Skip to content

What is a CADLinkType?

A CADLinkType in DAQS refers to a loadable Revit family that contains embedded CAD geometry, typically originating from software such as Autodesk Inventor or other CAD platforms.

This is an important distinction:

  • It is not a standard Revit link (like an RVT link)
  • It is not just a DWG placed in the project
  • It is a FamilySymbol / FamilyInstance whose geometry is derived from an imported or linked CAD file

In other words:

A CADLinkType behaves like a normal Revit family in the model structure, but its geometry is externally sourced and not natively defined in Revit.

Why this matters

Because these elements look like normal families:

  • They exist as FamilyInstances
  • They have parameters
  • They participate in schedules and selections

…but internally:

  • Their geometry is not native Revit geometry
  • Their material and volume data is unreliable or extremely expensive to extract

This mismatch is exactly where problems occur.

Clarification in DAQS behaviour

When DAQS marks:

  • isCadLinkType = true

it specifically means:

“This loadable Revit family contains CAD-based geometry, and therefore cannot be treated as a fully native Revit element for extraction and validation.”

Practical implication (the part users usually misunderstand)

Without this clarification, users think:

“Why does this family behave differently? It’s just a normal family.”

But it isn’t.

It’s a wrapper around CAD data, and that’s why:

  • Material extraction is skipped
  • Performance would otherwise degrade heavily
  • Some validations cannot be trusted

Warning CADLinkTypes are loadable families with embedded CAD geometry. Although they appear as normal Revit families, they do not support full data extraction and should not be used where reliable material or geometry data is required.