Dutch Stair Winders

I saw the post by Jeff, The Revit Kid the other day. The inspiration for his stair video is often referred to as a Dutch Stair. A couple years ago I met Bart, a Dutchman with HOK in San Francisco, while doing some training and he asked specifically about the same configuration. He said that it is quite common in his county. I commented that I didn't remember ever seeing it before.

I was staying at the Galleria Park Hotel a few blocks from the office and that very same evening I found it convenient to use the stairs to get down a couple floors instead of waiting for the elevator. There are two elevators and one was getting replaced so it took a bit longer than usual to get one. Guess what kind of stair condition I found as I started down...yes...the very same configuration!!

Later that same year when I went home to visit some family I was poking through some of our family photo albums from when we lived in Holland. Guess what stair we had in our house...yes...same configuration!! My memory isn't as good as I remember!

Since I didn't take any copies of the photos or take a picture of the stair at the hotel I thought I'd search Google's Images for Dutch Stair Winders and these are some of what I found.

This stair and the layout of their flat is very similar to the one we had in Amstelveen (outside Amsterdam). I thought I'd take a stab at the stair that Jeff did in his video but do it using Boundary and Risers instead of the run tool. Here's my take.

I also found a little bit of information that looks like it is a scan from a book using another nice google search. The book says that the Dutch used these stairs so much that they caused the appearance of block and tackle on the outside of homes. These were used to lift furniture that couldn't make it up the stairs to higher levels and passed through windows instead.

After finishing the video above it occurred to me that I didn't explain why I turned off the Up/Dn labels or why there is no arrow. So this VIDEO does that job! You can listen and watch here.

Revit Worksets 2010 - Local Files

They revised the process that we use to make local files with 2010. It is easier and a bit safer, so to speak. I say safer because I don't like users getting in the habit of opening central files at all. The new process does let them click on the central file but Revit is smarter about it and uses a default choice Make a Local File instead. Local files are saved in the location you define by using the Options dialog and the File Locations tab, finally specifying the Default Path for User Files as shown here:

I created a short video demonstrating the steps to create a local file. You can listen and watch here.

How Soon is the Future? Sooner Than We Think?

Every now and then I get asked, "So Steve, how long before we just deliver a model for construction instead of drawings and specifications?" Since my nickname is Nostradamus, NOT...I smile and reply, "Next week...next year...next decade?" It usually turns into a nice discussion, all off topic from training, and eventually we have to get back to work!

Just the other day I was speaking with a few students and one of them is working on a project that is under construction and it started out in Revit. Typical construction practice, drawings and specification are the contract documents and the model is available for reference/information. So in this wild future where someday we will use the model more than relying on drawings...turns out this wild wacky future is the past, as in it has already happened sort of.

The subs have apparently been using the model more than intended and ignored the documents, where they shouldn't have, and that's created some trouble. Turns out that walls in the model don't all represent the actual construction conditions, meaning they don't all go to the underside of the deck above etc. The model is sufficient to provide complete documents. The documents very clearly define each wall type and provide the requisite detail to know how to install and finish each wall. Trouble is they didn't pay all that much attention to the documents. They liked seeing the model and those walls aren't the same as the docs. Uh oh!

So the sub-contractors preferred to see the intentions in the model, rather than by studious review of each and every relevant document. My reaction? No kidding! I would too! Why wouldn't they? The contract says they were supposed to but they didn't. When I heard all this I couldn't help but think about every time I read or heard comments about custom arrowheads, where leaders start on multi-line text, the appearance of section and elevation heads, hand-lettered fonts, title block styles, the good-old-days when drawings were art, elevation depth planes, dimension styles and others.

Drawing and documents are a means-to-an-end but they are also a language and not everyone is comfortable with this arcane and, a bit, stuffy language. A model is more democratic because you see it, I see, they see it and practically anyone (who has walked around or inside a building) understands what they see much much faster.

I've been thinking and saying, respectfully, to people for a long time now, "Does any of those things matter when drawings don't matter?" I get laughed at or sometimes seriously angry attitude in response. If the model matched the documents there would be a different story. No formal expectation that the model would reflect the documents precisely existed. Yet the contractors inferred that it did because the model exists. The model IS more important, not in the future, now. We are still in transition, more like confusion, but it is happening here and there, all around us. The sooner everyone figures out how to live in this wild frontier the better.

Autodesk University Update -Shared Coordinates

I received an email today that let me know when my Virtual Class session will be aired. Here are the current details:

Speaker: Steve Stafford
Class Title: Autodesk® Revit® Collaboration: Shared Coordinates for Projects Big and Small

Broadcast 1 Date: Tuesday, 12/1/2009
Broadcast 1 Time: 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Broadcast 2 Date: Tuesday, 12/1/2009
Broadcast 2 Time: 9:00 pm - 10:00 pm

This AU Virtual broadcast presentation will not exceed 60 minutes and will ideally be about 45 minutes class. It will include live Q&A with attendees for both broadcast times.

