Showing posts with label News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label News. Show all posts

Friday, February 03, 2017

Autodesk Seek is Dead - Long Live BIMobject

I've been busy, experiencing angst or lazy, you pick. Then again dear reader you may not have noticed that I haven't been posting as much lately. Apparently some readers are still hoping to be able to rely on me to try to stay current with things. At least that's what a few emails asking about this semi-recent change suggests to me. I do apologize if my reticence to post more often is disappointing. I have been busy as well as going through another spell of "What's it all about Alfie?". Oh I've given it away...or have I? (imagine Craig Ferguson was speaking).

Get on with it Mr. OpEd... At the moment the only place other than Autodesk sites that I recall reading information about this change is the Revit Add-Ons post on the day it happened, so well done Tim.

Specifically, you may have been, or will be, greeted by a message when attempting to search Autodesk Seek via Revit's Insert ribbon? The message begins with something like (I didn't capture the screen the first time) ..."As of January 18, 2017 Autodesk Seek has been transferred to BIMobject. At least I think the naming is BIMobject. It could be bimobjects because that's also on the site. I digress...yet again.

They've provided a transfer FAQ you can read but it's not really responding to any questions I have, as a user...UNLESS you are then careful to click the small link for User FAQ on the left side (link next paragraph).

I see they've set up a hotline for Autodesk Seek transition so look for that information there (via separate FAQ sections for User and BPM) too, it's the same telephone number for either category, user or BPM (Building Product Manufacturer).

I know nothing about BIM Object yet. I can say after arriving at their site via Revit once that the UI presented to us is a sight better than Seek. My first impression is that their customers are product manufacturers, selling the service of creating and hosting content for manufacturers, the same as for Autodesk Seek.

Assuming the somewhat jaundiced view of a Revit user, the user is the product they are selling to their customers, like Facebook for example. However attempting to be fair, users need good quality content to make quality building models so if these guys do well we BIM users ought to be winning.

Regarding my overall experience with Autodesk Seek, prompted by a post at RFO, I wrote this reply there a couple days ago, responding to Philip...(a bit more of the Opinion part of OpEd)

My own experience with Autodesk Seek began with hmm promising, let's see how this goes and ended with what's the point. If you consider RevitCity's content quality is ravaged pretty consistently by fellow Revit users, as such lately I have had the same dread reaction to resorting to searching Autodesk Seek. I even went there a couple times to pull down bad examples of content to show people I was mentoring on the subject...not a good recommendation eh? Inspiration for blog posts is one upside? Okay, getting snarkastic sorry.

My feelings changed sharply a short while after the Family Style Guide was published related to Seek. A great idea and initial effort but it was a bit plain to see the market/revenue generating bias of it toward Seek. ...and it too has died on the vine.

Overall, very disappointing. Especially considering I've heard it was no small investment of time and money by companies to get their content hosted by Seek. But then that's the secret about content it takes time and both involve money even if we don't look.

Back to BIMobject, I'm going to keep an open mind, more open than my obviously skeptical comments above suggests is possible. Let's see how this goes. Oh, I'll answer the question that's probably on any user's mind for them (from their User FAQ):

Do I have to pay for the BIM objects I download?

bimobject.com is a free of charge web service for architects, engineers, specifiers and all other disciplines in the AEC and Infrastructure industries.


They offer a free Revit app to directly integrate their content search and access into Revit too.

Feel free to use comments to share your observations and experience with Autodesk Seek (in the past) or BIMobject if you've been a using their content already.

Wednesday, February 01, 2017

New Command Reference Book for Revit Architecture - Daniel Stine and Jeff Hanson

Daniel Stine and Jeff Hanson have teamed up to create a new book called Autodesk Revit 2017 Architectural Command Reference book. The inclusion of the term architectural in the book title means it does not delve into the Systems ribbon tab commands.

It has 13 chapters: Introduction, Application Menu and User Interface, Architecture Tab, Structure Tab, Insert Tab, Annotate Tab, Analyze Tab, Massing and Site Tab
Collaborate Tab, View Tab, Manage Tab, Modify Tab and Contextual Tab.

You probably already know Daniel from his pretty extensive Revit collection of books. You already know Jeff too assuming you've read any of the help documentation or watched the training videos Autodesk provides online. That's been his focus for many years now working for Autodesk.

SDC Publications, their publisher, offers the book via eBooks using Apple iBooks ($39.99), Google Play Books ($42.40) or RedShelf ($49.47). It is available in hard copy via Amazon USA print on demand ($84 on Amazon) or Amazon International options. They also offer training videos, via separate download, for those who purchase the book. The prices are those that I saw at the time when I followed the various link options for purchasing. Fwiw, the Redshelf link took quite awhile to load at first, subsequent tries loaded faster, though the fact that I've never visited their site before might be why.

An aside, I've warned Daniel that Jim Balding (The ANT Group) has long been suggesting to me, at least since 2003, just this sort of book ought to be written. He'll either be happy it exists now or sad that they've beaten him to it.

Congrats to Daniel for yet another book and to Jeff for his contributions as co-author. Starting a book is easy...finishing it and getting it published is no small thing.

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Revit Roadmap

Autodesk's Sasha Crotty discussed the big picture for Revit's development at RTC in Porto. Sasha is the current Revit Core Product Manager which means (from her bio) she is responsible for the direction and evolution of Revit's multi-disciplinary tools, performance, and the API.

If you're curious about that you can check out her post HERE.

Thursday, October 13, 2016

Revit 2017.1 and Space Naming

While I was on a job site yesterday Autodesk released Revit 2017.1. In the past they've called this release R2. I think 2017.1 is better.

Finally the Space Naming Utility is just Space Naming and built-in. I've been complaining about the illogical segregation of this crucial collaboration tool for a long time. So many engineers I've met didn't even know the tool existed and that's silly. When they get to use 2017.1 it will just be waiting for them on the ribbon, no extra installation for EyeTee or Revit Managers to remember to deploy. Yay!!


As for what features are included with 2017.1 you can check out the Inside the Factory blog post. As usual Luke has shared some very useful links on his What Revit Wants blog.

