The Autodesk Revit viewer is a free, web-based viewer for RVT projects. Here are my experiences with Autodesk Viewer on desktop and mobile devices running iOS and Android.
Are RVT and RFA formats readable on all devices? Will tablet and smartphone users be able to view and interact with my 3D project and family files? Yes, they will! With Autodesk Viewer. One of the coolest and fastest online tools for viewing virtually any 2D and 3D file format.
Read this guide to learn how to use it on a variety of devices.
Method 1 – View Revit Files
Use this web-based Autodesk Viewer to open RVT project files without installing any software on any of your devices. It also supports more than 50 other formats, including DWG, FBX, STEP, STL, and OBJ.
Steps
Open the URL viewer.autodesk.com and log in to your Autodesk account to upload and browse RVT files.
- Go to the “Owned by me” tab > Click Upload new file.
- Drag the RVT file to the left side or click Select file to browse local files.
- Click “No more files”.
On the right side of the “Upload File” area, you can upload a single model file by clicking Select File, or a folder containing multiple files by selecting Upload Folder.
Multiple files can become a central model file that can be viewed in Autodesk Viewer. Select a group of files, drag them, and drop them simultaneously on the “Does Project_File.format use more than one file?” screen.
✨ Tip: Files take longer to upload and navigate if they are too large. For optimal performance, use multiple small files under one Autodesk Viewer project.
Share Multiple Views
- Go to the Collaborate tab > Manage Models panel.
- Click Publishing Settings.
- Select the views that you want to share online.
- Click Save & Close.
- Go to the File tab > click Save.
- In the Shared Views window, click New Shared View.
- Assign a name for the new shared views > click Share.
Ribbon Tools
From left to right: Tools of the Ribbon and their use.
- Views to browse imported views.
- Model Browser to navigate into model elements.
- Properties are read-only data of elements.
- Settings to change the appearance and environment image.
- Comments share text attached to a screenshot.
- Print to export pdf format or simply to print.
- Screenshot for a downloadable image of the screen.
- Share will provide a link that expires in 30 days.
Navigation
- Home navigates the view to the assigned home view.
- Fit view.
- Orbit view.
- Pan view.
- Zoom view.
- First Person for the walkthrough mode.
- Measure for dimensions, angles and calibrates.
- Section to cut a x, y, z, or box type section.
- Explode displaces all elements proportionally outwards.
- Markup to create sticky notes (viewable by all link visitors).
Keyboard Shortcuts
The navigation keys appear after you click on the First Person tool. Here is a snapshot of the shortcut keys in case this window still disappears without warning.
Method 2 – View Models on iPad & Smartphones
- Insert the URL viewer.autodesk.com in the browser and log in to Autodesk.
- Drop-down Design Views menu > Click Owned by me.
- Click on the uploaded RVT file to view the model.
Method 3 – Upload Models to iPad & Smartphones
- Drop-down Design Views menu > select Owned by me.
- Click Upload.
- Click File > Locate the RVT file in the local files and open it.
- Click No more files.
Method 4 – Share Links
The shared links do not allow recipients to download or access the original files – only Autodesk Viewer allows them to access the design.
Those with the link can view and use the model’s online user interface tools. To share your model offline, see how to create and share 3D PDFs and animations.
Mohamed Fakhry has helped thousands of architects and designers find their next project with step-by-step guidance on his blog, mashyo.com. About Mohamed
His journey began during his university years when he recognized the need for information-rich 3D models to accelerate learning and improve production processes. Now, Mohamed shares his expertise through Revit tutorials that are accessible to all.
