Linking Excel Data to Navisworks Model

Objects
Michael Graf

You can add extra data to your model objects in Navisworks using Excel files. Physical
and engineering properties as well as room, maintenance, and equipment schedules
are some examples of the important additional information that can be added. This
data can be:

1. displayed in the Navisworks Properties window

2. included in object searches
3. used with the Clash Detective tool as part of the clash criteria
4. extracted and embedded as static data within the published NWD file
5. saved inside Autodesk Navisworks files (NWF and NWD)

On the next pages, we provide you a step by step description on how to accomplish
linking Excel Data to objects in Navisworks. These steps use ODBC connection and
assume you have 64bit ODBC drivers installed along with MS Excel 64. (Note that
Navisworks version 2016 is a 64 bit application and will not work directly with MS
Office 32 bit applications and drivers).

There are many examples of where data links can be used with project model
components, this includes .dwg, .rvt, .ifc, and .fbx file types.

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In this example, a Navisworks file containing Revit Data will be linked to an Excel file for
adding extra information. The Element ID is used to establish the linking in this
example; however, you could use other attributes, or even hyperlinks, for linking.

The simple data files that are used in this procedure are: test1.nwd and test1.xlsx. They
are available for you to follow along while reading these pages. The files are attached
to the article in the Autodesk Knowledge network

The example Excel file contains a headline and 4 datasets in one sheet,
‘test1_sheet_base’.

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In Navisworks, the ‘DataTools’ button is located on the home tab.
‘DataTools’ can also be configured for the specific file in the File Options.

This tool provides DataTools links for all Navisworks files opened on this machine.
If you want to setup a single file based DataTools link, please use the ‘File Options’ in
the same Tab.

Click ‘New…’

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Enter a Name

Select the Microsoft Excel Driver, Run ‘Setup…’

Enter the SQL-String

Enter the Fields

After clicking ‘Setup…’, the ODBC Microsoft Excel Setup dialog pops up. Click ‘Select
Workbook…’ and navigate to the Excel file (here: ‘test1.xlsx’). Select it and click ‘OK’.
Then the file is shown in the dialog.

Click ‘OK’

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Create the SQL String according to the documentation.

The simple select statement from this example is:

(SELECT * FROM [test1_sheet_base$] WHERE "ID" = %prop("Element ID",
"Value");

test1_sheet_base$ - the name of the excel sheet (not file), followed by a $ in

squared brackets

%prop – a tag for the property of the currently selected object.

Please reference to hthttp://help.autodesk.com/view/NAV/2018/ENU/?guid=GUID-

D6EE4C1A-A9BB-4839-B171-FFC887ACE44D for more Navisworks tags.

Click ‘OK’

Activate the new link by clicking the checkbox for the new DataTools link and click ‘OK’.

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In case your SQL syntax isn’t correct, SQL-Errors from the ODBC driver are written to
the Navisworks logfile (see http://beyonddesign.typepad.com/posts/2011/10/creating-
a-navisworks-log-file.html).

Example:
Failure on executing SQL statement: [Microsoft][ODBC Excel Driver]
Data type mismatch in criteria expression. State:22018

When the configuration finally is correct, select a linked element in the Graphic pane
and show it’s properties.

After scrolling the property tabs to the right, the new datalink tab (here: ‘test1’) from
the DataTools link is shown. It displays the configured content from the excel file.

This Excel linking is profoundly described in this video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Xny64TTzI, from our ‘Autodesk Building
Solutions’ YouTube channel.

You find a general description on configuring a Database link in the help files
http://help.autodesk.com/view/NAV/2016/ENU/?guid=GUID-E411AB60-FEF4-4371-
BF28-42575BEC13EF.

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