CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks
How to Avoid the Crappy Formatting of Imports to Revit, AutoCAD or MicroStation
5 March 2025
It doesn’t matter whether you work in Revit®, AutoCAD® or MicroStation® (including OpenRoads and OpenBridge), importing Excel™ spreadsheets or Word™ documents into your project produces results that are as spectacularly disappointing as the Mike Tyson–Jake Paul fight.
So, what do you do when you’re down to the wire on that deadline, and you’re asked to import a massive spreadsheet before the project goes to the client in the morning?
You’re faced with two possible scenarios.
These days, we trust the reviews left by total strangers on Amazon. But what if that total stranger was more like you? What if he or she was also a CAD or BIM user?
Scenario 1: Late Nights at Work
You take a look at the spreadsheet and your heart sinks. It’s monstrous — a beast. It’s going to take hours to get the formatting right once you’ve imported it. As if your day hasn’t been long enough already, it’s about to get a whole lot longer. Rats.
The client is picky and there are standards to maintain, so you dash downstairs and grab a quad-shot latté before the coffee shop closes. Your colleagues are leaving for the day just as you’re re-caffeinating, hoping to stay awake for the hours of monotony that lie ahead. All you want is dinner, the final episode of that series you’ve been bingeing on Netflix®, and your bed. But not tonight, champ.
Scenario 2: No Problem!
You get asked to import a monstrous spreadsheet. Yes, it’s huge, but you’re not fazed by it, not even a little bit. You simply smile and say, “No problem!” Armed with your favorite time-saving import tool, it’s all done in less time than it’ll take to read this article. In fact, you’ll be home for dinner, you’ll get to finish your episode and be able to crawl into bed exactly as planned. Sweet dreams!
So, what’s the magic that’s responsible for the difference between these two scenarios? The answer is Microsoft Office Importer™ — the import tool you’ll never want to be without.
What CAD/BIM Users Like Yourself Say
The amount of time you can save with Microsoft Office Importer sure beats the caffeine-fueled alternative.
“Microsoft Office Importer for Revit saves us thousands of dollars a month. We’re so happy to have found Axiom.” — T.W., BIM Manager, KSi Structural Engineers
“Office Importer is probably the most intuitive, reliable and user-friendly program/add-on I’ve ever used.” — D.R., Structural Engineer, US Army Corps of Engineers
The eternal struggle for flawlessly formatted imports of Excel spreadsheets and Word docs is over.
“Check out Axiom’s Microsoft Office Importer. Great program, easy interface, and unmatched tech support.” B.H., GHT Limited
Visit the Revit, AutoCAD or MicroStation pages to see the relevant video demo of Microsoft Office Importer in action.
Pick Your Platform
For MicroStation and AutoCAD users, this is what to expect:
- Single-Step Imports: Quickly bring Excel spreadsheets and Word documents — including schedules, bills of materials and general notes — right into your DGN or DWG files. The result? Beautiful formatting that mirrors the original document.
- Effortless Data Spreading: Handle large data volumes with ease. Distribute data across multiple columns during the import and save incredible amounts of time.
- Unparalleled Control: Preserve your CAD standards during imports, managing everything from level/layer, color and weight to style, text size and font. Compliance in a snap.
- Linked and Synced: Banish the double work. Your MicroStation or AutoCAD imports can optionally auto-update when any changes are made to the original Excel sheets or Word documents.
If you’re a Revit enthusiast, here’s what you can expect:
- Smooth Integration: Effortlessly import Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and even PDFs into your Revit projects. This ensures that schedules, general notes — and more — look just like the original documents.
- Exceptional Formatting: With Microsoft Office Importer, imported data looks and feels right at home in Revit, from text size and fonts to column widths and row heights. Say goodbye to time-consuming manual adjustments.
- Stay Linked and Updated: Never again stress about manually updating your imported Word documents or Excel spreadsheets. With Microsoft Office Importer you can optionally link and sync to the original data for automatic updates.
- PDF Placement: Never again endure importing a multipage PDF one page at a time. With Microsoft Office Importer, you can bring in multipage PDFs all at once.
The amount of time you can save with Microsoft Office Importer could be slightly problematic, but only because you might have a hard time deciding whether to use that extra time to get a head start on your next project or get out of the office early or... But it’s kind of a nice problem to have, isn’t it? And it sure beats the caffeine-fueled alternative.
The eternal struggle for flawlessly formatted imports of Excel spreadsheets and Word docs is over. If you’re ready to banish those import blues, it’s time to experience the ease and speed of Microsoft Office Importer.
Talk to a Pro
If you have questions about Microsoft Office Importer or its application in your situation, talk to a CAD/BIM Consultant at 727-442-7774 or chat with us online at the MicroStation, Revit or AutoCAD pages, where you can also request a free trial version — no credit card (or caffeine) required.
