Revit OpEd

Occupancy Data Application

2012-01-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

I've written about the workaround solution for documenting occupancy information in room tags in the past. I've even shared a sample project file based on the work I did for Scott Davis' past firm WLC Architects in 2005 (before he joined Autodesk). Until the API came along we were faced with a semi-inelegant solution that involved manual data entry and checking before plot day. Even after the API nobody really addressed this issue directly, till now...

Rahul Shah (blog: Revit Sticky Notes) works for Wood Bagot in the UK. He responded to a query at AUGI with a promise to write an application to push a calculated value to make Occupancy information taggable. He posted his solution today on his BLOG.

His written instructions on the blog post are:

NOTE: In order to use this plugin you will have to add "Occupancy Load Factor (as area type)" and "Occupancy Load (as integer type)" shared parameters to your project file and assign them to Room object as Instance. Also, calculated occupany load value is not dynamically linked with other values so if you change room size or occupany load factor then you will have to rerun this tool to update occupancy load value. Please read the Readme.txt file contained in the zip file for more information.

You can DOWNLOAD IT NOW!

Tekla's BIMsight 1.4 Released

2012-01-27T09:00:00.000-08:00

I've not mentioned subsequent updates for this IFC based model viewer since my original post when it first became available. I received an email the other day letting me know that they released version 1.4.

This release includes enhanced presentation tools and they are really pleased to provide a new dedicated UI for Windows tablets! That should help focus effort on field applications?

A day late and dollar short, they ran two webinars yesterday...should have mentioned this sooner, sorry!

If you'd like to check out some images, CLICK HERE.
Want to read their PRESS Release?

Parameter Grouping

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

Consistency, CONSISTENCY, consistency...

This post is the result of noticing that families that were using a specific group for some parameters were not showing up in the correct group once they were added to a project.

When you create content the names you use for parameters is one thing to worry about. The Group you assign them to is yet another. We don't get much control over how we present parameters to our users, but Groups are one thing we do get some say about. We can even change them without starting over, compared with getting the parameter name or data type wrong.

If you'd like all your content to show the same grouping you'd better be consistent. Then again even if you are you may not get your way though. I should explain myself now?

Here's a parameter called "Mounting Elevation". It's neatly tucked away in the "Construction" group.

Curious about why I'm using Mounting Elevation when you can clearly see Default Elevation just above it? I can't tag something with the Default Elevation parameter (Data Devices in this situation), it's not among the parameters available in a tag family. I'm using a shared parameter for Mounting Elevation and "connecting the dots" with a formula that is equal to Default Elevation.

I loaded it into a project and all is well. A bit later I notice this. The parameter has wandered into a new group called "Dimensions". Hmmm...

I went back to the beginning, just like Vezzini told Inigo he should. I started with a blank project template and a single family. I added a shared parameter for "Mounting Height" and assigned it to the "Construction" group. Parameter showed up as expected. I went back to the family and tried to change the group to something else. Loaded back into the project, no respect...parameter still located under "Construction". Apparently once the project captured the group, it stuck, even if I change it in the family and reload it.

Next I tried adding a second family that used the same shared parameter but assigned to a different group, no change. Still assigned to the original group. Hmmm... So how did the parameter move?? I started to think that maybe I assigned the parameter to the other group originally and later decided to use "Construction" instead. That was so hours ago, don't really remember now. Just not sure anymore.

Let's mix it up a little with Project Parameters. When you use a shared parameter in your family Revit is kind enough to make them available in schedules without doing anything extra (except for titleblock families, they are a special case). I thought I'd try adding the same parameter to the project and assign it to the group I really wanted. Aaah... the parameter moved to the group I wanted!

If I edit the Project Parameter and change it again it moves to the new group. Well that's consistent at least.

Fire Protection probably isn't the best group to use though eh? My lesson learned from this fun is to think a bit harder about the groups I want to use earlier and to be really sure I'm happy with the setup before putting it in a real project. If I don't I'll either have to live with it or just add the parameter to the project too (which isn't really a hardship even if it isn't technically necessary).

New Family Browser Product

2012-01-26T08:00:00.000-08:00

CAD Technology Center is offering a new product called BIM List. They've provided several videos to help get acquainted with the application.

Quickly Locate and Insert Families

Advanced Search Functionality

Administrative Controls

Up to Date Content

Easy Setup

I've embedded the first video here.

Uh oh, now I'll toss out a little of the opinion part of my blog...(a reader once told me that I don't really offer opinions enough)

The product image uses the phrase/name Family Browser which happens to be the chosen name for another company's product (Kiwi Codes Solutions). Sorry, the sales team probably would rather I not bring that up? It's the first thing that came to mind though...(pink elephant in the room? I see it!). I know the words Family Browser have some instant recognition/association because of Project Browser (at least for Revit users) so I understand the attractiveness to do so. I'd have tried hard to steer clear of sharing it with another product though. My first thought was "Family Manager" instead. As it stands now, the first "roadblock" is, "Is that the one from New Zealand?".

After watching their videos, my initial reaction is that BIM List appears to be a bit "heavier" than KiwiCodes approach, thus the "Family Manager" name I mentioned before. To me, judging by "covers alone", the Kiwi Family Browser is less complicated or intimidating looking (I've used it a fair bit, but don't own either) as well as a pretty easy experience overall.

The search dialog portion (of BIM List) had me wondering if scanning those lists of fields/data is any less daunting than scrolling for loaded families anyway. My sense is that it will appeal to a different sort of user or Revit manager than those who are already using Kiwi Codes app. The price certainly seems pretty easy to cope with.

Then again, I've not used it (BIM List). If I had more time I'd consider a comparison post between the Family Browsers. Maybe someone will pick up the "review" ball and run with it?! Having some options/choices to help cope with content isn't a bad thing though is it?

Happy "browsing"!

P.S. I'm still mystified why Autodesk doesn't resolve this within Revit itself???
P.S.S. I don't benefit financially or otherwise from either product or company.

Point Cloud Feature Extraction

2012-01-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

When I first saw this show up in the Labs blog post it was called "Scan to Bim". I wondered about the name conflict with the application already using that name, created by the folks at IMAGINiT. I thought at first maybe that Autodesk bought it. However barely a day later and it's called Point Cloud Feature Extraction.

follow up post

TRY NEWER RUNTIME

WHAT TOOLS DOES POINT CLOUD FEATURE EXTRACTION PLUG-IN FOR REVIT PROVIDE?

Point Cloud Feature Extraction for Autodesk Revit 2012 provides the following tools to facilitate the point cloud editing after it is inserted into Revit:

Crop/Uncrop:

Hide Point Cloud:

Adjust Axis:

Moreover, this plug-in includes some main features specifically for Revit so that the extracted features / geometry can be smoothly integrated into the BIM workflow:

Datum Extraction:

Site Extraction:

Wall Extraction:

Floor Extraction:

AVAILABILITY

The Point Cloud Feature Extraction for Autodesk Revit technology preview is licensed for a limited term and for a particular territory as referenced in the End User License Agreement. The technology preview will operate until August 1, 2012.

Want to watch some videos? (links to You Tube)

Crop and Uncrop

Axis Adjustment

Datum Extraction

Site/Building Footprint Extraction

Wall Extraction

Floor Extraction

Arc Wall Extraction

They'd like your feedback

See how well the Point Cloud Feature Extraction for Autodesk Revit technology preview works for you, and be sure to tell us how we can improve this technology by following the feedback links in the upper-right corner of this page. You can also post comments on the Between the Lines or It's Alive in the Lab blog.

Vasari Talk Today

2012-01-25T06:28:00.000-08:00

Another installment of Vasari Talk will begin today at 11:30 AM (EST). If you want to learn more about panels and reporting parameters from Zach be sure to register and attend (it's virtual).

Since I'm mentioning Vasari, there are two new offerings at the "Labs" for it.

Automatically Update Export for Solar Radiation
Dynamo for Vasari

Scheduling a Survey

2012-01-24T11:24:00.000-08:00

Please respond to the new survey regarding schedules for Revit if you have any notion that they could be better.

David Conant wrote something that appeared on Inside the Factory today called, "Revit Schedules, A Love Hate Relationship". He also wrote the following text at the user forums Revitforum.org and AUGI.

To ensure that Revit can meet current needs and has the capacity for future ones, the Revit team periodically revisits basic features. We are currently gathering information about schedules and similar data reports. This is part of an effort to understand the full range of needs you, the users, have both for the data you want to present and how you want to present it.

If you are willing to help us, please use the link below. It leads to a short survey recording basic demographic and usage information and a link to share samples of your work. I know that many of you have expressed your needs here and in other forums so this may seem redundant. We follow those discussions closely. The survey method is very helpful to us as it provides information in an organized and analyzable form. All work collected will be used by Autodesk for internal research only and will never be shared without your permission. ~ Thanks in advance for your help.

CLICK TO RESPOND to the SURVEY

Color Fill Legends Mixing with Stairs and Railings

2012-01-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

David Light wrote a post about getting stairs to display better when color fill legends are involved. Then Brian Mackey wrote a post to offer another solution. David's approach involves using a solid fill and matching color to "blend" the color fill and the solid fill colors. Brian's involves using the new "Ghost Surfaces" feature.

To offer my two cents I wrote a comment to David's post after reading his. I mentioned what happens when we use the "Transparent" option for categories in Visibility/Graphics or using Override Graphics in View feature > By Element.

This is what you see on screen (using the "Transparent" option to "Override Graphics in View > By Element")(uh oh):

And this is what you get when you print (oh? okay):

Intrigued because I didn't bother to try the approach Brian suggested, I tried it. Using the "Ghost Surfaces" option to "Override Graphics in View > By Element" you see this on screen (looking good):

This is what you get when you print (oh, not so good):

Tag...you guys are "it"! :)

Export a Shared Parameter

2012-01-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

or alternate title, "Road to Recovery"

When you don't have access to the original Shared Parameter's file there are two ways to get to it, via a family or in a schedule. Either way you need to be able to “touch” the parameter so you can use the Export option for shared parameters. Revit will add the parameter to the current shared parameter file you are using.

In a family you need to open Family Types, select the parameter, choose the Modify button.

In a project schedule you need to take a look at the view properties for the schedule, view the fields, pick the parameter, then click Edit.

In either case you just need to click Export and Revit will warn you that it will add it to the current shared parameter file you are using.

If the Export button is not active it is because you don’t have a shared parameter file selected yet. You’ll need to do so first. Go to the Manage Ribbon > Settings panel > Shared Parameters button, browse to find it or create one from scratch.

The only family type that doesn't play along with this scenario is titleblocks. Shared parameters that are used in titleblocks must be "connected" to a project by adding the shared parameter to the project as a project parameter too, since titleblocks are sort of a "tag" for views.

Parameter Pecking Order or Priority

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

There is no preference applied to one over another. A Shared Parameter is no different than a Project Parameter... a parameter is a parameter. How they are defined and shared between projects and families is different.

A family parameter is confined to the family. It can be seen and altered from within a project but not scheduled or tagged unless it is a built in parameter (created by Autodesk's Revit team) like those listed under the Identity group.

A Project Parameter is part of a project and applied broadly to a single category or even categories of families so that it can be scheduled, but not tagged.

A shared parameter bridges both, acting as a dictionary (the shared parameter file) by storing common definitions so they can be reused (yes "shared") in other projects or families. When you add a family or project parameter using a shared parameter (definition from the dictionary) it is really just another parameter but it has expanded possibilities because it is "shared".

If you add a family parameter to a door called "My Parameter" and add another Project Parameter to your project called "My Parameter" (applied to door category) and create a Shared Parameter (added to door and project) called "My Parameter" you'll end up with four (4) parameters called "My Parameter" in the project. All will be listed in the properties of the door family in the project. A couple will be listed in the door family itself when open in the family editor. A couple will be available in the Schedule Properties dialog. The name we "see" for a parameter isn't really what makes it unique. They have a GUID (globally unique Identifier).

Short answer...doesn't matter how you add the parameter, Revit doesn't pay more attention to one over another or deal with one kind first, then another...no pecking order.

Shared Parameter Czar

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

I encourage people to have a single point of contact (POC) with Shared Parameters. If a project needs a new parameter then see the POC for getting it added to the office Shared Parameters. Often this interaction makes a team aware of the fact that such a parameter exists or a similar one does for much the same purpose. Same goes for firms with more than one office. They just need to share a read only copy of the shared parameter file for each office so they can use them too. Call the POC the SP Czar or King or Gov... put one person who has the best handle on what exists and what's possible and what it's all about... Alfie.

If you have job or client specific sets of parameters, just create a separate group for them. Avoid having job specific things for generic things like length, width etc. Often this starts with documentation requirements, what has to appear in a schedule for example. If you and the office can define what information must appear in that kind of documentation you can map out a parameter strategy. Keep in mind that this situation is happening in every office and for every person that makes content... I think of it as the great big can o' worms that Revit and BIM have spun the lid off and hasn't resolved.

