Finding and downloading Revit materials for your project can be a time consuming process. One quick way is to download Revit Materials directly from manufacturers who provide them and then add into your own library using an .ADSKLIB file
In this video, BIMsmith show exactly how to find, download and use Revit Materials from manufactures using their new research tools – enjoy!
Revit Materials 101 video summary
1. Finding high quality Revit Materials for your project
First, you need to find the appropriate material library you’d like to use. You can start by heading to BIMsmith Market, where you can browse hundreds of Revit material libraries from different categories and manufacturers.
Simply select the “Material Libraries” button on the left hand filter bar, and BIMsmith will deliver all kinds of material libraries, from paint to flooring, roofing, coatings, and more.
2. How to download a Revit material library file (.ADSKLIB)
Once you have found a potential Revit material that may be suitable for your project, view the product then select the Revit icon on the lefth and side of the screen. This will download an ADSKLIB file, or Autodesk Library File. This is the standard format for Revit materials.
3. How to open a Revit material library file into your project
Once you’ve downloaded the ADSKLIB file, extract it from the .zip file and open up your Revit project. Open the Material Browser within Revit, and click the Material Library window icon at the top of the selection box. This opens up the material library browser. Now, click the file icon at the bottom of the window to select a material library file to load. Navigate to where the file you downloaded was saved and click Open.
Now have access to all of the materials that come loaded with that .ADSKLIB Autodesk Library file. The default view in Revit is a list view, but you can select the View dropdown to switch to a tile view (which is often easier to browse many materials at once).
Click the upward arrow icon to add any of the materials to your project.
4. Applying materials from your Revit Material library
Close the material browser, and select the Paint tool from the Modify tab. You can browse for the specific materials you added, or search for them by name. If you downloaded a manufacturer Revit material library, you might want to search by the name of the manufacturer.
Select a material, then use the paint tool to begin applying this material to different surfaces.
This summary was taken from the following BIMsmith blog post: https://blog.bimsmith.com/Download-Revit-Material-Libraries