See you there, virtually!?!

[Added 2009-09-21] Now there is a list of classes to review.

Stair Sketches - A Flat Slope Update

I updated this old post with a short video to help explain the situation. If you'd rather just watch the video here now, here it is.

Starting a Project - Two Pieces of Advice

There are lots of things to consider when starting a project. Doing so with Revit is no different. Here's a couple comments that will save you some trouble later.

Number One - Forget about True North!

Revit has a bias or assumption that you are going to ignore True North when you start out, probably because you don't have a survey yet. Sustainable design demands that you think about True North for proper sun orientation but let's just pretend for a moment that you are more interested in making it easy to document the building than its sun orientation. This means that Revit has assigned every plan oriented view (stock templates) to Project North. Model your building so that it is easy, horizontal or vertical as opposed to at 45 degrees. Don't worry about True North because you can define the True North orientation quite easily later, using a couple different approaches.

Number Two - Model separate buildings in separate files!

It is quite literally a major pain in the back side to move a building in a project after a significant amount of work has been done. There are some things that are unavoidable but changing the position of an entire building is a trivial matter when they are separate and linked into a master site file. Use the site file to organize separate building relationships. If they change, move the building, update the building's shared coordinates and move on.

The poor sap who didn't do this is now spending several hours trying to select every last little thing in a multitude of views to reposition their building while you are sipping a drink at happy hour at the Marriott with a few dozen friends. Here's a video that summarize these two points.

Forewarned is at happy hour...or soccer practice...or the archery range...

AUGI CAD Camps

It is good news that AUGI will be bringing this event back to a city near you. At the end of last year the firm that organized CAD Camps ended its relationship with AUGI. That combined with the fiscal unpleasantness that has been a prominent part of this year meant that having any of these events was very unlikely.

It's my personal belief that even if there had been no management changes that any or even all Camps that might have been scheduled would have been cancelled in light this year's economy. It was hard enough to sustain AUGI World and get the AUGI|AEC EDGE magazine to happen let alone get a series of CAD Camps going.

Regardless it appears that 2010 will bring them back and hopefully the economic situation will rebound along with it. I wish it happened on my watch but I'm grateful there is progress.

Conical Ceiling Condition

Another recent post at AUGI prompted this video. The question is how to make a cone shaped ceiling. You can listen and watch below.

This is the final result.

Video Bandwidth

If you've attempted to watch a video and got a bandwidth message, it has been fixed. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Revit MEP - Duct Size in Tags

This is subtle but RME changes how the size of a duct is listed in the tag according to the view orientation of the view that you place your tags in. In plan you get this for a 36" wide x 24" high duct.


In elevation/section however you get this for the same duct.


This convention is defined by the practice of listing the visible (what we see in the view) dimension first. In plan width is visible so it is first. In elevation/section the height is visible and therefore first in the tag values.

Errors and Omissions

Every now and then I read an article pumping BIM or Revit. It used to be few and far between but new articles pop up daily lately. All too often the words, never, perfect, automatic, press-of-a-button and many more show up in the text. These words are used to compare Revit with other software and are often meant to highlight the strengths that Revit has. The fact that we can generate elevations and sections easily and that they are derived from the model without drawing them completely from scratch is wonderful. Many examples can use a little dose of reality.

There is an Urban Legend where a person bought a Winnebago and thought the cruise control didn't require someone behind the wheel. Most people laugh or at least chuckle at the notion that someone would set cruise control and get up to make a sandwich (the version I've heard, and believed too for awhile, the most) and think that the vehicle could safely navigate on its own.

Let's be clear...we can make mistakes in Revit too.

I used the image above a few days ago regarding interference detection but each of these things can be done easily in Revit.

Revit coordinates information much better and makes it more obvious that things are wrong too, like the things in the image. When things are working well, if it is correct it is correct everywhere. With Revit, when it is wrong, it is wrong EVERYWHERE too. This is an important distinction. When comparing Revit to other software the thing that is wrong in other software may be correct elsewhere because there is no connection to the other drawing or representation of the building. The distinction here is that documents are derived from the modeling process in Revit and embellished to create a finished document, with documents as the deliverable or focus for now.

Schedules are never wrong! I read this one every now and then, unfortunately this is incorrect. A schedule that does not use sorting/filtering, design options or phases as criteria will not report incorrect information. A schedule will NOT misrepresent data though. For example, a single panel door will not magically become a double panel door unless someone swaps a single for a double in the model. A schedule CAN misrepresent the whole story though by excluding information because of criteria applied by the user. User Error CAN and WILL creep into a Revit model. You can't blindly accept the results you get.