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Revit 2016 Update 5

This morning Autodesk Desktop Application (AdA) worked and let me know that an update is available for Revit 2016, Update Release 5 ... and in my case for R2.


AdA installed the update for me. I didn't find any evidence of it on the public facing Autodesk pages but it was listed among the updates I could download from my account management panel at Autodesk, after signing in. Hopefully you'll find AdA works for you too. If you've got to download it to deploy it for your firm then I'd visit the manage portal to download it there.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Revit Oped Podcast - Test One Two

Bill Debevc just celebrated his first anniversary of BIM Thoughts. We talked about doing a separate podcast together tied to what I do with this blog in some way. He made sure we actually started it by sending me a meeting invitation. He's doing the heavy lifting of preparing it for me. I get to show up, chat with him for a bit and wander off again.


Last night it was finally listed at iTunes, you can search for it there now using Apple's Podcast app or your other favorite Podcast software.


We've set up a blog site to store episode notes and allow for comments. It's still under development so don't be surprised if it changes over the next month or so. Our first episode is called Hello World!. It is possible to just listen to each episode on the blog site too.

Bill came up with our nice podcast logo.


I asked my daughter to create one and liked her initial design sketch a lot but she's got so much school work I took it off her plate. My son Jake did the intro/outro music for us, thanks!

Bill, thanks for making me do it! We hope people listen and enjoy it.

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Revit 2017 - Space Naming Utility Update - It is Available Now

The other day I poked Autodesk about this feature. As it turns out it is deployed slightly more automatically. The catch is that the latest iteration of Autodesk Desktop Application (I'm going to call it AdA) must be used to see these updates.

My first problem was that AdA wasn't working. It just displayed a blank white screen. I also noticed that there was no Autodesk (A icon) in the system tray for an active service. Eventually I used the wisdom of The IT Crowd; turned it off and on again. That restarted the service and AdA started working, displaying information.

The second problem was there were no updates to choose from. I logged out of A360 and closed its system tray instance. I also logged out of A360 via Revit, since I had it open. I closed the instance of AdA in the system tray too. I had a browser open looking at my Manage portal. I thought that maybe my access settings were wrong. I logged out and closed the browser too. Then I logged back into A360 and launched AdA...voila, updates appeared. It made no difference earlier that I used the right-click Check for New Updates option for AdA in the system tray repeatedly.

Once I got it working again this appeared in AdA.


This a tiny bit better.

People will still have to pay attention to be alerted to download and install it. If they don't have enough control over their computer they'll still have to get EyeTee involved. I'll have to see if I notice more people have it installed in the coming months.

Once it has been downloaded and installed you don't have to rely on AdA to pass it along to others in the office though. You can just capture the downloaded installation file from the location defined when you downloaded and installed it the first time (C:\Autodesk by default).

It is also a bit tedious that every one of the updates is a separate installation; must be run and completed before starting another. If you attempt to run them while another is running you'll run into messages about something already being in process.

By the way, when you run Revit after installing all the available updates you may be greeted by "Security - Unsigned Add-in" warnings. Nice...


I've got my Space Naming Utility! Do you? I hope so!

...and thanks to Paul Aubin for the heads up!

Thursday, April 14, 2016

Revit 2017 - New Features and Enhancements

Long Post Warning, worth it I hope.

Edit: (April 17th) - The BIM Thoughts episode #30, is a podcast with Bill Debevc (it's Bill's podcast), Carla Edwards, Paul Aubin and me. We recorded it on Sunday (April 17th) and discussed some of the new features described below.

Last night I was able to download and install Building Design Suite 2017 from my Autodesk subscription account. You might like to read Tim Waldock's blog post (The Revit Cat) about installing it.

With little fanfare Revit 2017 is here, brandishing a slightly changed big R logo.


In past years I've proposed a What's New in Revit session for RTC Australasia. It has usually been accepted and then I often presented it for RTC North America too. Creating a session like that is a great way to get better acquainted with the new features each year. Last year I promised myself (and family) I wouldn't submit for any speaking engagements in the coming year (2016). Besides, after more than ten years of this, I feel like I have less I need to stand up in front of people and say.

As a part of the crew for the Revit Technology Conference (RTC Events) I also see class proposals for a great many people who really want to say what's on their mind. I'd rather they all take their turn at the microphone and I'll sit down, listen and learn from them.

That written I decided to compile my own review of the new features and enhancements in a blog post. I'll still do what I've done in the past and tackle features with dedicated posts as the new Revit season progresses. I think that individual posts make features a bit easier to digest; hopefully they compliment a summary post like this one.

In my RTC sessions I've repackaged the new stuff into my own three categories of Stuff; Big Stuff, Other Stuff and Subtle Stuff. Autodesk has their own interpretation of what are big new features and sometimes I agree.

Before I get on with it, I need to mention that a fair portion of what is new has already been seen, and put into play by Autodesk customers with active subscriptions. Autodesk released Revit 2016 R2 like they did with Revit 2015 the year before. The special R2 version gives us early access to some of Revit 2017 features that were code complete and did not require a file format change, which necessitates an upgrade of files. We'll see a need for upgrading from 2016 to 2017 files but not from 2016 to 2016 R2 files. Okay, on to the list!

BIG STUFF

New Features Videos - Start with these videos provided as part of the help documentation if you prefer watching videos to reading my blog post.

Help Documentation links for What's New in Revit 2017

Architectural Enhancements in Revit 2017
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Engineering Enhancements in Revit 2017
Structural Engineering Enhancements in Revit 2017
Multi-Disciplinary Enhancements in Revit 2017 (called Platform in the past)
New in Revit 2016 R2 (features released with R2 late last year)

Text Editor - A top ten wish list item since Revit 1.0 has finally been tackled. It's apparently a lot harder to create a full featured text editor than we users think. We'll have to see how it is received.

We'll be able to create indented lists with a bit more control now and we can place just a leader (empty text). Look for tomorrow's post, I'll cover this feature more then. You'll definitely want to look closely at this change.


Depth Cueing - This is another frequently requested concept. In Architectural and Coordination discipline views this allows you to apply a gradient override to make it more obvious which elements are farthest away compared to the elements that are closest to the cut plane of the view.

