24 MasterFrame-Revit Structure Integrated Link

24.1 Introduction
This manual describes the setup, operation, features and limitations of the
MasterFrame-Revit Structure Integrated link. At present Revit Structure 2008 and 2009
are supported. The MasterSeries-Revit Structure Integrated link is licensed as part of
the MasterCAD module.

24.2 Setting up the Revit Commands

The Revit Structure application requires several MasterSeries commands to be set up
within it. The 2008.08.28 patch updates contain the necessary files to achieve this.
These files will have been copied into the MasterSeries application directory (usually
C:\Program Files\MasterSeries) during the patch update. The files are
RevitMgt2008.dll
RevitMgt2009.dll
Revit2008 MasterSeries External Commands.txt
Revit2009 MasterSeries External Commands.txt

The “2008” /”2009”files are to be used for Revit Structure 2008/2009 respectively. The
setup instruction assume 2009 for simplicity, however the procedure is the same for
Revit Structure 2008.

1. The RevitMgt2009.dll file can be placed in any local directory (preferably with
read and write permissions) on the computer were Revit is installed, e.g.
‘C:\Program Files\Revit Structure 2009\Program\MasterSeriesLink\’. If the
MasterSeries is installed on the same computer as the Revit you may decide to
leave this file in the MasterSeries Application directory. We shall refer to this
location as [MasterSeriesRevitDir]
2. Open the ‘Revit2009 MasterSeries External Commands.txt’ file in NotePad. It will
contain the text shown below. Ensure that the path in ECAssembly1 and
ECAssembly2 refers to the [MasterSeriesRevitDir] used in step 1.
[ExternalCommands]
ECCount=2
ECName1="Send Model to MasterSeries..."
ECClassName1=Revit.MGT.RevitToMgt
ECAssembly1="C:\Program Files\MasterSeries\RevitMgt2009.dll"
ECDescription1="Send Revit Analytical Model to MasterSeries"
ECName2="Update Model from MasterSeries..."

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ECClassName2=Revit.MGT.MgtToRevitModelLink
ECAssembly2="C:\Program Files\MasterSeries\RevitMgt2009.dll"
ECDescription2="Update Model with Revisions from MasterSeries"

3. Using NotePad open the Revit.ini file contained in the Revit Application directory
(usually C:\Program Files\Revit Structure 2009\Program). Determine if it already
has an [ExternalCommands] section. If not simply paste all the text in the
‘Revit2009 MasterSeries External Commands.txt’ file to end of the Revit.ini file. If
the [ExternalCommands] section does exist then edit the Revit.ini file as follows
a. Increase the ECCount by 2
b. Copy the text form the ‘Revit2009 MasterSeries External Commands.txt’
file starting from ECName1 to the end of the file. Paste this after the last
line in the [ExternalCommands] section.
c. Each external command has four lines with the index number of the
command used in the parameter names. Edit the indices of two additional
MasterSeries commands, i.e. if the ECCount was increased from 4 to 6,
then ‘ECName1 = “Send Model to MasterSeries”’ will change to ‘ECName5
= “Send Model..’ etc.

24.3 Operation
The MasterSeries to Revit Link supports the following operations.

Unidirectional MasterSeries to Revit

MasterSeries - Revit Structure

Export a MasterSeries to Starting with a blank Revit
Revit .MSR exchange file. model import the .MSR to
create a new Revit Model.

Unidirectional Revit to MasterSeries

Revit Structure MasterSeries

Export a Revit to Master Import the .RMS file to
.RMS exchange file. create a new MasterFrame
.$5 file.

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Bidirectional Revit- MasterSeries-Revit Exchange

Revit Structure MasterSeries

Revit Model [A] open. Import the .RMS file to
Export a Revit to Master create a new MasterFrame
.RMS exchange file. .$5 file.

MasterFrame Changes - Set 1.

Revit Structure MasterSeries

Revit Model [A] open. Export a MasterSeries to
Update Revit Model from Revit .MSR exchange file.
MasterSeries by importing
the .MSR file. Only the

Exporting an RMS file from Revit

1. In the Revit Structure application open your Revit .rvt model.
2. From the menus select Tools>External Tools>Send Model to MasterSeires…
3. Choose the path and file name for the Revit to MasterSeries .rms exchange file.
4. Click the Send button.
At the end of the production of the .rms file a
summary of what has been exported will
appear.
The Log file created will give a more detailed
description of the export, in particular which
data may have failed to export.

