Video summary

Navisworks | Getting Started | Basics

Main summary

Key takeaways

Technology

Purpose / Audience

  • Intro to Navisworks for first-time users (or as a refresher).
  • Focus is mostly on design/coordination workflows, not construction-specific management.
  • Emphasizes getting the “ability to hit the ground running.”

What Navisworks Is (Core Concept)

  • Presented as a coordination / review tool.
  • Strength: can host many different authoring exports/models in one place to support:
    • design coordination across disciplines
    • model review
    • improved communication
    • reduced issues during coordination efforts

Supported File Formats / Model Inputs (High Level)

Navisworks can bring in many 3D model formats, including:

  • 3ds Max
  • SketchUp
  • Revit
  • AutoCAD
  • and others such as DWG/DXF, SolidWorks, Bentley Revit, etc.

Common Navisworks interchange/packaging file types:

  • NWC / NWC(s): exported from authoring tools (used for model linking into Navisworks).
  • NWF: a “main/federated” Navisworks model that typically links to one or more NWC files.
    • Often small in size because it references exports rather than recompiling everything.
  • NWD: a compiled standalone file bundling all NWC content so there are no external links.
    • Easier to share with clients/teams.

Navisworks Versions / Licensing Model (Key Feature: Clash Access)

Three application types:

  • Navisworks Freedom
    • “Free” viewer
    • Intended to let clients/external teams view NWD without full access
  • Navisworks Simulate
    • Includes tools like Timeline and Animator
    • More oriented toward schedule/animation-oriented review
  • Navisworks Manage
    • “Everything,” specifically includes Clash Detection
    • Called out as the most powerful
    • Recommendation: if your team has access to Manage, run clashes so others can use the clash results efficiently (instead of exporting viewpoints externally)

Agenda / Tutorial Walkthrough Topics

  • Navisworks overview + versions
  • UI basics
    • navigation tools
    • dockable windows
    • viewpoints
    • selection/search
    • properties / quick properties
  • Sectioning
  • Markups/comments
  • Measurement tools
  • Clash Detective workflow (demo: “clash everything together”)
  • Brief coverage of:
    • Timeline
    • Animator
    • Scripter (interactive/interactive meeting behavior; noted as rarely used)
    • rendering/batch utilities (brief)
    • Model Compare
    • Quantification / takeoff (brief)
  • Learning resources at the end (courses/books)

UI + Navigation Basics (Practical Tools)

Navigation controls include:

  • ViewCube
  • navigation bar / orbit modes
  • “look around” and movement modes (e.g., walk tool, fly noted as harder)
  • pivot/orbit behavior:
    • constrained orbit
    • moving the pivot point
    • modifier keys mentioned

Emphasis: switch back to selection mode to interact with model objects.

Dockable Windows & Workspace Organization

  • Multiple dockable windows are highlighted, such as:
    • Selection Tree
    • Viewpoints
    • Properties
    • other tabs/windows that can be shown/hidden via the “window” control
  • Notes docking behavior (pin/dock options) and that some workflows depend on keeping windows handy.

Viewpoints (Review & Navigation)

  • Viewpoints are saved camera/view states.
  • Viewpoints can be:
    • navigated quickly
    • played/auto-stepped like a sequence (play/stop mentioned)
  • Clash review can rely on exported viewpoints if the audience doesn’t have Manage (speaker mentions this as an alternative).

Selection Tree, Properties, Search Sets vs Saved Selection Sets

Selection Tree

  • Used to drill down into model structure and properties.
  • Supports viewing modes (e.g., “compact” for properties).

Properties Panel

  • Shows item data such as:
    • type, category
    • required properties
    • materials, etc.

Search Sets (Dynamic)

  • Based on property values (e.g., item name = “sandstone”).
  • Automatically update when new modeled elements are added via updated NWCs.

Saved Selection Sets (Manual)

  • Explicitly stores user-selected items.
  • Does not automatically include new elements, so it may miss items if the model changes.

Quick Properties

  • Tutorial includes enabling Quick Properties.
  • Quick Properties narrows the Properties panel to the selected parameters (e.g., item name/type) to speed up review of commonly needed fields.