Press and Drag

2012-01-18T21:55:00.000-08:00

The Autodesk blog "Inside the Factory" is asking about the Press and Drag option. Using this software for as long as I have I'm quite unhappy when the option is off. Maybe it's minor or strange, and to some irksome or even dangerous, but I'm very used to and happy to use it. So far the comments on their post seem to be running in favor of removing or "blunting" it somehow. According to one comment, I'm nuts for using or liking it.

The only time I get frustrated with it is with linked files. Revit's odd preference for "seeing" and therefore selecting linked elements over the native elements is something that ought to be fixed instead. Removing the Press and Drag feature should not come as a result of other issues.

I find it interesting that people who normally count clicks are "happy" to add more clicks for this item. I use press and drag for so many things, dimensions, text, tags, equipment, duct/pipe runs, walls, doors/windows, viewports on sheets, practically everything at some point. When things need to be precise it isn't the correct approach but so much of what we do during design and documentation can be adjusted more readily with it on.

My vote is leave "my" Press and Drag alone.
If people don't want to use it, that's what the check box is for and it can be preset to "off" via the Revit.ini file already. Don't like it, don't use it, please don't make my choice for me.

Revit History Lesson

2012-01-18T10:31:00.000-08:00

If you are interested in a little history of Revit wander over to Jeremy's blog The Building Coder. Cool!

The Shared Parameter File has no Relationships

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-08:00

I frequently read about or hear questions about this concept that generally assume or expect that there is some inherent (permanent or connected) relationship between a shared parameter file and the use of such a parameter in a project or family.

The shared parameter file has no active relationship (no link, no "xref", no lookup) with your families or projects so there is no risk of someone running off with it, or it getting deleted. The shared parameter file is only used like a "dictionary". We/Revit uses it to "look up" a parameter definition to apply it to a family or project. Thereafter when Revit encounters it in the project it knows what it means. Thus no active connection to the parameter in the file itself.

If someone loses the shared parameter file it is possible to export shared parameters from projects that have them to restore their definition to a new "dictionary". You can read this post to find out how.

AUGI Survey Says

2012-01-17T17:38:00.000-08:00

AUGI has a "curiosity" survey running right now. Visit the site and take a look at the right hand side of the page, scroll down a bit.

The option I need isn't there..."Brochure inside AutoCAD Software Box"... that makes me a bit of an old timer. I first heard about AUGI in the late 90's. I joined a couple years before my first AU and participated in the "Guilds", email based community support network. You sent a question to a guild email address and it got passed on to everyone in the guild and whoever had time, an interest and hopefully the answer responded.

If you are interested in helping AUGI discover how people are finding out about the group, wander over there and check off the one that best fits you.

RevitCat - Tim Joins the Ranks

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Tim Waldock presented a session at RTCUSA last year and posted a teaser video of his session. He's decided to write some of his experimentation and experiences on his new blog RevitCAT. You can watch the videos he's posted in his first few posts so far. He's planning on another video teaser for the next RTC event(s) assuming that acceptance is forthcoming...which I'd be surprised if it wasn't. Another blog for the reader!

Here's my own teaser for his blog, he posted this at You Tube last year too.

Conduit from Face Gotcha!

2012-01-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

The other day I made what I thought was a simple distribution box, the kind that is really a "junction" box that sits in a ceiling to provide some wire management access. A pull box with a nice door. No problem. To test it out I tried to run some conduit to it. I expected the surface to highlight when I put the cursor over the edge of the box. Nothing. I selected the box and saw the conduit connectors, right-click > choose Draw conduit from face...nothingness. A blank stare from Revit...me staring blankly at Revit. Huh?

Time for a break...

After some dinner I fired it all back up and some clarity returned. Ahh, I used visibility settings on the "box" and un-checked the Plan option.

I used Symbolic Lines to show the box in plan instead. That was the gotcha...if the solid form/face that is the conduit connectors host isn't visible in the plan view the Draw Conduit from Face tool says, "huh?!?". It's kind of like the Spot Elevation tool not finding a floor or ceiling when the view is using Wireframe. The tool can't "see" the connector even though Revit manages to display the connector fine. I just needed to restore that setting and rethink when I wanted things to show up...back on track.

Designing Revit Content - What is Interference?

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

Since today is a superstitious day and I'll be pretty busy watching out for black cats, walking around ladders and such...I thought I'd bump something I wrote in August 2009 up to the front. I thought of this one because of a couple posts by Doug Bowers.

For the most part Revit will help you find when various elements interfere with each other. A window that gets bumped into by a perpendicular wall will generate a warning. A wall that overlaps another will too. A desk copied on top of another will but only if it is in the exact same location.

There are instances that do not generate warnings at all. The same window that complained about a wall won't complain if another window overlaps it. Then there is a door that doesn't mind something encroaching on the swing area or the accessibility requirements. Put a desk so that it crosses into the swing area and use Interference Check between doors and furniture and you'll find no interference reported. Is Revit blind? In a way yes!

A typical door family doesn't have a real element representing the swing or panel in a plan view, it is just symbolic lines. Therefore no interference. The only solid geometry in most door families is the panel and glass which is usually confined to the extents of the wall interior and exterior faces. That desk will need to cross into that space to be a conflict.

Is all of the content for Revit missing this intelligence. Yes, nearly all of it. Why? Because except for a few instances this intelligence isn't so simple. The clearance requirements for content becomes highly specific very quickly. Even more specific when you start examining MEP equipment. Even doors that have seemingly simple push/pull clearance requirements have subtle exceptions depending upon where in the world the door is installed and the relevant code(s). Thus far the content we use ignores this issue for the most part.

The next step is for content to begin to address these design considerations and that's how content becomes more powerful and relevant. More powerful when it not only helps us model and document a design but it begins to make sure that our decisions will meet codes and design best practices. Does your content help your firm in this way? If it does then bravo, if it doesn't it could. How?

One way is to include solid geometry that represents the clearance requirements for the element. This means defining a boundary, usually parametric too, that will represent whatever clearance/interference issues a family might have. This could be a bounding box surrounding the entire element or a box defining an access door's swing clearance for maintenance.

Incidentally, with Naviswork's Clash Detective it is possible to test for Hard and Soft clashes and even define a clearance value that can be applied during a test. Revit lacks this subtlety so a family needs to provide something for it to use. That something is solid geometry.

Practically speaking this means more in each family. This extra solid will also have to be managed otherwise you'll be seeing a lot of boxes in your views.

Autodesk could help us by defining a new sub-category for all elements called Clearance or similar. This would mean that Revit could then learn how to detect a user defined clearance sub-category element and even have a default visibility behavior or setting allowing us to flip a switch to show or hide clearances. Until such time we have to do it by adding it ourselves and ensuring these solids are properly assigned and done consistently for our content.

Keep in mind that the obvious way to manage visibility by using Detail Level won't help us for now. Why? Detail Level doesn't work with Interference Checking, the solid has to be "visible". If you assign the clearance solid to use a specific Detail Level the Interference Check tool fails to see the solid at all even if you change the view to the correct detail level.

Bottom line, can't use Detail Level to manage the visibility of clearance solids. You must use sub-categories or Yes/No parameters. Using sub-categories is a broader brush solution while Yes/No is more involved because you have to manage them at the family level. When you use these methods you can turn off the visibility of a clearance solid and the Interference Check tool will still find them.

Just when you thought your content was great you find out there is something else you could do to make them even better! A toast to making content better still!

Equal Rights for Specialty Equipment

2012-01-12T22:07:00.000-08:00

[rant mode = on]

I'd like Specialty Equipment to either become a real MEP category (Autodesk's court) or that content creators (whoever you are) stop making MEP content using the Specialty Equipment category. It has not and still IS NOT a "real" category for Revit MEP. Just un-check the Show Categories from All Disciplines option in Visibility/Graphics, not there is it?!?

Elements that use it (Specialty Equipment) are regarded as "lowly" architectural stuff that doesn't deserve to be fully visible. That means your data rack, wire management cabinet, and countless other things are halftone and "transparent" in the RME environment. The first thing us "poor saps" have to do is wrestle with re-assigning them to a category that works so it will show up in our views properly.

It might be better or "easier" for Autodesk to just give it equal status. A rack or cabinet might have teleco stuff or it might have security video servers for data storage. We could argue that it's still "data (devices)" but if it's getting used for security information special things happen. A drawing that has security information gets shared with people much differently (more restrictively) than regular stuff, otherwise what's secure about it? Do we have to copy the cabinet and make one security devices and one data devices (from the same original family)? If it could be Specialty Equipment then we'd just need to filter by something to distinguish them...like Service Type or Usage. That's the easy part, we just need these things to join the party!

[rant mode = off]

Revit Quick Tip - Section View Depth

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

When you create a section view Revit examines the scope of the model you have and decides how deep it should "look" based on this size. Often that's TOO big. With the properties palette it's easy to reset this before you actually open the view, or zooming out a lot to drag the grip back.

Just enter a "better" number, then open the view. You'll still have to fuss with the vertical scope, sorry no parameter exposed for that.

Revit has a Wblock Feature Too?

2012-01-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Read a post a couple days ago that AutoCAD has WBLOCK to write information out to a new file. It went on to say that Revit does not. Technically true, no Wblock command. It got me thinking that the "Save as Group" feature however does much the same thing, select elements, create group, Application Menu > Save As > Group. This takes your selected items (the group) and writes them to a new .rvt (project) file. In essence the "same" thing as Wblock.

The subject of the post I read was about splitting a project up. The method advocated is to use Save As to create a separate project and then clean out everything you don't want to keep. The Save as Group approach could/would/should work too. Regardless the hard part isn't Save as...it's carefully filtering/selecting everything.

As you were...

All Capital Letters

2012-01-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

Saw a request recently to change the "Grand Total" (title as Revit calls it) that appears at the bottom of Revit schedules from Sentence Case to Upper Case.

My first reaction was to wander down the path of reminiscing why we use upper case in documentation at all. Going back to hand drafting and reducing the number of characters to master for simplicity and consistency sake. Whenever something like this comes up you can go the route of justification/explanation, "Well, here's why Revit does it that way. I know you don't feel better, but at least you know why though?" Alternatively you can just go the route of apologizing, "Nope it doesn't do that, sorry!"

fuss over

automagic

If you really want to get your way, you can, not hard...just isn't automatic, you'll have to keep after it. Alter the schedule so it uses the Totals Only option. Then at the bottom of the schedule add a text element that says "GRAND TOTAL". You've got to move this as the schedule expands/contracts. Remember to check it before printing.

Maybe someday they'll make it possible to change these "little things"? Definitely a Dept. of Reviteristic or perhaps Dept. of Quirky or Dept. of Subtle. Heck all three work for me!

[Added: 1/10/2012] Paul Aubin mentions in a follow up POST that we can use a font that only has upper case characters. That's a trick that a few people I'm met or know from the user forums on the "internets" have used. Assuming you can find such a font that is acceptable it might just work. Remember you've got to make any downstream users also have the font.

VEO Video Preview

2012-01-09T19:00:00.001-08:00

Remember these dials?

VEO is...

VEO™ Lux - Navigate and Visualize
VEO™ Logic - Coordination and Validation
VEO™ Time - Scheduling and Sequencing
VEO™ Track - Asset tracking
VEO™ Archive - Model-linked document library
VEO™ Pulse - Real-time sensor data

Got three minutes? Watch the preview video to get a quick sense of what's in store.

Revit MEP Space Tag Shows Unoccupied Now

2012-01-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

The alternate title I was going to use is, "More Floors Than Revit Wants".

A thread popped up at AUGI recently discussing space tags that were working but aren't now. In this case, the tags being used were made to report the linked file's room name and number instead of showing the space's own name and number. That's a common work around to avoid worrying about what a space's name and number really is.

One reply mentions that they've seen a situation where they have more than one linked file and there are floors in each of them. It's my observation that the multiple floors issue isn't just that there just are multiple floors, it's that usually there are floors that are "inside" the Space. When an architect places "finish" floors on top the structural slab (often in a separate model) they typically place the floor using an offset equal to the material thickness. This puts the floor up/inside the Space.

This seems to reduce the space to a quivering mess.

One thing that fixes it, adjust your level(s) computation height (Instance Property of a Level) so it is equal to the top or slightly above their finish floors. To avoid that, ask them (the team that gave you the file) to set their finish floors so they are not Room Bounding instead. You'll have to wait for the new file though.

Then again, another way is to just use the regular space tag (using space name/number) and the Space Naming Utility extension (free to subscription members) to sync Room names/numbers with Space names/numbers. I'm still amazed that it isn't just built into RME by now.