24 MasterFrame-Revit Structure Integrated Link 24- 3

Importing an RMS file to MasterFrame Creating a New Model
1. From the menus at the front screen of MasterSeries select Frames>Import
File>Import Revit to MasterSeries RMS file
2. Choose the RMS file from the file browser window and click Open
3. Choose the path and file name for the new MasterFrame .$5 file.
4. If a licence for the MasterFrame FE is found then you will have the option to
import the walls and slabs exported from Revit to create MasterFrame FE
surfaces.
5. Click Extract to produce the.$5 file.
At this stage you may be warned regarding
section sizes that are not recognised in the
MasterSeries. This is discussed in ‘Section
Mapping’ in this document.
6. To open the new .$5 you can click on the
Load MasterFrame button, or close the
import window and enter MasterFrame to
open the file in the normal way.

Exporting an MSR file from MasterSeries

1. From the MasterFrame main menu select Drafting to enter the MasterCAD
program.
2. From the menus Export 3D>Revit Structure>Select
Revit Bracing Members.
Revit structure requires that bracing member identified to
differentiate them from beam members. If the
MasterFrame file was originally imported from Revit the
Revit brace members will be preselected. Options are
available to automatically copy bracing member
definitions from the 3D Model Manager bracing member
groups and the Wind Diagonal groups. Members can be
graphically selected and de-selected by picking or cross-
windowing them.
3. Click the ‘X’ button to exit

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 4. Click on the Grid Lines menu item
5. Select Level from the option at the top right of the screen.
Revit Structure relies heavily on level definitions for the vertical positioning of
elements. If the MasterFrame Model was originally imported from Revit, the levels
will be defined but may require adjusting if the Y co-ordinates in the structure have
been edited.
6. Edit or create new level definitions if necessary
7. From the menus select Files>Exit MasterFrame Editor to return to normal
MasterCAD screen.
8. From the menus Export 3D>Revit Structure>Export to MSR Revit exchange file
9. Choose the pat and file name
10. Click Export MSR

At this pint you may be warned about certain section definition that will not be
imported correctly in Revit Structure. This is discussed in ‘Section Mapping’ in this
document.

Importing an MSR file to Revit Structure Creating a New Model

1. Start up a new Revit model file that does not have any elements of a structural
type.
2. If levels were defined in the MasterFrame model these will be imported. Existing
levels should be deleted, however Revit insists that at least one level remains.
Therefore it is recommended to retain the lowest level.
3. From the menus in the Revit Structure application select Tools> External Tools>
Update Model From MasterSeries…
4. Browse to the MSR file
5. Click Update to begin creating
the new Revit model
At the end of the process a summary of
what has been imported will appear.
The Log file created will give a more
detailed description of the import, in
particular which data may have failed to
import correctly.

24 MasterFrame-Revit Structure Integrated Link 24- 5

Importing an MSR file to Revit Structure to Update an Existing Model
6. Open the existing Revit model file for updating. This model must have been
previously exported to MasterSeries creating a new MasterFrame model. The
MSR file being imported must have been exported from this MasterFrame model.
7. It is recommended to place the model in a full 3D view
8. From the menus in the Revit
Structure application select
Tools> External Tools> Update
Model From MasterSeries…
9. Browse to the MSR file
10. The type of information being
transferred to the Revit Model
can be limited by unchecking
some of the import options
11. Click Update to begin updating
the Revit model

A tree view of the proposed

changes to be made to the Revit
model will appear. The user may
uncheck any item to ignore this
particular change.
The ‘Zoom to Selected’ button will
zoom the Revit model in the
current view to the element relating
to selected item in the tree view
list, thus helping to distinguish
which elements the changes will be
made on.
At the end of the process a
summary of what has been
imported will appear.
The Log file created will give a
more detailed description of the
import, in particular which data may
have failed to import correctly.

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24.4 Scope of Data Exchange
Not all the analytical data defined in the Revit model is transferred to MasterSeires.
Some of this data is not applicable to a MasterFrame Model, while other data is much
more suitably defined exclusively in the MasterFrame model. For example Revit
Structural allows loading and load cases to be defined in the Revit model, however this
information is not transferred to MasterSeries since we feel that it is much more
conveniently defined in the MasterFrame application.
The table below shows the type of information that is transferred from and to the Revit
Model
Data Type Revit MasterFrame Revit
MasterFrame Revit MasterFrame
Revit
Element- Beams, Columns, Bracing Yes Yes Yes
1
Element -Walls, Floors Yes No No
Sections Yes Yes Yes
Geometry Yes Yes Yes
Element Orientation ( angle) Yes Yes Yes
Levels Yes Yes No2
1. Requires a MasterFrame FE licence to create FE surfaces
2. A change in a levels Y value will result in a new level being created back in the
Revit Model in addition to the original level.

