Troubleshooting Graphics and Visualization

Harlan with The Revit Clinic posted that there are two new pages dedicated to helping users resolve graphics card and visualization issues.

Autodesk Support Sites
Tested Graphics Hardware List
Revit Graphic Card Troubleshooting Center
Revit Visualization Troubleshooting Center

Avatech Utilities for Revit - Update for 2011

Avatech Solutions was the first company (that I can remember) to offer several utilities for Revit that provided missing functionality - for free too. They are busy getting the word out about their latest update for Revit 2011 products and this post is meant to help.

The Revit Kid (Jeff Pinheiro) started a contest to win a free version of their utilities. Avatech's marketing team wrote to me last week and offered to make one license of the full version of the utilities available for free to one of this blog's readers. Jeff's post went live on Saturday and when it did I thought that I'd make the license I can award available to the second place finisher in his contest. It seems a bit redundant to me to run another contest of my own.

The essence of his challenge: Explain, in a comment for the blog post, how the Avatech utilities have been a benefit to you or your firm, or perhaps how your firm will benefit from them if it doesn't use them yet. The best response/comment wins. The best is determined by readers voting for the comment they liked the most. The deadline for comments is the 30th, voting begins afterward. I'll award the license that Avatech has offered to me to the second place finisher in the contest.

If you aren't familiar with the utilities yet then you should take some time to review them. If you use Revit Architecture then the room and door numbering tools will probably be very useful. The element renumber allows you to renumber grids, levels, windows, doors and spaces.

If you use Revit MEP the new MEP Parameter tool might prove interesting. It helps you pass along parameter values for an entire duct or pipe system, like setting the insulation value. Easy to set the insulation for a pipe or a pipe fitting but you can't actually do them both at the same time when they are selected. This tool is meant to alleviate that pain.

They are still offering a free version (Lite includes: Room Renumber, Change Case, Space Update, and GridSelect.) and the utilities can be stand-alone or a named user version (shared license with a pool of named users). The full version will sell for $395 after July 31, 2010. If you'd like to get it for less you haven't got much time, you can get it for $99 until the 31st. Click HERE to download the product brochure.

[Disclosure: Avatech Solutions made one copy of the Utilities for Revit 2011 available to me for my personal use, for free, in return for posting this information.]

Dept. of Bugs - Sloping Pad Defect gets Ornery

I wrote about THIS back in August of 2009. The sliver left behind in the image below could be eliminated by taking the advice in that post. Unfortunately 2011 eliminates that technique from the ranks of viable alternatives, per Jean-Frederic Monod's comment on the earlier post.

Possible workaround? Use a pad to drop the site toposurface to the lowest elevation and then use a floor to create the sloped and flat "pads" instead??

Proper Properties Palette

I have to admit that I'm quite happy with the Properties Palette. During a period of time that I can't claim to have been part of or witness thereof I was a bit less happy with it. I no longer find myself closing it accidentally and like the ready access to information. I have settled on putting it over at the right side of the UI, like this.

What about you? Anyone like it stacked above the Project Browser? I just didn't like them both getting squashed. For Revit MEP it does compete with the default location of the System Browser, which I prefer at the bottom of the UI. Since most of my work involves people using the stock deployment I don't spend much time customizing my UI or setup because that puts me in a different environment than the students. I do prefer the "light" style over the "dark". I also prefer the QAT below the ribbon so I can see more of the title bar.

Speaking of students and different environments, one item that proves a bit confusing at times is the way the UI squashes panels and tools on the ribbon when the resolution is coarser than fine. This means that my projected screen often has a slightly different presentation than the student computers...leading to confusion when telling them to click here or there...etc. Fun fun!

Element Count - Revit versus Navisworks

I find the little number listed in the bottom right corner of Revit invaluable.

So much so that I find it hard to believe that we didn't have it for many years. When you select items using Navisworks I sure miss a similar display. I realize that the selection set can be quite varied but a count that is easy to check/read would be cool.

Revit Structure - Composite Floor Design Extension

BIM and BEAM announced yesterday that an update for the Composite Floor Design Extension is now available to subscription customers.