If we can make mistakes in cad and in Revit then what's the difference?

The difference is in how many of the mistakes are easily prevented or eliminated. Revit does a great job of managing the annotation related to views, sections, elevations, details and enlarged views etc. So much of the hassle of checking these is greatly reduced. When mistakes are made in Revit a team is much more likely to bump into them because they are working on the same data set or model. With the separate file process used by cad a team can be quite isolated from one another. How do I know if someone is making mistakes in their drawing if I really only see their work when it is printed out? Even then I have to visually compare their work with mine. Digitally I can reference their files and check them on the computer. All of this is so much easier, or at least more fluid, and we are always in the context of the building with Revit.

So much of quality assurance is the rigorous studying of printed drawings for inconsistencies. Much of it is based on years of experience and even intuition. I know that this and this are likely conflicts so I'm hunting for them. Most firms have checklists that go on for days.

It is my observation that teams using Revit know more about each others work and the whole building than teams who use other software. How can you avoid being more aware of what someone on your team has been up to when you see and walk by their work in the model each day? I've also observed many times that two users will have a conflict because they both observed a problem and set out to fix it at the nearly the same time, which generates a permission warning.

With my Revit bias you won't likely find me telling you Revit isn't the correct choice for you. I do want you to have realistic expectations though. The Staples EASY Button is a great fun thing to think of but what we do in this AEC business is rarely truly easy.

Mistakes can and will be made using Revit. Revit does give you a much better chance to catch and minimize mistakes as well as the opportunity to focus on making good decisions, and doing so as early as is practical so that the costs associated with those decisions can be managed well. Said another way, a past client once said to me in language more colorful than I'll write here, "My staff are making mistakes in cad all day long, at least in Revit they will be better coordinated!". Perhaps a bit too practical or not a lofty enough goal, but focused and realistic!

Dept. of Subtle - Ceiling Types and RME

I mentioned this item in a tweet the other day after I finished and scheduled it for posting.

When an architect uses the Basic Ceiling > Generic type they are creating a situation for the Revit MEP user they may not be aware of. Face based content does not orient themselves to the correct side or face of this ceiling. For air terminals and others this means they are usually upside-down. I created a short video to demonstrate what I'm writing about.

You can listen and watch below:

Here's an image to convey the issue without watching the video. The left side is a Basic Ceiling and the air terminals are upside down. The right side is the Compound Ceiling and the air terminals are okay.

Training? Don't Do THIS!

Are you getting some training soon, are you planning for some soon? Let me offer my opinion?

As a consultant/trainer one thing that really gets me down is when I find out that students who just went through training don't actually start their project right away or worse get assigned to a project using something else for months. Why does it bother me? Because it is a colossal waste of everything! Your time, my time, the firm's money, morale...everything.

Is your firm going to start training soon? Are they doing it the "old school" way...train for a few days and then go back to regular work? PLEASE!!! Don't! You are just wasting your precious resources.

This might seem counterintuitive, a consultant/trainer suggesting you don't train?? Believe it or not we want you to succeed and we like knowing that our students have been successful. I suppose there are some who might just be happy to get paid and not care what you do with the knowledge or how successful you are but speaking for myself and many others I know, we hate finding out about this.

Before you train make sure you have something real and productive for the students to do with Revit after training before you commit. Then make sure they do it immediately after training ends. Better still embrace the concept that I advocate and that CDV Systems has been using for several years now, "Train the Project".

It's a familiar thing to read and hear, practice makes perfect. Training makes people aware of features, gets them familiar with techniques and builds confidence but using the software for real, on a project, is what makes it all really sink in.

Okay I know, you make great plans and reality messes everything up. Just promise to try try try your best!!?? I wish you all the best in this!!

Blog Updates

I don't often mention new blogs (or new to me anyway) anymore. I developed a fear that the staccato posting of each new blog I find would get tiresome. Instead I just quietly add them to the list on the side. I revised the naming of the international blogs today to place their language or country first in parenthesis. I thought it would make it easier to find a language first alphabetically and then focus on a blog name. In doing so I came across at least five more international blogs, Russian, French, Dutch and Norwegian.

I contemplated moving the Revit Blogs(Reseller) into the other groups rather than calling them out...and then went ahead and did it.

I added a new link for the Revit Timeline post at AUGI. It lists every version release of Revit since the begining, including point releases and name changes. David Conant started the thread while it was still part of Chris Zoog's website Zoogdesign and I've been keeping at it since then. I also copied it into Beau Turner's Revit Wiki.

I added a custom Google Search to the sidebar which will generate results from my blog and all those I have listed on the side too. Try criteria like "worksets" or "parameters" or "families" and see what kind of results you get now.

When a hotfix was issued recently I decided to add a new set of links to the Current Revit Builds group.

