Show CADWorx ISOGEN spool and mark numbers in Navisworks

Issue:

You want to see each part's ISOGEN spool number and mark number when you click it in Navisworks.

Navisworks shows a CADWorx tab and a CADWorx User Data tab for CADWorx parts, but the ISOGEN spool and mark numbers are not on either one.

Causes:

• CADWorx stores the ISOGEN spool and mark numbers on each part once the isometrics have run, but the CADWorx Object Enabler only passes its standard fields to Navisworks. Spool and mark are not among them.
• MTOWorx can read both numbers from the model, along with each part's AutoCAD handle. Navisworks shows that same handle on every part. So an MTOWorx export can be linked into Navisworks with DataTools, matching each part by its handle.

Solution:

Before you start

• Run your ISOGEN isometrics from CADWorx first, so the spool and mark numbers exist on the parts.
• Install the CADWorx Object Enabler that matches your Navisworks version, so Navisworks can read CADWorx parts and their handles.
• The computer running Navisworks needs the 64-bit Microsoft Excel Driver for ODBC. It comes with 64-bit Microsoft Office, or with the free Microsoft Access Database Engine (64-bit). To check, open ODBC Data Sources (64-bit) from the Start menu and look on the Drivers tab.

Step 1 - Make the MTOWorx grid

1. Open the CADWorx model in AutoCAD and open the MTOWorx palette in Piping mode.
2. From the custom grid list, pick an unused custom grid. Name it Navis Isogen Data.
3. Select these fields, in this order:
   • Drawing File Name
   • CAD Handle
   • Line Number
   • Spool
   • Isogen Mark
   • Sheet No
   • Size
   • Long Description
4. Refresh the grid. Check that the Spool and Isogen Mark columns are filled in for your piping. If they are empty, the isometrics have not been run on this model yet.

You only make the grid once. It is saved in your Worx settings and is there for every model.

Step 2 - Export the grid to Excel

1. With Navis Isogen Data showing, click Export and choose a folder. Keep the file in a folder that will not move, because Navisworks links to it by its path.
2. Open the file in Excel and check two things:
   • Row 1 holds the column names. Rename them to single words with no spaces, which makes the Navisworks query simpler: Drawing, Handle, LineNumber, Spool, Mark, Sheet, Size, LongDesc.
   • The Handle column is stored as text. Some handles look like numbers (7135) and some do not (20D50). If Excel holds the number-like ones as numbers, Navisworks reads the others as blank. Select the Handle column, then Data > Text to Columns > Next > Next, choose Text, and click Finish. Do the same for Spool and Mark.
3. Rename the worksheet tab to Isogen and save the file.

Step 3 - Link the spreadsheet in Navisworks

1. Open the model in Navisworks. You can open the CADWorx DWG directly.
2. On the Home tab, open Tools > DataTools, then click New.
3. Fill in the link:
   • Name: Isogen. This becomes the tab name in the Properties window.
   • ODBC Driver: Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, *.xlsm, *.xlsb)
   • Click Setup..., then Select Workbook..., and pick the file you saved in Step 2.
   • SQL String:

     SELECT Spool, Mark, LineNumber FROM [Isogen$] WHERE Handle = %prop("Entity Handle", "Value");

• In the Fields grid, add one row per column you want to see:

1. Click OK, then tick Enabled next to the new link and click OK again.
2. Click a flange, gasket or pipe. The Properties window now has an Isogen tab with the spool and mark numbers.
3. Save the model as an NWF file so the link is kept with it.

Keeping it up to date

When the isometrics are re-run, refresh the MTOWorx grid, export it again over the same file, and redo the Excel checks in Step 2. Navisworks reads the new values the next time you click a part.

Notes:

• One drawing per link. AutoCAD handles are only unique within one drawing. Two drawings can each have a part with the handle 7135. If your Navisworks model is built from several drawings, add the drawing to the match. Keep the Drawing column in the export and add AND Drawing = '<file name>.dwg' to the SQL string, with one DataTools link per drawing.
• Export error 20083 with CADWorx 25 on AutoCAD 2025 or newer. In current releases, the MTOWorx export to Excel can fail inside a CADWorx 25 session with error 20083. Until a fix is released, click a cell in the grid, press Ctrl+A then Ctrl+C, paste into a blank Excel sheet at A1, and add the header row from Step 2 yourself.
• The Navisworks part of this workflow only reads the spreadsheet. It does not change the model or the drawing.

Versions: 

• MTOWorx 2026 and newer
• CADWorx Plant 2023 and newer
• Navisworks Manage and Simulate 2023 and newer