...snip
This newly updated Extension, which is now available on the Subscription Center, allows for the design of composite and non-composite floor layouts to current US codes. The integration of this code checking capability inside a native Revit Structure model removes the need to create a separate analysis model and allows the option of performing the analysis in Revit Structure or externally in 3rd party Revit Structure analysis partner solutions. The Composite Floor Design Extension also enables structural designers the ability to perform analysis and make code check centric decisions earlier in the design process.
...snip

Check it out!

DPR Model Slicer - Free Revit Add-on

Laura Handler, her blog is (bim)x,mentioned this in her post a little while ago. Jason Pratt, part of the author team at the blog "Connected" also mentions it. In fact Laura mentions his post in her post...bloggety bloggety blog blog. Expecting to see some tweets soon too.

What is it?
...snip
DPR Model Slicer is a free Revit plug-in which facilitates the creation of 3D Building sections from a Revit model. Inherently within Revit, the only way to separate a model by floor is to filter it by reference levels. Unfortunately, this often results in a product (shown below), where items modeled as multi-floor elements, such as walls or columns, become associated with only one floor despite occupying space on many floors.

How it works
DPR Model Slicer was designed, not only to make the creation of these sections easier, but also to allow you to quickly repeat the process on other projects or versions of the model.

There are two main parts of any 3D building section in DPR Model Slicer:

• 3D Section Box: Defines the top and bottom bounds of the section. Typically corresponds to a building level.
• Visibility Settings: Defines the visibility settings for the section (what objects are shown in that view)

By combining any combination of these two settings, all of the requested 3D sections can be created.

Who is DPR?
DPR Construction is a unique technical builder with a passion for results.
Ranked in the top 50 general contractors in the country over the last 10 years, we are a national commercial contractor and construction manager that has grown with our customers by delivering measurably more value. Whether it is a multi-million-dollar technical facility or a conference room renovation, we execute every project with relentless accountability. We listen to your goals. We develop strategies based on your business. We track our performance. We do everything we can to earn your trust and build great lasting relationships.
...snip

Amendment: 07/09/10
Since this post has generated several comments I've added my response to those that wonder why we wouldn't just use the Orient to View option ourselves to get the "same" result.

My comment reply:
...snip
Sure you can use the Orient to View option. Where this application proves interesting is that you don't have to create all of the views manually. It deals with repetition nicely.

You set up criteria once in a dialog and save the settings. You also can harness filters and associate them with your saved scope box settings. Then as a batch you can create 3D views based on your prepared settings.

It also provides a way to export these views to DWG or DWF formats. Remember this tool was created with the notion that a contractor wants to break up a model into discreet chunks. Exporting carefully from Revit can make the Clash Detection process in Navisworks much easier than forcing the NW user to do all the filtering in NW. Though very capable it can be tedious, especially when a Revit project is already made up of categories and levels.

Try it...and remember you don't have to use it.
...snip

RTC USA 2011 - Revit Technology Conference coming to USA

Rodd Perey with Architectus recently had his review of RTC 2010 published at AECBytes, the site founded and edited by Lachmi Khemlani.

I've had every intention of writing something about it here but he's done a really nice job of summarizing what happened over the course of the three day event. Well he did leave out what happened in the evenings after the sessions wrapped but then maybe most of that ought to remain a mystery?

You can read his article at AECBytes HERE.

RTC has been an Australian event...but planning is underway to bring it to the USA! The tentative dates are June 23-25 at a venue (nearly determined) in Orange County (Southern California). There is a LinkedIn Group you can join and you can visit the RTC site to check in on progress.

Dept. of Echo - Easier to Determine the Installed Version

I've complained about this in the past so I'm glad to see that it is a little easier to figure out if a version of Revit has had an update applied. Thanks to The Revit Clinic for the alert!

BIM Analytics @ USC on August 4th, 2010

Karen Kensek with USC sent the following information to me to get the word out.

BIM ANALYTICS: - August 4th, 2010 - FREE

BIM isn’t BIM without Information. For decades, faculty, researchers, and software companies have been developing software tools that are intended predict the performance of a building, for example, energy consumption, day lighting, cost, code compliance, structural analysis, etc. These tools have typically been stand-alone tools that provide a specific analytical capability. The range and depth of these tools has been astonishing, and yet lamentably many of these tools have not been significantly integrated into the design processes of professionals. BIM is a promising technology to encourage improved integration of design analysis into the building model. For the Fourth Annual BIM + Symposium, we will explore the nature of analytical modeling in architecture, engineering, and construction. We will seek opportunities for a more responsive integration of the evidence/simulation based design decision-making. We will have speakers who have integrated simulation and BIM in their design process, a forward looking section on BIM parametrics, and informative presentations on interoperability and standards. More information including a list of speakers and registration information will be available on the web site.

