Cintoo4Revit Plugin

Modified on Mon, 19 May at 5:06 PM

This article describes the functionality of the Cintoo4Revit plugin specifically designed for Revit to import point cloud directly from Cintoo projects.

It's a tool that simplifies point cloud integration into Revit for scan to BIM workflows, allowing to streamline the experience within one tool.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Installation
Plugin in Revit Interface
Prerequisite Configuration
Project Selection
Import Scans
Exported Scans and Link Scans
Information
Troubleshooting

Installation

Download the file attached to this article and run the executable following the steps.

Note: Cintoo Connect version installed must be greater than 2.13 to have all the necessary components to run Cintoo4Revit plugin.
Use the following link to download the latest version of Cintoo Connect.

Plugin in Revit Interface

Once the Cintoo4Revit plugin is installed there appears a dedicated Cintoo tab that includes all the functionality.

Prerequisite Configuration

Before working with the plugin, user must check the settings to ensure they are adapted to the account and local environment:

set the right tenant
set the right positioning option
set the right export folder, where point cloud will be downloaded
ensure the executable is targeting the right path
set the default decimation (optional)

Note: all the parameters set in Settings menu are permanent and won't be lost upon closing Revit.

Set Tenant

First, a user must log in into a Cintoo account by typing in the right address (tenant) to connect in the Configuration section in Settings menu.

Insert the address that is normally used to view Cintoo projects. It could be aec.cintoo.com or eu.cintoo.cloud or us.cintoo.cloud or yourcompanyname.cintoo.cloud.

Double check the the address then click Login in the Account section.

Once clicked the default browser will open with the selected address and user would be prompted to enter credentials for Cintoo account.

If login fails double check that the address in Revit interface is correct and the credentials are correct as well.

After successfully entering credentials the following page would open. Click Allow to proceed with using Cintoo4Revit plugin.

The following message is a sign that the authorization passed successfully.

If a user doesn't provide credentials in 20 seconds the following error appears. Click Close and retry with Login button.

To connect to another account click Logout in the Account section.

Set Positioning

In Configuration section in Settings menu choose Positioning to localize the data in a right way.

Origin-to-Origin - align the point cloud with Revit project origin point (0;0)

Survey point - use point cloud's actual coordinates to position it in Revit

Set Export Folder

In Configuration section in Settings menu in Export Folder type a path to a folder on the local storage where all the imported point clouds would be stored to further be linked to a Revit project.

A folder specifically for Cintoo imported point clouds could be created to separate it from the rest of the linked point clouds.

Check Installation Path

To ensure smooth running of the plugin user needs to open Settings menu in Configuration section and perform a simple check whether the path in the field CLI location actually contains the file indicated.

Do not change this field unless Cintoo Connect CLI wasn't installed to another directory (for example in case of installation with admin rights for all users of the PC).

For that copy the line from this field, paste it into Windows Explorer and press Enter.

If the Command Line window opens and closes then everything is well placed and a user can continue with using the plugin.

If an error message pops up follow the instructions in the Troubleshooting section to resolve the issue.

Set Default Decimation (Optional)

In Configuration section in Settings menu choose the appropriate Decimation parameter that defines how much data would be taken from the point cloud. This is an optional parameter to set as at each Import scans step user is free to change it at will.

Once set it serves as default in each Import scans menu.

For example with Decimation 100 every 100th point of the point cloud would be imported.

Project Selection

Select a source project for the point cloud to be imported into Revit in Project section by clicking on Select Project.

No project selected message is shown until a project is chosen.

Change the project if necessary, that won't affect the point clouds that were already imported.

A pop-up menu appears with a list of all the projects that a user has access for. Choose the right project, use search functionality if needed. Click Select to define the project.

Once defined the project name appears in the Project section.

Import Scans

Once the user is logged in and the project is defined scan import process is straightforward. Click on Import Scans button in Workzone and Scans section.

In Work zones and Scans pop-up window choose scans to be imported either as a whole work zone or individual ones. The work zone tree is exactly the same as in Cintoo project. Work zones that don't contain any scans are greyed out for easier navigation. Once all the needed scans are highlighted click Next.

In Export Options pop-up window choose File Name and Decimation Settings. Use concise naming to find the files easier after import. Click Import to start the process.

Note: decimation is applied to all scan files at the same time, so it's unified across all imported data.

Note: set up default Decimation in Settings menu.

Command line window appears where a user can monitor the progress of the import that is shown as a bar and evaluated in percent.

If nothing happens, check if the CLI Location parameter in Settings is the right one. Please refer to the Troubleshooting section.

Once launched the process would be visible in the Exported Scans menu with the status In Progress.

Once the process is finished Import Scans - Cintoo pop-up window appears. Click OK to proceed.

Scans are imported and linked to the Revit project.

Exported Scans and Link Scans

A menu in Workzone and Scans section that shows the list of all scan data imported into Revit and their status. Completed status means that the data could freely be linked whenever needed by Link Scans button in the same section.

Additionally, each individual line, representing one point cloud, could be highlighted to be linked by clicking on Link button.

Each line could be unfolded to see which scans exactly are included in RCP file.

Note: if there is no foldable list then the object mentioned is an entire work zone.

In case point cloud data was removed from Revit project (unlinked), click on Link Scans button to link all the point cloud data located in Export folder back to Revit project.

Point clouds imported from Cintoo are indicated in Exported Scans list with Completed status.

Information

Click Help button in Information section to get a quick link to this article.

Click Info button in Information section to learn about the version of the Cintoo4Revit plugin installed.

Troubleshooting

The tool might not work because the path to CLI executable indicated here is not well set. Please follow the instructions below to resolve the issue.

If after copying the CLI location address from Settings menu in Configuration section Windows Explorer returns an error.

Most likely it means that the Cintoo Connect was installed under admin rights for all users, then the path would be different. Look for example in C:\Program Files\Cintoo instead.

If it's not the case to find the file location use search bar and search for cintooconnect-cli.exe on local disk.

Once the file is found copy the path from address bar on top, add cintooconnect-cli.exe and paste it into CLI Location field in Settings menu in Revit.

The final link to the file would look the following - C:\Program Files\Cintoo\cintooconnect-cli.exe.

Check if Import Scans works now.

Experiencing any issues or having any question regarding the installation or usage of the Cintoo4Revit plugin send a message to support@cintoo.com. We will be very happy to help.