Hacking at Railings Again for 3D Grids

2012-01-06T20:00:00.000-08:00

An exchange at RevitForum.org discussing 3D grids for 3D views or exporting to Navisworks prompted yet another "hackalicious" thought for Railings. I posted a VIDEO or this video so you can see and hear me discuss the concept. If you want to cut to the chase you can download the example project file (just scroll to the railing section on the page).

Aaron Maller shared some images (in the RFO thread) and concepts behind the line based families they've been using. Seeing them and reading the other posts made me think of railings yet again, because they don't mind curved paths and multiple segments. That and I'm not good with math that involves letters, weird signs or code.

By the way, several Dallas area based RFO members (Dan, Jose, Bob, Tanner, Aaron and me) got together for dinner last night and I mentioned it to Aaron so naturally I ended up writing this post tonight. We went to Taverna by Lombardi. Dan found it because I mentioned I was in the mood for risotto (yum!). Thanks to Dan for getting it organized! Sorry, I digress...

The first thing I did was create a baluster family to show a grid name, using 3D Text. Then I created a profile for the "railing", just a thin rectangle "kick plate" to "trip" over in the model. Once they were loaded into the project I created a new type for each Grid name, you'd need a type for every grid name in the project.

With the the types established I'm ready for railing types. I just created a new railing type for each grid as well. Then it's click click click... adding the matching baluster type to the railing type. Yep, this is the tedious part. It's more fun once you get to sketch the grids...define "fun" though?

Like I said railings don't mind curves so here's a curved grid added in.

Last image is using "nicer" grid stands to identify them, more like the example Aaron showed at RFO.

Listen and Watch my video here?

In actual use, I'd start in a empty project file and link in the project file that has the governing grids in them. Then use Copy/Monitor to create equivalent Revit grids and put the 3D grids (hacked railings) on top, at each level of the bldg. Copy/Monitor let's me open my 3D grid file any time and see if there are any changes I need to be aware of. I just have to provide a new export to .nwc (or .dwg) any time there is a change, and pass along the new file.

Blogging in the Future

2012-01-06T14:41:00.000-08:00

I wrote something intending to post it on Tuesday next week. I occasionally get inspired to write several posts ahead of time and stack them up. Then I can coast for a few days... A fair number of bloggers read this blog too so I thought I pass along a "bug" "tip".

If you accidentally post something like I did this afternoon it will show up immediately (no bug). If you just go change the date it will look like it was posted in the future! (also no bug). With Blogger you need to "un-publish" it using the relatively new "Revert to Draft" button. That will take it back off your blog page. Unfortunately it will still probably get picked up by .rss feeds or other sites that automatically post new stuff via similar technology (maybe they just use feeds too?).

So there's no bug...except for hasty button pushing. ;) Sadly, I've done this more than a few times since I started blogging. Best advice? Go near the Publish button slowly, triple check before pushing.

Vasari Back On Line

2012-01-05T21:52:00.000-08:00

Just in case you missed it Vasari went "offline" for a couple weeks at the end of the year and the Autodesk Labs blog announced that it is available to download again. They had to deal with some licensing issues apparently so they pulled it so they could sort through that.

Go Vasari again!

If you missed it before they been running Vasari Talk sessions and you can CHECK OUT the previous sessions. The site says that they'll return in 2012 with more sessions so stay tuned.

Elevation Update Update

2012-01-04T22:18:00.000-08:00

A comment showed up on my earlier post regarding elevation tags that don't update in stand-alone project files, which reminded me that I never posted this information though I intended to do so.

Steve Faust with Revolution Design let me know back then that the Elevation Fix utility they created is kind of a follow up to your blog post showing the problem. It was developed primarily by Nick Kovach who posted the ‘problem solved’ comment. You can find out more about their solution as well as downloaded at their SITE.

These are the previous three posts (October 2011):
Revit OpEd: Elevation Update Update
Revit OpEd: Elevation Update Update Updated
Revit OpEd: Elevation Tag Update Not Happening

Sorry You are Too Short

2012-01-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

No I'm not picking on short people, that's Randy Newman's domain. Revit does have a bias against short lines (as most of us are well aware). Try sketching a line that's less than 1/32" long and you'll get this message.

It also doesn't care much for moving or copying elements very small distances. You may have run into this message?

What may not be obvious is that you can often trim a line to be shorter than the minimum size of 1/32". The threshold appears to be 1/128" (.16mm). In my experience this appears to work for most families such as annotation, detail component and generic model families. I've tried it in various project views including a drafting view without success. The project environment seems to be entirely intolerant of slipping past the 1/32" (0.780369mm) threshold. Trying to get smaller than that generates the first warning again.

If you want to copy/move something a smaller distance and get the warning, try dragging or using CTRL + Drag. You can get the arbitrary smaller distance and then use the temporary dimension to set the actual distance you want. Sometimes you can affect this limitation by zooming in closer, at least with regard to move or copy.

Fwiw, 1/128" converted to decimal is 0.00781250". I was able to make a line shorter still, to this decimal inch value 0.0063477", however Revit could not display anything other than 1/128" unless I changed the project units to decimal inches first using six decimal places. It is possible to create shorter lines than we are accustomed to (Revit limits) but only in family files.

Just a Leader Only by Itself All Alone

2012-01-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

Dave Edwards wrote to me recently to pass along a tip. He's a self professed "font nut" as the owner of TC Fonts so finding a way to use a font to get leaders without seeing text would be more fun than the other techniques like using a really tiny font height or creating a blank symbol family instead.

Here's the essence of the tip:

Revit is smart enough to strip out "blank" characters including the No Break Space and Em/En spaces found in the Unicode character range. However, there's one that will work - Zero-Width Space or U+200B. If you bring up the Character Map system application and Select/Copy this character into the Clipboard, you then create you leader and then Paste this character into the box. Nothing shows.

This solution does depend on the font you use as well as making sure that anyone who will open your project file also has the font installed. That's the classic Achilles heel of using custom fonts in general.

Show Your Constraints

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000-08:00

In Revit we can apply constraints (padlock and EQ) using dimensions. These dimensions can get deleted and if the person doing the deleting doesn't respond to the warning well...the constraint remains intact without any obvious visible evidence.

Choosing Unconstrain will eliminate the constraint when the dimension is deleted. Unfortunately many users just click OK, leaving the constraint to come back and bite someone later, maybe themselves.

For example, years ago, a friend started modeling a tall building. He locked the distance between a few different floors and then later deleted the string. Eventually he needed to change the floor to floor height and Revit crashed. I took a look at the model. When I used Zoom to Fit in an elevation view I noticed that a little padlock appeared when I selected a Level. Revit tends to display the icon for a constraint at the opposite end of what is being examined, usually off screen unfortunately (less clutter with other icons is my theory). Using Zoom to Fit meant I could see the whole level, and the constraint icon, like in this image at the far left.

Software programmers "comment their code" so that it is easier to figure out what a section of code is intended to do later. It's etiquette, good practice, nice... Half the time it's self serving too. I've returned to some code I wrote months or years later pleased to find my own comment helping me remember why I did "that".

To mimic this notion of "commenting our code", I frequently suggest that if this sort of constraint is really important then consider making a duplicate view called Level 1 - Constraints (or somesuch). Lock and constrain it there. With this special view any/everyone can see the constraints anytime they want and see why they are there because you can add a note saying so.

Shades of Grey Revit Blog Plug

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000-08:00

This is a brief post to plug Andy Milburn's blog Shades of Grey. He started blogging in October of 2010 and his work is a fine testimony to quality over quantity.

Lately his posts have been about his exploration into the work of various masters and how he's used Revit to further his study of them. I enjoy his work and appreciate that he takes the time to share it with us. If you haven't already found his blog I think you owe it to yourself to subscribe so you won't miss future posts.

My Revit and BIM Blog Lists

2011-12-29T12:51:00.000-08:00

A brief post in the midst of a holiday hiatus from blogging. I started a couple lists of blogs years ago, Revit Focused and BIM and Misc. Originally they were all on the right side bar of the site. That got tedious fast so I moved them over to their own pages when Blogger added the feature. Slowly since then I've added to it as I became aware of others. Between the two lists there are well over two hundred to chose from. A few months ago I added a "Must Follow" label to some. That generally means they are part of my own reading list.

Lately I've either received email about not being on the list or read Tweets mentioning my list and then lamenting not being on the list. In every instance, so far, the blogs that were supposedly not listed...were/are.

For what it's worth, I'm not selective or exclusive about which blogs are on the list. I only have one criteria, that I know they exist. How could I put them on the list if I didn't?. Some blogs on the list have just one or two posts total. That just shows it's easy to start a blog, harder to keep at it. I leave the blogs that are hibernating on the list because you never know if the few posts that are there will be helpful to a reader.

If you are looking for your blog on the lists you need to be aware that there are two lists.

When I picked which list to place a link to a blog I tried to decide how "Revit" biased/focused they were/are. If the blog was distinctly Revit...it ended up on the Revit list. If the blog ventured off on other software or included the BIM acronym in the blog title then I picked the other list. In some cases blogs have changed their name or focus since I first saw them or the people that write/wrote them have changed employers/careers. I don't get as much time to revisit the lists to check URL's or names as I'd like.

If you write a blog and read this one it is very likely yours in on one of the two lists already. If it isn't, just let me know.

Unconventional Revit

2011-12-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

Back in 2005 I wrote about using Revit to choose my son's soccer team lineups. Since then I learned that a friend used it to help her plan the seating for her friend's wedding reception. Now Case Inc. has offered up yet another way to use Revit in unconventional ways, Checkers! Must use worksets though. My mind wanders to four player Battleship? Cool game Case guys!

[Added: 12/29/2011]
Zach Kron "one-upped" the Case boyz with his Chess Set version. Read his Buildz Blog post. Next up Mouse Trap?

You've Got a Bad Profile

2011-12-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

Considering the time of year and checking lists you don't want a bad profile. If you create a profile family for a railing and don't do a very good job of it Revit won't offer you your profile in the list of available profiles.

The missing profile you expect to find here is a clue that your profile is bad. You need to check your sketch to make sure you don't have a Bad Sketch. Only kids with a good profile get to use their profile in their railings.

A Little More Dialog Resizing Please

2011-12-21T18:37:00.000-08:00

It would be nice if the gang at the factory would add some re-sizing magic to this dialog too!?! The Tag All dialog can be a bit hard to deal with the type name when some company naming conventions result in long names. There's only so much room to adjust the column widths within the fixed frame of the dialog. Seems like such a minor kind of finesse?

In the past I wrote about a free utility (that David Kingham found) called Resize Enable that permits some "hacking" overrides of the dialog sizing. I just downloaded it and ran the app again tonight. It does work to allow for stretching this dialog though it gives no visual clues that it will work. You just have to trust...click and drag to see if it does and it does (true for me using Win7/64)

Bending Railings to Your Will

2011-12-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

Food for thought, what if we used railings for millwork and egress paths? By millwork I mean custom work, not fixed sized cabinets which are often referred to as casework by some architecture and interior firms). As for egress paths, I've written about them many times (I've put a list of those posts at the end of this one) in the past and the example of using a line based family kept me busy for quite some time with requests from people to get their own copy. Busy enough that I finally made it possible to download directly without needing to ask. I also recently mentioned the technique that Brian Mackey uses to demonstrate stair clearance using a railing, so that's yet another way to bend railings to your will.

A railing can do the same task as the egress path I've written about. That example only came about as a possible example of how to use the new line based family template (new in 2006), not something optimized for the task but it's worked pretty well over the years. If you consider applying a "person" profile to a railing, like for Brian's stair clearance, you've just got to sketch the path the railing takes. You can schedule the railing and provide a similar tagging approach to identify each path as different as well as display the total length. Give it a go?

Back to the idea of millwork. Railings are based on profiles, so are cabinets, at least when you are being really schematic. Obviously it won't really do the job for fabrication or construction documentation. If you want a fast way to "draw" millwork a railing works pretty well. A railing sketch is really tolerant of the path being straight or curved too. To get started you sketch the base cabinet profile, save it. Sketch the upper cabinet, save it. You can incorporate the counter profile in the base or make it separate. Load the profiles into a railing type and adjust some values and you can get something like this.

It works pretty well as long as you don't care about seeing drawers and doors. What you see in the image above is railings posing as millwork cabinets and face-based families (line work only) assigned to the Casework category.

It is necessary to keep the upper and lower cabinets separate otherwise you can't get them (upper cabinets) to show up above. In the plan view you see here I've temporarily turned on the underlay so I can apply the Linework tool to see the upper cabinet. Relatively small price to pay for the views that really need to see it.

The neat thing about this approach is that you can get schematic design info such as overall length of different millwork conditions via a schedule. Then when you are ready to dive deeper you can replace them or, as in the image, overlay face-based families to "finish" the detailing. One schedule (early) for schematic and another (later) for a more detailed summary of cabinets pieces and parts. It isn't hard to make a railing look a lot like something else in a schedule. Just change the schedule title, rename the railing type, change the assembly code values and you've got a pretty convincing railing slash millwork. Maybe call it milling or railwork?