Please reserve your spot soon; BIM CON!FAB filled up last year. Keep checking back on the website as additional information will be updated there.

http://arch-pubs.usc.edu/bim-analytics/

Current list of confirmed speakers:

Architecture and Engineering
Rachelle Villalon, Jenna Knudsen, and Alex Korter, CO Architects
Erin McConahey + team, ARUP
Mitch Dec, David Summers, Tianxin Xing, Glumac, “Rapid Energy Modeling”

Construction
Jim Bedrick, Webcor
Viktor Bullain, Turner Construction, "BIM Execution Plan for Successful Model-based Analysis"
Jonathan Widney, Solibri and Darren Roos, Suffolk Construction Company, "Mining the Model – Analysis of the Model Information, not just the Geometry"

Parametrics / Performance Based or Algorithmic Design
Nathan Miller, NBBJ, "Feedback Cloud: Tactics for Toolset Integration and Design Optimization"
Kurt Komraus, Buro Happold

Integration, Standards, the Big Picture
Richard Nowicki, NTD Architecture and Lance Lareau, San Diego CCD, no title yet
Michael Rendler, LACCD, “BIM /GIS The WHOLE Picture. LACCD e7 System”
Chuck Good-Man, Irwin Partners Architects

For more information about BIM Analytics, please contact Eve Lin (Karen’s assistant) at shihhsil@usc.edu .

If you really want to get a hold of Karen, email her at kensek@usc.edu .

USC Architecture Event - August 2-3, 2010

This event was sent to me by Karen Kensek with USC to share with readers to get the word out.

EXECUTIVE EDUCATION:
August 2-3, 2010

This year, we have launched five course offerings centered on the theme of Los Angeles as a 21st century model of critical urbanism, creativity, and culture. These courses will explore a set of strategically themed topics, connecting over a dozen of the most forward thinking global practitioners, politicians, and urban theorists today with our own faculty.  One of the two-day sessions is themed around building information modeling (BIM).  This is a unique opportunity to interact in a small group (30 maximum attendees) with leaders in the profession, in a session focusing on dialogue and debate.  Please visit the website for further information about this unique event, its distinguished speakers, and registration information.  As only a very limited number of spaces are available, please enroll soon.

Keep checking back on the website as additional information will be updated there.

http://execed.uscarchitecture.com/kill-bim/
http://execed.uscarchitecture.com/

Current list of speakers:

Keynote speakers:
Phil Bernstein, confirmed
- Vice President, Industry Strategy and Relations, Autodesk AEC Solutions

Ken Sanders, confirmed
- CIO of Gensler

Session leaders:
Cristiano Ceccato, invited
- Associate,  Zaha Hadid Architects, London

Larry Eisenberg, confirmed
- Executive Director, Facilities Planning and Development
- Los Angeles Community College District

Carl Galioto FAIA, invited
- Senior Principal, Managing Principal HOK/New York

Stephen R. Hagan FAIA, confirmed
- U.S. General Services Administration

Atul Khanzode, confirmed
- Director of Virtual Building at DPR Construction, Inc.

David Todd, confirmed
- Executive Vice President National Technical Services
- Bovis Lend Lease, formerly Walt Disney Imagineering for 33 years


Invited instigators:
Jordan Brandt, Horizontall LLC
Marty Doscher, Morphosis
Calvin Kam, CIFE, Stanford University; Optima
Dennis Selden, Gehry Technologies

For more information about the Executive Education sessions, please contact Eric Moore at ericjmoo@usc.edu. If you really want to get a hold of Karen, email here via kensek@usc.edu

Web Update for Revit 2011 Posted Tonight

Firing up Revit tonight I received a communication center message that there is an update posted (at 12:01 AM on 6/21/01). I clicked the Update Now button and then fired up Google Reader to catch up with some blogs and Luke posted a note about it tonight as well.

Funny but I was just asking a friend earlier today if he'd heard anything about a new build and tonight there is one!

