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Commands

Use these commands to send Revit content to Blender and keep it up to date over time. After a document is configured in Setup, these are the commands you will use most often in the Revit add-in.

BlenderSync supports two ways of working:

  • run a manual sync when you want a deliberate update
  • run LiveSync when you want Blender to stay aligned with the configured Revit view while you work

Where the commands are

The commands are split across two ribbon panels:

  • Sync contains Changes, Selected, and Capture
  • LiveSync contains Start and, when LiveSync is active, Stop

All of these commands use the current BlenderSync setup for the active Revit document.

Changes

Changes runs a manual synchronization of the configured Revit view.

For most workflows, this is the main command to use. Choose Changes when you want a deliberate update of the Blender scene based on the current state of the configured source view in Revit.

If Setup has already been saved for the document, Changes uses those saved values. If Setup has not been saved yet, BlenderSync can still run with its default behavior as long as the document contains a valid 3D view.

When you run Changes, BlenderSync queries the server, identifies content that is missing or out of date, and synchronizes those changes.

Because it is predictable and explicit, Changes is also the best first command when you are testing a project setup.

Selected

Selected runs a manual synchronization of selected Revit elements.

Use this command for targeted updates when you do not want to sync the full configured view. It applies to 3D elements and can be used on 3D elements selected from anywhere in the document.

Unlike Changes, Selected can push selected elements even when they are hidden in the configured source view. Those elements still remain hidden in Blender, so this is mainly useful when you need a focused update without changing the view configuration.

If no Revit elements are selected, nothing happens.

In most workflows, Selected is a precision tool rather than the default starting point. For broad updates and first tests, Changes is usually the better choice.

Capture

Capture creates or updates Revit families from selected Blender objects.

This is a separate workflow from normal Revit-to-Blender synchronization, even though it now lives in the Sync panel. Use it when you want selected Blender objects to become Revit family content in the active project.

The normal sync workflow follows a configured Revit 3D view and sends Revit content to Blender. Capture works in the opposite direction. It uses the current Blender selection and creates Revit family content from it.

If no Blender object is selected, nothing happens.

What Capture creates

When you run Capture, BlenderSync captures the selected Blender objects as Revit families.

The created families are Generic Model families. They are loaded into the current Revit project automatically.

If multiple Blender objects are selected, BlenderSync creates one family per selected Blender object.

What is included in the capture

The current capture scope includes mesh and materials.

In other words, the workflow brings the object's geometric form and material assignment into Revit as part of the created family. It should be understood within that scope rather than as a general-purpose content transfer tool.

Family naming and updates

Each created family is named using the following rule:

BSYNC_ + Blender object name

Existing family matching is based on the Blender object name.

If a Blender object has already been captured and you later change that object in Blender, running Capture again with the same object name updates the existing Revit family instead of creating a separate new one.

This overwrite behavior is intentional. Same-name captures overwrite the existing captured family.

When an existing captured family is updated, its mesh and materials are updated as part of the new capture.

Because the family definition itself is updated, placed instances of that family in the Revit project also change.

If a Blender object is renamed after it has already been captured, running Capture again creates a new family.

In that case, the previously captured family remains in the Revit project, and the renamed object produces a separate new family under its new name.

What to keep in mind

The most important thing to remember about Capture is that it is selection-based and name-sensitive.

If nothing happens, confirm that one or more Blender objects are selected.

If a capture updates an existing family instead of creating a new one, confirm whether the Blender object name matches a previously captured object.

If a new family appears instead of updating an existing one, confirm whether the Blender object was renamed.

Start and Stop

Start begins LiveSync.

LiveSync keeps Blender aligned with the configured Revit view while it is running. Use it when you want ongoing updates instead of a one-time manual sync.

When LiveSync is active, Start is replaced by Stop. Use Stop to end the LiveSync session.

LiveSync does not restart automatically when a document is reopened. If you close and reopen the document, Setup is restored, but LiveSync must be started again.

Using Setup while LiveSync is running

You can open Setup while LiveSync is running.

If you change Setup values while LiveSync is active, the changes take effect immediately. This lets you keep working without stopping the sync session first.

If you change Server or Port while LiveSync is running, BlenderSync reconnects immediately using the new values.

Manual sync commands also remain available while LiveSync is running, so you can still use Changes or Selected in the same document.

The configured source view controls the result

BlenderSync follows the configured 3D view.

That applies to both Changes and LiveSync. Blender receives the current result of the configured source view at the moment synchronization runs.

This is the key idea behind predictable results. BlenderSync does not treat the Revit document as a whole-model export. It follows the configured view and the final visible result of that view for model content.

What affects the synchronized result

Because BlenderSync follows the configured source view, any visibility or representation setting in that view can change what Blender receives.

This includes:

  • design options
  • section box
  • phasing
  • Temporary Hide/Isolate
  • workset visibility
  • hidden categories
  • discipline-driven visibility
  • view templates
  • Hide in View
  • view detail level

For example, if the configured view shows Parts, BlenderSync syncs Parts. If geometry is hidden in that view by design options, phasing, categories, worksets, or other view-based visibility rules, BlenderSync does not sync it.

Assemblies, model groups, repeated instances, imported CAD, other visible import instances, and visible in-place families sync based on what is actually visible in the configured 3D view.

When multiple visibility controls interact, BlenderSync follows the final visible result of the configured 3D view.

Important representation notes

These rules are useful to know when interpreting the result in Blender:

  • family geometry representation follows the detail level of the configured view
  • phase visibility is followed, but phase graphic appearance is not reproduced
  • view filters can affect the synchronized result through graphic overrides, but overrides that only change color or line appearance without filter-based behavior are ignored
  • Revit visual style does not carry over as a Blender viewport style
  • in perspective views, crop region is ignored

Materials, transforms, and model updates

BlenderSync follows material assignment, which makes the synchronized result more useful in Blender. It does not claim full Revit material appearance parity.

Both manual sync and LiveSync update material assignment in Blender. They also update element transforms.

After synchronization:

  • deleted Revit elements are removed from Blender
  • newly visible elements in the configured 3D view are created in Blender
  • existing synchronized elements that changed geometry in Revit are updated in Blender

Multiple open documents

BlenderSync supports multiple open Revit documents at the same time.

Each open document keeps its own Setup values and its own LiveSync state. That means one open document can use manual sync while another uses LiveSync.

Special elements

Alongside model content, BlenderSync can also sync a few supporting scene elements that help keep the Blender scene aligned with Revit.

When BlenderSync is running, the Revit camera is synced as a Blender camera. You can view through it just like any other Blender camera.

If the Blender Sun Position add-on is enabled, BlenderSync also syncs the Revit time and location context so Blender sun direction and lighting state can follow Revit more closely.

Synchronized elements are parented to the survey base point so the scene stays positioned relative to that shared reference.

These are supporting features rather than the main sync behavior. The configured source view still controls the model content that BlenderSync sends to Blender.

Choosing the right command

Use Changes when you want a deliberate update of the configured view, especially for first tests, review points, and general manual synchronization.

Use Selected when you want to push selected 3D elements without running a full manual sync.

Use Capture when you want selected Blender objects to become Revit family content.

Use Start when you want Blender to stay aligned continuously with the configured Revit view while you work.

Use Stop when you want to end that continuous sync session.

If the result is not what you expected

If Blender receives too much, too little, or the wrong content, first check the configured 3D view in Setup.

Because BlenderSync follows the final visible result of that view, unexpected results are often caused by view state rather than by the sync command itself.

If sync appears to do nothing, continue to Troubleshooting.