Dimension Inline and Dynamo

(Edit: If you download and apply an update to his Rhythm package after 1/17/2018 you'll have this node too)

From time to time I've heard people ask about putting the dimension value on the line (inline) instead of above the dimension line the way Revit prefers. The only way we can do it within Revit is to manually grip and drag the dimension value down to the line.

More recently I read a thread at the Autodesk Forum asking about this. The premise in their situation is that it is a significant roadblock to using Revit for one of their client's projects, it doesn't meet their drawing standard unless the dimensions are inline.

I was trading messages with Aaron Maller and mentioned it to him. Aaron was trading messages with John Pierson and a few minutes later I learned it is possible with Dynamo and a custom node. This morning he shared this with me, as well as replying to the thread. Nicely done John! We are sooo connected these days.

Doors and Rooms and Rooms and Doors

In the year 2016 we find Revit is still utterly clueless about the relationship between doors and rooms. We have this quirky documentation habit of using a room's number to derive a door number, not to mention it's room name to define its location in a building. I know they've noticed because each door has a From Room and To Room parameter.

Recently Elon Musk and his SpaceX team sent a rocket to space and returned the first stage to an upright position back on earth. A feat engineers have long dreamed of accomplishing.

Yet after 15 years Revit continues to rely on third party applications to bridge this feature crevasse.

Don't get me started on the Space Naming Utility being a separate application...grumble grumble...

Copy Monitor - What Elements are in a Relationship?

A friend recently asked if there is an easy way to find out what elements are currently involved in a Copy/Monitor relationship. Good question! No easy button exists for this that I'm aware of. Sure we can select all grids and looks for C/M monitoring icons. That's not too hard for levels and grids. It's much less fun for walls, columns, floors or any of the MEP related categories that can be involved.

It might be an interesting question/problem for enterprising Dynamo aficionados or API programmers?

It would be nice to generate a report of the elements in a relationship and with which model and elements their relationship is based upon. I think it is just another example of the kind of refinement that Revit's collaboration tools ought to have.

Dynamo Tip and Forum

If you open a Dynamo project that is based on a language that is not the same language as the Revit project you are in it can cause Revit/Dynamo to crash. We can avoid the crash if we open a project that shares the same language first. That's how it was described to me at RTC in Dublin this past week. Perhaps it is just a build incompatibility? It seems to me that will make it difficult to mix and match up Dynamo work that is done in various languages?

The best place to stay in the loop about Dynamo info is DynamoBim.org. Better check in with the forum there to be sure.

BTW, regarding forums, AUGI recently created a new forum for Dynamo, to expand their Revit forums to include a place for this rapidly emerging tool. You can VISIT it HERE.

Open File Project Version Warning

I wrote a post in November that complained about Revit not asking if I really wanted to upgrade a project before going forward. In response Harry Mattison wrote some code (and I wrote another post) and made a solution available through his Udemy API class.

Since then I've used it so much that I've been starting to think it's part of Revit. I was using another computer the other day and was confused for moment when Revit didn't ask first, puzzled until I remembered..."oh, yeah...Harry's app isn't this computer". (sad face)

Well Harry has made a new version of the app available HERE and has decided to use a Pay What you Want approach as a test to see how well that works for him and us. You can read Harry's blog post and explanation of features HERE and here's his YouTube video.

Watch for Users Overwriting a Central File

Last week I wrote a post about the Create New Local option being disabled and what that can mean. In response Harry of Boost Your BIM wrote an example macro to catch us when we try to overwrite a central file with our local file. Can't help but wonder why Revit doesn't catch this sort of transaction already? I don't know if Harry plans to share this macro. He may offer it as part of his new Part 2 API Class at Udemy?

Revit 2014 User Interface is Forgetful

I didn't notice this when 2014 was first released but since the last two web updates Revit seems to be forgetful about the Project Browser and Properties Palette status. I find that I can work for awhile, close Revit and return to find the palette and browser aren't open. When I examine their settings via View ribbon > User Interface the check marks indicate that Revit "thinks" they are open but they aren't "there". If I "close" them by un-checking and then check them again they come back.

I do find it is less forgetful if I allow the Recent Files list to open. There is an option to disable it in the Options Dialog (User Interface section), "Enable Recent files page at startup". If I disable it however I find that the palette and browser linger on screen when I close projects and families which gives the appearance that the project is still open because it will still display information that is part of the last project.

I've visited a few clients suffering with this and have heard from friends as well. It seems related to the new dockable browser API and it's messing with a couple external applications too apparently. If you are encountering this, you aren't alone. Hopefully they'll sort it out and issue another web update or perhaps a Hotfix to sort it out sooner than later.

Project Version Wish Revisited

Blogging, twitter and otherwise working "on the line" is cool!! I complained in a blog post just two days ago about not knowing the version of a Revit project file. Sean Burke via Twitter suggested the API might be harnessed to provide a solution, specifically tagging Harry of Boost Your BIM. Harry took up the challenge and within a few hours provided a solution and a video to demonstrate how cool working with the Revit API can be (yes Harry is cool too).