It applies to model elements, and graphic display effects, such as shadows and sketchy lines. It is not applied to annotation elements, line weight, line work, background images, or background color. When you've turned on and adjusted the settings you can export the view to an image file, print the view (uses raster processing ONLY) and/or add the view to a sheet (print/export that instead).


Try it out before you decide raster printing isn't going to cut it for you.

Occlusion Culling (2016R2) - The Graphics tab in the Options dialog offers the new setting: Draw visible elements only. It will be most noticeable in 3D views.

Color Fills (2016R2) - Any processing required to update or display these are now a background process (see next item).

Background Processess (2016R2) - A new Status Bar icon by the Selection options will let us review active background processes.

At least one Update (patch) for 2016 R2 was released to patch issues with this feature (Color Fills) recently. They are one of more tasks that Revit is changing to avoid making us overly aware of things happening, slowing us down.

Display of walls - Revit will regenerate walls only for those visible within the drawing area. In addition, if a wall appears very small in the drawing area, it displays as simplified lines, regardless of the detail level assigned to the view. MEP users will see that they are doing the same thing with Duct.

Rendering - The change over is complete, Mental Ray is out. Autodesk Raytracer is now used for all rendering functions so the option to select a rendering engine has been removed. When you export a walkthrough, if Visual Style is set to Rendering, the Autodesk Raytracer rendering settings specified for the walkthrough's view are used for export. Rendering settings are saved with each view's properties.

Autodesk Raytracer is used when you render a material preview. You can select draft or production quality. When you upgrade a model, the rendering settings that were specified for the NVIDIA mental ray engine are mapped as closely to the appropriate settings for the new engine as possible.

There is a new Background style in the Rendering dialog called Transparent. You'll want to use that when exporting to PNG or TIFF formats for further processing in Photoshop.


Global Parameters (2016R2) - This permits us to create a parameter at the top of a project and then associate it with individual element's parameters. They can also be associated with dimensions similar to assigning a parameter to a dimension in the family editor. For example, a standard corridor width requirement can be associated with any dimension we use between corridor walls, like this.


We can associate global parameters with a type property for an element and with instance or type project parameters. They can also be assigned to a group (parameter group in Properties Palette). They can be moved and sorted within their assigned group(s). A schedule can be Filtered by a global parameter to find all elements that have a global parameter association or are missing that association. Like other constraints, use right-click Show Label in a view to see how the parameter is related to elements in the project. We can transfer global parameters between projects.

Reference Planes - We can now create different Reference Plane sub-categories which can be given different graphic properties. This is an example of it in the Family Editor.


In a project it might look this if we create a unique subcategory for Building Edges and Roof Drains.


One thing to be VERY careful about is that Reference Plane subcategories created in a family are added to projects if they aren't already in the Project. That could create quite a mess if/ (or more likely when) family editors go nuts with this feature. This one scares me quite a bit.


In 2016 R2 we can provide a Name for a Reference Plane directly in-canvas after selecting it, it looks like this.


Reference Planes and Filters - Like Grids and Levels we can now use Filters to manage Reference Planes because the category has been added to the available categories they see.


In-Place Stairs: This opens the door to creating custom stairs that don't use the stair tool itself. They have added Stair related categories to the list of available family categories for In-Place geometry.

Combine Parameters (in Schedules) - This is the often requested ability to concatenate parameters values into a single column. The schedule Properties dialog has seen some cosmetic changes, note the new Combine Parameters button.


We see the new smaller buttons replacing the larger and clearer buttons of old. It's a cleaner interface but I miss the clearer labeling of such things. Now if I'm not sure what something is I have to pause for a tool tip to appear. I also get the New and Modify buttons confused with each other ALL the time. When we use Combine Parameters the dialog looks like this for a Room Schedule.


This is combining width and height into a single size parameter for a Door Schedule.


Another very interesting possibility is to combine different parameters for the same values when different families are displaying the same information but have different parameter names, because they came from different family creators. Here's combining three versions of width parameters into a single column, three families using three different shared parameters for the same thing, you can see I left each parameter's name in the heading.


I found it interesting that I can even combine parameters assigned to different Types of Parameter, like length and text. This is an example where I've combined two text parameters and one length parameter all intending to say the same thing, however impractical it will be to deal with the units of that mixture, or lack thereof.


This means we can create a VAV Schedule based on different families from different manufacturers and combine their different manner of Horsepower (or similar) parameter value into a single column. VERY interesting!

Duplicate marks - Revit will no longer incrementally assign a mark value when placing elements for the following MEP categories: Cable Trays, Cable Tray Fittings, Conduits, Conduit Fittings, Ducts, Duct Fittings, Duct Placeholders, Duct Insulations, Duct Linings, Flex Ducts, Flex Pipes, Pipes, Pipe Fittings, Pipe Placeholders, Pipe Insulations, and Wires.

That should help reduce unnecessary Warnings!

Calculated Values in Tags - This permits us to do the same thing to tags that we've been using in schedules. For example, in a tag I'd like to show the difference between the client required area and the actual area of a room. That wasn't possible without some export/import or Dynamo shenanigans. Now it is possible, right in a tag.


This starts in the Edit Label dialog via a new button, then it is the same as the dialog we've seen in Schedules.


Calculate Options for Columns (in schedules) - You can display minimum values, maximum values, or both minimum and maximum values for calculations in columns.


Auto - Project Base Point to Project Base Point (2016R2) - This positioning option gives us a new way to reconcile files that are started without agreeing in advance how to create our models relative to our own project's origin. We can un-clip the Project Base Point and move it to mark a specific location in our own model. Anyone linking our model can use Auto - Project Base Point to Project Base Point instead. This way our un-clipped PBP location will be used to align their model with our own PBP.

It may be necessary to also move our PBP un-clipped if it isn't already where we've agreed it should be. Keep in mind that Shared Coordinates are still very relevant with respect to survey, site and landscape models and drawings.

Move to Project Base Point - The Move to Project Base Point command moves the link back to the host model Project Base Point in the same manner as the original (project base point to project base point) positioning method. This command is available for any RVT link, regardless of the original positioning method.


Move to Internal Origin - The Move to Internal Origin command moves the selected link back to the host model's internal origin in the same manner as the original (origin to origin) positioning method. This command is also available for any RVT link, regardless of the original positioning method.

