Clash Box

A Navisworks plugin that fixes two common pain points when re-importing clash viewpoints into a new NWF after model revisions:

1. Adds a bounding box (4m section box) around each clash point so viewpoints frame the clash even when original element IDs no longer exist.
2. Solid shaded rendering — keeps imported viewpoints visible instead of falling back to wireframe ghosts.

Works with Navisworks Manage 2025 and 2026.

The Problem

You run clash detection on a model federation. Save viewpoints from each clash. Export to XML for documentation.

Two weeks later, new model revisions arrive. You build a new NWF and re-import the viewpoint XML. But:

• Viewpoints lose their zoom-to-clash framing (because the original element IDs don't exist anymore)
• Geometry renders as transparent wireframe (because Navisworks falls back when it can't find the saved selection)

Reviewing 50+ clash viewpoints becomes painful.

The Solution

Clash Box parses each clash viewpoint's comment for the embedded Clash Point: X m Y m Z m coordinates, then injects a 4m × 4m × 4m section box around that point. It also resets the lighting attribute so geometry renders solid in the imported viewpoints.

Installation

Quick Install (Recommended)

1. Download the latest ClashBox.bundle.zip from the Releases page
2. Extract to: %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\
3. The folder structure should be: %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ClashBox.bundle\
4. Restart Navisworks

You can paste this into File Explorer's address bar to navigate quickly:

%APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\

Verify Installation

After restarting Navisworks, open any NWF and check the Add-Ins ribbon tab. You should see a Clash Box button.

Usage

1. Open your NWF with the new (revised) models in Navisworks
2. Click Add-Ins ribbon tab → Clash Box button
3. Select your previously exported clash viewpoints XML file
4. The plugin processes it and saves a new file: <original_name>_bboxes.xml next to the original
5. Click Yes when prompted to open the file location
6. In Navisworks: right-click the Saved Viewpoints panel → Import Viewpoints → select the _bboxes.xml file
7. Viewpoints appear with bounding boxes already set, rendering solid shaded
8. Save the NWF (Ctrl+S)

Standalone Python Alternative

If you don't want to install the plugin (or aren't on Windows), scripts/clash_viewpoint_bbox.py does the bounding-box injection without needing Navisworks:

python clash_viewpoint_bbox.py input.xml output.xml --size 2.0

Then import output.xml manually via right-click → Import Viewpoints. Note: this does the bounding box only, not the lighting fix.

Building From Source

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio 2022 (Community is fine) with .NET desktop development workload
• .NET Framework 4.8 Developer Pack
• Navisworks Manage 2025 and/or 2026 installed

Build Steps

1. Clone this repo
2. Open src/ClashViewpointImporter.sln in Visual Studio
3. Make sure platform is set to x64
4. Build → Rebuild Solution

The build automatically deploys to %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ClashBox.bundle\. Restart Navisworks to load the new build.

For details, see docs/BUILDING.md.

Project Structure

clash-box/
├── src/                                      # C# source for the plugin
│   ├── ClashViewpointImporter.cs            # Main plugin code
│   ├── ClashViewpointImporter.NW2025.csproj # Project for NW 2025
│   ├── ClashViewpointImporter.NW2026.csproj # Project for NW 2026
│   ├── ClashViewpointImporter.sln           # Visual Studio solution
│   ├── Directory.Build.props                # Build path configuration
│   └── PackageContents.xml                  # Navisworks bundle manifest
├── scripts/
│   └── clash_viewpoint_bbox.py              # Standalone Python alternative
├── docs/
│   ├── BUILDING.md                          # Build instructions
│   └── HOW_IT_WORKS.md                      # Technical deep dive
├── README.md                                # This file
└── LICENSE                                  # MIT License

How It Works

Bounding Box Injection

Your exported viewpoints XML contains the exact clash point inside each viewpoint's comment:

Clash Point: -6.033 m 0.867 m 1.500 m

The plugin parses this coordinate, builds a 4m axis-aligned box around it, and writes a proper <clipplaneset mode="box" enabled="1"> block into the XML. Navisworks treats this as an active section box.

Lighting Fix

The original viewpoints often have lighting="full" which requires scene lights. If the new NWF has no lights configured, geometry falls back to wireframe. The plugin sets lighting="headlight" (camera-relative) which always renders solid.

For the full technical writeup, see docs/HOW_IT_WORKS.md.

Contributing

Issues and PRs welcome. Please include:

• Navisworks version (2025 / 2026)
• Steps to reproduce
• A sample viewpoints XML if relevant (with sensitive info redacted)

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

Author

Built by JoseC, with assistance from Claude.

If this plugin saves you time on your project, give the repo a star.