import the model.

3. Once you have configured a Revit Project Parameter and set a matching value in the Property to Map To Item Number, Import the model.

4. The Imported Changes dialog will display. Some parts that are not in the Project Parameter category will Fail (left) while those that are included will assign the QR code to the part (right).

    

5. Click OK to apply the changes.

6. The Stratus QR Code has been sync’ed with the part in the model.

    

Part Property Names (Exclude)

Part Properties can be excluded from being published and from being available in Stratus once they are published. This is especially useful when a third-party software has added hundreds of properties to parts in the model which significantly increases the publish time. For more information see the Exclude Selected Part Properties During Publish section of the Part Templates (Admin) article.

Import Troubleshooting Advanced Options

In Revit, when you “publish”, it first does an import. That is, there is a unique import step, and then the publish step. Importing is taking data from Stratus and bringing it into Revit (so that your Revit is up to date). Unfortunately, there is also a step in the Import where we Export the assemblies created in Revit are sent back to Stratus (we call this step a mini-publish). There are various elements of the import that may fail. This section gives you the ability to manually turn off certain parts of the import, in particular, the mini-publish / Export step.

Enable the Revit Importer Manual Control

In order to use the advanced importer options, you must first enable it.

1. Edit your Settings.json and add a setting to enable an advanced dialog.

   1. notepad "%appdata%\GTP Software Inc\STRATUS\settings.json"

   2. In that file, add this to the import section:

“AskUserImportOptions": true,

Import Error “The message is larger than is currently allowed”

If you get the following error then enable the advanced import troubleshooting, and follow the instructions below:

This means that the changes in Revit to your model are so much, that they surpass the size we can send back to Stratus. Next time you publish to Stratus, you can disable the export of Revit assemblies to Stratus (what we also call the mini-publish) by unchecking the following checkbox:

This means that your assemblies done in Revit will not get sent back to Stratus. This will not be a problem (necessarily) if you have configured your Stratus/Revit settings to “Stratus is Always Right”

Other Reason to Manually Disable Import Features

If your model is very large, and you don’t need the Stratus QR codes populating your parts and assemblies in Revit, you can uncheck the first box, “Import Part and Assembly QR Code URLs”. This may also speed up your import process. Whatever you disable will depend upon the data that you need in Revit.