DATUM BIM — user manual
Every command in the DATUM BIM tab, what it needs before it will run, and how licensing and updates work. To see each tool working, with clips, go to Revit plugins; for common Revit problems, read the guides. Revit 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027.
Version 1.9.76 BETA · generated from the add-in source on 31 October 2026
DATUM BIM is a Revit add-in for architectural documentation: opening specifications, tagging, view and sheet management, room finishes, and batch export. It installs its own tab, called DATUM BIM, and changes nothing else about Revit.
This is a beta. Every version released so far is a beta build, including this one. The tools are in daily use on real projects, but they are not finished: a command can still fail, wording can still change, and a tool can still be reworked between versions. Everything a command writes into the model is a normal Revit transaction, so Ctrl+Z undoes it — but work on a copy if the model matters, and report what breaks: support@datumbim.com.
1. What you need
Autodesk Revit 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027, on Windows 64-bit. One installer covers all of them and places the right build into every Revit it finds on the machine — the runtimes differ across that range, so the builds are not interchangeable and picking one by hand is not necessary.
Nothing else has to be installed. There is no separate framework to add, no Python, and no dependency on any other add-in or add-in manager.
2. Installing
Close Revit, run DatumBIMSetup.exe, and start Revit again. The DATUM BIM tab
appears next to the Revit tabs. The installer writes two things per Revit release:
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| The add-in | %APPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\<year>\DatumBIM\ |
| The manifest Revit reads at start-up | %APPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\<year>\DatumBIM.addin |
Both live under your own user profile, so installing needs no administrator rights and affects nobody else on the machine. To remove DATUM BIM, close Revit and delete those two entries; settings and logs are described in section 7.
Revit asks whether to load an add-in it cannot verify the publisher of, and answers that question again each time the file changes. Signing is prepared in the build and waits on a certificate from a public authority; until then, choose Always Load.
3. The licence
Press License, the first button on the tab, paste the key you received by e-mail, and press ACTIVATE. The window then lists every module and marks what your key unlocks. The free tools work without any key at all.
A licence is tied to the device it is activated on. Release this device hands the seat back so it can be used on another machine.
The check runs in the background and never delays Revit starting. Being offline is a supported state, not an error: the signed token is cached on disk and the paid tools keep working for a grace period, which the licence window counts down for you. Reconnect and they renew themselves silently.
4. Updates
DATUM BIM keeps itself current. At start-up it asks the site what the current version is; if there is a newer one it downloads the installer, checks it against the published checksum, and runs it — the installer waits for Revit to close before it replaces a single file. Nothing is installed from a download whose checksum does not match.
The License button turns red when a version is waiting. The next time you start Revit, a WHAT'S NEW window says what changed in the version now running; it appears once per update. Check for updates in the licence window asks immediately rather than waiting for the next start.
5. The ribbon
The panels are grouped by the job rather than by which module sells them. A button whose module you do not own is greyed and its tooltip says so; pressing it explains what it does and where to buy it, and never fails silently.
Two conventions run through every tool. A tool that succeeds says nothing — it does the work and closes, and only a failure raises a window. And where a tool has a setting, Shift+Click opens it; the notes below say which tools have one. Hold the pointer over any button and press F1 to open its section here, with a short clip of it at work.
5.1 DATUM
License
Free · License
Activate DATUM BIM, see what you own, and manage this device.
Install Update
Free · License
Install the newest DATUM BIM now: save your open files, close Revit, install, and open Revit again.
Asks first whether to save the open files. Without it, an update installs the next time you close Revit.
Home
Free · Home
Open the PROJECT INFO sheet, close every other view, and save.
Project Library
Content Catalog
The families loaded in this project, by category - Furniture, Plumbing Fixtures, Mechanical and Electrical Equipment, Doors, Windows and the rest - with pictures and how often each is used. Double-click to place.
Delete one from its card. Star favourites and make your own folders; they are remembered in every project.
Shortcuts
Show or hide the Shortcuts pane: every keyboard shortcut in Revit, searchable, by tab, with favourites. Click one to run it.
The list is read from Revit's own Keyboard Shortcuts, so a key you add or change there appears here too. Dock it beside the Project Browser.
Template Customisation
Make the template yours: swap its colours and fonts for your office's, and put your details and logo on every sheet.
Asks whether to save first. Changes text, dimension, fill, line and schedule styles, Project Information and the logo in the title blocks; Ctrl+Z undoes it.
Autosave
Free · Autosave
Turn timed background saving on or off.
Shift+Click to set the interval.
Sync Views
Free · Sync Views
Keep the same zoomed area when switching views.
Tabs Color
Free · Tab Coloring
Give every open project its own tab colour.
Shift+Click to choose the marking: a top bar, a border or a filled tab, one style for projects and one for families.
Settings
Free · Settings Exchange
DATUM's own settings in one place: the drawing language, autosave, error reports, updates and the timing log.
Also carries your whole DATUM setup to another computer as one file (Export / Import).
5.2 SWINGS
Door Swing
Door & Window Specification
Write the swing on every door, keep it current as doors are placed, moved and flipped, and show it on every plan you open.
