10 Tips to Speed Up Your Workflow in Autodesk Navisworks ManageAutodesk Navisworks Manage is a powerful tool for coordinating, reviewing, and simulating complex construction and engineering projects. When projects scale up, model size and collaboration complexity can slow down workflows. Below are ten practical, actionable tips to help you speed up your work in Navisworks Manage while maintaining accuracy and collaboration quality.
1. Use Viewpoints and Saved View Sets
Create and save viewpoints for commonly inspected areas, clashes, or disciplines. Saved viewpoints load instantly and avoid the need to navigate large models repeatedly.
- Save viewpoints with relevant visibility and sectioning applied.
- Organize viewpoints into folders for quick access during meetings or reviews.
2. Simplify Models Before Import
Large, highly detailed models cause sluggish performance. Ask the source teams to export simplified geometry where possible.
- Request LOD (Level of Detail) reductions for furniture, fixtures, and small components.
- Use export filters in Revit, AutoCAD, or other authoring tools to exclude unnecessary families or layers.
3. Use Selection and Visibility Tools Strategically
Hide or isolate elements you don’t need to work on.
- Use Selection Inspector to filter by object properties and then hide the selection.
- Use Hide/Unhide and Selection Sets to focus on specific trades or systems.
4. Control File Size with Aggregation and Culling Options
Navisworks offers options to reduce memory footprint when loading models.
- Enable object culling and adjust the level-of-detail settings where available.
- Aggregate geometry where possible in source files so Navisworks handles fewer discrete objects.
5. Leverage Cache Files (.NWFC) and Optimized File Formats
Caching and optimized exports help Navisworks open files much faster.
- Create and use Navisworks cache files (.nwc/.nwd) generated from native authoring tools.
- Publish NWDs for distributed review — they’re packaged and load faster than raw source files.
6. Manage Clash Detective Efficiently
Clash detection is a core feature in Navisworks Manage, but it can be time-consuming if run unnecessarily.
- Use focused clash tests: limit tests to specific models, floors, or trades.
- Use rule-based filtering and suppression to reduce false positives.
- Run clash tests incrementally during design milestones instead of waiting for a massive model.
7. Optimize View and Render Settings
Reducing real-time visual quality can improve responsiveness without affecting coordination quality.
- Lower the quality of real-time rendering during navigation (shading, anti-aliasing).
- Turn off real-time shadows and ambient occlusion when not necessary.
- Use Wireframe or Hidden Line modes for quick navigation through dense models.
8. Use Selection Sets, Search Sets, and Saved Analyses
Predefine groups and searches for repetitive tasks.
- Create Search Sets for common filters (e.g., all ductwork, structural columns).
- Use Selection Sets to quickly isolate these groups during reviews or clash investigations.
- Save common analyses and export reports for re-use instead of re-running queries.
9. Collaborate with Clear File-Naming and Version Control
Clear organization reduces wasted time hunting for the right model version.
- Use consistent naming conventions including discipline, date, and version.
- Store published NWDs/NWC caches in a structured folder system or a BIM 360/Autodesk Construction Cloud project.
- Keep a changelog for major coordinated updates so reviewers know what changed.
10. Use Automation and External Tools Where Appropriate
Automate repetitive tasks and use complementary tools to offload work.
- Use Navisworks’ APIs or Dynamo scripts (via authoring tools) to automate exports, batch clash runs, or report generation.
- Integrate with project management or issue-tracking tools to avoid manual transfer of clash lists.
- Consider using Navisworks Freedom for quick, lightweight review by stakeholders who don’t need editing tools.
Navisworks Manage is most efficient when model complexity, team processes, and software settings are aligned. Apply these tips incrementally — start with lightweight improvements like viewpoints and caching, then move to process changes like naming conventions and model simplification. Over time, the cumulative effect will be noticeably faster coordination cycles and fewer bottlenecks during project reviews.
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