Revit Architecture 2011 Update (64bit)
Revit Architecture 2011 Update (32bit)

I imagine that there are equivalent updates for Revit Structure and Revit MEP Update but it's late and I'll have to check in the morning. The regular Update website pages for all three haven't been updated yet though. Looks like the communication center is "the way" to get them at the moment.

Edit: Definitely one for RME...tomorrow morning... must sleep!

Dept. of Subtle - Selection Ceiling

This is technically a Dept. of Echo post too. I love it when the factory shares insider information like this. Harlan wrote the other day on the The Revit Clinic blog that Revit won't let us select more than 16,383 elements in a single selection effort. We can select more but not with one wave of our mouse.

Dept. of Subtle - You Didn't Ask!

Ever since it became possible to initiate editing a family from within the project Revit has stopped us to ask if we are really sure we want to open the file for editing.

No more!

Revit 2011 designers and developers united in an effort to cut one more warning dialog from their inventory! Sad thing is that I'm so used to getting asked that I'm still occasionally starting to tell students to "click Yes" to accept the second guessing dialog. Happened again today...

I propose a new dialog in its place, something like this?

Thanks for the little stuff!

Dept. of Off Topic - Kuwait Sights

I'm currently on my second of two weeks in Kuwait working with ARETAS and their client here. We ventured out a bit on Friday (first day of the weekend here) to see a bit more of the city than the routine of the inside of the car to the office, the office, the car and the hotel each day.

We started out with a stop at The Scientific Center, a museum that features a dinosaur exhibit and IMAX theater among other things. We saw The Fires of Kuwait, a IMAX documentary about putting out the oil field fires that raged after the war. They expected it to take four years or more to put them all out but they ended up getting the job done in just nine months. Pretty impressive!

For me, it's a tie for the coolest (pun intended) techniques they used to put out the fires. A tie between using explosives (C4) in a barrel and the pair of Soviet jet engines used to "blow" the fire out. They mixed water into the stream of air generated by the engines. They created the contraption on the chassis of a tank. Pretty amazing images, you could almost feel the heat from the fires. The velocity and force of the oil spewing from the pipes and the intensity of the fire was incredible. I can only imagine what the teams felt right there. The narrator, Rip Torn, said that they'd sweat out 12 liters of water per shift.

After the movie we walked around a bit and then caught a ride to the Kuwaiti Towers. They are one of the more recognizable landmarks of Kuwait City naturally.

Great views of the city from the observation level at 120 meters (at least that's what the elevation read out when we got to that floor). There is the new Al Hamra 74 story tower rising, nearly topped out, designed by SOM. This is it, but not the interesting twisty side of it though.

Dan and Haitham walking along the path around the Kuwaiti Towers, the SOM building under construction in the distance.

Another twisty tower (Al Tijaria Tower) on the way out of the city heading back to the hotel that was done by KEO. You can just see it in the previous image at the left side.

This is my view from the hotel room, made me a bit nervous about construction noise but there hasn't been much activity while I'm in the room.

I used AutoStitch to create the image above. It's an iPhone app that Phil Read sold me on while riding the ferry back to Manly (when we were in Sydney). He stitched together a nice panorama of the harbor as we left. (used Autostitch to do it)

Dropbox and Project Sharing

I was trading messages with Martin Taurer today regarding WAFS (wide area file services). His firm has been exploring the use of Globalscape's WAFS product that I mentioned in a post recently. While we were both in Sydney attending the Revit Technology Conference Phil Read frequently extolled the virtues of Dropbox.

He (Martin) mentioned that it seemed to him that Dropbox is doing much the same thing as Globalscape's product which prompted a test. The results working with three users were interesting.

• Paths to central file must be identical (may need to use dos command "subst" to map a location)
• Initial synchronization of files took quite awhile
• Subsequent synchronization was quite fast
• Worked quite well while adding new elements
• It was possible to select and borrow the same element at the same time (BAD) First person to Synchronize won, the other "lost".
• The user permission files (eperms) don't update quickly enough at times

Conclusion? For a few power users who are very diligent it is a very inexpensive solution (free 2gb account). For users that are following the sun and not working at the same time it would be an excellent way to permit sharing and working using the same central file. Globalscape's solution seems to have solved preventing users from editing the same element at the same time and for that they can demand their fee.