24.5 MasterFrame – Revit Section Mapping

Revit to MasterFrame
Section sizes exported from Revit MasterFrame can be divided in to four general
groups.
1. Steel Users Dimensioned Sections
2. Steel Database Sections
3. Concrete Sections
4. Timber Sections

Steel Users Dimensioned Sections

The following standard Revit Structure Families are interpreted as Steel User
Dimensioned Sections

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Revit Family Name MasterSeries Section Type
“Plate” Flat
"Welded Reduced Flange" Built-Up I Section
"Welded Wide Flange" Built-Up I Section

Steel Database Sections

All other sections of a Steel material type are assumed to be database style sections
and are exported as such in the RMS file. The name of the section is used to find and
equivalent section in the MasterSeries Steel Section database. Therefore it is important
that standard section names (of the format used in the Revit standard families) are used
for successful mapping. The following prefix or post fix in the Revit section names are
mapped to the MasterSeries Section Database as indicated.
Revit Steel Section Name (Prefix or MasterSeries Steel Section Database
Postfix) types
UBP UBP
UBT T from UBs
T-UB T from UBs
UCT T from UCs
T-UC T from UCs
UB UB
UC UC
2L (LLBB,SLBB) 2L (2L Lg, 2L Sh) – Double Angles
L L
PFC PFC
CHS CHS
C Chan
RSJ RSJ
RHS RHS
SHS SHS

Families containing the word “Cellular” are assumed to be of the standard RevityFamily
“Cellular Beams” type. The “Name1” parameter used in the section will be used to find
the equivalent I section in MasterSeries. The “Do” and “S” parameters are then used to
set the cell diameter and spacing.

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Steel Sections which fall outside of these types or do not use the standard Revit family
naming convention can be added to the RevitSectionMapList.txt file. See ‘User Section
Mapping File’ below.
All other Steel Sections will be exported in the RMS file, however they will not be
correctly interpreted during the MasterSeries import of the RMS file. See ‘Unrecognised
Sections’ below.

Concrete Sections
Concrete Sections from Families of names containing the following standard family
names are mapped to the MasterFrame Concrete Section shapes as indicated
Revit Concrete Section Family Names MasterFrame Concrete Section Shape
“Concrete-Rectangular Beam” Rectangular
“Concrete Rectangular” (Columns) Rectangular
“Concrete Square” (Columns) Square
“Concrete Circular” (Columns) Circular
“Precast-Inverted Tee” Tee + 180 angle
“Precast-L Shaped Beam” L Shaped
“Precast-Rectangular Beam” Rectangular
“Precast-Single Tee” Tee

Concrete sections from families outside of these types are exported to the RMS,
however they will not be correctly interpreted during the MasterSeries import of the RMS
file. See ‘Unrecognised Sections’ below.

Timber Sections
All sections of a Wood material type are assumed to be Rectangular Timber Sections,
and are exported to the RMS as such using the “b” x (“h” or “d”) parameters.

Unrecognised Sections
During the MasterSeries import of the RMS the user may receive a warning message
indicating unrecognised sections. As the message indicates it is recommended to
1. Open the MasterFrame file
2. Go into the MasterFrame Editor
3. Select Properties>Sections
4. Select the Global Editing mode, using the Globe icon on the top right of the
screen

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 5. Scroll through the list of sections looking for ones flagged with a Warning.
Substitute these sections by selecting alternative definitions in the Section Editing area

MasterFrame to Revit
All section types supported in the Revit to MasterSeries exchange are also supported in
the MasterSeries to Revit exchange. Sections exported from MasterSeries to Revit use
prescribed standard Revit Families. User defined families are not used.
Database Sections
MasterSeries Section Types Revit Family (rfa files) used
Beams/Brace Columns
UBP "UBP-Universal Bearing "UBP-Universal Bearing
Pile" Pile-Column"
Tees from UBs "T-Tees from Universal Not Supported
Beams"
Tees from UCs "T-Tees from Universal Not Supported
Columns"
UB "UB-Universal Beams" "UB-Universal Beams-
Column"
UC "UC-Universal Columns" "UC-Universal Columns-
Column"
2L (LLBB,SLBB) "LL-Double Angles" Not Supported
L, ANG "L-Angles" Not Supported
PFC "PFC-Parallel Flange "PFC-Parallel Flange
Channel" Channel-Column "
CHS "Circular Hollow Sections" "Circular Hollow Sections-
Column"
C "C-Channels"
RSJ "RSJ-Rolled Steel Joists" "RSJ-Rolled Steel Joists-
Column"
RHS "Rectangular and Square "Rectangular and Square
Hollow Sections" Hollow Sections-Column"
SHS "Rectangular and Square "Rectangular and Square
Hollow Sections" Hollow Sections-Column"

MasterSeries section names are converted to the standard Revit section names used in
the above families. The section name is then used to locate the exact match in the
Revit family.

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Steel Sections which fall outside of these types or are not present in the standard Revit
families can be added to the RevitSectionMapList.txt file. See ‘User Section Mapping
File’ below.