Here's the video he shared via his Blog Post response.

Harry's solution looks great and I'm off to download it!! Of course this means I'll have to whine on my blog more often.

Column and Beam Relationship Macro Idea

I wrote a post that described the parameters (Start Attachment Type and End Attachment Type) that can be harnessed to make beams respond to column changes, specifically the height of the column to cause a beam to slope. While chatting with some Revit Structure users it occurred to me that it would nice if a macro existed that could automate the process a bit. As it stands now we often need to deal with each beam carefully to determine which end of the beam is actually attached to the column. It is easy to see now with the addition of colored ends (green for start and red for end) when Show Analytical Model is used.

That written, we could just select all of the beams, say for a roof structure, and change both parameters, Start and End Attachment Type, from End Elevation to Distance. If their supporting column's Top Constraint or Top Offset values don't change then the beams won't either. In that context it's not hard to just select them all and apply the same parameter values regardless of whether they will need to change or not.

If we want to be more selective, I imagine it would be nicer to start a macro, select a column and let the macro determine which end is connected, for each beam, and alter the required parameters. Alternatively the macro could let us select beams and then the related column we want the beams to follow. Ideally the macro could let us choose between the two approaches. Technically the macro doesn't need to know which column to change the parameter if we just want to change both parameter values. It matters if we'd prefer to only change the parameter relevant to a specific column.

Perhaps such a macro exists individually or as part of a collection I haven't noticed yet? If so, enlighten me. If not I'd be happy to brag about the developer that creates it. Second guessing...is it even worthwhile?

Case App Delete Sheets Views and Links

This application will strip a model down so that just the 3Dness of the model is left. I feel it is a bit too aggressive in that it even removes all floor plans. There are lots of unnecessary views to be sure but having at least one floor plan for each level can be helpful. Also there are many who end up using "By Linked Views" to make sure what they are seeing is the same as whomever provided the model.

I am not convinced that removing views is really worth doing routinely. I'm inclined to think that only the super large projects might warrant resorting to doing so in order to reduce linked file size and loading times.

Odd quirk with the User Interface is the pair of OK buttons.

I hear Pee Wee Herman saying, "Okay okay..."

View Template Usage

The other day I wrote about my transition between Revit versions and differences between what we can do with View Templates. Harry "Mr. Boost Your BIM" Mattison offered some code to relieve the tension. It's pretty cool how few lines of code and provide useful answers. Check out his post. Be sure to read his post tomorrow too, he's going to enhance it a bit and share that too!

Change Door From and Door To

These settings for doors are determined initially by which side of a wall the door swings into. A door swinging into a room inherits that room as its "to" value. Later if someone flips the door to swing out of the room the parameter does not change. This is intentional and I've written about this before.

Harry started Boost Your BIM a few months ago and he's really dedicated himself to it, bravo! Back then he asked me for some ideas and naturally my mind went blank I could only muster a couple ideas. The beauty of blogging is that the more readers you have the more ideas you'll get. He's been keeping busy with many interesting examples.

The other day I was chatting with a Revit user who was expressing frustration with the From/To issue and I thought that a simple "click this click that" experience might at least improve the situation for him. I wrote to Harry and a day or so later we've got this to consider. Cool!

Image-O-Matic

Earlier I wrote that Harry started a blog (Boost Your BIM) focused on using the Revit API to enhance your projects and process. He created his first formal application, Image-O-Matic, which is now available on the Autodesk Exchange. When I first saw it I thought about using it to document testing family parameters and types.

He decided to run a contest to encourage Revit users to get acquainted with the app. He offered up a tantalizing video of Marcello Sgambelluri's work to get your creative urge going. Visit his site for all the contest details. Here's an embedded copy of the video he posted.

Boost Your BIM

Harry Mattison has joined the API blogging world for Revit with "Boost Your BIM". He's started out with a practical project dealing with the tragic Duplicate Mark Value error we receive on projects that use worksets. Each post is a step in and through the process. He's only just begun with a few of the steps (posts) so far. I believe the intention is to take it slow and easy enough that even I can do it! Here's hoping Harry can keep at it!

YUZU Site Measuring

I received an email yesterday letting me know about YUZU. Their website is found via Picard Innovations, a Dutch firm based in Amsterdam. For readers that are already familiar with the Point Known PKNail site measuring system it appears to be similar, at least in concept. Perhaps it's just that they both involve using a Leica Disto or equivalent device.

They have a brief sales video, I've embedded here. They offer a free trial but I believe you'd need to already have the Leica Disto in hand to take advantage of it. The software boils down to these concepts: Defining Levels and Lease holders and then using 5 different tools to deal with measurements: Distance, Ortho, Offset, Rectangle and Triangle. They claim that with these features you will be able to create any drawing, shape and size of buildings.

