Add a Comment using Synchronize and Modify Settings

Whenever we need to use Synchronize with Central (SwC) I advocate for using the button for Synchronize and Modify Settings every time.

Doing so allows Revit to present us with the Synchronize with Central dialog.

I encourage everyone to take a moment and type a brief description in the Comment field provided. What motivated you to use SwC just now? That's the gist of what should be recorded there. I find that people are more receptive to making a habit of it once they see it can prove to be very useful to just about everyone working on the project.

We can review the comments anytime we choose to, even if we don't have a project open yet. That means that anyone who can at least fire up Revit can review project comments even if they don't really need to do any work in Revit.

Yes, the Show History button on Collaborate ribbon is awake even if no project is open. Click Show History, browse to the location of the relevant Central File and click Open. The comments are presented to us like this.

I doubt it is hard to imagine how having everyone on the project team recording comments (time stamp and username are stored automatically too) can be helpful for diagnosing issues, checking the status of tasks, and even a quick review of user activity on a given project file. It will also become obvious who isn't playing along pretty quickly.

I also recommend that we never use the other button for Synchronize Now (that's why I put the red X on it in the image above). It doesn't present the dialog so there is no opportunity to store a comment and equally important is that is does not relinquish User Created worksets automatically.

If you pay close attention you'll notice that all of the other kinds of worksets are automatically checked when the Synchronize and Modify Settings dialog is open. Those other worksets are relinquished with Synchronize Now, not User Created worksets though. If you use Synchronize Now and you've ever been accused of retaining ownership of these worksets...that's likely why.

If it helps:

Green Arrows in Circle SwC = Good!!
Lighting Bolt SwC = Not Good!!

If you're interested in taking a peek at Kinship's features you'll find that these comments can be reviewed at will with just a browser.

Comments Deleted - Oops

Tonight I deleted three comments by mistake. I selected them to publish but when I moved my cursor to do so my sleeve caught and I clicked over the Delete button instead. Moving too clickly... very sorry. If you don't see your comment please feel free to do so again, if you feel motivated to do it, sorry.

Spammy Comments

Are you reading this blog and thinking, "I'm going to post a comment so I can put some links to Cialis or Viagra or bathroom hygiene products?" Maybe it would be great to sneak in a link to some railing products or even curtains and drapes?

Sorry, comments are moderated. That means I see them first and you can write warm and fuzzy accolades about how much you love my blog or writing, or how smart you think I am... still won't work. I won't believe you AND I can see the links so...nope, not gonna happen.

Go try to post your links in sweet comments on a blogger that isn't pruning the "spam", though I don't mind a little spam now then, the food that is.

Unfortunately the post that someone, inclined to do this, will read is any but this one, so this is a bit spammy of me. :(

BIM Forum Winter 2011 - San Diego

It's been a long day, driving down to San Diego attending the first day of the forum and then driving back home! So I'll just mention three things for now.

Scenario Virtual Project Delivery - If you haven't seen this at all yet, check it out.

Dupont Design Studio - I heard about this, maybe a year ago? It was discussed today along with three others I'll get to in another post when I have more time.

Virtual Mockups - Not a link but a theme, nearly every presentation had examples of how virtual mockups of design information had helped the construction process. If it isn't part of your process now it probably will soon or should be.

Dept. of Reviteristics - Properties

When your cursor is in a view it's View Properties
When you select a view in the Project Browser it's Properties
When you select an element in the view it's Element Properties
When you select an element in the Project Browser it's Properties
When you select a viewport on a sheet it's Properties
When you right click on a sheet it's View Properties
When you are in sketch mode the Properties Button works on Sketch Elements
When you are in sketch mode the Element Properties moves to the Design Bar
When you use Keyboard Shortcuts it's PR
When you use Keyboard Shortcuts it's VP

Properties, Properties, Properties...there are probably more...

Acquire Coordinates - Confirm?

This week I was discussing the role of Shared Coordinates with a group and we went through the motions involved to use a civil file as the defining coordinate system for our project. The tool Acquire Coordinates, found via Tools menu > Shared Coordinates is used to do this. It is a simple process, Select the tool, select an import symbol...

What has bothered me in the past and again this week, enough so that I finally wrote it down...is that when you do as Revit asks, select an Import Symbol, Revit doesn't visually DO anything to confirm or acknowledge or convince us that it has actually done anything. We have to use another tool found at the bottom of the same list, Tools menu > Shared Coordinates > Report Shared Coordinates to satisfy us that Revit has indeed acquired the coordinates.

On the other hand if you don't select a valid symbol or it has already been acquired at another time you do get a warning message.

This post is a lot of text to say, "I think Acquire Coordinates should confirm a successful transaction"? Seem reasonable? I thought so!

Autodesk University 2006 - Class Survey Results

I’ve held off writing anything about my AU 2006 experiences because I’ve been busy but also because I’ve been waiting for the class survey data to be compiled and distributed. I’m writing regarding the classes I presented.

As I wrote earlier, I presented two classes on the family editor, a lecture format and a lab format. AU management made arrangements to repeat the lab when the first filled up so quickly. This brought me to a total of three presentations. Overall my scores were very good. For those of you who attended my sessions and were pleased I am grateful and glad that they worked for you!

It would be easy to stop this article right here with the “thank you very much” but that is only one side of the story. I’m going dwell on the negative side of the story and I hope you fail to hear any excuses because I don’t want to utter a single one.

The survey results include the comments that are supplied on the bottom of each survey form. These comments vary from both ends of the spectrum, from completely negative to completely happy. I can honestly relate to each comment because as honest as each comment is they couldn’t compare to how brutally I picked apart my performance, you can ask my wife.

Naturally I’d like to focus on the positive remarks and feel good. Nevertheless, sometimes the truth hurts and every negative comment held truth that needs to be considered. As proof that I can trust “my gut” the lab I presented first felt wrong to me and sure enough the survey results were not as high as the second lab, which I retooled overnight before presenting the next morning. My apologies to the first lab! The second lab felt better but I was still dissatisfied. You can only fix so much overnight.

On the other hand the lecture felt good to me during and after but with such a large audience I knew there was no way I could really satisfy everyone. Sure enough there were some disappointed remarks.

In some cases the truth was probably simply a matter of wrong class, wrong student, mismatched agenda’s. In other cases it is a matter of approach or delivery, right idea, wrong message. For those who were not satisfied I am sorry, deeply so. I understand how much it means to take time away from family and work to attend AU and to be part of any dissatisfaction is hard to bear and certainly not intended.

The subject of content and the family editor is a deep subject and the last two years I’ve provided classes on the subject have been living proof that you can’t please everyone. At least not with one class or one level of experience in mind. Even if you think you’ve got it correct someone will come along and provide insight that you failed to consider.

I will encourage the next AU to provide a broader scope of training focused on the family editor. Ideally a beginning to end structure as the power track was intended to provide for the project side of Revit, a power track for the family editor if you will. Whether I’m a part of it or not is immaterial, that it happens, and that you are successful with Revit is important to me!

Thank you for attending and caring enough to share your thoughts so we can all strive make AU even better every year!! (and make me better too!)