Per-User RVT Link Unload (2016R2) - This is relevant to projects using worksharing. When a linked file is unloaded that status is passed along to the central file and then on to other users when the use Reload Latest or Synchronize with Central.

This option will allow us to choose to make this a personal change that does not get passed along to other users. It is one reason we started to use a Workset to manage linked file loading and unloading. With this change the only significant reason to continue using worksets for linked files is for the demand loading of links when we open a project.

Cancel Export and Printing (2016R2) - It has been quite frustrating in the past to be unable to cancel printing when we realize too late that something is wrong. Now a Cancel button allows you to cancel the entire print job or export operation for all selected views and sheets.

Project Browser Scrolling (2016R2) - The project browser scroll location is now remembered when we switch between different projects and families. This should mean we won't have to scroll as much to get back to the same location after switching windows.

View Templates and Schedules - They have expanded how much influence a View Template has over schedule views.


They've added control over Fields, Filters, Sorting/Grouping, and Formatting. I've noticed that the stock templates (project) don't have a View Template for a Schedule (true of 2016 too) which makes it less than obvious how to make a View Template because the Create button is disabled in the View Templates dialog.

The trick is to use Create View Template from View on an existing schedule. Once at least one schedule View Template exists more can be created from within the View Templates dialog, however only for schedules associated with the same category as the original.

If you select a View Template and don't see the new items they can control it means the schedule and the View Template you've selected are incompatible, related to a different category.

Hosted Railings - This is a welcome addition. We can now sketch railings onto the top faces of floors, slabs, slab edges, walls, or roofs. Balusters and railings will adjust to the slope of irregular surfaces, for example a wall that's had Edit Profile used on it. NOTE: They recommend we check railings after upgrading projects.

Generic Connections (Structure) - To facilitate the exchange of information between engineers, detailers, and fabricators about a connection between steel framing elements, Revit supports placing generic steel connections. You can place these to define the relationship between elements which can be used, via parameters, to supply information about the connection, including pictures and links to connection requirements or other information. They can display in drawings and use colors based on approval and/or code checking status parameters for an easier review/approval workflow. If required, they can also be replaced later with detailed steel connections created using an add-in (see next item).

Steel Connections for Revit - This is similar conceptually to what has been done for MEP Fabrication. It is an Autodesk add-in which allows us to view detailed structural connector geometry and to modify additional parameters within the Revit modeling environment.

Reinforcement connectors - Reinforcement connectors are new kind of family. Structural engineers can use schematic connectors to define requirements. Detailers can use them to produce shop drawings. Manufacturers can go into full detail, precisely modeling and representing reinforcement connectors to create installation instructions.

Rebar connectors interact with the rebar that they connect to, facilitating change management. You can add the connectors to groups, assemblies, and partitions with unique coupler numbering. You can also export connectors to various formats.

Variable Rebar Distribution - To fit rebar within complex shapes, you can use rebar sets that can vary along inclined faces. Documentation should be easier with multi-rebar annotations, customizable numbering settings, and accurate schedules that display varying lengths. You can also define inclined rebar sets.

Split columns - The Split Element tool can now split vertical columns at the desired points too.

Wall Joins (2016R2) - We can decide if we want walls to join prior to placing them.


We can also select multiple wall joins and change the configuration of all selected joins to Butt, Miter, or Square Off at the same time.

OTHER STUFF

Preview Family Visibility (2016R2) - The family editor lacked full respect for visibility features like Detail Level and Yes/No parameters associated with a form's Visible parameter. It only made those elements a lighter color (gray). A new View Control Shortcut button allows us to show families they way they will appear in a project setting, all while creating the family in the family editor.


Family Types Dialog (2016R2) - The family types dialog now has a data entry field that allows us to supply criteria to filter the family's parameters. This works on both parameter names and formulas. You'll also find that the text buttons for adding/modifying/deleting types and parameters have been converted into image buttons.


Toposurface Edge Calculations - For conditions where sloped building pads meet other building pads you may recall a sliver of surface might appear between them. Toposurface edges are now calculated based on the building pads, not the overall toposurface. The resulting toposurface should now be more accurate, and hopefully the slivers of toposurface we've seen in the past won't be there.

Keynote Legends - These legends, when set to By Sheet, will now be aware of whether or not a keynote is visible in the view as a result of View Range settings, Design Option settings or Depth Clipping/Far Clipping settings.

In the past Revit displayed a keynote even if it was outside of the View Range, assigned to a different Design Option than the one currently displayed in the view or actually outside of the view’s Depth Clipping / Far Clipping range. Now they won't be included in the schedule if these conditions are true of a given keynote.

Vector Printing for Consistent Colors - They've worked to make Revit more willing to print using the Vector option instead of requiring Raster when we print views that are using the Consistent Colors visual style.

Tangency Lock - This permits us to lock in a relationship between line segments that are tangent to arc's with new icon's that appear when such a condition exists. This should make it easier to deal with arc/line relationships than it has been in the past. We discussed trying to control this series of lines in a thread at AUGI a few years ago. This IS much easier to pull off now.


Column base attachment - The Attach Top/Base command can now attach structural columns to isolated foundations and footings. Adjustments to the foundation height cause the length of the column to adjust accordingly.

Structural foundation parameters - To achieve consistency and use more recognizable terminology, several reporting parameters have been renamed or changed for wall foundations, isolated foundations, and slab foundations.
  • Isolated foundations - The Offset instance parameter is now Height Offset From Level.
  • Slab foundations - The Default Thickness parameter for filters, tags, and schedules is now Foundation Thickness.
  • Elevation reporting - Top/Bottom Elevations parameters are now measured in relation to the Project Base Point.
  • Elevation at Top/Bottom Survey -  The Elevation at Top/Bottom Survey parameters for filters, tags, and schedules are measured by the shared Survey Point elevation.
New parameters for slab documentation - To improve tagging and scheduling of floors, two new parameters allow you to specify the default (total) thickness and core thickness of floor types. Use these parameters for schedules and tagging. When one floor layer is set to "variable" and the sub-element has a variable thickness, the parameters display the value "Varies."

