Creating, Updating, and Using a Link Spreadsheet

Link Spreadsheet lets you create and update a design table as a spreadsheet that you can use to exchange data between the app and the spreadsheet.

This task shows you how to:

Create the Spreadsheet

  1. In the tree or 3D area, select each object to include in the bidirectional design table.
    For example, to include the information and attributes about top floor office spaces in the model, click each office space.
    The Link Spreadsheet dialog box lists a node for each selected object in the Selected Objects list.
    Tips: To see a listing of the extensions for each selected object, expand the extensions node.

    To remove an object from Selected Objects, select the object from the list and click Remove selected objects from the linked spreadsheet .

  2. To add additional attribute extensions to an object:
    1. Click Attributes extensions.
    2. In the Extension List dialog box, select each additional attribute extension that you want to add.
    3. To apply the selected extension to all listed objects of the same type, in the Extension List dialog box, select the Apply Extension To All check box.
  3. To include attributes in the spreadsheet, repeat the following for each object type and for each required attribute:
    1. From the Selected Objects list, click the object or a listed attribute.
      For example, to include space name, department and sub-department date, click Space Properties.
    2. Either:

      Option Action
      Add selected attributes
      • Press Ctrl and select each attribute to include in the spreadsheet.
      • Click Add .
      Add all attributes Click Add All .

    3. Press Ctrl and select each attribute to include in the spreadsheet.
  4. To include the decimal RGB Color Code for selected objects, select the Include Color check box.
  5. To clear the selected objects and attributes and create a new spreadsheet, click Create Blank Linked Spreadsheet .
  6. To create a spreadsheet with the attributes in the export table:
    1. Click Save as New Linked Spreadsheet .
    2. In the Create Linked Spreadsheet dialog box, in Name enter the name of the spreadsheet.
    3. In Comment, enter the details of the spreadsheet.
    4. Click OK.

Update the Spreadsheet

  1. In the Link Spreadsheet dialog box, under Name, select a spreadsheet from the list.
  2. In the tree, select the additional objects to add to the spreadsheet.
  3. In the dialog box, add the object attributes to the export table.
  4. To include the RGB Color Code for the new objects, select the Include Color check box.
  5. To include AEC object type of all the selected objects in the linked spreadsheet, select the Include AEC Object Type check box.
  6. Click Update linked spreadsheet with values from model attributes .

Update the Model

  1. Make and save the changes in the spreadsheet.
    For example, to change the Management Department offices to the Executive Department, change the LiveArchiSpace.SpaceDepartment column entries to Executive. To change the red space colors from red to green, change the Color column to 10,107,0
  2. After closing the spreadsheet, open the spreadsheet in the project:
    1. From the action bar, click Link Spreadsheet .
    2. In the Link Spreadsheet dialog box, under Name, select a spreadsheet from the list.
      The Link Spreadsheet dialog box displays the objects and attributes included in the selected spreadsheet.
    3. To edit the active spreadsheet in Excel, click
      The active spreadsheet opens in Microsoft Excel.
  3. In the tree, select the additional objects to add to the spreadsheet.
  4. To include the RGB Color Code for the new objects, select the Include Color check box.
  5. To include AEC object type of all the selected objects in the linked spreadsheet, select the Include AEC Object Type check box.
  6. In the Link Spreadsheet dialog box, click Update model attributes with values from linked spreadsheet .