3D for Excel embeds the Autodesk APS Viewer inside Excel. Model objects and worksheet rows stay linked, so selection, filtering, highlighting, and fit to view work in both directions.
What you get:
- Bidirectional filtering between the worksheet and the model viewer
- Selection tools including select all, invert, select same, highlight, fit, show only, hide, and clear styling
- Flat and pivot table export of model properties, for the whole model or the current selection
- Status Visualization that colors the model and the worksheet from one property
- Model panels for browsing, properties, custom hierarchies, saved views, wildcard search, and 3D reports
- Component media from openAWP, including 360 degree site photos
Getting Started
Sign in once, then point the add-in at a model.
Signing In
1. Click Sign In
In the AWPBI tab on the ribbon, click Sign In under the Sign In group. Until you do, the task pane shows a prompt instead of the viewer.
2. Pick a method
The dialog offers two ways in: Sign in with Microsoft at the top, and an email code below it.
Sign in with Microsoft
Click Sign in with Microsoft to sign in as the Microsoft 365 account you are already using in Excel. There is nothing to type. If your organization has already granted consent, it goes through without a prompt.
Note: The first use may ask you to approve access. Your Microsoft 365 administrator can grant that consent once for everyone.
Tip: If Microsoft sign-in is unavailable, the dialog says so and stays open on the email form. Nothing is lost, carry on below.
Sign in with an email code
Type your email address under Sign In with Email and click Send Code. There is no password.
Paste the code from the email into Verification Code and click Verify Code.
Note: No code? Click Resend Code.
Selecting a Model Source
Once signed in, the task pane opens the model source picker. A navigation bar runs down the side with one entry per source, and the Home tab shows the same sources as a list.
The available sources are:
- Demo Model. Load the bundled sample model. No setup or account needed.
- Shares. Connect via URN and endpoint to load from a Shares instance.
- openAWP. Sign in to your self-hosted platform and browse projects.
- ACC. Browse Autodesk Construction Cloud hubs, projects, and folders.
Tip: The last model you opened appears under Previously Loaded with a Reload button, and recent changes to the add-in are listed under What's New.
Demo Model
The demo model is the fastest way to try things out before pointing the add-in at real project data.
Open the Demo tab and click Load Demo Model. There is nothing to configure.
Shares
Load one specific model by giving the add-in its URN and a Shares App endpoint. The Shares App mints a temporary token for that model, so the workbook opens it without anyone signing in to ACC.
Setting up the Shares App
Use the Shares App to hand out one ACC or BIM 360 model without opening up the whole project. The result is a read-only link that loads a single model into Excel.
Note: For more on setting up and using the Shares App, refer to the APS Shares App documentation.
1. Go to the Shares App and sign in
Open the Shares App portal and sign in with your Autodesk credentials via 3-legged OAuth.
2. Open the New Share dialog
Click New Share at the top right.
3. Copy the Client ID and Application Name
In the New Share dialog:
- Paste the base64-encoded URN of your model into the URN field.
- Optionally add a description.
- Note the Client ID and Application Name in the blue box.
Note: The Client ID and Application Name authorize the app in Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) or BIM 360.
Tip: Do not have the URN? Retrieve it via the Model Derivative API or the
ACC APIs. With your design open in Autodesk Construction Cloud, open the
browser console and type NOP_VIEWER.model.getData().urn.
4A. Open ACC Admin
Log in to your ACC Admin portal and go to Account Admin > Custom Integrations > Add custom integration.
5A. Add the Client ID and Application Name
Click Add Custom Integration, paste the Client ID and Application Name from the Shares App, then add and confirm. That Client ID can now request scoped view-only access to models from your ACC projects.
6. Finish creating the share
Back in the Shares App, click Create. The model appears in your Shares list with a unique endpoint link.
Copy both:
- The URN. Click the Open in new tab button to view it.
- The endpoint link. Click the Copy to clipboard button.
7. Load the model in Excel
Open the Shares tab in the picker, paste the URN into Shares URN and the share link into Endpoint URL, then click Load Shares Model.
8. Revoke access when needed (optional)
To disable the share, return to the Shares App and click Delete next to it. The link becomes inactive immediately.
openAWP
Connect your openAWP instance to browse projects and models. Connecting also enables the Packaging, Custom Properties, and Media panels, which are not available from the other model sources.