They are the "Is there a XXX Update/hotfix??" links at the bottom, one for each version of Revit.

As you've probably noticed I've begun getting back into the notion of using video. I can do a lot more with less time (as long as I don't get too hung up with making good videos) and spending a bit less time writing to describe things as well. Hopefully they'll be useful too.

I added a Twitter widget on the sidebar. Not much of a Twitterer really but I do tweet occasionally. I'm at a conflict with Twittering about my blog posts. I'd rather come up with some other reason to Tweet.

As of today blogger tells me that I have 626 subscribers. Google analytics tells me that visitors come by Monday - Friday in numbers between 350-600 per day. The weekends dwindle which I believe indicates that many of you actually have lives, which is good! I appreciate the continued interest, it makes me feel like keeping on keeping on, Thanks!

Automatic Sketch Dimensions

If you say, "What are those?" then this post is for you. Actually this video is for you. I've posted or mentioned them in other posts before too. You can watch the VIDEO HERE or listen and sort of watch below.

To summarize, Automatic Sketch Dimensions are added to your family when you add constraints in the form of parameters and dimensions but don't constrain the symbolic lines and the sketches for the 3D geometry that you create.

Roof Example - Slope and Shape Editing

A post at AUGI asked about a roof condition that followed a curved wall. They wanted the roof to use a 1/12 pitch (1 inch rise per 12 inches of run for metric and slope in degrees folks). This is easy to do by specifying one segment of the roof as Defining Slope. This is the result.

Notice that the edge at the far left in the elevation is sloping? This is the sketch view using a slope arrow but it could have been done by assigning the Defines Slope parameter to the side sketch line segment too.

It was easy except they want the roof edge at the start to be parallel to the ground AND the roof edge at the end to be parallel too. Using this technique creates a roof object that represents a flat plate roof (imagine building it on the ground first, flat) structure that is lifted into place and the far end lifted up to create the pitch.

To create a roof that provides the parallel conditions at both ends we can use the Shape Editing tools instead. This will let us specify the elevation at each point of the roof. This also means that we are creating a warping roof surface. The rafters will each have a unique slope/pitch. Here's the result.

This is the sketch view of the roof using the Shape Editing tools and specifying a four (4) offset at the far left end.

Two approaches with different results. It all comes down to the desired result.

Egress Path Update

I don't get as many requests for this as I used to because I've made it easier to just download them directly. I got a request today from a new user who wasn't sure how to get the families and schedules into their project or template. So I wrote back to explain and while I was writing it occurred to me that maybe others might have wondered about this too.

First, if you don't know what this is about you can use THIS SEARCH to see all the posts I've made about it already.

Second, I recorded a VIDEO to explain how.

Third, you can watch or at least listen below to see how to get the content in your project or template:

I used Revit Architecture 2009 to record the video because that was the file version that I happened choose. I probably should have done it with 2010 but the concepts are the same.

Fourth, I've added another video to demo how to use them, as requested.

Last, seasoned users know that there are other ways to get the content in the project too as well as using them in the project. I just showed one, pretty simple, way to get where you want to go.

Revit Structure - New Extension - Element Positioning

A recent post from BIM and Beam blog. This is an excerpt:

...snip...Download the Extension from the Subscription Center under the “Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit Structure 2010” link.

Revit Structure has various tools to adding tags to your structural elements. One can add them to the element one-by-one or, by using the “Tag all” tool, can add them automatically within the current view. However, it would be more practical if it could be able to add tags by defining more than just the current view as well as to be able to set a distance for the placement of the tags and number them by element, type, and/or level.

Revit Structure 2010 now has an extension that will give more flexibility to adding tags within your project. This Element Positioning extension allows these basic functions:

• Create a set of elements and divide them into categories and types
• Sort elements depending on their location in the project
• Add a tag describing a user-defined position at the location specified

The extension allows loading necessary information from Revit Structure such as:

• Object category (e.g. beam)
• Object family (e.g. steel W-section)
• Object type (e.g. W12x26)
• Object geometry
• Object location (level)
• Material of which the object is made (after you select the option)
• Bars reinforcing for RC elements (after you select the option)...snip...

The blog continues to explain each subset of the extension a bit more, check it out?!

Is it CAD or Revit?

I received a sample drawing today. We were discussing detailing with Revit. While I was checking it out I thought of the cassette tape competition for our money back when Memorex was asking us "Is it Live or is it Memorex?" in their commercials.


Considering the focus of this blog you might logically conclude that the above image is a detail completed in Revit. If I didn't give it away would you assume it was Revit or CAD?

It is a Revit detail. All too often people dismiss Revit as not being as efficient as other software for this type of drafting or that the results don't look as good. On both counts they are mistaken.