It won't satisfy everyone or maybe anyone...well it did make a few folks more content than they were a few years ago when we decided to do it.

Past Egress Posts (a summary)
Egress Path
Egress Path Update
Egress Path Tags - New Versions
Egress Path of Travel Uh Oh
Egress Example Update
Egress Regress
Egress Family Arc Version

RTC Alumni Early Bird Registration

2011-12-19T19:04:00.001-08:00

As promised during the wrap up of RTC USA 2011 it is now possible for alumni to take advantage of early bird pricing to register now. The email inviting past attendees to register early went out last night.

If you have not received an email let the committee know by responding to the thread(s) at the RTC Linked In community. If you aren't a member at Linked In send an email to the Conference Secretary.

To Host or Not Host

2011-12-16T14:00:00.000-08:00

This isn't asking about a Xmas party or dinner party. This is a frequent topic with anyone digging into making content seriously.

Usually the bias is toward defining the answers according to architectural needs. No offense intended, whoever is asking the question is going to have some bias. I spend as much or more time these days dealing with the "other" disciplines and this question.

If dealing with the other disciplines, the typical quick answer is usually face-based as well. True if we assume a Revit to Revit consulting relationship. If an engineer wants to use their cool new software (Revit of course) and their architect isn't using it then a face based family will need a face that isn't there. With a solid library RME can be quite effective even without an RAC model (though a bit harder without something to create spaces in). In this situation we can't just put those families on the level's work plane because they won't be oriented correctly. A reasonable argument (I think) can be made for families that are not hosted at all, even if assuming an engineer is dealing with "your" architectural model linked into their project.

To be most flexible, as "crazy" as it might seem, the answer may be starting with non-hosted content. Yes, it is nice to have a family follow "your" walls when they move (face-based will). Yes, with non-hosted content you may have to move (more) things when designs change. Change quite often isn't just a wall sliding left or right, it can also mean a completely new wall or walls or a different layout entirely. When the original host gets deleted the orphaned face-based family ends up "wanting" a new host and resolving that is usually an onerous (not difficult) task too. A family that isn't looking for a host won't move automatically but fixing that situation isn't really any harder, all that different a task or substantially more work when you compare the "doing" of the tasks.

Then there is the notion of "close enough", which freaks people out too. Consider a electrical disconnect (device) can be six inches, eight or twelve inches from the equipment it supplies power to and it is still close enough. If the equipment moves a "little", no harm done...the disconnect is still fine where it was when you put it in originally because the "whip" the electrician installs between them will deal with the difference. Most engineering solutions have room for "slop" at the end of (at least somewhere along) the system. They have to design in something to deal with the construction reality on site. It seems reasonable to me to mimic that where appropriate/possible in our modeling effort.

The perfect answer, the one solution that fits all situations doesn't really exist at least not one that fits every firm or project. We might get close for one firm or discipline but each project brings new conditions to consider. It's more work but it may come down to having complete content libraries for each condition rather than only having one solution focused on one approach.

No Way! Way! Live Slices

2011-12-15T20:39:00.000-08:00

This is a echo of Zach's post tonight... in his video he says that we will say "No Way" and he'll respond "Way" and it will degenerate from there. Naturally I felt compelled to say "No way!" with a post... He's demonstrating how he built a family that can describe the profile of another form by placing its points on the host form. It's an adaptive point family that includes additional points that generate the same shape as the end result of the points you place on the massing form, "live" slices of the form. Pretty cool, pretty high rests the bar, Zach does...

Here's his video, read his POST on BUILDZ.

Show Title Option

2011-12-15T18:00:00.000-08:00

Revit viewports have a parameter called "Show Extension Line". The Type Properties dialog offers us "Yes", "No" and "When multiple viewports". This post deals with the wordy one.

The "When multiple viewports" option is meant to make it easier to leave off a view title when you are only putting one view on the sheet. Most of the time the sheet title is the same as the viewport title, like for overall plans. Seems a bit redundant to put a view title on too?

Unfortunately using it means we have to give up the option of having the viewport title extension line snapping into alignment with other viewport extension lines. I'm referring to the line that shows up when you check the box for "Show Extension Line".

If you are used to these lines snapping into alignment with one another, they won't when you use the "When multiple viewports" option. I captured a short video to help see it in action.

Family Category and Parameter Dialog

2011-12-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

Sure wish this guy was more flexible!

This is a minor thing but it suggests that someone assumes that visiting this dialog is a pretty rare event. It is a rare event for someone working inside the project environment all day long. It's a pretty constant stop when making content for a day or week... a living. It is nice that the dialog stretches overall. It would be nicer still to be able to stretch the area dedicated to Family Parameters.

Visualization with Stadia

2011-12-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

I recently became aware of a new application called Stadia.

It works like this: Model away in Revit, when you are ready to see something you submit your model to their cloud rendering service. You register your email address with them and you just enter it in the Revit interface. When you press Enter, Revit submits your model information to their cloud.

I believe there is supposed to be a "Bake" button on the panel too, but it hasn't shown up on my UI yet. At least there is an image file for one in the installation folder for Stadia. [I've been informed that I can download an update that will fix it.] After a few minutes you get an email with a link to download the results. Extract the compressed file that arrives, double click on the rendering.exe file and you can wander around your building. Move the mouse to tilt/turn and use the arrow keys to move forward/back/side to side. Pretty simple, once you get the hang of it.

It renders using the materials you've chosen, the lights you've placed...so the closer to what you want it is in your model the better the results. It's a bit closer to Revit's realistic visual style than photo real rendering. Naturally your mileage will vary according to your own sense of success.

In my brief experimentation so far I did find it necessary to put some site surfaces around the exterior of the building. Without such features you "fall" similar to Navisworks when "walking" through your building. Make sure you put a building pad in so the site doesn't go inside your building or you'll end up with dirt/grass inside too. Doors "open" when you approach them. They don't swing open, rather the panel vanishes as you approach, more like Maxwell Smart and doors perhaps. You can walk up and down stairs, also much like Navisworks. My first thought was that they are harnessing the Navis API perhaps but I don't actually know.

I did struggle with navigation initially because it wasn't obvious to me how to do it. I tried to use the scroll wheel to zoom but that just seems to "spin" the view in an awkward manner. I'm not sure why but I really found myself wanting to "zoom" at times instead of "walking" forward or back. My last submission resulted in a 20 MB zip file that I downloaded. It took about 5 minutes to get the email once I submitted the model to Stadia. I'm not sure if the result was actually sent to me faster than that because my email address is aggregated via Google so there may be a little delay involved with that step.

You can watch this video to see a sample (it's on the Stadia site too) of what you get after uploading your work to their "cloud" service.

SMMA Demo from Robert Pogue on Vimeo.

Revit MEP - Lookup Table Issues

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

In October of 2008 I wrote about it being difficult for offices with many users to move lookup tables to a new "central" location. It made it awkward to deal with custom fittings and their lookup tables. A few years/versions later and we have some options now. Darrell Smith with TMA in Austin let me know that he'd resolved their concerns by reading a more recent post at The Revit Clinic.

Initially he reminded me of my earlier post. I didn't remember reading the newer Clinic post at the time and he found it after writing to me. He in turn let me know about it...embarrassed that I didn't remember it myself. I've modified the earlier post to mention this newer development too. Here's a simplified version, read the whole Clinic post for more detail.

If you wish to repath the Lookup Tables for your office to a new location you'll need to consider that Revit 2012 has changed things a bit. The path may also be stored in a second Revit.ini file associated with your user profile (to better support user specific options).

The default installation should be here:

C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RME 2012\Lookup Tables\Revit.ini

The user specific one is probably in a folder like this one:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012\Revit.ini

If you find Revit is unresponsive to your new location, check the user folder location. You can read more about it in a Revit Clinic post from August 2011.

RTC Prospectus

2011-12-09T17:12:00.001-08:00

If you were a sponsor/vendor at RTCUSA 2011 and didn't receive the new prospectus for the 2012 event in Stone Mountain, GA (June 28-30, 2012) you can download it now via THIS LINK. Phil Read announced this on the Arch | Tech blog earlier today.

Also mentioned in the post, it will be possible, very soon, for 100 "early birds" to register for the conference and secure last year's price. Stay tuned!

BIM Content Echo

2011-12-08T21:22:00.001-08:00

Quick post tonight, James Van put together a post the other day to provide a list of resources for Content. I've got a similar listing on my blog here too but I've been letting it slide for awhile now. Good list and now I've got a nice place to get any that are missing on my page too! :)

Schedule Grip Control

2011-12-07T21:29:00.001-08:00

This change crept in with the 2012 release. In the "old days" the move symbol was in the middle of a schedule. This is the 2011 version, same for older ones as well.

Now it is located at the upper left corner of a schedule.

This makes it harder to see, find and use unfortunately. This fits the old wisdom, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". It might help to see what I'm writing about in a video.

If having the grip in the current location somehow made it easier to align a schedule perhaps it would better sense. However schedules always snapped into alignment with each other at the top anyway. Didn't seem broken to me...

Tab Key and Selection

2011-12-06T19:17:00.001-08:00

Read a post by Luke at What Revit Wants regarding a tip he heard in Chad Smith's AU Virtual session, 45 Autodesk Revit Tips in 45 Minutes. It reminded me that I created a video of it to demonstrate it a couple years ago. Here's what I wrote back in October 2009 regarding this tip.

This is subtle feature of using the TAB key that many users are not aware of. First of all, it is easier to see than to describe so you might as well watch the VIDEO.

Two items:

Select Entire Chain of Walls or Lines
Select Partial Chain of Walls or Lines

First item - Hover cursor over a wall or line > Press TAB key once (Walls or lines highlight) > Left Click to select.

Second item - Select a wall or line > Hover cursor over a different wall or line somewhere along the path > Press TAB once (Walls or lines highlight) > Left Click to select. The subtle difference is that which direction the selected chain travels depends on which end of the element you hover your cursor over. Watch and then try it!

NO DISCO tabbing, as my friend Cyril says. Just press the TAB key once. You get the disco tabbing when you press and hold the TAB key down. We call it Disco because the highlighted lines will flash at you.

Last comment, make sure you hover and then hold your mouse steady. If you move the mouse away after highlighting the chain the TAB feature fails. You have to make sure everything is highlighted still before using the Left mouse button to select them. It is a process unlike any other software you are familiar with most likely. Practice a couple times if you aren't already very comfortable with it.

Here's the video...

Free Tools from Case Design

2011-12-05T22:04:00.001-08:00

Just a quick one tonight, still burnt out from Autodesk University and Revit Technology Conference committee meetings.

The guys at Case Design created some free applications for Revit recently. They'd like you to know about them, as well as use them!

Just need to register (so they can spam you, teasing Don!), then you can try out their Change and Replace Line Styles, Revision Cloud Data Export to Text File and Door Mark Updater tools!

I'm bugging Don to work with him to build a cool "Where's my Stuff" tool, a clever way to track down things that go "missing in the night" since there's only something like 30+ ways that things can get "disappeared".

Oh, I'll be finishing up my last day at AU post tomorrow...I hope! ;)

Autodesk University 2011 - 02

2011-11-30T23:55:00.000-08:00

This morning I was introduced to VEO. Most of what was discussed is still covered by a NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). A few things are not. First of all a Twitter feed called @VEO News is not “them”, them being M-Six. M-Six is the creator/developer of VEO (pronounced Vay-Oh, Spanish for “see”). I chose not to take notes because of the NDA so going from my fuzzy memory 12 plus hours later, the letters work out to: V = Visualize E = Execute O = Operate.

When you visit their site you’ll see a simple graphic logo with six VU meters (audio) along the bottom of the page. The first time I saw the logo there were five, now there are six. The fact that there are six isn't really significant though, not aligning with the name M-Six.

These meters are not insignificant as they represent different features or aspects of what VEO will provide, not to mention the musical background of several people involved in the product. If you pay close attention to the meter needles, as in sound engineering the closer you get to “zero” the better. In this case they are indicating the degree of “bad-a$$ness” the feature they represent currently is capable of. Suffice it to say that I imagine you'll want to keep an eye on their progress. Check out and follow their Linked In site to stay in tune with future developments. M-Six

I missed my next session because of getting engrossed in conversation with a few folks, Kelly Cone (Beck Group), Matt Dillon (D|C CADD) and Scott Latch (Autodesk). At some point I suggested that Scott is like the heavy bag that fighters use for training. He takes punches (metaphorically for real criticism and pressure from customers/users) all day and is ready for more. Still not sure who the speed bag is though…

I caught up with Paul Aubin (Author/Consultant) at lunch as well as Matt and Kelly again. Paul teased me for last night’s post ribbing his session. I think it (the nature of the questions and answers we heard) is indicative of the level of proficiency many of the users in the session have reached. They’ve mastered much (or at least are pretty comfortable) of the software and are anxious for it to do more and do it all better too.

