Change a System Parameter from Type to Instance - Not Length

It is fairly common knowledge that we can change a built-in parameter like Width from Type to Instance by going through the side door, selecting a dimension assigned to the parameter and changing it to Instance on the ribbon (see the image).

Kurt Thompson wrote to me to share how he gets around this issue when the parameter isn't something a dimension can be associated with. Specifically he was referring to a thread at the Autodesk User Forums where a member (electrical focus) was asking Autodesk to change the default parameters for Mains (instance), MCB Rating (type) and Subfeed Lugs (type). They argue that each parameter should be the opposite of the current configuration based on how the information is really dealt with (not that he needs me to, but I agree with him).

Kurt writes:

"To change a System Type parameter to Instance...(specific to the mentioned thread)

Create a Shared Parameter built exactly like the built-in parameter you need to change but make it Instance instead of Type. Starting out with a Generic Model family, add the new parameter. Now assign the family to the category Electrical Equipment, Revit will replace the shared parameter with the built-in parameter but it will retain the Instance (or Type) property setting from the shared parameter. Give it a try."

Thanks Kurt!

BIM Workshops Sessions and Data

I gave presentations at three of the four BIM Workshops this year. The first was in Omaha (August), the second in Anaheim (September), the third in Phoenix (October) and I wasn't part of the fourth event in Honolulu.

Indulging in a little historical review, the Omaha event is four years old now. However for its first two years it was called Central States Revit Workshop. It's founder, Carla Edwards, lived and worked in Omaha at the time. She attended the first Revit Technology Conference in North America hosted in Huntington Beach, CA in 2011. She told me that she was inspired and determined to bring that feeling home to where she worked and to provide that kind of experience to others but with a local focus, the region near Omaha. She found that there were many people eager to help her make it happen as well as sponsors willing to support it. I was happy to be able to speak at her first event too, and each of them since then.

A year later, after wrapping up the second event, she made a big life decision; moved to California and joined U.S. CAD, an Autodesk reseller based in California. She brought the event with her. Now in it's third year, with U.S. CAD's help they expanded the event to two cities; Omaha and Anaheim...and that brings us to this year, the event's fourth. Phoenix and Honolulu were both a single day of sessions while Omaha and Anaheim were two days of sessions.

This year the following people were designated with a national speaker role; Andy Jizba, Bill Debevc, Brandon Pike, Brian Mackey, Carla Edwards, Chris Faklaris, Chris Keck, David Magid, Eric Chappell, Kelli Lubeley, Lonnie Cumpton, Paul Aubin, Robert Bell, Me, Steven Shell and Tom Whitehead.

This meant each of us agreed to give presentations at two or more of the events. Each location also featured a selection of local/regional people who were chosen after being invited to send in their session ideas. That gave each BIM Workshop a broad reach while drawing on local talent too. It was a good mix this year as it has been for each of the previous years.

It has been my intention all along to post the files associated with both of my sessions here so people can check them out. I just waited until the last event was concluded (and I needed a little time to update the documents a bit)...and here they are.

Session: Who Moved my Cheese?
Description: There are over 30 ways to lose something you’re sure was just there. Revit offers so much control over the way things can be seen that we need a chart or list to figure out what happened to them. This session will explore those and provide an opportunity for some group therapy (troubleshooting).

I organized this as a game show to get people directly involved in the class. I selected two contestants for each visibility problem (25 problems in all). They competed for Smarties (yes the little discs of sugary goodness). I was inspired by a challenge that some of the Autodesk Revit technical support team created for a past Autodesk University. They had a booth outside of the classroom areas where people could stop by and meet them. They encouraged us to take part in this Find my Chair challenge which included some pretty diabolical, even despicable, ways that someone could hide a chair. For example, one chair was a family that had been completely stripped, just an empty file now, and reloaded. If someone did that in your office you might be inclined to encourage HR to get involved?

My session wasn't nearly so mean. It was fun to do it. I've heard from quite a few people since that they enjoyed it too. Thanks!

THIS is the HANDOUT
THIS is the DATASET

Fwiw, since I ran it as a game show with a winner and loser for each round, more than a few people suggested that I should have awarded each round's loser with a Dum Dums, I did think of it...but I didn't want to harsh anyone's mellow.

Session: Shared Coordinates: Stay Out of the Rabbit Hole
Description: It seems simple enough. Then something goes wrong. There are a few too many ways that we can manipulate this information. People often make assumptions about how it should work but don’t fully appreciate the consequences. Let’s explore the subtleties and avoid falling down the rabbit hole.

In this session I described and demonstrated using a master Revit site model to provide the basis for the real world location of a building or buildings. Then I linked separate Tiny House models (yes, inspired by Sean Burke's own Un-Boxed House project). If you've been reading this blog for long you'll probably recognize the information as being derived from a series of posts I've written here before. As much as I'd like to think every Revit user has read my blog, there are a lot of people out there who have no idea just how much information about Revit is lurking out here in the internets. Then again, maybe they just have a healthier balance in their lives?