Try it out but just be careful and test thoroughly to make sure it works for your conditions.

[Added 6/7/10] A friend wrote to say that WAFS is a bad idea whether Dropbox or Globalscape. His comment was, "good luck getting support from Autodesk using that setup". Perhaps he's correct at the moment. But Riverbed devices weren't a proven concept at first, Revit on a MAC using Parallels wasn't supported, running Revit on Win7 beta wasn't... nothing that is a stretch initially is a good idea until it becomes the norm (assuming "they" develop into reliable workable processes). That said, please please do be careful before launching into production mode with either!!

Guide Grids

Robert Manna recently posted some observations about the new Guide Grid feature that arrived with Revit 2011. It is intended to provide a bit more control over the view alignment between sheets. I complained about this process in an earlier post. It was only a month or so later that I saw a sneak peak of the Guide Grid concept.

It's probably simplistic of me to say so but it seems to me that it is an expansion of the existing Show Work Plane feature present for model views. I came to that conclusion because it shares the exasperating limitation of only allowing one dimension value to control the horizontal and vertical dimensions of the grid.

If you are interested in a little deeper commentary just read Robert's post. For now, if you use this new feature, just remember:

Don't DELETE a grid in the sheet view if you don't want to see it anymore. Set the Guide Grid value to none for the sheet or use Visibility/Graphics in the sheet view to turn it off.

If you delete a guide grid you'll remove it for all the sheets. You should get this warning though in an attempt by Revit to save you from yourself.

Earlier posts:
Align Views on Sheets
Aligning Views Between Sheets
Dept. of Wishes - Aligning Views on Sheets

Dept. of Errors - Invalid Duct or Pipe K-Factor Database

I've received both errors over the last couple years using Revit MEP. This error can occur when the supporting files it uses are corrupted somehow. The Factory recommends reinstalling (or using Repair for example) Revit to resolve the issue because this ensures uncorrupted files are installed.

On the other hand if you have access to a working installation you can try the following to resolve the Duct K-Factor error:

On a working PC COPY all the files (to a thumb drive or shared folder) in the ASHRAE folder under Program where Revit is installed. Replace (overwrite) the files that are in the "broken" computer with the "good" files. Try again. This approach using files from a working PC should work. If it doesn't then you'll need to go the repair/reinstall route.

Fwiw, for the Pipe K-Factor error if that occurs you need to replace the PipeKFactors.xml file. It is found in the Program folder (under the installation location for Revit).

The Knowledge Base at Autodesk and the blog post at Revit Clinic attribute the issue to user permissions. While this may be true in some cases it certainly wasn't for me since my computer hasn't changed its permission structure or accounts. Or at least I don't remember doing it...and since I'm the only one using it...hopefully I'd know?

Stairs in the Wild

Revit stairs and railings are long overdue for some serious development time and effort. It's underway if you can read the stars. I was recently in Sydney to attend the Revit Technology Conference 2010. Phil Read attended as well and we both shared the same plane back to Los Angeles. On our way to the Air New Zealand lounge (as Phil's guest) we stopped to admire this stair. The glazing railing is not attainable with the current railing feature set. It's off to in-place modeling. I'll leave it to Phil to get around to discussing how he'd tackle this one on his own blog in his own time if he chooses.

This next one is at the current hotel in Kuwait City. The Crowne Plaza has been restored to its former glory after the damage it suffered during the Iraq invasion. This stair was present then but it is in much better shape. Again the railing features a bottom edge detail that the current features don't support (okay...without fussing a bit).

By the way, planning is under way to bring the Revit Technology Conference to the USA for late spring to early summer of 2011. If you're interested in attending it will be held in Southern California. Check out the Revit Technology Conference 2011 website for further details as they develop.

Dept. of Subtle - No Edit Family Option?

Received a query today about a project that wouldn't offer their users the Edit Family option when they selected a window or door tag family. Turns out that the project file in use was a pretty old file that had been upgraded for many releases of Revit. The option to initiate editing a family from within the project hasn't always been available to us.

When it did become available there was a requirement that any families created in earlier releases had to be upgraded to the current release before the Edit Family feature would become available. The issue was that the window and door tags had never been upgraded and reloaded. When newer versions were loaded to replace the existing ones the good old Edit Family button returned!

Synchronize with Central - Twice?