The marks are not part of the model and do not print; red means the written swing does not match the door. Click again to switch it off: the marks go and nothing more is written. Shift+Click to choose the language.
5.3 SPECIFICATIONS
DR Spec
Door & Window Specification
Build the door specification cards in the Legend view.
Needs a Legend named "СПЕЦИФИКАЦИЯ ВРАТИ" holding one Legend Component.
WN Spec
Door & Window Specification
Build the window specification cards, with chain dimensions through the frame profiles.
Needs a Legend named "СПЕЦИФИКАЦИЯ ПРОЗОРЦИ" holding one Legend Component.
CW Spec
Curtain Wall Specification
Assembly, views, dimensions and specification table for straight curtain walls.
Opens a window for the table language and what to draw, then asks for the walls.
CW Arc
Curtain Wall Specification
The same for arc curtain walls, with a dimensioned plan.
Opens a window for the table language and what to draw, then asks for the walls.
5.4 ANNOTATION
Interior
Auto Dimensions
BETA. Dimension rooms from the inside, both ways: a chain with the breaks, openings and wall thicknesses, and the longest size of the room behind it.
Every room in the view by default; select rooms first to be offered just those. Nothing is dimensioned twice, and a wall between two rooms has its thickness measured once.
Exterior
Auto Dimensions
BETA. Dimension the outside of the building in up to four strings per side: overall, grid axes, breaks, and breaks with openings.
A string that would only repeat another is left out.
Sample
Write the dimensions in this view - with the rooms, walls and openings they measure, and a picture of the view - to a file on the desktop.
Select dimensions first to write only those.
5.5 TAGS
Doors
Tag All Elements
Tag every door in the active view, curtain wall doors included.
Tag All Views
Tag All Elements
Tag doors in every view you tick, not only the active one. Views on a sheet are ticked; what is already tagged is left alone.
Tag Selected
Tag All Elements
Tag only the selected doors in the active view. Select first, or press it with nothing selected and pick.
Windows
Tag All Elements
Tag every window in the active view, curtain wall windows included.
Tag All Views
Tag All Elements
Tag windows in every view you tick, not only the active one. Views on a sheet are ticked; what is already tagged is left alone.
Tag Selected
Tag All Elements
Tag only the selected windows in the active view. Select first, or press it with nothing selected and pick.
Floors
Tag All Elements
Tag every floor in the active view.
Tag All Views
Tag All Elements
Tag floors in every view you tick, not only the active one. Views on a sheet are ticked; what is already tagged is left alone.
Tag Selected
Tag All Elements
Tag only the selected floors in the active view. Select first, or press it with nothing selected and pick.
Stairs
Tag All Elements
Tag stair runs, draw the Stairs Path, and spot-elevate landings.
Tag All Views
Tag All Elements
Tag stairs in every view you tick, not only the active one. Views on a sheet are ticked; what is already tagged is left alone.
Tag Selected
Tag All Elements
Tag only the selected stairs in the active view. Select first, or press it with nothing selected and pick.
Walls
Tag All Elements
Tag every wall in the active view, offset clear of the face.
Tag All Views
Tag All Elements
Tag walls in every view you tick, not only the active one. Views on a sheet are ticked; what is already tagged is left alone.
Tag Selected
Tag All Elements
Tag only the selected walls in the active view. Select first, or press it with nothing selected and pick.
Railings
Tag All Elements
Tag every railing in the active view, on a leader from its longest run - railings in linked models included.
Tag All Views
Tag All Elements
Tag railings in every view you tick, not only the active one. Views on a sheet are ticked; what is already tagged is left alone.
Tag Selected
Tag All Elements
Tag only the selected railings in the active view. Select first, or press it with nothing selected and pick. Pick a linked model to tag its railings.
CW Panels
Tag All Elements
Number every curtain wall (В01) and its panels (В01-01, top to bottom, left to right from outside), give each panel a type named after its size, and tag them with the bubble outside.
Shift+Click to change the letter in front of the number.
Tag All Views
Tag All Elements
Tag curtain panels in every view you tick, not only the active one. Views on a sheet are ticked; what is already tagged is left alone.
Tag Selected
Tag All Elements
Tag only the selected curtain panels in the active view. Select first, or press it with nothing selected and pick. A picked curtain wall brings all its panels.
Tag Only
Tag All Elements
Tag the curtain panels in the active view as they are - no numbering, no new panel types, nothing renamed.
Renumber All
Tag All Elements
Number every curtain wall in the project afresh from 01, give every panel a new type named after it, and tag the panels in the active view.
Asks first. Numbers already on sheets and schedules change; Ctrl+Z undoes it.
5.6 VIEWS
Elevations
Rename Elevations
Rename elevation views and sheets from the project's True North.
Shift+Click to choose the language of the names.
Sections
Grid to Section
Create a vertical section along each selected grid.
Place
View Placement
Queue views onto sheets, arrange them on a preview of the sheet, and place them.
5.7 ROOMS
Rename
Rename Rooms
Name rooms from the families they contain.