Setting up the openAWP connection
1. Enter your instance URL
Open the openAWP tab and enter the address of your openAWP server in the Instance URL field, for example https://your-openawp-instance.com.
2. Sign in
Click Sign In to openAWP and authenticate through your organization's identity provider.
A confirmation appears once the token is issued. Close the window to return to Excel.
Note: Your openAWP session persists across Excel sessions. The add-in refreshes the authentication token for you.
3. Browse projects
Click Browse openAWP to open your project library. Only projects you have been granted access to appear, each listed with its model count and your role. Click one to select it.
Note: Project access is controlled by your openAWP administrator. If a project you expect is missing, ask your admin to check your permissions.
4. Select a model
Click a model to select it, then click Load Model.
ACC
Sign in to Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) and browse your hubs, projects, and folders straight from the add-in. You authenticate with your own Autodesk account, and you see the projects it already has access to.
Setting up the ACC connection
Provisioning access
An account or project admin must provision access by adding the following Client ID in ACC Admin:
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1A. Open ACC Admin
Go to Account Admin > Custom Integrations > Add custom integration.
2A. Add the Client ID and Application Name
Click Add Custom Integration, paste the Client ID, assign it a name, then add and confirm.
Tip: The integration name can be anything. What matters is the Client ID.
3. Connect to ACC
Open the ACC tab and click Connect to ACC.
4. Sign in and authorize access
Click Open Authentication Page. A browser tab opens where you sign in with your Autodesk credentials and click Allow. The add-in detects the result on its own.
5. Browse and load a model
Once connected, browse your ACC projects, folders, and models, then select one to load.
Note: Only projects you have been granted access to appear. Only models within provisioned scopes are loadable.
Exporting
Model data goes to a worksheet as either a flat table or a pivot table. Pick the properties first with Export Settings in the ribbon.
Customizing Exported Properties
1. Click Export Settings
On the AWPBI tab, click Export Settings under General Settings.
2. Review and select properties
The window lists every property on the loaded model, grouped by category with a count on each group. Search to filter by name, expand a group to see what is in it, and tick what you need. Select/Deselect All covers everything at once.
3. Confirm
Click Confirm. The selection applies to every export from then on.
Exporting All Model Data
1. Open the export menu
On the AWPBI tab, click Export All under Data Actions.
2. Choose format and destination
Pick one of:
- Export Flat Table to Existing Worksheet
- Export Flat Table to New Worksheet
- Export Pivot Table to Existing Worksheet
- Export Pivot Table to New Worksheet
Note: Data lands at the currently selected cell. Select the starting cell before you export.
Exporting Selected Model Data
1. Select objects
In the 3D viewer, select what you want to export.
Tip: Hold Ctrl and drag a selection box in the viewer to select several objects at once.
2. Open the export menu
Click Export Selection under Data Actions.
3. Choose format and destination
The same four options apply.
Export in Action
Flat table export
One row per object, one column per selected property. Use it for direct inspection, sorting, and filtering.
Pivot table export
A nested, expandable table built from the fields you pick, for example IWP, Area, Discipline. Use it for drilling down and summarizing.
Toolbar
The viewer toolbar holds every control in four tabs: Main, Tools, Settings, and Media. Switch Model and Home sit at the top right for changing model without leaving the viewer.
Note: The Media tab appears only when the model was loaded from openAWP.
Main Tab
The Main tab covers selection and the model panels.
View group
| Tool | Function |
|---|---|
| Full Screen / Windowed | Toggles full-screen mode. The label reflects the current state |
Selection Tools group
Building a selection, and controlling how the selected objects look.
| Action | Function |
|---|---|
| Select All | Selects every object currently visible |
| Invert | Inverts the current selection |
| Select Same | Pick a property from the popup to select everything else sharing that value |
| Fit | Frames the selection in the camera |
| Highlight | Ghosts everything that is not selected |
| Show Only | Hides everything except the selection |
| Hide Selected | Hides what is selected |
| Clear | Resets visibility, colors, and ghosting |
| Color | Colors the selection. Click to open the color picker panel and choose the color |
Tip: Actions combine, for example Fit and Highlight together. Clear resets everything at once.
Model Tools group
The model data panels and search tools.
Browser. Opens the native Viewer browser, which lists every object by the model's own instance tree.
- Click a node to select everything inside it
- Use the eye icon to toggle visibility for a whole group
- Type in the search box to filter the tree by name or type
Tip: The Browser shows the model's native structure. To group by any property instead, use Model Hierarchy.