I frequently work with my computer connected to a client network without actually having it added to their domain. This means that we map the computer to a shared folder by entering the path and supplying the correct credentials to access the resource.

With 2011 I'm seeing a recurring theme where I must synchronize with central (SWC) twice to actually commit changes so that the other users can see them with Reload Latest. In the same way this afternoon I found that a user needed to double their SWC so that I could see their changes.

Just to add another wrinkle to the situation, the class is a mixed XP and Windows 7 operating system environment, some laptops using each. Their computers are mapped to the network as members of the domain. I'm not sure if these conditions have anything to do with the double SWC or not but it seems to be recurring when I am connected this way. Any corroboration from readers?

Dept. of Moved Cheese - Tag on Placement

Previous releases of Revit offered a check box to decide if we wanted a tag to show up as we placed various elements. For example placing a door offered us this on the Options Bar.

With 2011 this has been changed a little. There is a button to press to choose tagging or not. Fun to see the puzzled look trying to work out where the option went. It goes something like, "I could have sworn there was a way to stop tagging when I place families?!? Oh!! There it is!!".

AUGI is Down

AUGI is no longer experiencing a hard drive failure at the moment. All better now...

Detailing in Revit - ARCXL

There are a growing number of resources available for Revit families. I'm not aware of anyone focused entirely on providing complete details. I received an email from Mark Siever with ARCXL.

He wrote:
We have created a native Revit built library and web based interface for accessing the library. Currently it exceeds 36,000 completed architectural details. These standard details (not simple component families) currently fall under the following categories; Roof, Window, Door and Foundation. We are presently working on stair details, railings, and a system of linking our details and included parametric components to specification sections.

He put together a video demonstration of what they offer (hosted at YouTube) and I've embedded it here if you are interested (nearly 9 minutes long). The service they provide isn't free and each detail will cost you around $15 if you buy them individually. The website says they are offering introductory prices of $12.99 each and they'll reduce the price to $9.99 each for orders of 50 or more details. You can request some free samples for evaluation via email. Here's the video.

Off Topic: I liked the opening/closing music, in the video, by Ronald Jenkees. Reminds me of Michael Lee Firkins style as well as Michael Reese.

1K Run

I started this blog on November 19th of 2004 with a really exciting post stating my curiosity about blogging and deciding to dabble. Tonight as I was trying to catch up on nearly a hundred blog posts by more than a dozen other bloggers I noticed that this blog has 999 subscribers. Just one more reader to subscribe and push this blog to the 1K mark. As of tonight, this post is number 881 since then.

I'm flattered that so many have subscribed. I was flattered when it was just 5, 50...100. There have been times when I've been busy and my dedication flagged. I get apathetic or uninspired routinely like anyone else. Ultimately the fact that there are people who like the blog keeps me coming back to it.

Thanks for the ride! I had no idea when I started it how much fun it could really be. All the best!!

AU2010 Voting

Voting opened recently for Autodesk University class proposals. If you plan to attend physical or virtually please be sure to vote for the classes that fit your needs the best. I'm not going to attempt to sway your opinion by suggesting any for you, you know what you want and need (hopefully).

In response to a couple emails asking why my name isn't among the listed proposals, I didn't submit any. I've had my turn at AU in years past and others deserve a chance to take a turn as well as share the knowledge they've worked hard to acquire. I'm looking forward to a rich collection of choices again this year!

Happy voting!

Mind Control and Revit

Watched a demonstration of some interesting technology this evening at the Revit Technology Conference (RTC 2010) here in Sydney. Emotiv is a combination of software and electrodes that receive impulses from a headset and then uses this to provide information about your brain activity. It can be used in many ways including learning facial expressions and other gestures to interact with a computer. There are more important medical related uses for this technology that certainly supercede its relevance to Revit but it is quite a concept.

We saw the Emotiv EPOC Brain Activity Map feature and the site says this about it:

This application displays a real-time map of your mental activity in four significant brainwave frequency bands. Adjustable gain allows you to see detailed information and relative strengths between different brain regions. Adjustable buffer size allows you to see instant responses or average activity over longer periods.

Here's a picture of it in action that Jim Balding posted on Twitpic.

Check it out!