Energy Analysis - This is a hot topic these days but I don't see a lot of real action regarding these features in offices. Perhaps my own perspective is limited. Regardless Autodesk continues to put a lot of effort into it. To simplify the initial effort (settings we have to manipulate) required to generate an energy analytical model they've made a number of changes.

The Energy Settings dialog has been redesigned so that you only need to specify a location for the model, at the outset. Revit defaults to assigning all other parameter values to arrive at an optimal analysis with minimal input. Many parameters that used to be found in the Energy Settings dialog are now part of the Advanced Energy Settings dialog. You can adjust these settings after performing an initial analysis once you understand the results and decide to refine the analysis.


They've renamed quite a few parameters.
  • Analysis Mode is now Mode
  • Core Offset is now Perimeter Zone Depth
  • Divide Perimeter Zones is now Perimeter Zone Division.
  • Conceptual Constructions is now Conceptual Types
  • Building Construction is now Schematic Types
  • Include Thermal Properties is now Detailed Elements
They also added Help links from both dialogs to provide quick access to supporting information.

Export to gbXML - The Export to gbXML tool now allows you to choose whether to export the energy analytical model created using energy settings or the model using volumes based on rooms or spaces.

Electrical Settings - We can specify a default rating to use for creating circuits in a model.

Assigning a Distribution System - If there is only one distribution system applicable to an equipment instance, the distribution system is now assigned automatically

New annotation families for MEP - To improve annotation for generic and fabrication parts, several annotation families are now available for tagging ductwork and pipework. (Electrical containment is not currently supported.) You can use tags for offset, elevation, spot elevation, invert elevation (pipework only), set up, and set down to tag generic and fabrication elements. Use the Mechanical Settings dialog to customize the labels for the tags.

Electrical settings - You can specify the load calculation method for how Revit sums electrical loads: Sum True Load and Reactive Load, or Sum Apparent Load and True Load. When upgrading a model, Revit uses the Sum True Load and Reactive Load method as the default.

Temperature Difference family parameter type - The type of parameter is now available for HVAC, Electrical, and Piping families.

Calculate pressure drop for taps - To improve the existing task of calculating pressure drop in a duct system, you can associate an ASHRAE table for duct tap fittings.

Volume calculations - To improve performance pipe system volume calculations are a background process now.

Display of ducts - Revit will regenerate duct layouts only for what is visible in the drawing area. If duct appears very small in the drawing area, it will display as simplified lines, regardless of the detail level assigned to the view. (similar to what they are doing for walls now too)

Dynamo Integration - You'll find this installed as part of Revit and it's not on the Add-Ins tab anymore, it is on the Manage tab. I find that choice confusing personally.


After installing Revit Dynamo reports version 0.9.1.4062 (up-to-date). However the icon for Update available turned green while I was looking at the dialog. When I returned to About Dynamo it reported a different build number available as well as the green cloud icon that changed a moment earlier.


You'll just need to pay attention to this after installing Revit. Dynamo is dynamic, it's changing and improving on a daily basis.

Revit Fabrication They've made quite a lot of changes to this ongoing integration between design and fabrication. This is a list of the information they've provided in the what's new documentation at the help site.

  • Convert design intent to fabrication parts - You can convert generic, design-intent Revit parts to LOD 400 fabrication parts.
  • Route and Fill - To simplify the process for completing a fabrication model, use the Route and Fill command to step through possible routing solutions.
  • Quick Connect - To simplify the process for filling a gap between a fitting and a straight, use the Quick Connect command.
  • Trim/extend - To simply the process for filling a gap between two straights, use the Trim/Extend tool.
  • Swap fabrication parts - Use the Type Selector to quickly swap fabrication parts.
  • Fabrication parts optimization - To help optimize fabrication ductwork layouts, you can use in-canvas controls to reposition short straight segments and to extend fitting extensions. Additionally, you can review warnings to find fittings that are longer than specification-defined lengths.
  • Hanger bearer position -To avoid clashes in the model, use the hanger controls to modify the length and position of the hanger bearer and its corresponding rod location.
  • Hanger placement - You can place a fabrication hanger on the straight portion of a fitting extension. Hangers can be placed on other hangers to model trapeze conditions or in free space.
  • Tag fabrication parts - To support workflows for construction documentation for fabrication, additional fabrication parameters are available for tagging fabrication parts.
  • Fabrication parameters - To improve tagging, scheduling, and filtering capabilities for MEP fabrication modelling, several parameters are now available for fabrication parts.
  • Fabrication family categories - To improve annotation, scheduling, and filtering capabilities for MEP fabrication modelling, family categories have been added for MEP Fabrication Containment, MEP Fabrication Ductwork, MEP Fabrication Hangers, and MEP Fabrication Pipework.
  • Hidden lines for fabrication parts - To improve documentation, fabrication parts now display hidden lines.
  • Insulation and lining - To improve documentation, fabrication parts now display separate sub-components for insulation and lining for duct and pipe elements, allowing more control of display properties.
  • Rise drop symbols - This enhancement supports coordination between fabrication models in Revit and the Autodesk Fabrication products (CADmep, ESTmep, and CAMduct). Rise drop symbols for a fabrication run in Revit are defined in the Autodesk Fabrication products, and are mapped to the rise drop symbols used for duct, piping, and electrical containment systems in Revit.
  • Tool Tips for fabrication parameters in the Properties palette - Tool tips now provide descriptions for fabrication parameters in the Properties palette.
  • Fabrication settings - When you specify a fabrication configuration, you can also specify a fabrication profile.
  • MEP Fabrication Content for Revit - This fabrication configuration is now available as part of the Revit installation.

Bent fabric reinforcement - Sketch bent sheets to accommodate different shapes of concrete hosts. You can edit them later to adjust to any change.

Constrained Rebar placement - A new graphical constraints manager enhances precise rebar placement. You can place standard rebar shapes that snap to adjacent standard rebar, or you can constrain them to host faces. The user interface highlights each rebar segment that can be constrained, along with available targets. You can modify dimensions to adjust the rebar position. The snap constraint maintains its relationship when you place, move, drag, or copy rebar.

Graphical Rebar Constraint Editing - A new in-canvas editor replaces the Rebar Constraints dialog.