I think attempting to evaluate this type of technology would benefit from a few videos that show it in use, the practical application of it on-site. Too bad we didn't get this for Glorius Gadgets at RTC in Stone Mountain! Maybe at RTCEUR 2013 in Delft, Holland...it's pretty close by for them!

Chameleon for Grasshopper and Revit

Hiroshi Jacobs has some news about a plug-in for Revit (and Grasshopper) that he's been working on. A hint of this leaked out a bit early last year if I recall but he's now ready for more eyes on it. He's calling it Chameleon and it is a plug-in that makes it easier to transfer geometric data between Grasshopper and Revit, plus other tools. It is currently compatible with Revit 2012 and 2013 and Grasshopper 0.8.0066.

It offers a Curtain Grid Manager that controls both panels and grids now, offers a preview of the system as well as helping to distinguish between vertical and horizontal orientations. There is a Chameleon Forum on his Revit City site as well as Chameleon Group at Grasshopper3D.com.

Here's a video from his site:

Unblock Your App

If you download a Plugin of the Month or some other application that doesn't have its own installer you might find that when you get it "working" that it doesn't actually run. The key to get it working again most likely, assuming your paths and names are correct, is that you need to "Unblock" the .dll and .addin files so Windows 7 security will give in.

Right click on the file name > Choose Properties. If the Unblock button is there then security is telling you to "talk to the hand". Click Unblock and "she'll be right".

While attempting to get the new Wall Opening area I ran into this situation and this thread at RevitForum.org was useful background information. Gordon included part of a reply by Kean Walmsley with Autodesk.

Kean wrote:...snip "Many of the 2012 family of products use version 4 of the .NET Framework. .NET 4.0 implements slightly more stringent security than prior versions of the framework: if a DLL is suspected as having been downloaded from the web – as is clearly the case with our “Plugins of the Month” – the .NET 4.0 runtime will treat that DLL as if it has been loaded from a network share...snip

File Upgrader for Revit 2012 Available at Autodesk Labs Plug-ins

They've made an updated version of the Revit File Upgrader available at the Labs, check it out!

From the blog post:
...snip

In addition to being stellar programming examples, the ADN plugins provide useful functionality. As such, the developers routinely update them in response to feedback at labs.plugins@autodesk.com. With this in mind, there was a recent update of the File Upgrader for Revit. You can use this plugin to batch upgrade previous versions of Revit files to the Revit 2012 format. This utility tool is intended to help upgrade family contents, but you can also use it to upgrade project files. As included in its read me, and all ADN Plugins of the Month come with read me files, the changes for this version include:
• Support wider range of source filename lengths (including single character file names)
• Handle situations where multi-level nested source sub-folders are devoid of Revit files (except for the last sub-folder).
• Set the focus of the list box in the user interface dialog to show the new entries being logged.
• Reflect the progress of the upgrade more correctly especially in cases where there are files not matching the upgrade file types in the source folder.
When using this plug-in, avoid placing the destination folder as a subfolder of the source folder. It doesn't handle that. The source code is supplied. Anyone care to try their hand at fixing that?

...snip

Shared Parameter Utility - Revit SP Writer

Alan Jackson has made his new Shared Parameter application available. From his blog openRevit:

...snip
This utility is intended to manage shared parameter files for Autodesk Revit platforms. It was written and tested using Excel 2007.

Features:

• Import Shared Parameter .txt files
• Export Shared Parameter .txt files
• Create New Shared parameters
• Selective Export from Parameter Library
• Organize Parameters

...snip

You can DOWNLOAD NOW from his site.

He followed up the first post with this one too.

New Product - SAuBIM Code Calcs v1.0

SAuBIM Code Calcs v1.0 is a code compliance tool to help deal with toilet room and fixture documentation. Revit doesn't permit showing calculated values in tags so this application is intended to smooth the way to calculate and document what is required.

From the site:
...snip
SAuBIM – Code Calcs v1.0 for Autodesk® Revit® Architecture is a compact, easy to use, and time saving program. Autodesk® Revit® Architecture is a BIM (Building Information Modeling) program and can be very powerful when pulling the right information in and out. SAuBIM – Code Calcs v1.0 takes advantage of the information in your BIM model and saves you hours of time.

Also from the site:
SAuBIM will create the required schedules to automatically calculate the following items:

• Occupancy Loads (Per Room)
• Required Male Water Closets
• Required Female Water Closets
• Required Lavatories
• Required Drinking Fountains

The tool appears to use a journal to accomplish some of its work because when I ran a test on a file that happened to have some missing links it dumped me into "interactive mode" which is the result of a journal that can complete its "run". I haven't asked but wonder if it isn't possible to accomplish the scope of work without a journal? You can watch a couple videos they've provided for your consideration. Looks promising though I'd like to see it happen within Revit without having to close Revit to run the application.

Overview Video

Prepare your office Template
Prepare your Project
Edit your "Use Groups"
Using the Use Group Schedule
Working with SAuBIM Tags

By the way, Jeffery Pinheiro (aka The Revit Kid) teamed up with a programmer to bring SAuBIM to life