Appearance Profiler (AP) — Consistent Visualization via Overrides

  • Appearance Profiler imports color/appearance override definitions (e.g., DAT-style files).
  • Used to keep model appearance consistent across projects.
  • Requires loading setup per NWF/NWD context (per project model).

Selection + Hide/Unhide + Performance-Oriented Options

Selection tools:

  • select
  • selection box
  • select all/none/invert

Hide tools:

  • hide selected / hide unselected
  • Ctrl+H mentioned for hiding
  • unhide via “unhide all”

Also mentioned:

  • an option to keep selected items visible during navigation (to handle interactive performance/auto-hiding behavior)

Sectioning (Cut Planes + Saving)

  • Enables Sectioning with cut planes.
  • Includes:
    • multiple planes
    • alignment/orientation controls
    • choosing section cut color
    • plane sets, including box section (scalable)
  • Typical workflow:
    • keep one plane active
    • reorient/move it as needed
    • save the viewpoint for later use
  • Can integrate sectioning into animations (not fully expanded, but noted).

Markups / Comments Inside the Model

Markup tools place annotations and create viewpoints for later return:

  • text
  • clouds (point-by-point)
  • box/ellipse styles
  • freehand/continuing lines
  • arrows

Export behavior:

  • markup lists can be exported (speaker mentions XML-like output possibilities)
  • export viewpoint report can export viewpoints (including markups), possibly as HTML for sharing
  • notes cleanup may be required if exporting all viewpoints

Measurement Tools

  • Measurement mode includes:
    • point-to-point (and other modes like point/line/angle/area mentioned)
  • Units set via:
    • options → display units
    • meters ↔ feet/inches
    • fractional inches mentioned
  • Includes clear/turn-off measurement behavior.

Clash Detective (Demo + Key Workflow Ideas)

High-level workflow:

  1. Enable Clash Detective
  2. Run a clash test (demo idea: “clash everything together”)
  3. View results in a clash report/results pane

Key ideas:

  • Create search sets to control clash scope so results stay organized and meaningful.
  • Clash results appear in a navigable report structure.

Collaboration Workflow: Switchback + Iterative Resolution

  1. Share the main NWF (or a copy) with the team.
  2. Team members open their copy and use Switchback.
  3. They click a clash result, then Switchback to bring the clash context into Revit to resolve.
  4. Re-export updated NWC(s).
  5. Back in Navisworks, press Update All so everyone sees updated clash status.

Benefits mentioned:

  • Avoids messing with the master NWF
  • Supports a seamless coordination loop
  • Grouping clashes improves the resolution flow

Other Tools Briefly Covered (What They’re For)

  • Timeline (Timeline ER)
    • simulate project schedules
    • tie schedules from P6 / Microsoft Project / Excel
    • link model elements to schedule milestones and play as animation
    • noted as potentially time-consuming to set up
  • Animator
    • animate specific elements (e.g., doors, cranes, equipment)
    • export/play animations for meetings/presentations
  • Scripter
    • interactive behavior (press keys, open doors near elements)
    • described as not commonly used by the speaker
  • Rendering
    • mentions good results; used only in tutorials
  • Batch utility
    • automates importing/conversion tasks within Navisworks ecosystem
  • Model Compare
    • compare two model versions and identify differences/properties
  • Quantification
    • quantity takeoff / charts
    • suggested as more construction-focused; points to learning resources

Learning Resources Suggested (Courses + Books)

  • LinkedIn Learning
    • Navisworks essentials (Eric Wing)
    • Navisworks quantification (Eric Wing)
    • Navisworks advanced (mentioned as available)
  • Mentions a Navisworks book that “covers pretty much everything,” suggesting an updated version may exist.
  • Mentions an “animation checklist,” but says it’s less relevant (may remove it before sharing).

Main Speakers / Sources

  • Primary speaker: video narrator/instructor referenced as “hey guys” (no explicit name given in subtitles)
  • Named source for courses: Eric Wing (LinkedIn Learning recommendations)

Original video