Then it was time for Twice Baked Adaptive Components with Robert Manna (Stantec) and Zach Kron (Autodesk). This session is further exploration of concepts they dealt with at last year’s AU. I shared lab assistant duties with David Light (HOK) and Phillip Lazarus (BIM Troublemaker blog). It went quite well considering the subtleties and complexity of the concepts. My side of the room must have been smarter because they had fewer questions than the other side. Either that or they were afraid to ask me for help? We get to repeat the class tomorrow at 1 PM.

At 5 PM I was torn between attending the Vasari class, the family editor session and the AUGI General Meeting. I went to the AUGI meeting, got my AUGI glass and then caught the end of the family session. By the way be sure to VOTE for your choices to form the next Board Members!

It was my loss for the Vasari session, I heard it was excellent. I headed to the AUGI Beer Bash, food and drink and vendors galore. The exhibit floor seemed considerably larger this year and well attended. Navigating wasn't hard but it seemed to have more back alleys to either miss or not get back too. Between running into people and chatting and the number of exhibitors I just didn't see everything. Excellent choice to offer the specialty coffee vendor by the publishing area, I went back for more!

@Case_Inc. held a TweetUp at La Scena lounge and a lot of people showed up. Even Marty Rozmanith (former RTC staffer) turned up! It was good to see him again. We rounded out the evening with a quiet light meal with several long time Revit pals and decided we ought to try to make it an early (depends on your definition of early) evening.

Day three is upon us already. Time seems to stop here, no sense of day or night...but it marches on pretty quickly nonetheless. Just one more day of AU to soak it all in, see friends and make some new ones.

Autodesk University 2011 - 01

2011-11-29T23:55:00.000-08:00

How typical, the night before the first day of classes I find myself heading back to the room at 3 AM. The night closed with me having an animated discussion with guys from Spain, Scotland and England, whose favorite teams range from Barcelona, Manchester United and Chelsea, regarding our desire to see the offside rules in futbol revised. I happen to like the quality of play with Barcelona and I agree that we’d see more productive games if say, the penalty box defined where offside could occur. There are so many situations where a player being offside isn’t really a factor, not a goal scoring, unfair advantage at least. Oh right, AU...

Also last night I met Hideki who made his own custom “fan” that asks “Why Change” on one side and on the reverse shows all the different software that might motivate you to consider doing so. Steve Shell helps him display it in these photos.

Next AUGI Board member Bill Davis shows off his massive collection of AU ribbons. They make him lean forward under the weight.

I dragged myself out of bed to make it to the General Session and Keynote presentation at 8 AM. I was just 10 minutes late which really meant I didn’t have to stand in a long line to get in, but there weren’t many seats. Ran into Steve Shell on the way so we hung out and watched the show together. We saw very interesting presentations ranging from a 27 year old talking about his moon rover project to long time “Reviteer” Jeffery McGrew discussing the things that he’s been doing with his own company Because We Can and wrapped up with a talk with Chris Anderson, Editor-in-Chief of Wired Magazine.

My first session was Jeffrey’s “Five Common Pitfalls of Digital Fabrication”. He continued where he left off with his presentation earlier and it was quite enjoyable. His company has done fun and interesting work since embarking on his own. I enjoyed his comment, “Computers can smell fear and false promises by software vendors”. He said that in the context of our needing to test the workflow and methods we use to make sure data transitions properly from one software application to another. In other words don’t rely on the claims made, test and verify.

Time for lunch! Well I spent most of my available lunch time being intrigued by a puzzler set up by Revit QA staff, one called “Where’s my Chair”. They’ve provided thirty six views that you can’t see “your” chair in and it’s up to you to figure out why, fairly diabolical things they’ve chosen to do. If you are at AU be sure to stop by and tackle one or all of the puzzlers. Just keep in mind that they are not necessarily playing “fair”.

When I sat down in Jeffery’s class I had a sudden thought that I’d see Scott Womack’s smiling face wander in. Then I remembered that’s not to be, as he passed away recently. It’s a real loss for the Revit community at AUGI, his work place…and of course his family and friends. His pal Rick caught up with me to reiterate how much the Revit community meant to Scott. He is and will be missed.

I missed my next session to deal with some work stuff so I’m hoping the handout does the job w/o hearing the session in person. Then I was off to the Ask the Experts session with Revit MEP authors Paul Aubin, Darryl McClelland, Martin J. Schmidt and Gregg Stanley. Unfortunately this session turned out to be mostly apologetic, "yeah we know about that issue", "sorry, no way to really do that yet", "you should consider applying for the alpha/beta program"...

The exhibition hall opened up tonight and there is a plethora of firms to visit. I did a couple passes to just get a sense of who, what and where. Then I started to visit some and naturally ran into folks too. I left the exhibition hall when it closed chatting with Cyril Verley (CDV Systems).

Autodesk University 2011 - 00

2011-11-28T10:10:00.001-08:00

It's that time of year again. Jim Balding (The ANT Group) was kind enough to let me ride along with him on Sunday morning. We arrived a little after 1 PM. We ran into Robert Yori and Roberto Mencarini (SOM) almost as soon as we started wandering. We headed to the Speaker Ready room and chatted until registration opened at 4 PM.

During registration I saw David Harrington (AUGI's current president), Mark Kiker (AUGI's Executive Director) and several HOK staff. One, David Ivey, invited me along to a group trip to Fast Lap for some racing! After taking the pole position during the qualifying race I came in second to my long time Revit pal, Chris Zoog. It was a lot of FUN! Thanks David and the rest of the HOK gang for inviting me!

At the La Scena lounge I spent some time chatting with Revit content guru's Jose Fando, Gary Sprague (Andekan) and Stephen Germano (BIM Advent). Nice to finally meet them face to face. It's certainly one of the really great things about AU.

Monday (today) is going to be a long one, starting out with visiting friends with HOK and later trying to squeeze several events into a few hours, AEC Mixer, Blogger/Media Mixer, RTC meetup, HOK BIMie Awards dinner...and some other things I've probably forgotten about. Need a way to attend them all at the same time.

For your racing viewing pleasure...

HOK racing at Fast Lap, Las Vegas from James Vandezande on Vimeo.

I thought I'd claim that I threw the race so HOK staff would win...but I didn't, too competitive. Chris won fair and square by being patient and waiting for me to make a mistake!

RTC Server Issues

2011-11-25T14:23:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note to let readers know that the Revit Technology Conference hosting site experienced a server crash. They are working to get it restored. If you wish to submit an abstract in the meantime you can, that website is separate. Click to Submit an Abstract

(url: http://www.speakerready.com/abstracts/RTCNA)

Content Critique

2011-11-22T08:00:00.000-08:00

Content is King! The right content, good content, smart content...

How the content is to be judged is subjective, evaluated against personal criteria, as well as objective. It doesn't take a lot of effort to find something to complain about when you use content created by others. It isn't even all that hard to return to our own content a little later and have a different opinion about how well we made it. Ever evolving, improving...hopefully.

I had the occasion recently to poke and prod some families shared via Autodesk Seek. The first example is from Belden, one of their equipment management products, this image is a 3D view at 1/8" = 1'-0" scale.

Another example is from Siemon, one of their punch down patch panels, also in a 3D view at 1/8" = 1'-0" scale. This is a bit blobby eh?

What you see in these images are what you see in the project environment, assuming a particular scale as mentioned before. There is a heck of a lot of detail in each of the families. The rack weighs in at 796 KB and the patch panel weighs in at 2.056 MB.

Taking a closer look at the punch down patch panel we find this, I had to use thin lines to see the detail.

The back side has the punch down blocks modelled too as well as sheet metal bends and kerfs. There are even small parts on the inside of the panel which nobody will ever be able to see in a Revit view.

Another family I had a closer look at is one of the Siemon Wire Management racks which weighs in at 2.9 MB.

It is nice looking but there are elements that have been modelled that nobody can see in a Revit project. Cutting a section through the cabinet will not yield the extra modeling effort that was put in. A simple rectangular shape would yield sufficient results in nearly all views except for a close up photoreal rendering perhaps.

These last two families don't take advantage of Revit's Detail Levels or Visibility options to manage the complexity or detail they contain. What's more troubling about these is that they are posted on Seek, suggesting that they are ideal or represent content that others should emulate. The wire management rack is the most "over the top".

I've hidden a hundred or more elements (solids/voids) to show this stuff.

Nearly everything you can see in that image is hidden behind something (except for the door handle) which means in a Revit project that nobody can ever see it because the category (Electrical Fixtures) doesn't have a cut representation. In a few cases I've run across data related equipment that have been assigned to the category Specialty Equipment, which doesn't even show up in Revit MEP views ordinarily (not included among the MEP categories listed in V/G, without showing all categories).

Where am I headed with this critique? It's still the wild west folks. Just downloading content from Seek is no guarantee that you won't have to spend some time tweaking or in the case of the wire management rack or punch down patch panel, abandoning them to create something simpler.

Stair Headroom Clearance

2011-11-21T08:00:00.000-08:00

In the past I've written about using a line based family to document path of egress information. Brian Mackey with CAD-1 Denver recently shared a concept he uses for demonstrating that a stair well has sufficient clearance. He uses a railing family that has a profile to document the required clearance instead of what we'd usually use. In this example I quickly mocked up I just used a similar "guy" I'm calling Clarence, so Clarence can show the Clearance is met.

It's easy! Just create a profile family and load it into your project. Assign the profile to a new railing type, called Clearance. Assign Clarence to the Railing. Place the railing on the center line of the stair. You'll have to fuss with graphics and decide when it should be visible but it's pretty simple. To really show the zone required for clearance a simple rectangular profile off a specified height would suffice and show where no building elements should touch. A quick interference check would help catch problems too.

Cool solution Brian!

Journal Files - Get to the Point Quick

2011-11-18T06:15:00.001-08:00

The Revit Clinic's Kathryn Langan is sharing a little application that she wrote to make it easy to extract the basic information they like to review before they dig deeply into a support issue. Thanks for sharing, so go check it out!

I've clipped some of the info in her post:

...snip
Last weekend I wasn't feeling that great, and decided to play around with some scripting while we were just sitting around watching football. What I ended up with was a Journal File Parser, and I think it turned out to be useful enough to share.
_______________________

What it does, is parses through a folder of journal files and pulls out the following:

Journal File Name
Start Date & Time
Username
Revit Build
Hardware Acceleration Status
Graphics Card
Graphics Driver
Operating System
Last Memory Usage Statistics
Last Entry Line

It takes all of this information and populates it into an Excel file.

So how is this useful?

When someone comes to us with a Revit problem, one of the first things we want to do is check the basics. Are users on the latest build? Do they have certified graphics cards? Are the correct drivers installed? Instead of having to open individual journal files to check all of these things, a single run of the script will pull out all of the information. Even if users aren't having problems, it could be used as a quick audit to make sure everyone is on the same build, has the same drivers, etc.

In addition, if a user is crashing, this can help us understand which journals to look at, and to eliminate memory as a suspect. The Last Memory Line will tell us how much memory was left the last time Revit reported it in the journal. So if the available RAM is really low, we'll be able to quickly identify it. If a user experienced an issue but they weren't sure which journal recorded it, we can quickly verify the Start Date/Times of the journals to be able to narrow down the right files faster. Also, if the Last Entry Line ends with 0:< finished recording journal file, that session probably wasn't a crash, so we can focus on the sessions that ended unexpectedly without having to open each one to check.
...snip

CLICK TO see the POST

Stairs by Sketch and Worksets

2011-11-17T22:11:00.001-08:00

I've written about this a couple times in the past. Hanging around with a serious Revit guru tonight I was surprised that he wasn't aware of the issue. He'd encountered it but had not sorted out the cause. The previous posts are THIS ONE and THIS OTHER ONE.

The essence of the problem is how the sketch is created in a workset enabled project. If you create individual segments so the stringers are formed properly Revit complains about having "two boundaries".

If you sketch segments that will not generate stringers correctly the stair will finish but generate another error. If you immediately edit the sketch and use the Split tool to break up the segment it then works properly.

Do the same thing in a stand alone project file and no problem. This is ages old but for some reason it only showed up on the radar when I submitted the issue back in 2007. Still with us today, go figure! Hey for those of you out there that I tried to blame it as "user error", sorry bout that! :) An apology is better late than never...

Saving or Sharing Export DWG Layer Standards

2011-11-16T21:33:00.001-08:00

The process has changed a bit for exporting to dwg (or DGN for that matter). We used to be able to export our own settings to a .txt file format for use with other projects. In Revit 2011 we had this dialog and Save As button.

With 2012 they've decided to capture our settings in a project file itself. They let us choose one of these four standards to use, or to use as the spring point for our own version.