By the way, the detail is from Scott with WTW Architects in Pittsburgh, PA. (RIP Scott, he passed away a couple years ago now)

Edit: per a comment here is another image of the same view with the Detail Components category turned off. The text, dimensions, callout and grids are obviously annotation.

BIM Definitions - A Lighter Side

While attending the Revit Technology Conference in Melbourne in June this year Wesley Benn shared a number of alternative meanings during various sessions. Here are the ones I captured. Yes, I'm ridiculously late in writing about my experience there. I'll use the lame excuse that I'm waiting for some photos...well I tried.

BIM = Big Incomprehensible Mishmash
BIM = Blindly Initiated Mission
BIM = Bed, Internet & Masseuse
BIM = Beautiful, Intriguing Missive
BIM = Bloody Incredible Mate!

Have you got some to add? I'm sure there are a lot of interesting combinations that are possible.

Family Editor - Annotation

This is a quick reminder. When you first open a Revit template or any family for that matter, what you see depends on the way the previous user left it. If they turned off categories or altered a view in some other way that's what you see.

The reminder therefore is, when you open a template be sure to check Visibility/Graphics and the Annotations tab. Some or all of the categories listed here are quite often turned off. Particularly true of finished content because this improves the thumbnail we see while loading content. This is also why most stock content is using a 3D view oriented to a side view so that annotation is automatically removed.

Pads and Slope Arrows

I received a question the other day about an unwanted sliver of a toposurface element appearing. At first the assumption was related to Design Options because there was quite a bit going on. Turns out adjusting the pad and its Slope Arrow could resolve the issue. Here's a picture of Pad A and B. Pad "B" obviously has the sliver problem.



Pad A is two pads, one flat and one sloping. Both pads are set at their lowest elevation and the Slope Arrow tells the pad to go UP. Here are the properties of the sloping pad.


And here are the properties of the Slope Arrow for A.


Pad B is also two pads but they are defined a little differently.


Pad B's Slope Arrow properties.


When you need a pad to slope it seems that it is more reliable to define the lowest elevation and work up than in the reverse. At least it helped resolve this sliver.

Introducing Revit Architecture 2010 - BIM for Beginners

This book has been updated for 2010 and you can order it now.


If you look closely you'll my find my name listed at the bottom, "Foreword by Stephen Stafford". I was flattered when Tatjana asked if I would do it. I was excited to get my review copy just to see a little bit of "me" in print. Imagine my surprise...no foreword at all, not even in the Table of Contents. Deep sadness sets in...must find will to live...


In my role as editor for the AUGI|AEC EDGE eZine and doing technical editing for the Mastering Revit Structure 2010 book due out soon I'm becoming well aware of publishing trials and tribulations. Suffice it to say that there is no foreword for now. Now that you've decided not to rush out to buy, haha!...don't let that sway you! The book looks as good as ever and the authors remain top notch! You can also check out their other book Mastering Revit Architecture 2010. It is also available now.

[Addendum: February 3, 2010] I added a link to the sidebar at the right side of this blog if you want to read the foreword despite it being missing in the book.

[Addendum: March 27, 2010] A new run including the foreword is out now. A really nice review was posted on Mark Kiker's blog even before he knew that I had the slightest involvement with the book.

Titleblock Parameters

You want to add a parameter to your title block family so that you can change the value for each sheet/title block.

You need a Shared Parameter. You add this parameter to the title block family. When you define the parameter you must be careful to choose the correct data type so you can store the values you want ie; text, number, integer etc.

Once you have defined the Shared Parameter (SP) you can add a Label to the title block and select your SP. Assuming everything else is done in the title block, save and load it into your project.

In the project the parameter value will not let you edit it until you add the SP to the Project via Manage Ribbon tab > Project Parameters (Settings menu > Project Parameters in 2009).

It is here that you define whether your parameter will be distinct for each sheet or the same for all sheets.


If distinct then you assign the parameter to category: Sheets (instance parameter).

If the same for all sheets then you choose category: Project Information (Type Parameter).

Nesting a Hosted Family - Clarification

Task - You want a family to be hosted when used in a project.
Consideration - You've built your family with nested components

Limitation - The hosting must be defined in the last family, the one that goes in the project. If you create a hosted family and nest it in another family it will lose the hosting behavior.

Said another way, you cannot expect a hosted family to retain its hosted behavior when you nest the family in another family.

Hotfix Revit 2010 Platform - Walls

The Autodesk Update site has a new Hotfix item. The description is a bit vague: This hotfix addresses issues related to deleting or modifying walls, a crash may occur.

You need to make sure that you read the Readme file. You need Web Update #1 installed first too. There is a hotfix for 32 bit and 64 bit versions. Surprisingly low tech patch process. Same hotfix applies to each version so just repeat for the others if you have them too.

It's a good idea to keep an eye on this site every now and then.

