Convert RTE to DWG

Consultants, fabricators, or AutoCAD users may require editable DWG drawings from a Revit project template. The usable workflow is to create a Revit project from the RTE, then export its populated views or sheets as DWG files.

What the RTE format is

.rte is Autodesk Revit's project-template format. It stores reusable project standards such as families, levels, view templates, object styles, annotation settings, title blocks, units, and sheets; a template may also contain starter model elements, but it is not normally a finished drawing.

Architectural, structural, and MEP users create RTE files when saving a Revit project through File → Save As → Template. Revit uses the template when starting a new project. AutoCAD and generic file-conversion services cannot interpret an RTE as CAD geometry.

What the DWG format is

DWG is Autodesk's native CAD format for 2D drafting and 3D design data. AutoCAD, Civil 3D, BricsCAD, DraftSight, and other CAD applications can open it.

DWG is suitable for exchanging floor plans, elevations, sections, details, and some 3D geometry. It can contain layers, linework, blocks, text, dimensions, hatches, and solids, but it does not preserve Revit families, parameters, schedules, constraints, or BIM relationships.

How to export an RTE as DWG

1. Open Autodesk Revit and choose File → New → Project.
2. Select the required .rte file. Revit creates a new, unsaved project from the template; it does not convert or overwrite the RTE.
3. Open or create the views and sheets to deliver. A template containing only standards has no model geometry to export until elements are added or linked.
4. Save the new project as an .rvt file, then choose File → Export → CAD Formats → DWG.
5. Choose Current view/sheet only for one output, or select multiple views and sheets for a batch export.
6. Select an existing DWG export setup, or choose Modify Export Setup to configure units, layer mapping, line weights, colors, fonts, solids, coordinates, and the target AutoCAD version.
7. Choose an output folder and confirm the export. Revit normally creates a separate DWG for each selected view or sheet; dependent external references may be written as additional files.

For 2D deliverables, export plans, elevations, sections, details, or sheets. For 3D output, export an appropriate 3D view and select the required solid or polymesh settings. A sheet export can include the sheet layout and placed views, while exporting individual views produces separate drawing files.

Software and online options

Autodesk Revit Desktop is the appropriate conversion tool because it understands both the RTE template and Revit's model data. The exact Revit release must support the template: a template saved in a newer release generally cannot be opened in an older release, and Revit does not provide backward saving.

AutoCAD and other DWG editors can edit the exported result, but they cannot open an RTE and perform the initial conversion. Generic online converters are not suitable because they generally do not parse Revit templates or project standards. No dependable direct RTE-to-DWG web converter should be recommended; uploading a resulting RVT or DWG to an online service can also disclose proprietary design data.

Quality and compatibility limits

This is an export rather than a format-preserving conversion. Revit walls, doors, rooms, constraints, schedules, and parameters become DWG linework, blocks, hatches, text, or 3D entities. Changes made in the DWG do not update the Revit project.

Open the exported files in the recipient's CAD application and check drawing units, origin, shared coordinates, text fonts, line weights, hatch patterns, layer names, view crops, title blocks, proxy objects, and external references. Verify the scale with a known dimension before editing or issuing the drawings.

Keep the original RTE and the generated RVT. Exported geometry can require cleanup, especially for hidden-line views, imported or linked models, complex families, annotations, and 3D polymeshes. Coordinate and layer settings in the DWG export setup should be agreed with the CAD recipient before batch export.