Datasmith Direct Link Workflow

You can use the Datasmith Direct Link workflow to import 3D scenes and assets from your design application into Twinmotion in a way that retains group hierarchy and organization, components, objects, and materials.

After you install the Datasmith Exporter plugin in your design application, you can use the Direct Link functionality to import your content into Twinmotion and synchronize files between your design application and Twinmotion. Any changes you make to a project in your design application are synchronized and reflected in your Twinmotion project. If your design application supports the Direct Link Auto Sync feature, syncing is automatic. Otherwise, syncing is a one-click operation.

Multiple Direct Links can be created, allowing you to import and mix and match files from different applications into one Twinmotion project. For more information, refer to Setting Up Multiple Direct Links.

The DirectLinkTextures Folder

When you create a Direct Link, a folder named DirectLinkTextures is created on your computer. The textures from the scene in your design application are exported and saved in this folder. During the Direct Link process, the textures in this folder are used as a reference for the textures in the original project.

By default, the DirectLinkTextures folder is created in: Users\[user name]\Documents\Twinmotion[version number]. To change the location of the folder, open the Preferences panel (Ctrl + P), and in the Settings tab, click Direct Link.

You can disable this feature by deselecting the Use Textures folder checkbox.

Disabling this feature can be useful if, for example, you want to do a quick one-off Direct Link connection for testing purposes only and don't need to save textures for future referencing. When you disable this feature, the textures are saved in a temporary folder, instead of the dedicated DirectLinkTextures folder. As temporary folders are sometimes deleted by the operating system, the Direct Link connection might not be able to locate the textures the next time you open the file if you save them in a temporary folder.

Setting Up a Datasmith Direct Link

1. Download the Datasmith Exporter plugin for your design application. You can access the plugins from:

   • The Twinmotion website.

   • The Supported Design Applications for Datasmith documentation page.

   • The Plugins tab in the Twinmotion Home panel.

   • Your design application’s website.

2. Install the plugin for your design application.

   For information on how to install the Datasmith Exporter plugin for Archicad, Revit, Rhino, or SketchUp Pro refer to:

   Using Datasmith with Archicad

   Using Datasmith with Revit

   As of Twinmotion 2023.1 and Revit 2024, the Datasmith Exporter Plugin is managed by Autodesk and is built in to Revit. No download or separate installation is required.

   Using Datasmith with Rhino

   Using Datasmith with SketchUp Pro

3. In your design application, open the scene that you want to use to set up a Datasmith Direct Link.

4. In Twinmotion, open the Import dock by clicking Import in the Footer.

   

5. In the Import dock, click the Import icon.

   

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

   

   The filename of the scene from your design application appears in the Direct Link settings source field.

   For certain design applications, the filename of the scene does not appear immediately in the Direct Link settings source field. To see the filename, start an Auto Sync or manual synchronization process using the Datasmith Exporter toolbar in the design application.

   If you have more than one design application open, all of the filenames of the open scenes appear in the Direct Link settings source dropdown. If this is the case, select the scene that you want to use.

   

7. Under Options, select the Direct Link importing options. For more information about the importing options, refer to Import Options.

   

8. Click Import. The content from your design application is imported into Twinmotion.

9. In your design application, on the Datasmith Exporter toolbar, click Synchronize with Direct Link. The Direct Link synchronization process starts, and the scene from your design application opens in Twinmotion.

   

   The time required for the synchronization process varies depending on the amount and complexity of the data that is being synchronized.

Setting Up Multiple Direct Links

A Twinmotion project can have Direct Links to multiple design applications at the same time. You can create one Direct Link to each design application. If you need more than one Direct Link to the same design application, you must open a separate instance of the application for each Direct Link.

To set up multiple Direct Links, follow the steps in Setting Up a Datasmith Direct Link for each Direct Link you want to create.

Updating A Scene in Twinmotion

If you make changes to a scene in your design application and you have a Direct Link set up between your design application and Twinmotion, you can update it in Twinmotion automatically with Direct Link Auto Sync or manually using the Synchronize with Direct Link feature.

Using the Direct Link Auto Sync Feature

Each time you make a change to the scene in your design application, the changes are automatically copied to Twinmotion in real-time.

• To enable the Direct Link Auto Sync feature, click the Direct Link Auto Sync button on the Datasmith Exporter toolbar in your design application.

  

  In Archicad and SketchUp Pro, the background of the button switches to light blue when enabled.

  In Rhino, the appearance of the button remains the same when enabled or disabled. You can verify the status of the Direct Link Auto Sync feature in the command history window.

  	Enabled	Disabled
  Archicad and SketchUp Pro
  Rhino

Using the Synchronize with Direct Link feature

If you have a Direct Link set up between your design application and Twinmotion and you make a change to the scene in your design application, you can manually update the scene in Twinmotion from the Datasmith Exporter toolbar as follows:

• Click the Synchronize with Direct Link button on the Datasmith Exporter toolbar.

  

Resolving Broken Links

Once you have set up a Direct Link, a broken link icon may appear on the Direct Link in the Import dock.

This can mostly happen in the following instances:

• The file name and / or location of the source file has changed.

• The source file for the Direct Link is not open in the design application.

• The source file for the Direct Link is open in the design application, but there is no ongoing synchronization process.

If a broken link icon appears, do as follows:

• Make sure the source file is open in the design application.

• Click the Direct Link Auto Sync or Synchronize with Direct Link button on the Datasmith Exporter toolbar.

• Make sure Twinmotion is pointing to the source file.

  To do this, click the ellipsis (...) above the file in the dock, and in the menu, select Direct Link settings to open the Datasmith Import window and locate the file.

  

Resetting and Reimporting Individual Assets

If you delete objects or make changes to objects or materials in a file imported with the Direct Link workflow, you can reimport the objects and reset the original settings for these objects only, instead of doing a full reimport. In the Import dock, click the ellipsis (...) that appears above the file, and in the menu select one of the options.