[Edit: Aaron Rumple posted at AUGI that this hotfix disables the 2009 UI Revit.ini hack that permits users to use the 2009 user interface instead of the Ribbon. Stay tuned to the thread or here for an update.]

AUGI | AEC EDGE call for papers Update

The latest information has our deadline moving forward (closer) to September 18, 2009. This deadline is the publishers deadline for us to submit content. So our internal (AUGI) deadline is September 12, 2009. The magazine will be published at the end of September or first week October.

We are also considering a special Autodesk University issue so if you couldn't pull off something for the next issue perhaps you have time to offer something for this AU issue assuming it goes forward.

Last, submission information about process and calendar is being added to the magazine website so that there will be a quick easy way to see what's up.

Thanks, please return to your regularly schedule fun!

Simpson Content Update

I have been contacted by Ed again to let me know that he has encountered issues with the content and he is getting similar reports from others. They haven't been able to get them to work in Revit. A couple of comments posted here and in a thread at AUGI suggest that this first release might better have been termed "Alpha". Ed informs me that he's been told that the folks at Simpson are working on it. I'm sure they'll get the situation sorted out.

The primary objections shared with me so far is modelling excessively and that users need detail component versions of these families as much or more than 3D versions. This is what I was alluding to in my comment about level of detail in the previous POST.

Dept. of Subtle - Double Click the Big R

J.J. in DC sent me this the other day when he stumble on to it. If you want to CLOSE Revit, apart from the other ways you are familiar with, just double click on the Application Menu "button", the Big R.


Simple, easy but perhaps unexpected unless you've already encountered it with Windows apps or others like Snag It, except the Snag It editor doesn't work that way.

Revit Content - What is Interference?

For the most part Revit will help you find when various elements interfere with each other. A window that gets bumped into by a perpendicular wall will generate a warning. A wall that overlaps another will too. A desk copied on top of another will but only if it is in the exact same location.



There are instances that do not generate warnings at all. The same window that complained about a wall won't complain if another window overlaps it. Then there is a door that doesn't mind something encroaching on the swing area or the accessibility requirements. Put a desk so that it crosses into the swing area and use Interference Check between doors and furniture and you'll find no interference reported. Is Revit blind? In a way yes!



A typical door family doesn't have a real element representing the swing or panel in a plan view, it is just symbolic lines. Therefore no interference. The only solid geometry in most door families is the panel and glass which is usually confined to the extents of the wall interior and exterior faces. That desk will need to cross into that space to be a conflict.

Is all of the content for Revit missing this intelligence. Yes, nearly all of it. Why? Because except for a few instances this intelligence isn't so simple. The clearance requirements for content becomes highly specific very quickly. Even more specific when you start examining MEP equipment. Even doors that have seemingly simple push/pull clearance requirements have subtle exceptions depending upon where in the world the door is installed and the relevant code(s). Thus far the content we use ignores this issue for the most part.

The next step is for content to begin to address these design considerations and that's how content becomes more powerful and relevant. More powerful when it not only helps us model and document a design but it begins to make sure that our decisions will meet codes and design best practices. Does your content help your firm in this way? If it does then bravo, if it doesn't it could. How?

One way is to include solid geometry that represents the clearance requirements for the element. This means defining a boundary, usually parametric too, that will represent whatever clearance/interference issues a family might have. This could be a bounding box surrounding the entire element or a box defining an access door's swing clearance for maintenance.

Incidentally, with Naviswork's Clash Detective it is possible to test for Hard and Soft clashes and even define a clearance value that can be applied during a test. Revit lacks this subtlety so a family needs to provide something for it to use. That something is solid geometry.


Practically speaking this means more in each family. This extra solid will also have to be managed otherwise you'll be seeing a lot of boxes in your views.

Autodesk could help us by defining a new sub-category for all elements called Clearance or similar. This would mean that Revit could then learn how to detect a user defined clearance sub-category element and even have a default visibility behavior or setting allowing us to flip a switch to show or hide clearances. Until such time we have to do it by adding it ourselves and ensuring these solids are properly assigned and done consistently for our content.

Keep in mind that the obvious way to manage visibility by using Detail Level won't help us for now. Why? Detail Level doesn't work with Interference Checking, the solid has to be "visible". If you assign the clearance solid to use a specific Detail Level the Interference Check tool fails to see the solid at all even if you change the view to the correct detail level.

Bottom line, can't use Detail Level to manage the visibility of clearance solids. You must use sub-categories or Yes/No parameters. Using sub-categories is a broader brush solution while Yes/No is more involved because you have to manage them at the family level. When you use these methods you can turn off the visibility of a clearance solid and the Interference Check tool will still find them.

Just when you thought your content was great you find out there is something else you could do to make them even better! A toast to making content better still!