Revit - Robot Integration - Using the Revit - Robot link, the new results for required reinforcement: transverse density can be exported to Revit. You can display diagrams of transverse density using Results Explorer.

SUBTLE STUFF

Annotation Tags - If you choose to pin an annotation tag, then its text box will remain in the same location if its host element is moved. The text of a tag will not move when you switch the leader on and off when it is using Free end. When you switch from Free end to Attached end the leader will not change its shape.

Filter voids and solids (2016R2) - You can specifically isolate void and solid geometry when using the Filter tool in the Family Editor.

Editing Commands in Perspective Views (2016R2) - We can use Copy to Clipboard with Paste Aligned and the Copy command in Camera Views that are using the perspective option.

Spot Slope (2016R2) - You can now place a spot slope annotation that is referencing an element in a linked model.

View Range - A keyboard shortcut is assigned now: VR. If you select a Plan Region first using VR will open the view range dialog for it instead.

View Range Dialog (2016R2) - It has a Show/Hide option to expand to show a graphic explanation of the separate sections of View Range. READ the POST.

Underlay User Interface (2016R2) - I wrote about this change earlier this year when it became available with R2. They changed the language associated with describing the settings for Underlay. They also moved it into it own section (Group) in the Properties Palette.

Point Cloud Visibility - We can control the visibility of individual scan locations and scan regions in each view. This allows us to hide point cloud information that is not relevant in a given view. It should also help improve performance.

Revit.ini setting for CaBaGGe - A new setting in Revit.ini allows you to control the CaBaGGe framework, which improves the performance of Revit when navigating views. That stands for Camera Based GRep Generation (CaBaGGe) and it is intended to allow us to navigate highly detailed Revit models more quickly, by not spending time on things that we don't see. They recommend disabling CaBaGGe if you find that the pan/zoom/view-manipulation time is distracting.

Revisions (2016R2) - When Numbering is set to Per Project, you'll see a new Revision Number column displays the actual revision number that will be generated based on the Sequence, Numbering scheme, and Numbering options. Naturally this won't work if the project is using numbering Per Sheet.


When you open the Revisions on Sheet dialog there is now a Revision column which includes both the revision sequence information and the revision description. A new Date column displays the revision's date.


Filters Dialog (2016R2) - The Filters dialog has been changed a bit. You find filters are listed alphabetically and sorted separately using headings for rule-based and selection-based filters. Earlier I mentioned that we'll find Reference Planes are in the list of categories a Filter can see too.


Detach from Central File (2016R2) - Revit supplies _detached suffix to the file's name when you use Detach from Central and save the file. I wrote about this earlier.


Modify Patterns Dialog - It is re-sizable now, nuff said.

Object Styles (2016R2) - In the Object Styles dialog, you can select and delete multiple subcategories at once. Use CTRL or SHIFT keys to add or remove (select/deselect) subcategories, and then click Delete.

UI Assign Labels - When we want to assign a label (parameter) to a dimension string the user interface has moved to the ribbon now. I think this further undermines the significance of the Options Bar to our workflow (good or bad?). Click the little button (looks like an old Mac) to create a new parameter or choose and existing one from the drop-down list. Even the check box for Instance Parameter is here now instead of the Options Bar.


Upgrade Information - There is a dedicated section in the Help Documentation for Upgrade Information. It will be helpful to see which features we need to watch closely during and after the upgrade to make sure it completed successfully and the results are satisfactory.

Export to FBX - When exporting a 3D model view to FBX, select one of these formats to ensure import compatibility: FBX Files for import in 2016+ version products, or FBX 2015 and Previous for import in 2015 and earlier version products.

FormIt 360 Converter - This add-in is now installed with Revit and available on the Add-Ins tab. It can be used to convert FormIt 360 files for use with Revit or the reverse, Revit files for use with FormIt 360.

Collaboration for Revit (C4R) - This is installed in Revit 2017 automatically. This eliminates the need to install something if/when a user then subscribes to C4R. It is intended to reduce the need for IT effort and involvement.

Software Product Package Changes - Revit Arch, Revit MEP, or Revit Structure are no longer sold as individual products. All Revit users now get Revit in one Box which contains ALL of the features of the separate versions.

That's a lot to sink your teeth into, have fun getting acquainted with 2017!

P.S. There are many changes and additions to the API for Revit. You'll need to refer to the related SDK (software developer kit) for those details, sorry.

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Revit 2016 R2 is Available and Update Release 10 for Revit 2015

When I wrote about Revit Sunrise earlier I hinted that we might see a repeat of last year when Revit Sundial was followed by Revit 2015 R2. That's come true today.

You can CHECK OUT some VIDEOS about what is new in this subscription customer only release.

These are the features they've chosen to provide videos for:
  • Draw Visible Elements Only (performance)
  • Global Parameters
  • Family Element Visibility Setting (Family Editor)
  • Thermal Zoning (Analysis)
  • Enhanced Revit Links
  • Cancel Multi Sheet Print or Export
  • View Filter UI Improvements
  • Revision Enhancement
  • Isolate Solids/Voids with Filter Tool (Family Editor)
  • Per User RVT Link Unload
  • Improved Project Browser
  • Name Reference Plane
  • Autodesk Raytracer
  • Railing Preview
  • View Underlay and Orientation Improvements (descriptive language)
  • Enabled Copy Paste in Perspective Views
  • Choice to Select Wall Join Type (behavior) during Wall Creation
  • Fabrication Part Modeling Enhancement
  • Electrical Design Enhancements
  • Mechanical Design Enhancements
There is also a Update Release 10 for Revit 2015. For what it is worth, the Autodesk Application Manager is two for two now. It let me know about the last web update (service pack) and it let me know about both 2016 R2 and 2015's Update Release 10. That's encouraging, certainly better than my experience with it in the past.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Autodesk Revit Sunrise - Online Preview

The Autodesk blog Inside the Factory announced yesterday that Autodesk Revit Sunrise is now available. Want to download it now? CLICK HERE

If you're curious about what the next major release of Revit might include it IS an indication of projects they have been working on. That probably can be translated into "we'll probably see it in the next release". If I grab my crystal ball and look back to last year I see a Autodesk Revit Sundial. If I gaze into it longer I also see Revit 2015 R2 arrive in September (2014). Hmmm...I wonder if history might repeat itself?

