Export to PDFs Sample

Description

This sample demonstrates how to export views and sheets from Revit to PDF with the support of Revit Design Automation Engine 2022 or later. Check the blog for more information.

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Web App Setup

Prerequisites

1. APS Account: Learn how to create a APS Account, activate subscription and create an app at this tutorial.
2. Visual Code: Visual Code (Windows or MacOS).
3. Visual Studio 2019 (Windows).
4. ngrok: Routing tool, download here
5. Revit 2023: required to compile changes into the plugin
6. JavaScript ES6 syntax for server-side.
7. JavaScript basic knowledge with jQuery

For using this sample, you need an Autodesk developer credentials. Visit the APS Developer Portal, sign up for an account, then create an app. For this new app, use http://localhost:3000/api/aps/callback/oauth as Callback URL, although is not used on 2-legged flow. Finally take note of the Client ID and Client Secret.

Running locally

1. Install NodeJS, version 14 or newer.

2. Clone this project or download it (this main branch only). It's recommended to install GitHub desktop. To clone it via command line, use the following (Terminal on MacOSX/Linux, Git Shell on Windows):

   git clone https://github.com/Autodesk-Platform-Services/aps-export-revit-pdf

3. (Optional) Open ExportToPdfsApp.sln in Visual Studio, build the Revit Addon, it will build ExportToPdfsApp.dll and package ExportToPdfsApp.bundle into folder of </public/bundles> automatically, or you can use the build-in package of ExportToPdfsApp.zip.

4. Install the required packages using npm install.

5. Start server by npm start.

6. Open the App, click Configure button to create the AppBundle & Activity before exporting PDF file, please check the video for the steps at https://youtu.be/1NCeH7acIko. You can also delete the existing AppBundle & Activity and re-create with different Design Automation Revit engine version.

ngrok

Run ngrok http 3000 to create a tunnel to your local machine, then copy the address into the APS_WEBHOOK_URL environment variable. Please check WebHooks for details.

Environment variables

Set the environment variables with your client ID & secret and finally start it. Via command line, navigate to the folder where this repository was cloned and use the following:

Mac OSX/Linux (Terminal)

npm install
export APS_CLIENT_ID=<<YOUR CLIENT ID FROM DEVELOPER PORTAL>>
export APS_CLIENT_SECRET=<<YOUR CLIENT SECRET>>
export APS_CALLBACK_URL=<<YOUR CALLBACK URL>>
export APS_WEBHOOK_URL=<<YOUR DESIGN AUTOMATION FOR REVIT CALLBACK URL>>
export DESIGN_AUTOMATION_NICKNAME=<<YOUR DESIGN AUTOMATION FOR REVIT NICK NAME>>
export DESIGN_AUTOMATION_ACTIVITY_NAME=<<YOUR DESIGN AUTOMATION FOR REVIT ACTIVITY NAME>>
export DESIGN_AUTOMATION_ACTIVITY_ALIAS=<<YOUR DESIGN AUTOMATION FOR REVIT ACTIVITY ALIAS>>    
npm start

Windows (use Node.js command line from Start menu)

npm install
set APS_CLIENT_ID=<<YOUR CLIENT ID FROM DEVELOPER PORTAL>>
set APS_CLIENT_SECRET=<<YOUR CLIENT SECRET>>
set APS_CALLBACK_URL=<<YOUR CALLBACK URL>>
set APS_WEBHOOK_URL=<<YOUR DESIGN AUTOMATION FOR REVIT CALLBACK URL>>
set DESIGN_AUTOMATION_NICKNAME=<<YOUR DESIGN AUTOMATION FOR REVIT NICK NAME>>
set DESIGN_AUTOMATION_ACTIVITY_NAME=<<YOUR DESIGN AUTOMATION FOR REVIT ACTIVITY NAME>>
set DESIGN_AUTOMATION_ACTIVITY_ALIAS=<<YOUR DESIGN AUTOMATION FOR REVIT ACTIVITY ALIAS>>
npm start

Note. environment variable examples:

• APS_CALLBACK_URL: http://localhost:3000/api/aps/callback/oauth
• APS_WEBHOOK_URL: http://808efcdc123456.ngrok.io/api/aps/callback/designautomation

Optional:

• DESIGN_AUTOMATION_NICKNAME: Your client id will be used by default, but if you have set up the nickname, please specify your nickname to this environment variable.
• DESIGN_AUTOMATION_ACTIVITY_NAME: ExportToPdfsAppActivity will be used as default activity name after creating the bundle and activity, please specify the value if restarting the server.
• DESIGN_AUTOMATION_ACTIVITY_ALIAS: Only necessary if the activity alias is customized, dev by default.

Using the app

Open the browser: http://localhost:3000, it provides the abilities to export pdf file for views|sheets:

1. (Optional)Make sure the AppBundle & Activity are created. If not, click Configure button to create the AppBundle & Activity, please check the video for the steps at https://youtu.be/1NCeH7acIko. You can also delete the existing AppBundle & Activity and re-create with different Design Automation Revit engine version.

2. Select Revit file version in BIM360 Hub to view the Model, Select view types which you want to export, click 'Export'.

3. When the pdf file is successfully exported, click DOWNLOAD to download the file and open.

Deployment

To deploy this application to Heroku, the Callback URL for APS must use your .herokuapp.com address. After clicking on the button below, at the Heroku Create New App page, set your Client ID, Secret, Callback URL and Revit Design Automation variables for APS.

Watch this video on how deploy samples to Heroku.

Packages used

The Autodesk APS packages is included by default. Some other non-Autodesk packaged are used, including socket.io, express.

Further Reading

Documentation:

• Design Automation API
• BIM 360 API and App Provisioning
• Data Management API

Desktop APIs:

• Revit

Troubleshooting

After installing Github desktop for Windows, on the Git Shell, if you see a error setting certificate verify locations error, use the following:

git config --global http.sslverify "false"

Tips & Tricks

• Before using the sample to call the workitem, you need to setup your Appbundle & Activity of Design Automation, you can simply use the Configure button in the Web Application to create the Appbundle & Activity(https://youtu.be/1NCeH7acIko).

• In this sample, we set the maximum number of views to export to 5 for demonstration purpose. You can modify or remove the value Max_views as required at this line https://github.com/Autodesk-Platform-Services/aps-export-revit-pdf/blob/main/ExportToPdfsPlugin/ExportToPdfs.cs#L113.

• If there is no view to be exported, an empty pdf file will be generated.

Limitation

• The scenario that this sample demonstrates is applicable only with a file-based Revit model, not work for cloud worksharing model.
• Client JavaScript requires modern browser.
• The sample only supports Revit Design Automation Engine 2022 or later.

License

This sample is licensed under the terms of the MIT License. Please see the LICENSE file for full details.

Written by

Zhong Wu @johnonsoftware, Autodesk Partner Development