Revit API SDK - AutoParameter

If you have ever thought, "I wish I could add a bunch of parameters (shared too) to a family all at once" then you may want to take a closer look at this.

In the Software Developer Kit (SDK) for 2010 they've added a few new samples. One is called "AutoParameter". Here is a description that I found on Jeremy Tammik's prolific programming blog. If you read his post you'll have to scroll quite a bit because it is toward the end of the post.

AutoParameter implements batch mode automatic addition of shared or non-shared parameters to one or more family documents. It optionally processes either the currently active family document or all families in a specified folder. It uses the FamilyManager class AddParameter methods and reads its input data from parameter text files in a format similar to the Revit shared parameter files.

You may want to use this one as an excuse to get more familiar with the API and the SDK.

Simpson - Revit Content Available

Ed Tallmadge with Kelar Pacific let me know that this was available today. Thanks Ed!

From the Simpson site (snip):

...At the request of our customers, Simpson Strong-Tie is creating drawings for our product offerings that work with Autodesk® Revit® software. You can download the models we currently have available, grouped into "families", from the links on the right... Here's a screen capture of their site:


This level of detail might be a bit extreme on a large project but used intelligently could be a nice addition to your projects. Be sure to note their willingness to put certain content at the head of the line if something you need isn't available yet. Just let them know.

Multi Core/Processors - Tech Note

In the Revit Tech Note document Autodesk has the following information:

Although the Revit platform is not fully optimized for multi-threading, multiple-core processors reduce cycle use by other applications running concurrently. Some reports show as much as a 20% increase in Revit platform performance in a multi-core or multiple processor environment.

In Revit 2010, multi-threaded methods for printing and wall join cleanup have been made available. Multi-threaded hidden line removal for printing has been enabled by default.

Due to the operating system overhead of maintaining multiple threads, multiprocessing of wall join cleanups can experience a minor degradation when only 2 CPU cores are present, but up to a 27% performance increase when 4 hyper-threaded CPU cores are present. Because 2 CPU core systems remain the most common configuration of Revit systems as reported by CIP data, multiprocessing of this features is OFF by default.

To enable multiprocessing for wall join cleanup, add the following entries to the Revit.ini file:
[PerformanceOptimizations]
ParallelWallJoins=ON

To disable multiprocessing for wall join cleanup, you may omit any entries in the
[PerformanceOptimizations] section of the Revit.ini file, or explicitly set the state of either one or both multiprocessing optimizations:
[PerformanceOptimizations]
ParallelWallJoins=OFF
ParallelPrintProcessing=OFF

The Revit platform's rendering function is optimized to use up to four processors. The Revit platform will share processing time with one of these four rendering processors, so there is no exclusive gain for the Revit platform in making more than four processors available. Additional processors may be desired if other computationally intensive applications need to run while the Revit platform is rendering.

Also, if you use the 3.5 GB switch feature for Windows 32 bit operating systems Revit is already a Large Address aware application so no additional work is required other than enabling the switch.

MEP Wire Sizing Feedback Request

Echoing copy from an AUGI post.

The Revit MEP User Assistance team (the group responsible for help and tutorials) has been working on documenting some of the calculation methods that are used in Revit MEP. We are posting some of the information in a “pre-release” state to try and get feedback on how we can better meet your needs.

The first of these reviews is on how duct sizing in Revit MEP works, with additional sections to follow as we get them completed. Any and all comments are welcomed about the information we provide in the attached files.

If the contents of these documents don’t apply to you, please don’t feel like you need to review them (i.e. if you're the electrical person, don’t review duct sizing stuff), but if you know someone who might be interested please let them know. The more feedback we get the better we can make the documentation.

Vist the Inside the System blog

Thanks for your help!

Karen Smith (Autodesk)

Conceptual Tools - Panels

I was feeling a little jealous of David and Zach and others having fun sharing the massing panel families techniques they been using that are available in 2010. Zach and David and another David have been prolific sharing videos of their stuff.

Most of the fun things I get involved with aren't really mine to share. These are not quite as exciting forms as the examples on the other sites but I thought I'd post a few images that I can share. A little over a year ago I used line based families to create the last image. This time around it took less than an hour in between other stuff. Different structures but similar thought process.

These images are of a panel family that includes the "frame" and glass panel applied to an elliptical cone shape that slopes at the top as well.




This last image is of the structure I mentioned earlier, the one that I used line based families for.

Sheet 4 of 50 - A Sheet Counter

Any Revit user will tell you that this isn't possible, at least not easily or out-of-the-box. That is...to indicate which sheet number this sheet is relative to the total number of sheets.