Oh, this was part of the Glorius Gadgets session that RTC has run at each conference for the last few years. This year also featured Phil Read demonstrating the virtues of the iPad and various apps for it. It also featureed Chris Needham (he also found and introduced Emotiv) showing off a stylus that permits you to use a "pen" on practically any surface to interact with your computer.

Dept. of Errors - Can't Write to File

Recently observed a couple users that couldn't create a new local file. What was unique about this situation was that they had shared the same laptop computer in the lab. I chose to have a few different students drive the computer that was connected to the projector so that they would get to do the work, the others could watch and I could get around the fact that I couldn't be part of their network.

Whenever I end up doing this it reminds me of my white glove days in various unionized cities where the local stagehands didn't permit you to do the work yourself, you just directed them to do everything, literally everything! Try doing your job all day long by telling someone else what to do, down to the slightest detail. Move case to here, open lid, remove the first cable, pull it over to the first lighting truss section, connect to the receptacle, coil the excess here in a clockwise rotation. Repeat for the next cable...over and over all day. You find out quickly how well you know your gig.

Back to the problem, when the users attempted to create new local files the next day the computer was still using the same Username for Revit but they were logged in as different computer users. When Revit saw that username was the same but the computer user that created the previous local file was different it balked and refused to save the file. When we changed the Revit username to something else, no problem.

Not very likely that others would encounter this but thought I'd share the oddity just in case.

Solar Radiation Technology Preview for Revit 2011

Autodesk Labs announced earlier today that this feature has been updated for Revit 2011. You can visit their lab site to download it now.

You can watch a video about it at YouTube.

Dept. of Subtle - Properties Palette and Elevation

Placing components at specific elevations has been tedious for quite some time because instead of providing a way to set an elevation/offset value first we have had to place first and fix the elevation second. For example an air terminals that are not hosted or face based end up on the floor. Equipment families end up on the floor too.

With the introduction of the modeless (techy one word for "it can always be open") Properties Palette we can see the elevation value and set it first! A video is more fun? Embedded below:

Numbering Stuff

Revit doesn't automatically number everything. It does it for doors, windows, rooms. In Revit MEP it numbers a variety of other elements too, some of which people wish weren't because they end up generating useless warnings. A post at AUGI asked about numbering parking stalls. One suggestion was tricky and involved temporarily changing the category of the parking stall to doors so the automatic numbering would kick in. How about using the Extensions for Revit instead?

Seems to me that too many people are either unaware of the extensions that have been available for Revit for several releases now or they just don't have them installed. One of the extensions is called Element Positioning. Pardon me, lousy name for the routine, sorry. I've posted a short video showing how it works in the context of parking stalls. I've embedded it here too if you'd rather listen than watch.

[amended 5/12/10] Room and spaces are not valid elements for this tool. Neither are annotation or load elements (according to the tool's help doc). This tool got its start as an add-on for Revit Structure and was made available to the other versions.

Dept. of Nice Guys - Aaron Saves the Kitty

Aaron Maller recently joined a new firm (new for him) in Dallas, Texas (The Beck Group). He's one of their Revit/BIM guys now. On a trip to Atlanta this week, for some Revit work there, he discovered a tiny kitten in the elevator shaft when he arrived at the hotel to check in. He lay down on the floor to keep the door open, called the hotel staff and got the kitten out. It was sitting on a piece of metal stud between the car and the door.

Story doesn't end there. He got the hotel staff to watch the kitten while he headed out to find some supplies, food, milk and a pet carrier. He took the Kitten to work and he found it a home with one of the local staff families. Aaron shared his tale on Facebook, that's how I learned about it. He posted a little video of the kitten recovering in his hotel room. Looks like it is doing fine.

Attaboy Aaron!

Revit and WAFS

Okay two posts with funny acronyms in a row, sorry! The previous one was playing around but this one is real, Wide Area File Services (WAFS).

I spoke with Marc at Globalscape yesterday. They have been providing services for file replication/mirroring (among other things) for many years but recently they've been focusing on solving the Revit central file collaboration situation. More and more firms are trying to share work among their own offices as well as among other consulting firms. The first is a little easier to solve when the firm is dealing with its own wide area network ("intranet" WAN). The second is harder, harder still when firms are not able to share a common network resource regardless.