The fifth option is to "Load settings from file...". Interesting that there aren't any files to use though. We are to capture our changes in the project and then, when desired, pass it along to other projects via the Transfer Project Standards tool.

I've posted the source files that the four export settings templates use because they don't appear in my 2012 installation anywhere. I recovered them from my 2011 installation. Interestingly the other three besides the AIA version didn't show up until I loaded each one in to replace the previous. As soon as I did that, the other files appeared alongside the AIA version. If you really want to edit the .txt version, to grow your own version, you can download them here:

exportlayers-dwg-AIA.txt
exportlayers-dwg-BS1192.txt
exportlayers-dwg-CP83.txt
exportlayers-dwg-ISO13567.txt

Sneaky Buttons

2011-11-15T19:14:00.001-08:00

I wrote this POST in August 2005 and then followed up with another POST in July 2008. All these years later this sneaky button still has no tool tip to tell you what it does or that it is even a button. Really sneaky in my book!!

There are other Reviteristic buttons...read the first POST if you are interested.

Attend Autodesk University 2011 Virtually

2011-11-14T18:41:00.001-08:00

If you can't attend in person then you can still get in on some of the action. Here are the details I swiped from the Autodesk web site:

AU Virtual 2011

Join us for the premier virtual conference dedicated to the worldwide Autodesk user community. This online event delivers on-demand technical classes on the newest releases of Autodesk products and the latest trends and challenges facing the design industry.

Register for Free

AU Virtual is free to all AU members. Select from 250 classes in English, Spanish, and Portuguese on a wide range of topics. Plus you can network with other virtual attendees, watch key AU 2011 Las Vegas presentations and insider videos, and visit online exhibits—right from your desktop. After the event, AU Virtual classes will continue to be available on the AU website.

AU Virtual Preview Classes Begin November 15

AU Virtual previews are scheduled for mid-November. Join us online November 15 for technical and certification preparation classes—especially helpful if you plan to take a free certification exam at AU in Las Vegas. Then join us online November 29–30 for AU Virtual 2011.

Mark Your Calendars

Plan now to attend this worldwide virtual event. Registration opens November 15, 2011.

Old Roadies

2011-11-12T10:00:00.000-08:00

Off topic...me visiting my past...

Last weekend I traveled to Atlanta to attend the second annual gathering of the self proclaimed "Southeast's Finest in the Music Industry". My old nemesis/mentor Fred (aka FUF) started it last year and I managed to get to this one. One of the things FUF was best known for was the gags he'd play on a group's last night of a tour. Witness his Uncle Sam costume for a 38 Special tour wrap up.

When Huey Lewis and the News wrapped up their stint with 38 Special in 1984 he came out dressed up as Big Bird tossing candy out during "Wanna New Drug". Later he and another trotted on stage in a two man horse costume during 38's "What if I'd Been the One" song which features some horses in the music video (if my memory is accurate). The second man brought a water bottle with him, and at one point lifted a leg...you can guess the rest. When Eddie Money toured with us he sat on the down stage edge dressed as Santa Claus, he and Eddie bantering... You never really knew what to expect from him. A true character and it was good to see him again after so many years!

I've told people a number of times, over the years, that there is no proof that I toured with 38 Special in 1984 because the band's program "misspelled" my name from Stafford to Smith. I'm listed there but you'd have to be pretty special to figure that one out! The band/crew photo shoot at the end of the tour has me, but only a leg and an arm, the rest of me cropped out of view. Well at the reunion I got to see the program again for the first time in a long time (one is being sold on eBay for $40 right now)... imagine my surprise when I see a group photo in the back that I'm actually in! It's a grainy iPhone capture in a dim bar, sorry!

I'm the twenty something guy who looks like he managed to sneak in and sat on the couch when the photo got taken. Here's a few of the same folks now. Can you figure out which one is FUF?

(photo courtesy of Michael Beck photography)

Last but not least a shot of the guy that got me started at R.A. Roth to begin with, Peter (aka Wookie, though a slightly grayer shorter haired version now). It was good to see him again, with a beau and ready as ever! Apparently we managed to elude the professional photographer wandering around (Michael) so it's another grainy iPhone shot...(behind us is the never aging John Delong, rigger extraordinaire)

I'll end with the gangs "fight song/cheer"... "Friends may come and friends may go, and friends may peter out you know. But peter out or peter in, we'll be friends through thick or thin...YO!"

New Book for Revit and Interior Design

2011-11-11T18:51:00.001-08:00

Daniel Stine teamed up with Aaron Hansen to write a new book with a focus on Interior Design. The formal title is "Interior Design Using Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012" and is published by SDC (Schroff Development Corporation).

They are offering a nice sample chapter on Materials if you want to get a better sense of the book. From the book's description:

"The overall premise of the book is to learn Revit Architecture while developing the interior of a two story law office. The reader is provided an architectural model with established columns, beams, exterior walls, minimal interior walls and roofs in which to work. This allows more emphasis to be placed on interior design rather than primary architectural elements. The chapters chronology generally follows the typical design process. Students will find this book helps them more accurately and efficiently develop their design ideas and skills."

Table of Contents consists of:

Introduction; Leveraging Revit for interior design
Project Navigation
Revit Jumpstart
Materials
Programming
Material Presentation Board
Reception, Lobby and Lounge Design
Office Spaces
Break Room and Work Room
Toilet room design
Floor finishes
Ceiling design
Schedules
Custom Content Creation
Detailing
Renderings
Sheets

File Saving Issues

2011-11-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

There have been a few threads at AUGI and Revitforum.org alike that discuss an error like this one.

The folks at Autodesk support have apparently pinned the cause down and are now offering a solution via a post at The Revit Clinic yesterday morning. Here's the text of their post.
____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____ ____

This post is contributed by Niranjan Kamath who supports Revit on our team in India.

While working with a workshared file, Revit will report an error whereby the central file is not accessible.This issue occurs only when the clients had a different OS version. We could not recreate the file access issue if the clients were both W7, or both XP for example.

The reason this happens: Windows 7 client communicates with the server using SMB2, while the Windows XP client uses SMB. This difference in version may cause some file handling issues.

To resolve this issue disable SMB2 from Server and Win 7 users.

To disable SMB 2.0 for Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 systems that are the “client” systems, run the following commands:

sc config lanmanworkstation depend= bowser/mrxsmb10/nsi
sc config mrxsmb20 start= disabled
Note there's an extra " " (space) after the "=" sign.

To restore SMB 2.0 for Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 systems that are the “client” systems, run the following commands:

sc config lanmanworkstation depend= bowser/mrxsmb10/mrxsmb20/nsi
sc config mrxsmb20 start= auto
Again, there's an extra " " (space) after the "=" sign.

In order to disable SMB 2.0 on the server-side computer, follow these steps:

Warning!
This document contains instructions for editing the registry. If you make any error while editing the registry, you can potentially cause Windows to fail or be unable to boot, requiring you to reinstall Windows. Edit the registry at your own risk. Always back up the registry before making any changes. If you do not feel comfortable editing the registry, do not attempt these instructions. Instead, seek the help of a trained computer specialist.

Run "regedit" on Windows Server 2008 based computer.
Expand and locate the sub tree as follows.
HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters
Add a new REG_DWORD key with the name of "Smb2" (without quotation mark)

Value name: Smb2
Value type: REG_DWORD
0 = disabled
1 = enabled

Set the value to 0 to disable SMB 2.0, or set it to 1 to re-enable SMB 2.0.
Reboot the server.

The Door From and To Values

2011-11-09T08:00:00.000-08:00

In October of 2009 I wrote a post that explains the way Revit determines the parameter From Room and To Room settings. This is just an echo of it because I've seen a few mentions of the issue lately elsewhere on the "internets". There's a video too!

Opening a New View

2011-11-08T08:42:00.000-08:00

One feature of Revit that has been with us for a long time is also quite subtle. When you open a new floor plan view Revit will attempt to respect what you are currently looking at in a floor plan view. For example, if you zoom into look at a specific room or door family and then open a floor plan for another level, Revit will open the new view zoomed into the same area of the model (but on the other level). The key is the view can't already be open. I've posted a video to explain visually...

AUGI Candidates

2011-11-07T08:44:00.000-08:00

From the BLAUGI site...

The AUGI Board is composed of nine directors elected on a rotating basis for three-year terms by the membership of Autodesk Users Group International (AUGI). The board includes professionals from varying locations worldwide who use, train and support the varying products of Autodesk software.

Each year the Nomination & Elections Committee and the AUGI Board strive to include candidates that represent diverse interests and global perspectives. The seven colleagues who have graciously agreed to stand for election for the three positions spanning the 2012-2014 term are (in alphabetical order):

Scott Ebert
David Gaskill
Assis Haubert
Tommy Holder
Dario Passariello
Desiree Ratley
Jay Zallan

Members now have the opportunity to view candidates’ information and ask questions.

You can find the new Forum Area for the 2011 Candidates here.

RTC USA 2012 Update

2011-11-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

The Revit Technology Conference North America 2012 has finally announced the next location and dates as well as inviting people to submit their abstracts. If you are on the mailing list you've probably already received your notification. If you aren't on the list then let me know so we can get you added to the mailing list.

In hints on Twitter I wrote that RTC was going to be "romancing the Stone" and "there will be a mountain" of sessions as well as a passing mention of Robert E. Lee using BIM... All subtle hints at the location that has been selected. The very first RTC event in Australia was held at a resort in the Blue Mountains, so this location is reminiscent of that kind of place.

Click to visit the RTC NA 2012 web site
Click to Read about the venue
Click to Submit an Abstract

You can keep track of things as we ramp up for the next conference via Linked In, Twitter, and Facebook (well on the website too).

Keep in mind that it is quite possible, even likely, that the conference will fill the entire hotel, read into that what you may. See you in June!

Family Naming - Don't Worry

2011-11-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

Jose Fandos of Andekan posted again in his continuing theme of content related posts. He suggests that worrying about a family naming standard, an all-encompassing one at least, isn't our biggest priority. I agree, I've always preached consistency instead of specifics. Every firm I've met over the years has their own position about file and folder naming for every kind of software they use.

He (Jose) predicts that how we find content in and out of Revit will only get better as we move forward so the actual name of a Revit family may become less important as a means to find one. For example, the add-in Family Browser allows us to organize content logically and the name isn't really the focus (while it, a standard, does help organize the folder the content is in perhaps).

If by some chance everybody could agree on a standard strategy it wouldn't hurt us. I don't think it is a fundamental or major priority over actually having content created. If it gets made with a "bad" name, I can always rename it when it hits "my" library anyway. ;)

No Math Characters in Parameter Names

2011-11-02T15:03:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned this before in the context of older posts but never in a dedicated post. Don't use characters that Revit respects as mathematical symbols in the parameters names you create. That means don't do things like this.

Revit will be nice and accept parameter names that include most if not all of them but when it comes time to do something more clever with the parameters you'll regret it. More clevererer? Like using the parameters in a formula, that's clever! You'll get messages like this one.

Easy to resolve, just don't use mathematical symbols in parameter names.

M6 or M-Six

2011-11-01T18:40:00.000-07:00

One is a great car, one of the most fun/pleasing auto's I've driven so far.

Another is a potentially great new technology offering. There is a little bit more information on their Linked In page. You might recognize a couple of the people that are part of the company? Phil Read placed a teaser on his blog yesterday.

I wrote about a minion doing design work for a Lord and Master (maybe evil) recently. There are some videos on You Tube which if you look closely carry the "M" brand on the dialogs that are visible at various times. I think they are connected. You be the judge... check them out again!

And another...

Using Edit Profile on a Curtain Wall

2011-10-31T14:50:00.000-07:00

I recently responded to a post at RevitForum.org when a member asked about creating what sounded to me like a round top window using a curtain wall. I posted a couple screen captures and briefly discussed how they were made. This first one is a curtain wall embedded in a host wall followed by using Edit Profile to alter the sketch of the curtain.

This one is a bit more involved. I started with a single rectangular curtain wall and copied it to clipboard. Then I used Edit Profile to change it's shape. I then used Paste Aligned > Same Place to put the original curtain wall back on top of the first one. Using Edit Profile again allowed me to follow the edge of the first and design the second wall. Repeat the steps for the third and we have a curving set of mullions that are defined by three curtain walls that have complimentary sketches defined using Edit Profile.

I mentioned the use of the parameter Automatically Embed, a feature of curtain wall. The curtain wall types that are present in the stock templates vary but the simplest ones like Curtain Wall1 don't have the feature selected. If you sketch one of these walls over the top of another you'll get an error message.

I posted the following image because I thought it was worthwhile mentioning that the Cut Geometry tool the warning message references allows us do things like this too.

I also created a video that discusses these concepts.

What did you Intend? Family Editing Issues

2011-10-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

There is a stock family that dates back to the very earliest of days, Desk.rfa. It's a good example of a family that confuses users routinely. The issue is that the desk top isn't visible in plan and it overhangs the edge of the chassis of the desk.