Dimensioned Sections
MasterSeries Section Types Revit Family (rfa files) used
Cellular Beam “Cellular Beam” Not Supported
Flat “Plate” Not Supported
Built-Up Symmetrical "Welded Wide Flange" "Welded Wide Flange-
Column"
Built-Up Asymmetrical "Welded Reduced "Welded Reduced
Flange" Flange-Column"
Timber Rectangular/Square “Timber” “Timber”
Concrete Rect. "Concrete - Rectangular "Concrete Rectangular"
Beam"
Concrete Square "Concrete - Rectangular "Concrete Square"
Beam"
Concrete T "Precast - Single Tee" Not Supported
Concrete L "Precast - L Shaped Not Supported
Beam"
Concrete Circular Not Supported "Concrete Round"

For the dimensioned type sections one section type of the associated Revit family is
loaded, then duplicated and assigned the dimensions and parameters imported from
MasterSeries together with an appropriate section name.

The import looks for the rfa files in the Revit default [Metric Library] path in directories
“[Metric Library]\Structural\Columns” for columns
“[Metric Library]\Structural\Framing” for beams and bracing
Directories “Concrete”, “Steel” and “Wood” are then searched in for the respective
materials.

Unrecognised Sections
All sections used in the MasterFrame model are exported to the MSR file, however not
all may fall inside the types listed above. Where this occurs the element will be created
with an arbitrary default section size, however the name of the section will be changed
to “Warning! [Description of MasterSeries Section] – not found”.

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 The summary at the end of the MSR file import
will indicate how many sections have been
replaced with a default size.

After closing the import summary it is advised

to locate these sections using the Revit Project
Browser as shown. For each Warning section
1. Right click, choose ‘Select all Instances’.
2. Using the Element Properties button
at the top of the screen you can
substitute a suitable section.
3. Right click on the Warning section again
in Project Browser and chose delete.

User Steel Section Mapping File

Steel Sections which fall outside of the standard types indicated, or do not use the
standard Revit family naming convention, can be added to the RevitSectionMapList.txt
file. Entries in this file are used both for Revit to MasterSeries and MasterSeries to Revit
transfers.
A sample of this file can be found in the MasterSeries application directory (usually
C:\program Files\MasterSeries) called SampleRevitSectionMapFile.txt.
The RevitSectionMapList.txt file must be located in the [MasterSeriesRevitDir] as
determined in the ‘Setting Up Revit Commands’ section of this document.
Each section map entry takes a single line and can be provided in different formats to
produce different types of mapping. The example shown below uses a different format
on each entry. Any line beginning with the ; (semi-colon) character is a comment line
and is ignored in the mapping data.
;[Standard Revit or MasterSeries Section Descriptor],[Revit
symbol name],[optional Path to Revit RFA file]
UC152x152x23, MyUC152x23
UC152x152x23, MyUC152x23, C:\My Revit Families\My_RHS_Family.rfa
RHS120x120x6.3, RHS120x120x6, C:\My Revit Families
UC152x152x30,C:\My Revit Families\My_UC_Family.rfa
UC152x152x36,C:\My Revit Families\

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Where you have a section that is of one of the basic types supported by the exchange
but does not use the Revit Family standard naming convention then an entry can be
made where by the fist item is the equivalent standard name and the second is the
custom name.
UC152x152x23, MyUC152x23
When exporting to MasterSeires the custom name MyUC152x23 is replaced by the
standard name UC152x152x23, which will be imported successfully to MasterSeries.
When importing to Revit this entry will replace the UC152x152x23 coming from
MasterSeries by the custom MyUC152x23 name. If this symbol name is already loaded
in the Revit model it will be used, however if it does not currently exist then an attempt
will be made to load it. Since in this entry no Revit Family path or .rfa file is specified the
default [Metric Library] path and all .rfa files in it will be searched for this symbol.
Where the same map pair is specified as follows
UC152x152x23, MyUC152x23, C:\My Revit Families\My_RHS_Family.rfa
the exporting from Revit is no different from the previous map pair definition, but the
importing will firstly look in the specified .rfa for the custom section name. Similarly
where the same map pair is defined as follows
UC152x152x23, MyUC152x23, C:\My Revit Families
again the exporting from Revit is not affected but when importing all .rfa files in the
specified path are searched for the custom section name.
When a map entry is as follows
UC152x152x30,C:\My Revit Families\My_UC_Family.rfa
UC152x152x30,C:\My Revit Families
This does not affect the exporting from Revit in any way, but when importing to Revit if
the UC152x152x30 section name does not exist in the Revit model it will attempt to be
loaded from the specified .rfa file or were no .rfa file is given all .rfa files in the specified
path will be searched.

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