Where did my linked CAD file go?!

Have you ever linked in a CAD file “This view only” and then tried to find it later on and couldn’t? That happened to a client recently and from the power of the collective CAD mind (and a little google-ing), we came up with 3 different solutions, in under 10 minutes.

Solution #1:

Use dynamo to find it. I have to admit that I didn’t come up with this one, but I found it online here.

Solution #2:

Write a Revit Model Checker check to find it. Our very own Jason Kunkel did that. Here’s the text of the xml file.

<?xml version=”1.0″ encoding=”UTF-8″ standalone=”yes”?>
<MCSettings AllowRequired=”False” Name=”DWG Link Current View Only” Icon=”” Image=”” SampleModel=””>
<Heading HeadingText=”Heading 1″ Description=””>
<Section SectionName=”Section 1″ Title=”” IsChecked=”True” Description=””>
<Check CheckName=”DWG Links Current View Only” IsModelCheck=”False” Description=”” ShowList=”True” FailureMessage=”” FailureCondition=”ReportElements” CheckType=”Custom” IsRequired=”False” IsChecked=”True” IsInitialized=”True”>
<Filter Operator=”And” Category=”Category” Property=”Name” Condition=”Contains” Value=”.dwg” FieldTitle=”” UserDefined=”False” Validation=”None” />
<Filter Operator=”And” Category=”Parameter” Property=”Draw Layer” Condition=”Defined” Value=”True” FieldTitle=”” UserDefined=”False” Validation=”None” />
<Filter Operator=”And” Category=”TypeOrInstance” Property=”Is Element Type” Condition=”Equal” Value=”False” FieldTitle=”” UserDefined=”False” Validation=”None” />
</Check>
</Section>
</Heading>
</MCSettings>

Solution #3 (and the one I ultimately ended up using):

Place a new instance of the link, right click on it, choose “Select all instances in model” and then go to the Manage Tab > Inquiry Panel > “IDs of Selection” tool. Write down or copy to clipboard and paste to notepad the ID numbers of all the instances of the CAD link, and then use the “Select by ID” tool (right next to the “IDs of Selection” tool) and input each ID number one by one, clicking “show” to find it.

The CAD file must be LINKED not imported in order for this to work. If you import in a CAD file, then this trick won’t work because each imported instance is treated by Revit as a unique element.

Good luck finding your CAD files!