Live Sync from Revit to Twinmotion: The Datasmith Direct Link Guide

According to Epic Games' official Twinmotion documentation, the Datasmith Direct Link connection between Revit and Twinmotion has become a standard workflow for architecture and interior design firms wanting to bring BIM models into a real-time rendering environment. This guide explains the entire process—from setup to synchronization, object substitution and troubleshooting—step by step, based on official documentation.

How is the Datasmith Exporter installed?

As of Twinmotion 2023.1 and Revit 2024, the Datasmith Exporter plugin is now managed by Autodesk and comes built into Revit; no separate download or installation is required. For older Revit versions, the plugin can be downloaded from the following sources:

• The Twinmotion website

• The Supported Design Applications (Datasmith) documentation page

• The Plugins tab in the Twinmotion Home panel

For older versions, Revit must be closed and the previous Datasmith version removed, then the UnrealDatasmithRevitExporter_xx.msi file must be run to complete the Setup Wizard. Once installation is finished, the Datasmith tab appears on the Revit ribbon.

How is Direct Link set up and synchronized?

The steps are as follows:

1. In Revit, open the scene you want to set up Direct Link for.

2. In Twinmotion, open the Import dock from the bottom toolbar.

3. In the Import window, select the Direct Link tab.

4. Under Options, set your Direct Link import preferences and click Import.

5. In Revit's Datasmith Exporter toolbar, click Synchronize with Direct Link to start synchronization.

Synchronization time varies depending on the amount and complexity of the data being transferred. If the design application supports Direct Link Auto Sync, every change made in Revit is automatically reflected in Twinmotion; if not, synchronization is done manually with a single click.

One Direct Link can be set up per design application in a Twinmotion project; if multiple connections from the same application are needed, a separate instance of that application must be opened.

Replacing Revit families with Twinmotion objects via Object Substitution

Available in Revit 2025.2 and later, the Object Substitution workflow automatically replaces the geometry of imported Revit families with objects from the Twinmotion Library (including Sketchfab and Megascans objects) or from the user library. Setup takes place in two stages:

On the Revit side: From the View › Twinmotion › Substitution Settings menu, check the Enable Twinmotion Substitution for compatible Revit family categories option. Then, in each family's Type Properties window, select the appropriate object from the Twinmotion Substitution field under Visualization.

On the Twinmotion side: When importing the file via Datasmith File Import or Datasmith Direct Link, the Enable Substitution checkbox must be checked in the Import window. If cloud-based library objects are going to be used, they must be downloaded before starting the workflow.

What does this mean for architecture and arch-viz teams?

This integration shortens the design-to-visualization cycle, especially for BIM-based architecture firms and interior designers. Teams with a Revit subscription can access Twinmotion at no extra cost, providing a cost advantage for small and mid-sized firms. However, since features like Object Substitution require specific Revit versions (2025.2+), firms working with older versions need to plan upgrades. Additionally, the location of the DirectLinkTextures folder and the risks associated with temporary folders are details that need attention to avoid texture loss on large projects.

Common mistakes

• If the source file is not open in the design application, it leads to a broken link icon.

• Turning off the Use textures folder option causes textures to be stored in a temporary folder, risking deletion by the operating system.

• If the file is not re-imported or re-synced after new family substitutions are defined in Revit following Object Substitution, the new objects won't appear in the scene.