The Back-End
Revit
Setting up the environment
Debugging

Setting up a Debug Environment for a Revit Add-In in Visual Studio

In this guide, we'll walk through the steps to set up a debugging environment for a Revit add-in using Visual Studio. Debugging allows you to identify and fix issues in your Revit add-in code more efficiently.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have the following prerequisites:

Steps

1. Open Your Revit Add-In Project in Visual Studio

  • Launch Visual Studio.
  • Open your Revit add-in project by selecting File -> Open -> Project/Solution and navigating to your project folder.

2. Configure Project Properties

  • Right-click on your project in the Solution Explorer and select Properties.
  • In the project properties window, navigate to the Debug tab.
  • Configure the following settings:
    • Start external program: Browse and select the path to your Revit executable (e.g., C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit 2023\Revit.exe).

3. Create the .addin File

  • In your Revit add-in project directory, create a new text file and name it YourAddin.addin. Ensure that the file extension is .addin.
  • The add-in folder is located in one of the following locatoins:
    • %APPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\{revit-version}
    • %PROGRAMDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\{revit-version}

4. Edit the .addin File

  • Open the .addin file in a text editor.
  • Add the following XML content to the .addin file, replacing placeholders with your specific information:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
<AddIn Type="Command">
  <Name>Your Add-In Name</Name>
  <Assembly>C://path/to/your/YourAddin.dll</Assembly>
  <AddInId>{Your-Unique-GUID}</AddInId>
  <FullClassName>YourNamespace.YourClass</FullClassName>
  <VendorId>YourVendorName</VendorId>
  <VendorDescription>YourVendorDescription</VendorDescription>
</AddIn>

5. Check if the Add-In is Loaded

  • Open Revit
  • You will get a pop-up asking you to trust the add-in. Click Always Load.
  • Navigate to the Add-Ins tab and check if your add-in is loaded.

If you don't see the popup, your .addin most likely is not in the correct folder, or the paths / classnames in the .addin file are wrong.

Explanation

The .addin file tells Revit how to load and run your add-in. When you start debugging, Visual Studio will use the .addin file's configuration to load your add-in into Revit.

Now you're ready to continue debugging your Revit add-in in Visual Studio, leveraging the .addin file you've configured to seamlessly integrate your code with Revit's architecture.

That's it! You've successfully configured the .addin file for your Revit add-in and can now debug your code within Revit using Visual Studio.

Addin filesArchitecture