Thursday, April 21, 2016

Revit 2017 - Enabling Worksharing

The process for enabling worksets has changed with this release because Collaboration for Revit (C4R) has been incorporated into Revit directly. This allows someone to subscribe and begin using it quicker. They might even be able to do so without any (or much) EyeTee intervention.

The first evidence that there is something different is on the Collaborate ribbon tab; there is a Collaborate button next to the disabled Worksets button. There is a new Communicate panel too.


In the past enabling worksets began with clicking on the Worksets button but now we start by clicking on Collaborate. This takes us to the fork in the road necessary to permit sharing the project via A360/C4R whether we are able to use it or not, just in case. If the file hasn't been saved before clicking Collaborate we get a message asking us to do that.


Then the Collaborate dialog appears asking us to specify which method of sharing the project we need; Collaborate within your network or Collaborate using A360.


When we choose Collaborate within your network Revit enables and creates two User-Created Worksets called Shared Levels and Grids and Workset1 (like in the past) but it doesn't open the Worksets dialog (like it used to). This allows us just to get on with our work using the Active Workset (Workset1 by default). If we need to create additional worksets then we'll find the Workset button is enabled, just click it to open it (Workset dialog, as in the past.

The Communicator button is tied to using C4R. It is a separate window (dialog) that can display information about your project team activity, if you're sharing the project using A360. Imagine concepts from Worksharing Monitor combined with Instant Messaging features and that's what you've got. FWIW, it used to be able to dock inside the Revit UI but it doesn't do that now. If you've got two or more monitors you'll probably prefer it on one of them instead anyway. This is what it looks like if I'm not logged into A360 and not using it to share this project.


At some point we'll need to Save the file and like in the past we'll be warned that this is the first time we've done that since we enabled worksets; click Yes.


Remember, if you'd like to set the default Open option to Specify remember to use Save As instead of Save. You only get a chance to do that with Save As. This allows us to choose which Worksets Revit should load before it opens the project entirely. This can have a significant impact on how long it takes to load a project.


At this point we are still working in the Central File, which isn't practical to share the project nor is it advisable. I can determine that by looking at the Save icon on the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT), it is disabled and the Synchronize and Modify Settings button next to it is enabled. The project's file name listed on the Title Bar doesn't include my user name either. By the way, we need to SwC to relinquish our ownership of the User-Created worksets properly. The only way to do that is to use SwC (Synchronize and Modify Settings), via the dialog that appears. The Synchronize Now button does NOT do that.


Now that worksets are enabled and relinquished we need to close the project so the team can get started by creating their Local Files. When I browse to the Central File to start work I need to make sure that Create New Local is enabled and double check the Open option is assigned to Specify.


Remember doing so will cause this dialog to appear before Revit begins opening the project further.


Okay, now get to work; in your Local File!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Steve, do you know whether there will still be Worksharing Monitor for Revit 2017?

Steve said...

I've asked but I haven't gotten a response yet.

Sam Cooke said...

Steve,
Great post. I'm looking into whether its worth implementing C4R for a new project. When using C4R, where is the central file saved? When creating a new local from this file, is it simple to navigate to? (is it in the Autodesk360 drive?)

S

Steve said...

Sam - It starts with an A360 Project (version specific). A project is uploaded to the A360 project via the other option in the dialog that appears when we click on Collaborate. The Central File is stored in/on the A360 project.

We work on the project by browsing the A360 shortcut in the Open dialog. The file we select is the central file and Revit deals with the Local File automatically. It is stored in a user folder (the actual path is documented online). We don't need to open our local file, just browse to the A360 project, open the project and C4R does the rest.

phil-osophyinBIM said...

Sam,

Just wanted to point out that there is a cost associated with using C4R, I think it is $100 per user/month, $800 per user/year. If you can save the model in the local server and have everyone access to the file, there is no need to go for C4R.