When in plan we can align the desk but find in a 3D view that it now overlaps another or something else, like a wall for example.

When we make content it helps the end user a lot if such inconsistencies don't exist. Here's a video that shows what I'm writing about too.

Show When Multiple Viewports

2011-10-27T09:48:00.000-07:00

When you put a view on a sheet, its viewport has a parameter (Show Title) that determines when we see a view title. There are three choices; Yes, No and When Multiple Viewports. The third option (When multiple viewports) will cause Revit to only show the view title when there is more than one viewport on a sheet.

An interesting thing happens when you actually use the When Multiple Viewports option, we lose the snapping sensitivity that the view title line has when adjusting the length/position of the line. I've created a short video that shows it in action since it's easier to see that way.

3D Connexion AU Contest

2011-10-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

A few other bloggers have mentioned that 3D Connexion is promoting their products with a chance to get to Autodesk University 2011. Pretty simple requirements to enter. If you haven't already made your plans to attend and going is a long shot, this might improve your odds a little bit. I guess how good your odds are depends on how many other people decide to enter? You can learn more HERE.

You have to enter by midnight U.S. PDT on November 7, 2011. For details, please see terms and conditions. The winner will be contacted by email or phone on November 8, 2011 and will have 3 days to claim prize.

Vasari Update

2011-10-27T08:49:00.000-07:00

Vasari 2.1 update has been posted at Autodesk Labs. They stated that it is a minor update, "just some bug fixes like correcting problems with SketchUp import and custom glazing."

In another post they announced Vasari Talk. This post is a day late and a dollar short though since the one they were alerting us to was yesterday, sorry about that! Here's what was posted:

The Project Vasari team has just kicked off a periodic series of webinars where you can have some "face time" with the Project Vasari development team. There will be demos, tutorials, and answers to your questions. The next session will be this Wednesday, October 26 at 11:30 AM Eastern (-4 GMT.) You can register for upcoming sessiosn and view past session videos on the wiki page.

Register for Project Vasari Talk (This is part of WikiHelp so you can review the information they've posted)

Future Sessions:

Points and Lines

Click here to register for Wednesday November 9, 11:30 - 12:30 Eastern Time (GMT -5)

Introducing Parameters

Click here to register for Wednesday November 16, 11:30 - 12:30 Eastern Time (GMT -5)

Keeping your (design) options open

Click here to register for Wednesday November 30, 11:30 - 12:30 Eastern Time (GMT -5)

Past Sessions:

Session 1: The Basics

Session 2: The Mysteries of Creating Form

Don't be Double Clicker!

2011-10-20T22:18:00.000-07:00

Should be no surprise, when software is installed a file association is created that links its special file extension with Windows. This allows you/me to double click on a file to open it with the correct application.

Revit versions don't distinguish themselves with a special executable file for Windows to recognize them as different, they are all just "Revit.exe". This means that Revit Architecture, Structure and MEP are the "same" when Windows sees a .rvt file (or .rfa, .rte and .rft).

Having more than one version of Revit (RAC,RST and RME) and/or having more than one release 2010, 2011 or 2012 for example is a recipe for problems. When you install just Revit Architecture, no problem. If you install a newer version Windows thinks the newer version is the "one". Double click on a 2011 file now and you'll likely be opening it with 2012 instead. If you install RAC first and then RST Windows will think every project is a RST file. It all boils down to wasting your time waiting for a file to open with the wrong version of software and having to do it over again.

Simple, don't be a "double clicker"!

Who's Your Daddy - Revit MEP Relationships

2011-10-18T23:55:00.000-07:00

Revit MEP elements like electrical panels and receptacles or HVAC equipment and diffusers have a Parent - Child relationship. The other day we were chatting about this in class and I blurted out "You know, like whose your Daddy?" I was kidding but one of the guys said that it actually helps remember to start with the "child" part of the relationship. For example, you start with a receptacle and create a power circuit, then choose the "Daddy", the electrical panel it gets power from. This relationship continues up through the grandparents, great grandparents etc. When everything is assigned correctly you can "see" this "family tree" in the System Browser.

So if it helps, when you are creating relationships between elements with Revit MEP, just remember "Whose your Daddy"! Start with the child and then assign the Daddy...

Elevation Update Update Updated

2011-10-17T23:31:00.000-07:00

Part three of the trilogy... (following up these other posts)

Steve Faust and Nick Kovach of Revolution Design are sharing a free fix for the elevation update issue.

This only affects projects that don't use Worksharing. If that's you then check out their solution until Autodesk delivers a patch or update to resolve it. While you are there you might as well check out their Keynote Manager and Selection Master apps, might find them useful!?

Elevation Update Update

2011-10-13T08:16:00.001-07:00

Comment on my earlier post regarding elevation tags not updating properly...seems that it only affects stand-alone project files. If you are using worksets then the updating process works as expected. Good news for worksharing projects! I guess for now you'd better enable worksharing if you aren't? Thanks to Nick for following up with the comment.

Room Name Alternates

2011-10-12T22:24:00.000-07:00

This is a repost of one I wrote back in December 2008. It came up again recently in a question via email and I noticed it's a pretty old post so I thought I'd plug it again.

Sometimes a name is just too much, too long, it just doesn't fit in a room. The stock Name parameter for a room is easy, it's already there waiting for us to us. When we use abbreviations in this parameter we end up with some full names and some abbreviations. An abbreviation of "T." for Toilet might be fine on a plan view but it is less than stellar in a schedule. We could use another stock parameter like comments to store an abbreviation instead but that subverts its usefulness for actual comments.

Shared Parameters to the rescue!

I've written several posts about shared parameters in the past so I won't go into making them again in this post (see bottom). This is what you need to do to get a new parameter working in a project.

Create a shared parameter (called Abbreviation for example)

Create a room tag family that uses your shared parameter, save the Family and load the family into your project

Add a Project Parameter (Settings > Project Parameter) using your shared parameter too. Assign the parameter to the Room Category

Use the parameter in your rooms, set-up a schedule and tag your rooms with the appropriate tag.

This gives the best of both worlds. Supply abbreviations for names that are unruly and don't bother for reasonable names. A schedule will make it easy to define either and those that don't have abbreviations don't "need" them. Just make sure you use the correct tag to display the value you really want people to see. You could also use this technique to provide a room name in a second language, if necessary.

I've posted a revised copy of my Egress Example project that contains a working example of the shared parameter, tag and schedule.

This post Shared Parameter File: A Little Clarification provides a full list of the posts I've made in the past on the subject of Shared Parameters.

Elevation Tag Update Not Happening

2011-10-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

Uh oh Spagetti O's... with the recent update I've noticed that the elevation annotation tags do not update when the their detail number values are changed. I don't recall this happening before the update but it's definitely going wrong now.

I find it necessary to change the annotation type to another or alter a setting in the family before Revit will "wake up" and change the tag to the new value. Boohoo...

Here's a quick VIDEO to demo the issue.

Adirondack Castle

2011-10-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

After working in the theater equipment business (lighting, rigging and curtains) for eleven years I found myself burnt out. Truthfully I was burnt out at around year 9, or at least definitely starting to char. When I was looking for that next thing I stumbled into a good friend and fellow indoor soccer team mate, Joe. He joined a small boutique architecture firm in the little village with the unusual name, Skaneateles, NY.

Ramsgard Architectural Design is run by Andy...Ramsgard, thus the name. He's built a solid, well regarded practice, and enjoys a legacy of great projects in his still youthful practice. Joe introduced me to Andy, Andy gave me a freelance drafting assignment which turned into a full time gig. Transition from theater biz to architecture biz via the side door complete! Great experience and I still use the things I learned there today...so thanks to Andy (and Eric, Joe, Frank, and Sherie) for the memories!

As if running a business isn't enough to keep him busy Andy has taken on another challenge. He (and his family, wife Sherie, and kids Ruby and Rex) bought a unfinished castle in the Adirondacks. They've been working since to take another man's dream and see it through to completion.

A dream formed in eight year old Ed Leary's mind during 1951, a dream of building a castle. In 1983, at forty years old, he finally saved enough money to get started with buying 20 acres of land. He worked at it for just over twenty years until he died of a spinal infection at sixty-two. The property and the shell of the castle "bobbled" back and forth for a number of years between family members until the Ramsgard's came into the picture. Here's what the castle looked like during their first visit.

There's more to the story and Andy's wife, Sherie, started blogging about it in May 2010, at least it looks to me like she's doing the majority of the posting. Considering it's a weekend warrior project they've made some serious progress since. Here's a picture from recent post from last month.

If you are curious you should check out their blog and follow along. If you are in the Adirondacks you might be able to be a new friend and help out during the weekend. They've got some rocks they need to move, among other things!

A man's home is his castle and Long live the King (and his Queen and kids)!

Assigning a Dimension Oddity

2011-10-06T22:53:00.000-07:00

Received a question via email asking why Revit seemed unwilling to assign a Shared Parameter that used the Duct Size type to a dimension string. Here's what the SP properties looked like.

The quirky part assumes that you want to select a dimension string and then associate it with the SP. This is what happens when you do that.

I've recorded a brief video to show the result too.

Schedule Features Not Available

2011-10-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

When you examine the Appearance properties of a schedule, say for doors or windows, you are teased with a couple options that are inaccessible.

Those are only accessible when you create/edit a title block family and deal with a Revision Schedule.

Only revision schedules can fill out Bottom-to-Top and/or have a fixed schedule height assigned, sorry!

[Edit: Oh, when I highlighted the images I included the check box for "blank row before data", obviously that is available in either schedule situation. I should have limited the width of the box.]

Not Responding - Don't Panic

2011-10-04T09:05:00.000-07:00

...and remember your towel!

I quite frequently see (not responding) on the Title Bar of Revit these days, more now than in the past it seems. It can be a bit disconcerting however don't panic. It is usually just Revit refusing to talk to Windows while it is cranky through whatever task you've given it. It's as if Revit is saying, "Hang on a minute, I'm busy, I can't be bothered to tell you (Windows) what I'm up to at the moment."

So when you see the message, don't panic, give it a few minutes, check out Task Manager, see how much memory is being used. Make sure the computer is actually "stuck" before doing something drastic and using "End Task".

Printing with Temporary Hide Isolate

2011-10-03T16:57:00.000-07:00

A subtle change was made to our printing process (Revit 2012) when we print from views that have Temporary Hide/Isolate changes. This dialog is presented to us:

The first option ignores the things we've hidden or isolated and prints the view as if we didn't change anything. This is how printing such views behaved in the past. The second option gives us the chance to respect the fact that we've changed what we can see in the view so we CAN print a view that's been altered. Erik Blackburn with NBBJ pointed this out to me as a candidate for a post and I think it belongs in the Department of Subtle. Thanks Erik!

Instance Parameter Comparison Revit 2012 and 2011

2011-09-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

The manner in which Revit reacts to Instance Parameter changes to families you place has changed from version 2011 to 2012. In the past Revit regarded the changing of an instance parameter as though it was more important than the default value the family is supposed to use. This meant that any future families placed would use the value entered instead of the default value. Worsererer it affected other families of the same ilk, like a receptacle family and another receptacle family.

The good news is that 2012 pays more attention to the family default value for the individual families you place than the override. This means you can change the value for the individual family you are placing now and then if you switch to something else, when you return to place more of the families (or another type) you'll get the default value assigned to the family instead of the "rogue" change you made to one earlier.

Daniel Stine (author of several Revit books) created this video and passed it along to me (no audio) to share when he wrote to ask me if I noticed the change. I did and was grateful for the change. Since he went to the trouble to make a video, seems a shame not to share it!

Importing Point Cloud Data with Service Pack 2

2011-09-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

Previous versions of Revit 2012 imported point cloud data (.pcg files) by placing the first data set using "center-to-center" alignment with Revit's origin. Subsequent imported point cloud data files could be imported using "Auto - Origin to Last Placed" so they all align with each other. That's okay if where the point cloud data ends up in your project file is arbitrary to begin with. It isn't so fine if you are trying to align it all with a real world survey coordinate.

I'm happy to write that the Service Pack 2 that was released yesterday has altered this condition for the better. In my testing, using the same data set I was using before, I find that Revit respects the actual origin of the point cloud file and subsequent files still work using the "Auto - Origin to Last Placed" option as expected.

When I drop in my little Laser family and move it into position it all lines up nicely! Too bad it was too late for this one...but the next one will be that much easier! Thanks to the team for getting it into this update!

Revit Service Pack or Web Update 2

2011-09-27T15:17:00.000-07:00

The just posted the most recent update for Revit 2012 products. It is necessary to install it to use the also recently released Autodesk Cloud.

Download the RAC 2012 Update Now
Download the RST 2012 Update Now
RME 2012 is a little further behind at the moment...Click here to visit the page where it will appear.

