For those using Revit 2025, and using Twinmotion in your workflows, I implore you to immediately download and install the Revit 2025.2 update. Why, might you ask? Among other very useful and long-awaited features, one change has a HUGE impact for those using both applications. For years, the ability to substitute Revit content with higher render-quality content in Twinmotion, has been a huge ask from the community. First Twinmotion began by including the Substitution Table, which allows users to map over Revit materials to those being used in Twinmotion. Admittedly, it is a bit clunky, even with the upgraded V2 version of the table. However, now Autodesk has answered the call in a large way, by allowing entire families to be mapped and automatically replaced with assigned Twinmotion content. This works both in Direct Links as well as .udatasmith exports!!
Here’s how:
First, inside of Revit, find the Twinmotion dropdown, as shown below. You’ll now see a new setting to open the Substitution Settings Dialog.
When you click on that, it opens a dialog box that looks similar to the one shown below. However, I didn’t give away my particular file pathing – this might change depending on how your company is pathing your Twinmotion content! Just make sure that the folder it is being pathed to, contains both the ‘export_library.csv (for Twinmotion assets that are “Out of the Box”) AND the ‘export_library_dynamic.csv’ (for Twinmotion assets that have been downloaded. This can include Megascans, Sketchfab, User Libraries, etc.). Both of these files will likely be in a directory labeled “Substitution”. There will also likely be a Thumbnails folder in there, particularly for what is to come…. <cue suspenseful music>. Then, make sure this box is checked:
Now that you have Enabled Substitution, find the appropriate family that you want to have substituted, go to the Type Properties, and in the Visualization parameter group, you’ll see the following:
Simply click on the <None> button, and a new dialog box appears!! With this dialog box, you’ll find various Twinmotion asset categories (especially those involving downloaded or custom assets as I hinted at before!!). You can also use the filter at the top to quickly find the Twinmotion asset you want all Families of this Type in this file to be substituted for (might be a good idea to do this to the appropriate families in your templates!!), as shown here:
See that thumbnail? Yes, it even gives a snazzy thumbnail so that you have an idea of what you are substituting for (reduces the guesswork). This also includes any downloaded or custom content!
Now just make sure that you are confident that this is indeed the “substitution you are looking for”.
And yes, it doesn’t have to match up exactly! As you can see below, an Out Of The Box Revit family is indeed being substituted for a Twinmotion User Library asset that was created from a Sketchup file!
Now just go through the usual steps of linking the Revit file with Twinmotion, or even exporting as a ‘.udatasmith’ file, and on the Twinmotion side, you’ll instantly see these families being remapped to their corresponding Twinmotion assets!
Now you may be wondering, “that’s great for trees and stuff, but what else?” Well, straight from Autodesk themselves, you have a LOT of mapping to do!! But, as usual with Revit families, “once it’s done, it’s done.”
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