THIS is the HANDOUT
THIS is the DATASET

I hope that these prove useful or interesting. Let me know if you have your own Who Moved my Cheese Game show sometime.

Oh, Carla recently let me know that she's decided to accept a position with an architecture firm in Denver so she can get closer to project work again AND importantly be much closer to her family. There is that notion of balance again... I wish her all the best and I'm sorry she'll have a lot more snow to deal with there than here in Southern California.

Keep an eye on the BIM Workshops site for next year's details as they become available.

Revising Keynote Data

When you use keynotes and realize you need to revise existing keynote information it easy to change what the keynote text value is. We just need to edit the existing information and reload the keynote file.

It's a little different situation when you decide you need to change the numbering that is already in play. It's no problem if you are just shuffling note information around so you get the numbering sequence you prefer. As long as the keynote value remains in the list Revit will find it. You just need to make sure that any elements that are supposed to carry a certain keynote value still do after you shuffle them.

However, if you revise things and introduce a new numbering scheme and reload the file you'll find the keynotes will get confused. They stop displaying the correct information. For example let's say the keynote that was number 1 is now the letter A. There isn't a separate GUID that is guiding this alignment of data, Revit is relying on the information in the text file entirely. So Revit doesn't find the number 1 anymore and can't pair up the keynote value and keynote text anymore. The tag just reports 1 since that's what was stored to begin with.

The best place to check and revise the keynote assignment after revising numbers is in the keynote legend. You'll be able to review each keynote and activate the keynote table via the Keynote Value parameter, the little browse button that appears when you click on the value in the schedule.

You can select each confused keynote and map it to the correct keynote value. Once you've revisited all of the affected keynotes in the legend you'll find that the keynote tags throughout the documentation will show the correct information again.

Schedule Linked Files

We can schedule elements that are in linked files but there isn't a schedule that is only interested in telling us what linked files there are. We can determine which files are linked easily enough while working inside Revit. What if we want to document what files are linked into our model and include this information on a sheet? We can take advantage of the addition of Grids and Levels as elements we can schedule in Revit 2014.

If we assume that all projects will have levels and probably grids a schedule that is assigned to one of those categories can be manipulated to look like it is just a schedule of linked files. Then we can combine that with a Starting View if we want to see it each time our project is opened. Add the schedule to a general information sheet and it can be part of our documentation too.

I created a schedule that includes the fields for RVT Links and at least one for Grids. In this example I used Grids to drive the schedule but Levels are probably a better choice.

When we load a linked file we can supply a unique "Name" value. When we use Reload From or Reload later to update the model we can revise the "Name" parameter to show the current version/date.

Make a custom titleblock family and add the Project and Client related parameters as desired. Load the family and create a new sheet using this special titleblock. Add the new schedule to the sheet. To use this as a starting view activate the Manage ribbon and click the Starting View button. Choose our special sheet view as the starting view.

I used the Clear Cell tool, new in Revit 2014, to remove the link between the schedule name and the header text. This allows us to call the schedule something meaningful in the project browser and show something else in the header of the schedule on the sheet, as shown in the first image in the post. Since schedules can be on any number of sheets it is an easy matter to place it on additional sheets if desired.

OmniClass as Criteria

I heard mention of Omniclass during Autodesk University a few times last week. Each component (loadable) family in Revit has a pair of parameters built for OmniClass. What is that you say?

Lifted directly from their web site:

The OmniClass Construction Classification System (known as OmniClass™ or OCCS) is a classification system for the construction industry. OmniClass is useful for many applications, from organizing library materials, product literature, and project information, to providing a classification structure for electronic databases. It incorporates other extant systems currently in use as the basis of many of its Tables – MasterFormat™ for work results, UniFormat for elements, and EPIC (Electronic Product Information Cooperation) for structuring products.

Revit supplies the OmniClass Number and the related OmniClass Title for each family category.

It hasn't quite reached full citizenship in Revit because system families do not yet offer an option for assigning them OmniClass values, neither do rooms or spaces. You can certainly add your own shared parameters to do it but there won't be any linkage to the same table of values as provided in the image above, that's only for component families.

Revit has also always offered the UniFormat Assembly Code and Description, not for rooms or spaces either though. These two systems both provide a way to classify the essence of an element in the model, like the Dewey Decimal system helps to organize books in a library to some degree. If we are careful to assign appropriate values to the content we create we'll find we can harness them to enhance our experience with using schedules and filters. That's completely apart from the downstream possibilities of using it to help define specifications with tools like e-SPECS or BSD LinkMan.

Try hard to remember to assign a value for OmniClass and the Assembly Code so you and others can take advantage of them later.