Some firms don't bother with this, others insist and numerous oversight/regulatory organization as well as clients demand it. As a practical matter it just helps the person reading a set of drawings determine if they have the entire set or not, or if they are in the correct order. If they are looking at sheet 25 of 50 and they only have 5 sheets in front of them, clearly there is a problem. Their other option is to check the Sheet Index...assuming they have one.

Now that I've gotten you depressed that it isn't possible I can cheer you up a bit. Phillip Miller with Kiwi Codes is working on a solution that he started out sharing at AUGI. His single license version will set you back $5 USD and a site license will cost you $20 USD. Methinks that sales might be brisk from certain companies faced with meeting this requirement. Phillip has provided a video for you to consider it prior to purchase. They also have other, though New Zealand specific, tools for Revit.

Check it out!

Autodesk University 2009 - Virtually

I will be presenting one class at AU09. It is part of the new Virtual Sessions they are offering. This means that you can attend this session (and others) at AU even if you can't do so in person. The class is called:

"Autodesk Revit Collaboration: Shared Coordinates for Projects Big and Small"

They (Autodesk) are offering two kinds of passes: AU Virtual Free Pass and AU Virtual Premier Pass. They have a comparison chart. Something to consider for those planning to travel to Vegas, each person that registers to attend AU in person will receive two complimentary AU Virtual Premier Passes.

I haven't been able to figure out how people sign up for it yet except that I've seen the class listed in the tentative schedule that was posted on the AU Blog. It may just be a little too soon since general registration has not yet opened.

By the way, there is another class to attend on this subject that will be available for people who come to Vegas.

AB118-3 - "Finding Your Way Around Shared Coordinates"

Theresa Martin will be presenting. Theresa, who works for Ideate, worked as a lab assistant in one of my labs and is a smart cookie so you won't go wrong attending it if you can.

I digress...I don't know about you but I find it annoying that the AU site must load a video before giving me back control of my browser everytime I visit their homepage. I'm just glad I've got decent bandwidth. I can only imagine what it must be doing to those who don't.

Hope to see you at AU 2009 and virtually too!

Revit Inside - Getting on the List

I started the blog Revit Inside back during April 2006. But when the Revit Structure blog BIM and Beam posted about it the other day I realized that I never really mention it much here on Revit OpEd. I do have a link for it on the sidebar.

It has been growing steadily, quietly for the last three years. I see a surge in requests when it is mentioned at a user group meeting, or a reseller happens to mention it during a conversation etc. There have been quite a few since BIM and BEAM's mention of it too.

The premise of the list is quite simple. Your firm name is a hyperlink to your company website with the relevant location information. The only thing we have to manage is a simple bit of information. Your own site does the selling.

Over the last three years I've had a couple of requests to make the list more comprehensive. There is much more that firms would like to know about your firm before contacting you. Such as How many projects you've completed, how many staff use Revit, How long have you been using Revit and many others. Another request is to allow the list to be searched geographically.

I've considered a Google approach to the list where you type in a search criteria and then provide a result but the list hasn't been so big that a short period of scrolling provides a comprehensive look at all the firms listed. For now I plan to leave it alone so the list is longer and more impressive.

As for providing more information that would require much more information from firms who want to be on the list. This would require joining the site, membership etc, so that you could edit your own information when it changes. Instead of going that route I think that firms that use Revit could/should provide a Revit page on their own sites that can provide the necessary background and do so in their own words.

Oh, as for actually getting on the list visit the Revit Inside site for instructions. If you are in a hurry you can start an email to me now.

Call for Papers - AUGI | AEC EDGE

If you work in the AEC "space" then I'm interested in what you do and how you do it using Autodesk's software. Why? Because I am the editor of AUGI|AEC EDGE

The first issue of this magazine had a focus on Revit and BIM. We had to start somewhere and let's face it, I'm comfortable with Revit so that part was easy. Reaching out to the other software users is a little harder. Posting this on this blog isn't the best place either so I'll be reaching out using other tactics too.

If you read this blog and know someone who uses the other products and would be interested in writing for the magazine I'd like to hear from you or them. If you use other products as well then I'd like to hear from you too.

Rather than call on the same authors for every issue I hope to bring fresh and heretofore unknown authors out and give them a chance to say what's on their mind. AUGI members are our first source of talent and if you aren't a member we can resolve that easy enough, it's free to join after all!

If you want to contact me to discuss an article or to connect me with someone who does please send me an EMAIL (include AUGI | AEC EDGE in the subject please). Thanks!

Family Editor Training Options

These are two options that have been brought to my attention recently.

Mastering Series by Paul Aubin

Paul has been running some online web training this summer and is currently conducting one focused on making Revit families with the family editor. He has increased the number of participants so he can accept many more students now. For more details you can visit his website.

BIM Tutorials - Virtual Tutor Revit Families

I received an email last week (as some of you may have as well) from this organization that has just created a DVD of tutorials focused on the family editor as well.