Need a little more info to check it out first? Here's a list of features you can check out...(do read their post for explanations)
  • Global parameters
  • Cancel print/export
  • Occlusion culling
  • Color fills
  • Family Editor
  • Sheet Issues/Revisions dialog
  • Revit links
  • Worksharing
  • View range
  • Underlay
  • Filters dialog
  • Reference plane names
  • Perspective views
  • Spot slope
  • Wall joins
  • Display of walls
  • Railings
  • Autodesk Raytracer rendering
  • Energy Analysis:
  • Electrical settings
  • Assigning a distribution system
  • Display of ducts
Need a Picture to help? Here's a screen shot of the proposed View Range Dialog.


Nice to include more graphics. It would be cool if they changed the dialog for ceiling plan view range orientation. Cooler still if there were some grips we could drag up and down to adjust the planes eh?

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Revit 2016 and 2015 Updates via What Revit Wants

Once again Luke has written posts about updates for Autodesk software before their own web site offers them...?!?

Thanks Luke!

I'd really like to see this stuff posted on their own bloody website(s) in a timely fashion!

Yes, Autodesk Application Manager is supposed to let us know (and it did for Luke apparently) but it hasn't worked on my computer except the first month it was installed. Oh and the Revit 2016 versions of necessary tools like Space Naming Utility and Worksharing Monitor are still missing in action. It's not like they didn't know a new release is out??!!?? Gosh I'm grumpy right now.

Luke's post about Revit 2016 Release Update 1
Luke's post about Revit 2015 Release Update 8 for R2 (note that's not the regular Revit 2015, he does provide a link to download that update though)
Luke's post about Collaboration for Revit (C4R) v5 for Revit 2015

I guess I shouldn't ask where C4R for 2016 is?

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Revit 2016 - Multiline Text Follow Up

Tom kindly shared some more images and thoughts on this subtle new feature that Autodesk even forgot to mention. Tom's images do all the talking, thanks Tom!





Monday, April 13, 2015

That Time of Year Again - Revit 2016

The media embargo has been lifted for Revit 2016 so we're beginning to see some information surface on blogs and other sites. Fwiw, people involved with activities that carry an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) aren't permitted to discuss things they are aware of until their particular agreements are lifted. Naturally Autodesk would like to manage what is being said about their products when they release new versions, or at least be the first to start the conversation. The internet increasingly makes this impossible.

Dan Stine wrote a nice article describing the rendering changes we'll find in 2016. It will seem a little like deja vu all over again if you remember the transition from Accurender to Mental Ray. Read Dan's article, he explains it all quite well.

Luke has been sharing links to download different versions of Revit 2016 (and other Autodesk products). I'm refraining from doing so until I'm free to do so. In general Revit, on its own, gets released a bit earlier than the versions that are considered part of the Building Design Suite. I'm waiting for the latter personally.

Jeffrey (aka The Revit Kid) wrote a post earlier today about this subject too.

If you visit Autodesk's Revit pages you'll find new information is trickling in. For example there are some new Feature descriptions HERE now. Here's the Revit 2016 versus Revit 2016 LT COMPARISON. No such thing as LT for MEP users still, sorry...you're not considered light-beer drinkers.

This is also the time of year when the wailing and gnashing of teeth begins with renewed vigor. I think Autodesk manages to stub their toe each year by not adequately preparing their customers for their longer term plans and goals. Seth Godin weighed in on Hope and Expectation with his timely thoughts. Maybe it isn't possible to do that with as many customers as they have, or their frequently stated restrictions on forward-looking disclosures made by publicly traded companies? Seems to me they could do better.

As such this means each year we manage to build up hope that this year will be more awesome than the last (or the skeptic thinks less awesome). For example if we think that Revit 2016 is going to be transcendent then consider (it's my understanding) that, if you've got an active subscription and installed 2015 R2 already, you've already seen a percentage of 2016 features. The 2015 R2 is/was an early release of features slated for 2016, released early for subscription customers only.

Less surprise for you...because you're already on the inside track...

Based on what is published on their site so far, the big push with 2016 is:

A360 Collaboration for Revit (aka C4R)
Performance (more fasterer Reviting)
IFC Interoperability
Dynamo Integration
Fabrication and MEP
Structural Analysis and Modeling
Site Designer (part of R2 release only, now formally released to all 2016)
Online Analysis Feature Enhancment/Improvements
View and Tools enhancments (Reveal Constraints, Perspective View editing, PDF Exporting)

I have been quite pleased with the significantly improved performance experience with the 2015 release all year. I found myself resenting any work that required 2014 (or worse...earlier releases) very quickly. If 2016 stands on 2015's shoulders the way I've been hearing it does, then I'll be really happy to use 2016 too, right away.

Also keep in mind that, if Autodesk keeps to their timeline, next year, around this time, it will cease offering what they call Perpetual Licenses. They'll honor existing contracts/subscriptions but all new purchases will either be what they are calling Desktop Subscriptions or Cloud Service Subscriptions. Check out their BUY page for details.

I'm looking forward to getting to work with 2016.




Monday, March 16, 2015

Web Update Release 7 Available

Luke (What Revit Wants) reports that another update is now available. These are two links he provided, one for the update and the other for the readme information. He must have someone working for him on the inside. :)

Direct Download URL for Update 7

Update Release 7 ReadMe

Sunday, February 01, 2015

Revit 2015 Update Release 6 is Available

Luke at What Revit Wants must have bugs hiding at Autodesk. They don't even seem to know at Autodesk's own site, but he does.

Regardless, Luke knows and I've downloaded and installed it already. Thanks!

CLICK ME to read his blog post!

Monday, December 08, 2014

Autodesk Subscription Concepts Changing

If you were at Autodesk University last week (I wasn't) or at least watching the social media feed from the people you follow on Twitter, Facebook etc. you probably saw something about Autodesk changing how subscription will work in the future. This is anticipating more cloud based software use.

Scott Shepard shared (with Autodesk and blogger for "It's Alive in the Lab") a transcript of a Q&A session regarding what these changes are likely to mean to Autodesk's customers.

