The Dusty for Autodesk® Revit® plugin exports a 2D plan view straight to the Dusty Portal or to a .dusty file, with no DWG export or AutoCAD step. You prepare your view the same way you would for a Revit-to-AutoCAD export; the plugin replaces the DWG export and the AutoCAD Dusty plugin. You still need CSV files for control points and MEP points. For VDC and design teams, that means one less handoff between tools: you go from the Revit model to a print-ready layout in a single workflow, keep the full fidelity of your BIM data, and get a print time estimate before the file reaches the job site.

Requirements and supported Revit versions

• Autodesk Revit 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, or 2027
• A 2D plan view: floor plan, ceiling plan, area plan, or engineering plan. The plugin does not run from elevations, sections, or 3D views.
• A Dusty Portal account to upload, manage, and print exported files. Uploading requires the Admin or Editor role; Viewers can't upload files. You can export a .dusty file and see print time estimates without one.

Install the plugin from the Autodesk App Store

1. Download Dusty for Autodesk® Revit® from the Autodesk App Store.
2. Close Autodesk Revit completely.
3. Run the installer. It may start automatically after download, or you can double-click the downloaded installer file.
4. Open Revit and go to the Add-Ins tab. The Dusty Robotics panel has four commands:
   • Export to Portal exports the active view to the Dusty Portal.
   • Export to File exports the active view to a .dusty file.
   • Support opens the Dusty Robotics Support Portal.
   • About shows the plugin version and contact information.

Prepare your Revit plan view

1. Open the plan view you want to export and use the Dusty View Templates with necessary edits or adjust the view template to include only print scope, obstacles, and references.
2. Adjust tags, filters, worksets, Revit links, and visibility so only in-scope elements show. Filter out scope boxes and anything you don't want exported. Be sure to still export the lines in the view for reference (e.g., grid lines and columns).
3. Run any Dynamo scripts your team uses to clean up the view.

Sign in and choose a Portal layout

With the prepared plan view active, go to Add-Ins > Export to Portal. Exporting straight to the Portal skips saving and uploading a file by hand: the file lands on the Portal layout you choose, ready for your team to add CSVs and publish. The Export Dusty File window walks you through nine steps: Sign In, Select Layout, Select Coordinates, Export View, Manage Layers, Assign Layers, Review File, Name File, and Upload File.

1. Sign In. Click Open browser to sign in to the Dusty Portal in your default browser.
2. Select Layout. Pick the Portal Project, then the Building, then the Layout (level, type, and zone) to upload to. The plugin can't create buildings or layouts. If yours isn't listed, create it in the Dusty Portal, then click Refresh.

Choose the coordinate system

1. Select Coordinates. Choose the origin for the exported geometry:
   • Project Base Point: the project's reference point, usually a gridline intersection, property line, or other datum.
   • Shared Coordinates: the origin of the shared coordinate system, typically the survey coordinates used by the project.
   • Internal Origin: Revit's fixed internal origin.

Each option shows its internal coordinates, shared coordinates, and orientation so you can check them before you continue. There is no single right choice. Check with your team, and with the project surveyor if needed, to match your company and project standards; models are often adjusted to align with the surveyor's coordinate system. If several trades will combine files on the same level, all trades must use the same option.

Convert the Revit view

1. Export View. Confirm the document, level, view family, type, name, and scale, then continue.

Set up Dusty layers and line styles

1. Manage Layers. Define the layers your file will contain and their properties for the Dusty FieldPrinter.

On the Dusty Layers tab, build your layer list one of two ways:

• Create layers manually. Click Add Layer and name it for what it holds, for example Walls or Columns. This method is best for the first time you are setting up a project.
• Load layers from an existing .dusty file. Click Open... to replace your current layers with the layers in that file, or Merge... to add that file's layers to the ones you already have. This method is best to match standards from past projects.

For each layer, set the Type (Print, Obstacle, or Reference), Dusty Line Style, Line Width, Text Height, Point Style, Point Height, Point Angle, and trade. Edit line styles on the Dusty Line Styles tab. Deleting a layer here removes it from this export only; the source file is unchanged.

Click Save Defaults to load these layers automatically next time, or Save... to save them to a file you can share or reuse.

Map Revit categories to Dusty layers

1. Assign Layers. Choose which Revit categories are exported by manually or automatically assigning a Dusty layer to each category's projection and cut lines. By default, the list shows only categories that are present, active, and visible in the current view. Leave Show All Categories off unless you're looking for something specific.

Assign Dusty layers in one of four ways:

• Select layers manually. Click a Revit category's Projection - Dusty Layer or Cut - Dusty Layer cell, then choose a Dusty layer from the drop-down list. Best when you're setting up a new project.
• Merge... loads a saved .json mapping file. Fastest once you have a mapping from a past floor plan or project.
• Generate Layers by Category creates one new Dusty layer per Revit category. Best when you don't have predefined layers and want layers that mirror the model's categories.
• Generate Layers by Subcategory creates one new Dusty layer per Revit subcategory. Best when you don't have predefined layers and want layers that capture every detail in the model.

Tips:

• Choose Do not export to leave a category out of the file.
• Map Cut objects as well as Projection objects. Cut geometry is usually what gets printed.
• Save your mapping. Click Save... to save the mapping as a .json file, then load it with Merge... on other levels and projects to apply it automatically and skip setup.
• Use the Lines, Arcs, Text, and Total counts to find dense categories. If a file is too dense to publish, these counts show which categories are responsible.

Review the print time estimate

1. Review File. Verify the printed length (ft) and the number of lines, arcs, and text objects look reasonable before you upload.

The print time estimate will increase if you add trade points by CSV in the Dusty Portal, and can change if you edit the layout in the Portal. See Dusty Academy for file prep practices that reduce print time.

Name and upload the file

1. Name File. Enter a name for the file.
2. Upload File. Upload the file to the layout you chose in step 2.

In the Portal, add your control point and MEP CSVs, edit layer visibility, then publish. Repeat for other floor plans, or for the same level to combine files from different trades.

Export to a .dusty file instead

Use Add-Ins > Export to File to save a .dusty file without uploading it, for example if you don't have a Portal account yet. Export to File skips Sign In and Select Layout and ends with Save File instead of Upload File:

1. Select Coordinates
2. Export View
3. Manage Layers
4. Assign Layers
5. Review File
6. Name File
7. Save File

Each step works the same as in Export to Portal. To print the file, upload it to the Dusty Portal with your control point and MEP CSVs, edit layer visibility, and publish.

Known limitations

• Splines and some detailed MEP fittings are skipped during export.
• Mapping by subcategory can create overlapping duplicate lines, for example a soffit over framing track. Review layers before publishing, and toggle layer visibility in the Portal to check.
• Text may be mis-sized when exporting at non-standard view scales.
• Large or dense files may fail to publish. Curved walls, doors, and grid bubbles can hit the Portal shapes limit. Use the counts on the Assign Layers step to find the cause, then simplify or split the file.

Uninstall the plugin

1. Exit all instances of Autodesk Revit.
2. Open Settings > Apps > Installed Apps.
3. Find Dusty for Autodesk® Revit® in the list.
4. Open the • • • menu on the right and click Uninstall.