Finishes
Room Finishes
Set floor, wall and ceiling finishes for every room.
Light
Light Norms
Check daylight requirements per room against Bulgarian norms.
5.8 SCHEDULES
Schedules
Schedule Styles
Every schedule's appearance in one table - fonts, sizes, bold, alignment and the switches - read as they are and changed one at a time or all at once.
Indicators
Site Indicators
The project's planning figures - ЗП, РЗП, density, Кинт, landscaping, eaves, ridge, storeys, parking - against its zone's limits, as a schedule in green and red.
5.9 TRANSFER
Standards
Template Exchange
Transfer standards between two open projects.
Export Materials
Template Exchange
Every material of this file into Excel: identity, surface and cut patterns, shading, appearance, physical and thermal data — and the fill patterns they use.
Also writes each fill pattern as a .pat file beside the workbook.
Import Materials
Template Exchange
Bring materials into this file from a workbook made by Export Materials. Missing fill patterns are created from their definitions.
Asks whether materials already in the file are updated or left alone. Ctrl+Z undoes it.
5.10 SOURCES
Sources
Content Catalog
Curated list of Revit family download sites.
Norms
Storage for Norms
Searchable library of Bulgarian building regulations.
5.11 FAMILIES
Catalog
Content Catalog
Browse a folder of families, templates and models (.rfa, .rte, .rvt), load a family into the project or open a model.
The families already in the project are under Project Library, beside Home.
Families
Families Rename
Batch-rename loaded families and types with a preview.
5.12 EXPORT
Export
Custom Print
Batch export sheets, views or legends to PDF, DWG and RVT.
6. Modules
Every paid tool is a monthly licence. The table is the same catalogue the add-in checks against your key, so what is listed here is what a key can unlock.
| Module | Tools |
|---|---|
| License | License, Install Update |
| Home | Home |
| Content Catalog | Project Library, Sources, Catalog |
| Autosave | Autosave |
| Sync Views | Sync Views |
| Tab Coloring | Tabs Color |
| Settings Exchange | Settings |
| Door & Window Specification | Door Swing, DR Spec, WN Spec |
| Curtain Wall Specification | CW Spec, CW Arc |
| Auto Dimensions | Interior, Exterior |
| Tag All Elements | Doors, Tag All Views, Tag Selected, Windows, Tag All Views, Tag Selected, Floors, Tag All Views, Tag Selected, Stairs, Tag All Views, Tag Selected, Walls, Tag All Views, Tag Selected, Railings, Tag All Views, Tag Selected, CW Panels, Tag All Views, Tag Selected, Tag Only, Renumber All |
| Rename Elevations | Elevations |
| Grid to Section | Sections |
| View Placement | Place |
| Rename Rooms | Rename |
| Room Finishes | Finishes |
| Light Norms | Light |
| Schedule Styles | Schedules |
| Site Indicators | Indicators |
| Template Exchange | Standards, Export Materials, Import Materials |
| Storage for Norms | Norms |
| Families Rename | Families |
| Custom Print | Export |
Every module can be taken on its own or all of them together, on the Plugins page.
7. Where DATUM BIM keeps things
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Your settings, including every switch | %APPDATA%\DatumBIM\config.json |
| Errors, when a tool has failed | %APPDATA%\DatumBIM\errors.log |
| What the updater decided, and when | %APPDATA%\DatumBIM\update.log |
| How long each tool took, one line per run | %APPDATA%\DatumBIM\commands.log |
| A downloaded installer, waiting for Revit to close | %APPDATA%\DatumBIM\update\ |
Nothing is written into your project files except the changes a tool is asked to make, and every one of those is a normal Revit transaction you can undo.
Settings, on the FILE panel, carries all of that to another machine as one file — every tool's preferences, the room rules, the finishes table, the export presets and the paths to your regulations. Your licence is not in it, and neither is your answer to the crash-report question: a licence is signed against one computer, and consent belongs to the person who gave it. The same window has the switch for the timing log below.
commands.log records one line per tool you run, with how long it took, the
outcome, and which tool it was. The time is from pressing the button to the tool finishing, so
it includes any question the tool asked you. It never leaves the machine; it is there so that
"this got slower" can be sent as a number rather than an impression.
8. Crash reports
The first time DATUM BIM runs it asks, once, whether a failing tool may send its error to us. What travels is the version, your Revit release, which command failed, and the technical error with its stack. What never travels: project names, file paths, family or element names, and nothing identifying you. Nothing is sent unless something has actually gone wrong, and a refusal is remembered — the question is not asked again.
9. If something does not work
Two things answer most questions before you write in. errors.log in the folder
above records anything that failed; if the file does not exist, nothing has thrown. And several
tools give a diagnosis under Shift+Click that says which of their requirements
is not met.
Then write to support@datumbim.com. Include your DATUM BIM version, from the licence window, and your Revit release. A screenshot of what you see settles most things in one reply.
DATUM BIM 1.9.76 BETA · Sofia, Bulgaria · datumbim.com. The command reference in section 5 is generated from the add-in source, so it describes this exact build.