This is the text he shared within his blog post:

I (Scott Shepard) attended an internal Autodesk OnAir presentation where VP of Industry Strategy & Marketing, Andrew Anagnost, provided additional information. Here it is in question/answer form:

Q: What does "moving away from perpetual licenses" mean?
A: We will stop offering customers the option to purchase NEW perpetual licenses of Autodesk software. Customers will continue to have several other purchase options, including Desktop Subscription.

Q: Why are we making this change?
A: We are ahead of most of our competition in harnessing cloud and mobile to give customers superior user experiences and to provide more potential customers access to our products through lower prices for many of our products and term payments.

Q: What will be the impact on existing customers?
A: Customers who are on Autodesk Subscription will not be impacted by this change. Customers not on Autodesk Subscription will need to purchase Desktop Subscription to access the latest Autodesk software releases.

Q: What does this mean for customers on Maintenance Subscription?
A: Existing subscribers will continue to have the option to renew their Maintenance Subscription contracts and receive access to the latest Autodesk software releases and other Subscriber benefits. Any new software received as part of a maintenance contract will have perpetual license rights.

Q: What are we taking away?
A: The ability to buy NEW perpetual licenses.

Q: Does this mean customers will lose their perpetual rights?
A: No, if the customer previously bought a perpetual license in the past, that license doesn't go away.

Q: When will we stop offering perpetual licenses?
A: We anticipate it will be sometime in the next 12 to 24 months. Details will be shared as decisions are finalized.

He (Scott) then provided a few additional statements from the Autodesk PR team:

"We are aware of multiple conversations regarding Autodesk’s ongoing business model transformation and move to Subscription. In an effort to provide clarification, we would like to provide some specifics about changes in the sale of perpetual licenses."

"Over the next 12-24 months, Autodesk is planning to gradually discontinue sales of NEW perpetual licenses, and will make NEW seats of our software available through Desktop and Cloud Subscription only."

"Existing customers with perpetual seats will be able to continue using those products per the terms of those licenses. Customers with perpetual licenses that are current with Autodesk Subscription will continue to benefit from product updates and other benefits of Autodesk Subscription."

"We recognize that these changes will impact our customers and that you will have many questions. We plan to provide additional details about our plans as the information becomes available and will provide sufficient advance notice so you can plan for these changes."

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Revit 2015 Release Update 5 and Terminology

Autodesk released another update for Revit 2015 yesterday, it was formally announced via The Revit Clinic and tweeted. THIS PDF is the published list of things that this update, as well as past updates, have dealt with. I hesitated to post this yesterday because I was a bit confused by what I read at the links below.

Revit 2015 UR5
Revit Arch 2015 UR5
Revit MEP 2015 UR5
Revit Struct 2015 UR5
Revit LT 2015 UR5

For many years an update meant a fresh installation, replacing the previous installed version. This eventually changed in favor of updates that could be applied to an existing installation of Revit. That meant a smaller file to download (usually) and it could be installed (or deployed) more easily. For many of those earlier years we just referred to these updates by their build number, as in, "What build do you have?" We still have a build number to reference.


More recently they began including the phrase Update Release and a number. For Revit 2015 it was easy, through Update Releases 1-3, until Revit 2015 R2 became available, introducing new terminology. The R2 release, which delivers brand new features, is only available to customers who have active subscription accounts. As it happens R2 also includes things that an Update Release would include, as such installing R2 meant we were technically installing Update Release 4 at the same time. For customers that don't have an active subscription it is necessary to make Update Release 4 available to them too.

Distinctly different from R2, an Update Release fixes things within the existing product. It does not provide new features. These shouldn't be confused with a Hotfix, though having a similar intention, which tends to repair a relatively tiny part of the software. They are both delivered via a download from the Autodesk site too. We should be alerted to them becoming available via the Communication Center and/or the Autodesk Application Manager (if deployed/enabled).

In contrast, the R2 release does provide new features that we might normally expect to be delivered as part of a brand new yearly release. In this case it was delivered as part of our subscription benefits, only to those with valid subscriptions in place. It also does not incur a file format change as we see with the yearly releases. As we've seen in the past it could have been delivered as Revit 2015.1 instead. Language and terminology is fun!

Such was the confusion initially that The Revit Clinic offered up a post called What is the Difference between Revit 2015 R2 and Revit 2015 UR2? As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, I found myself confused when I visited the download pages for Update Release 5. This section seems to suggest there is a separate update to download via the Subscription site?

Note: If you are an Autodesk Subscription Customer and have installed Autodesk Revit 2015 R2, please install Autodesk Revit 2015 Update Release 5 for R2. Refer to the Autodesk Revit 2015 R2 subscription download page.

If you follow the link they provide it brings you (if you log in) to the original Revit 2015 R2 subscription download page. There is no mention of a special Release 5 update for R2. I wouldn't have been as confused if it said what I now believe it really meant: "If you haven't installed Revit 2015 R2 yet you can download it via this link".

I gambled and downloaded the update for Revit 2015 (first link above). My Revit is delivered as part of the Building Design Suite and I was able to apply this update successfully. In the past it was necessary to download a unique BDS delivered version of Revit 2015 updates. In this case they appear to have dispensed with that subtlety.

To summarize I believe this is accurate - see if you can stay with me:
  • Original release of Revit 2015 for which they have provided Update Releases 1-5.
  • New Release of Revit 2015 R2 which is available to subscription customers only, to which Update Release 5 also applies.
  • Update Release 4 became available at the same time as R2 was introduced but it was necessary to provide a separate update for customers that were not eligible for Revit 2015 R2.
  • If you installed R2 you also received Update Release 4.
  • If you install Update Release 5 today you also incorporate all previous Update Releases.
It is not clear to me at the moment if there is a different build number when Revit 2015 R2 and Update Release 5 are installed as compared with Revit 2015 installed and Update Release 5 applied. I'd expect a different build number since Revit 2015 R2 has features that are not part of Revit 2015. Shall we compare build numbers? Mine is in the image above, R2 installed with Update Release 5.

As always, be sure to carefully read through the Readme documentation provided at each download page. Clear as mud? I sure hope so!