Properties. Opens the Base Properties panel, showing every property on the selected object, grouped into collapsible categories. Search filters by name or value, clicking a value copies it, and the panel follows the selection as it changes. When you are connected to openAWP, its form properties appear here too.
Hierarchy. Opens the Model Hierarchy panel for grouping objects by any property rather than by the instance tree, see Model Hierarchy.
3D Reports. Opens the 3D Reports panel for saving and reusing filter, color, and legend setups, see 3D Reports.
Packaging. Opens the Packaging Tree panel for managing construction packages through openAWP, see Packaging Tree.
Custom Properties. Opens the Custom Properties panel, which shows the properties defined on your openAWP forms for whatever is selected.
Views. Opens the Saved Views panel for storing and restoring camera positions, see Saved Views.
Search. Opens the Wildcard Search panel for finding objects across all properties, see Wildcard Search.
Note: Packaging and Custom Properties read openAWP data. Connect to openAWP before using them.
Tools Tab
The Tools tab covers navigation, camera control, measurement, and sectioning.
Movement Tools group
| Tool | Function |
|---|---|
| Pan | Drag to move the camera horizontally or vertically |
| Zoom | Drag to zoom in and out, or use the mouse wheel |
| POV | Walk through the model with WASD |
Note: Only one navigation tool is active at a time.
Orbit Tools group
| Tool | Function |
|---|---|
| Orbit | Rotates the camera around the model, keeping the up axis fixed |
| Free Orbit | Rotates in any direction, no constraint |
Camera Tools group
| Tool | Function |
|---|---|
| Roll | Rotates the camera along the view direction, a barrel roll |
| Focal Length | Adjusts the field of view |
| Fit | Frames the whole model |
Measure Tools group
| Action | Function |
|---|---|
| Measure | Distance between two points |
| Angle | Angle between three points |
| Calibrate | Sets a known dimension so the model scale is right |
| Delete | Removes the selected measurement |
| Settings | Units, precision, and display options |
| Done | Leaves measurement mode |
Analysis Tools group
Section planes for cutting into the model.
| Tool | Function |
|---|---|
| Box | A six-sided box you can pull in from any face |
| Z Plane | Horizontal cut, for floor plan views |
| Y Plane | Vertical cut along the Y axis |
| X Plane | Vertical cut along the X axis |
Settings Tab
The Settings tab holds display toggles, viewer preferences, and the worksheet interaction settings.
Toggles group
| Tool | Function |
|---|---|
| Light / Dark | Switches the theme. The label names the one you will get |
| Fast Select | Skips the per-object selection highlight. Much faster on large selections |
Viewer group
| Tool | Function |
|---|---|
| Environment | Opens the native APS settings for background, shadows, and performance |
Actions group
What the viewer does when you click data in the worksheet. Turn on as many as you want.
| Action | Function |
|---|---|
| Fit | Fits the camera to the match |
| Highlight | Ghosts everything that did not match |
| Show Only | Isolates the match |
| Select | Puts the match into the viewer's selection |
| Color | Colors the match |
| AutoClear | Clears the previous result first |
Media Tab
The Media tab reaches the files attached to model components in openAWP.
Note: This tab appears only when the model was loaded from openAWP.
View List. Opens the Component Media panel for the current selection. It lists the attached files with type and size, and you can download, delete, or drag new files in to upload.
360° View. Opens the Panoramic Viewer, which wraps a selected image around the model as a 360 degree environment. The model stays visible inside the photo, so site conditions and design line up. Pan and zoom to look around.
Model Panels
The panels below open from the Model Tools group on the Main tab.
Model Hierarchy
The Hierarchy panel builds a tree from any property you choose. Organize the same model by system, by area, or by anything else the data carries. Nest several properties to drill from one into the next, and toggle a whole branch in or out of view.
3D Reports
The 3D Reports panel saves a whole visualization setup as a template, so a color-coded view can be reapplied in one click.
A template holds:
- Report Attribute. The model property the report is built around.
- Filter Conditions. Property conditions combined with AND or OR. Click the operator to switch.
- Status Colors. A color per value of the report attribute.
- Legend Attribute and Legend Position. What the legend lists, and where it sits.
- Actions to Apply. Which viewer actions run with it.