A couple people have posted about Downloading MEP directly (English) now. I don't know if the URL will hold though. The links above take you to the page where you choose your language first.

Design Review - There's an App for That!

2011-09-26T23:13:00.000-07:00

At the last Revit user group meeting I attended a few guys were chatting about how logical it is for Design Review to be an app for iPad or iPhone. Guess they were right?!? There's an app for that now! Yeah I'm slow mentioning it since it actually became available a few days ago?

Check it out at iTunes

New Family Editor Resources

2011-09-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

First Item of interest:

Paul Aubin recently completed a new video course for the Revit Family Editor, hosted on Lynda.com. These are the families that get attention during the video which is 6 hours and 44 minutes.

Course Highlights are (Table of Contents):

Introduction and high level concepts: covering what a Family is, the Revit element hierarchy, libraries and differences between model and annotation Families. Strategies and course focus are also covered.
Annotation Families: covering kinds of annotation, creating Generic Annotation and Tag Families and using Shared Parameters in Tag Families.
Simple Model Families: covering the overall model Family creation process, hosts and hosted, reference planes, constraints, labeled dimensions, work planes, flexing and testing.
Family Geometry: detailed look at: Extrusions, Blends, Revolves, Sweeps, Swept Blends and void form basics.
Beyond Geometry: includes coverage of identity data, Family Types, Type Catalogs, material parameters, visibility parameters and subcategories.
A Family in a Family: covering nested Families, Shared Families, Profile Families and parametric arrays.Families01 300x125 New Revit Family Editor Course on lynda.com
Controlling Visibility: explores symbolic lines, element visibility, level of detail display and controlling overhead display in plan.
Building Complex Parametric Families: begins tying together many of the previous topics to create a more complex whole. Covers planning, reference plane strategies, nesting components, arrays, parameters, formulas driving parameters and parameters.
Parametric Annotation Family: ties together many previous topics to create a more complex annotation Family. A parametric key plan Family using conditional formulas to drive visibility is showcased.
Driving Angular Parameters: Controlling rotation and angles can be a challenge. This chapter uses a Door Family as an example to showcase how to parametrically control rotation and angular parameters.
Advanced Strategies – Control a curve parametrically: Controlling curves can be a challenge. This chapter uses a brick arch Family to showcase how to parametrically control the flexing of curves in the Family editor. It also delves into advanced and complex formulas used to drive circle geometry. Advanced trigonomic functions are utilized to constraint the curve’s flexing behavior.

Second Item of Interest:

The Revit 2012 Family Standards and Best Practices version 2.0 has been released by CTC (CAD Technology Center).

Read the Table of Contents
Read Sample Pages
To find out more CLICK HERE.

Point Cloud Data into Navisworks

2011-09-23T08:00:00.000-07:00

Navisworks supports Leica (.pts .ptx) and FARO (.fls .fws .iQscan, iQmod, iQwsp) scan data formats as well as ASCII text formats (.txt .asc). I received a tweeted message the other day asking about getting the point cloud information from a Photofly session that resulted in .las and .pcg files instead.

Navisworks hasn't caught up with the recent addition of the .pcg indexed file format that AutoCAD and Revit use. It's a case of unfortunate development timing. It means that we can use .pcg files in Revit but we can't use the same files appended to a Navisworks session, we have to use something else. I've been starting with .pts files, creating the .pcg for Revit and then using the .pts in Navisworks. Your head hurt yet?

My suggestion to the twitter member was to import the .pcg file into AutoCAD and then Append that file into Navisworks. Navisworks will index the point cloud data when it reads the .dwg so you get the data despite the "unfamiliar" format. A workaround at best, but workarounds that work, work for me!

Feature Request for the Next Version of Revit

2011-09-22T22:57:00.000-07:00

I suggest that Revit be able to respond to yelling, hitting or otherwise becoming angry with the computer. Ideally being able to respond to an epithet like, "stupid software!!" or "darn Rivit!" When a user becomes physical and hits their computer Revit should warn them that this might make things worse and to return to verbally harassing Revit instead.

In the interest of safety if Revit detects the use of a weapon against the computer it should initiate an immediate shut down with the usual messages about syncing with central of course, if possible. If there doesn't appear to be enough time then when Revit is opened the next time it should say, "Sorry about shutting down on you but that [insert weapon observed here] looked ominous and we wanted to protect your data. There wasn't enough time to SwC, so sorry about anything you lost between your last save and the "recent unpleasantness".

View Filter Stack Order Matters

2011-09-22T08:00:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick reminder about View Filters, the order they appear in matters! From Autodesk's WikiHelp documentation:

Note If multiple selection filters are applied to the same view, the order in which they are listed denotes priority. The selection filter nearest the top of the list takes precedence. (bold emphasis is mine)

If you apply filters and find that you don't get the result you were after, double check the order you've applied them. You might just need to move one up or down in the list to get the result you want.

Dept. of Unfair - Move Tool is Insensitive

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

When they added the Guide Grid feature to Revit they made it possible to snap to Grid intersections (and Reference Planes) through a viewport. This means we can move a viewport into the same location from one sheet to the next based on an agreed grid intersection such, "A1 will be what we use as a reference location to put our floor plan views on the sheet the same way."

They added this after many years of hearing users complain about views not lining up on sheets. Me personally, I got over it early. Seemed to me that far fewer sheets were affected by this concern than the number of sheets that weren't. I don't mind having the feature but it just never bothered me. I could get things close enough that nobody would notice, especially working with real paper in hand. Granted it is easier to tell in the digital world "flipping" pdf pages or comparing a CAD file overlay. For me though, it didn't really amount to a hill of beans in the job trailer. As a contractor in the past I was more worried about information actually being on the sheet at all to be worried about whether they stacked from sheet to sheet exactly.

Oops I digress...

In order to make this possible they needed to make Revit more sensitive to the contents of the viewport when using the Move Tool. Unfortunately Revit seems to think we live in an orthogonal world because the only Grids or Reference Planes the tool "sees" are orthogonal ones. No arcs, no grids at an angle, sorry Charlie. Now it isn't hard to place a couple orthogonal Reference Planes somewhere or to choose a different Grid intersection perhaps but it would be nice if Revit was more malleable, enough to let us pick any intersection of Grids or Reference Planes.

From Autodesk's WikiHelp:

Item 7. Snap to the crop regions or datums in the viewports and move them into alignment with the guide grid lines to specify a precise location on the sheet. (bold emphasis mine)

This means we can forget about the datum stuff (Grids/Reference Planes) and use the Crop Region. Of course the Crop Region has to be visible to snap to it and unless you are using a Scope Box to manage the Crop Region (to keep them consistent for many views) it isn't really the most reliable reference point to use either. Here's a visual aid, a short video discussing it too.

Worksharing Monitor History

2011-09-20T15:08:00.001-07:00

Even if I couldn't get anyone interested in using Worksharing Monitor, I'd still use it myself just for the little sneaky/subtle History button. It's quite handy to get a sense of the project by scanning the list.

Stole this one from the Autodesk WikiHelp on the subject.

For example a couple years ago, using the log, I discovered a user that never used SwC during the day, waited 8 hours to bother to get around to it. It turned out that he was supporting other users all day and he wasn't actually doing any work in his local file.

Making matters worse (unintentionally) instead of just throwing away the file at the end of the day he did a SwC and left for home. The rest of the team that worked a little later than him suffered with poorer performance while Revit churned through 8 hours x 6-8 other users worth of data updating in his local file. A couple of those SwC sessions lasted 2+ hours, for nothing. A new local file in the morning and he would have been up to date.

Parameters Again

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've written about these a lot over the years. It seems to me that this dialog, and specifically the highlighted portion, is all too often either misunderstood or ignored.

The message seems pretty clear, to me at least, but here's my version:

Project Parameters can be used in schedules but not for tags
Shared Parameters can be used in schedules AND tags

I left out the part about shared with families and projects because...well...that's what the word shared means. I left off the part about exporting to ODBC because that's just another level of complexity. If you use Shared Parameters you win, you get that too.

If the information you care about is only expected to appear in a schedule then a Project parameter will suffice, it will work, it will give you the result you are after. If there is the slightest chance that someone will then ask for the same information to be used in a tag then you need to plan for a Shared parameter. You might consider only working with Shared Parameters for this reason, it's hard to out guess others.

This post "Shared Parameter File - A Little Clarification" revisits parameters and provides a summary of links to other posts I've written over the years. I've also copied them here:

What are Parameters and Why Should I Care?
Sharing Parameters Overview (Part 1)
Walking on Thin Ice
Making a Shared Parameter File (Part 2)
Shared Parameters Part 3
Shared Parameters Part 4
Ignore Good Advice
Home for Unwanted Doors

Dept. of Quirky - Baluster with Light Fixture

2011-09-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

A thread at AUGI has been documenting the design process for the lair (currently called Project Sauron) of an as yet undetermined alleged evil Lord and Master (LaM). One of his designer minions (Mortimer, who also apparently uses Revit to do his work) has been posting images and asking questions. He recently asked about creating balusters that incorporate a light source. Since this minion has demonstrated pretty savvy skill with Revit already I suspected it was a loaded question, as in he has his answer but curious if anyone else has noticed. I guess whenever an evil Lord and Master is involved I get a little suspicious?

My first thought was a nested light fixture would need to be used and that it would need to be "shared". I thought shared because we have to nest multiple fixtures in a chandelier to create multiple lamp light sources...and they need to be shared for them to render. At least that's how I remember it. Turns out using a "shared" nested light fixture has a pretty weird outcome when used in a baluster and applied to a railing.

See the light light off to the left of the railing? That's the nested shared light fixture family. It's locked and aligned to the side of a baluster yet only one light fixture shows up...a little farther away from the baluster than I expected it to be. That and there's only ONE, despite the number of baluster you can plainly see. Even stranger is that I can select the fixture and move it independently from the railing. I can move it next to the railing, but there is still only one.

This time I made a couple changes. I remove the "shared" status of the light fixture and reload/rebuilt it all because Revit hates switching between shared and not shared status. The result is a bit more like what I expected this time.

Even better, it renders each fixture!

I hope the LaM treats his minion well after sorting this out?

If you'd like to see a video of the lair you can check it out at You Tube. It demonstrates some yet to be disclosed real time collaboration environment too.

And another...

Family Types or Type Catalogs

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000-07:00

Jose Fandos wrote a post in August titled, The Death of the Family Types. He thinks that the role and or usefulness of built-in family types is over or "dead" as he puts it.

I don't agree entirely. I do agree that for someone who makes content regularly that adding types to the family directly is a task best left for last. Making sure every type is properly defined can be quite tedious inside the family. It isn't a lot of fun making sure every value is correct in the rows of a type catalog either though. At least it IS easier to copy/paste and then adjust values than within the family itself.

While making "my" life easier when making content, Type Catalogs can be perceived as a hassle by the end user because they need to load the family each time they find they don't have the type/size they need. The recommendation of no more than 5 types in a family found within the Autodesk Seek recommendations is one less than the earlier family editor guidelines that suggest no more than six. The text of the Revit Content Standards document that the team used internally said: (David Conant shared it with me in 2005 while preparing a session for AU)

Predefined Types:

All families should have at least one pre-defined type unless a type catalog is used.
Where real world examples come in typical sizes, pre-defined types should be generated.
Where there are to be more than 6 predefined types in a family, use a type catalog to organize the types.

Keep in mind that these rules or standards were coming from the viewpoint that they are generic families meant to be pretty broadly applicable. Obviously the document David shared with me came after the introduction of type catalogs since it makes reference to them. Jose's post shares that Wesley Benn provided him with the text from What's New in Release 4.0 that show when type catalogs were introduced. Regardless, the point at which we choose one over the other family types or a type catalog boils down to preference.

As a daily user I don't enjoy interacting with Type Catalogs as much as I prefer them as a person who also makes content. If there are only five types in the family I'd probably be inclined to load them all to avoid doing it again to get the one I left behind. I also find that once users realize how easy it is to create a new type in their project, they are just as likely or inclined to do that instead of editing the family externally and reloading. If users start doing that the type catalog starts getting out of sync with the library. Keeping track of the flock can be hard on the Family Shepherd at that point, with strange sheep showing up in the fields.

I think that family types have a place and the rumors of their demise are greatly exaggerated.

Dept. of Subtle - Family Editor Parameter Lock

2011-09-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

A recent exchange at the RevitForum.org reminded me of this subtlety. The Family Types dialog introduced the concept of locking a parameter.

You can select a reference plane and the dimension changes to blue like "normal" when the parameter is un-locked. When it is locked you can edit the dimension value by selecting the dimension, which is counter-intuitive because that's how we create a dimension override in the project environment. I believe the lock check box is "supposed" to lock out editing in canvas but they left a "back door" unlocked (pun intended).

It is easiest to see this in action so I did a quick video demo.