Note: Templates are stored in the workbook. On a model loaded from openAWP they are stored on the server instead and shared with the project.
Saved Views
The Views panel stores camera positions. Add View saves where the camera is now under a name you choose, and clicking a saved view returns to it.
Group related views with Add Folder, which nests as deep as you need. Views and folders can both be renamed and deleted, and the search box filters by name.
Wildcard Search
The Search panel matches a term against every property on the model, wildcards included.
Results come back grouped by property, for example Category, Family, and Type, with each distinct value listed underneath and a count of how many objects carry it. Tick the combinations you want, and whatever actions you have turned on apply to the result.
Packaging Tree
The Packaging panel manages construction packages through openAWP. Packages follow the forms defined there, and you build them up by selecting objects in the viewer and assigning them.
Create packages from the Create tab, and use Select, Add, and Remove to move components in and out. Your openAWP permissions decide what you can change.
Status Visualization
Status Visualization colors the model and the worksheet from one property, so the same value reads the same way in both places.
Note: This works on exported data. Export before you set it up.
Setting up Status Visualization
1. Open the panel
On the AWPBI tab, click Set Status Viz under Visualization.
2. Choose a property
Pick the property to color by from the Property dropdown, for example Discipline, Status, or Area.
Note: The dropdown lists the properties in your Export Settings. Anything left out of the export does not appear.
3. Set the colors (optional)
Each distinct value appears under Color Mappings with a color already assigned. Click a swatch to change it with the picker or a hex code such as #0B4F03.
Number columns are handled differently: instead of one swatch per value, you get eleven percentage bands, 0 then 1-10 through 91-100.
Note: Past 50 distinct values the panel asks before building the pickers. Click Yes to carry on, or No and pick a property with fewer values.
4. Confirm the mapping
Click Confirm Mapping to save it. The mapping is remembered per model, so reopening the panel brings back the colors you set.
Note: This saves the mapping. It does not apply it yet.
5. Apply
Click Apply Status Viz in the ribbon. The colors land on both the model and the matching worksheet rows.
6. Remove (optional)
Click Remove Status Viz to clear the colors from both views.
Filtering
Filtering works both ways between the worksheet and the model, on flat and pivot table exports alike.
From model to worksheet. Select objects in the viewer and the worksheet narrows to their rows.
From worksheet to model. Click a row or cell and the matching objects respond in the viewer, according to the actions you have turned on.
Getting Started with Data Filtering
1. Select model elements
In the 3D viewer, click the objects you want to filter against.
Tip: Hold Ctrl and drag to draw a selection box around several elements.
2. Go to Data Actions
On the AWPBI tab, find the Data Actions group.
3. Toggle the filter
- Filter Excel On. Shows only the rows matching the selected objects.
- Filter Excel Off. Shows all rows again.
Getting Started with Model Filtering
1. Enable filter actions
Open the Settings tab in the viewer and turn on one or more actions in the Actions group: Fit, Highlight, Show Only, Select, or Color. AutoClear clears the previous result before each new one, see Settings Tab.
2. Click into the worksheet
Click a cell or row in the exported data to trigger those actions in the model.
Tip: Drag across several rows to act on them in bulk, or hold Ctrl and click for non-contiguous ranges.
Getting Started with Column Filtering
1. Enable filter actions
Same as above: turn on the actions you want on the Settings tab.
2. Open the column filter menu
Click the arrow in any column header.
3. Apply the conditions
Use the checkboxes to control which values stay visible, for example uncheck "Piping" to drop those rows, then click OK. The worksheet and the model both update.
Tip: Filters on several columns compound, and stay active until you clear them.
Filtering in Action
The recording below runs through the whole loop: selecting objects in the model to narrow the worksheet, on flat and pivot table exports alike, then selecting rows and cells to drive the viewer with each action in turn. Multiple selections are supported throughout.
What each action does when you click into the worksheet:
| Action | What happens |
|---|---|
| Highlight | The matching objects are drawn in the highlight style. Nothing is hidden or moved |
| Show Only | Everything else is hidden until you clear the filter |
| Select | The matching objects enter the viewer's selection, so the selection tools and the Properties panel act on them |
| Fit | The view reframes so the matches fill the canvas, however far apart they are |
| Hide Selected | The matching objects are removed from view. Everything else stays visible |
| Color Selected | The matching objects are recolored. Set the color first with the Color button on the Main tab, which opens the color picker panel |