What is intriguing about them is that it is a software solution applied to project servers. One firm takes the lead as primary and purchases software ("agents") equal to the number of team member firms involved. The primary firm's project hub server gets its own server side software agent. The lead firm distributes agents to each firm that is part of the team. This hub server and the other agents manage Jobs (shared projects and their folders) and use a Vault (file access data) that keeps the single central file replicated at each agent site.

From their "BIM meets WAN" site page:

...snip...

Facilitating multi-user, multi-site collaboration is often one of the most challenging obstacles for organizations. When you pair Autodesk® Revit® Worksharing capabilities with GlobalSCAPE WAFS users from locations across the world can access and share files over a WAN at LAN speeds. This means faster and more reliable element borrowing and multi-user access to entire worksets.

More specifically, file replication ensures current copies of the central files and worksets exist at all locations that require collaboration. Real-time file locking prevents users from concurrently borrowing the same workset or entity. Once a user is finished, the common Save-to-Central command publishes changes back to the local central file copy, and then WAFS instantly mirrors those changes and unlocks the workset at all sites on the network.

...snip...

From the Revit user perspective they really have no idea what is going on behind the scenes. They create local files, work and synchronize with central as usual. The software does the work behind the scenes. They can use Revit's companion application Worksharing Monitor to see what other users are up to which is invaluable when teams are spread far and wide.

Interested in learning more? Visit their website. They have a couple documents you can review (though I couldn't find convenient links on the site for them) and a video you can watch.

Revit and FOUS

I wrote a post back on February 1st, 2010 about the Two-Mile-Limit imposed on importing CAD files. I referred to these files as FOUS or Files of Unusual Size paying homage to the movie, "The Princess Bride". It has been mentioned quite a bit already but I wanted to update my own blog to reflect the latest development with the release of 2011.

The limit is now 20 miles, though you can still import the file. A warning is generated but the file will still be permitted, unlike before. You can read the blog post at The Revit Clinic called, "Revit 2011 2 Mile Limit Now 20 Mile Limit".

Books - Design Integration

Daniel Stine recently sent me a copy of his most recent book, Design Integration Using Autodesk Revit 2010. He has written other books such as Residential Design using Revit Architecture, Commercial Design using Revit Architecture and Chapter in Architectural Drawing. All of his work is aimed primarily at use in a classroom setting but can be useful regardless.

What makes his newest book unique is that it attempts to address all three versions of Revit within the context of the same building. That's a pretty big undertaking to squeeze into one course book. His foreword contains the following paragraph:

...snip...
This book was designed for the building design industry. all three "flavors" of the Revit platform are introduced in this textbook. This approach gives the reader a broad overview of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) process. The topics cover the design integration of most of the building disciplines: Architectural, Interior Design Structural, Mechanical, Plumbing and Electrical. Civil is not covered but adding topography to your model is.
...snip...

If you choose to become this book's student you'll develop a two story law office and it will take you through fifteen chapters (pages are not numbered in total but the book is pretty thick). A CD is included with additional information for creating Revit families as well as all the resource files required to complete exercises.

The book format is pretty large so there is a lot of room for information and supporting screen captures. I really haven't had time to dig into it deeply yet but the text is large, easy to read, the steps are plainly described, useful tips are provided throughout and the supporting graphics are large and full enough to understand what is intended.

Dan's publisher is Schroff Development Corporation if you are interested in following up this post for more information. Amazon lists the book at $69.95. If you are looking for another weapon in your arsenal of learning tools for Revit you should check it out.

New Autodesk Revit Blog - Family Jewels - Revit Content

Autodesk staff members have started a new blog with content as its focus - called Family Jewels.

As long as Gene Simmons doesn't go after them they should be fine. Authors, William Spier, Ian McGaw, Martin J. Schmid and Jason A. Spleha are teaming up to contribute to the blog. Their first post appeared, according to the archive, on April 26, 2010. Might want to add it to your reading list?!?

Dept. of Moved Cheese - Warnings

With Revit 2010 I found myself repeatedly clicking the Manage ribbon when I wanted to review Warnings. No sooner would I click on it than I would remember that it isn't there it is on the Modify ribbon tab, nuts!!

It should be on the Manage ribbon!!!

In 2011 it IS! Yes!! Trouble is that I'm now clicking on Modify first, oh well. It's where I felt it should be instinctively, just have to listen to my instincts now.

By the way, notice they also moved the selection features; Select by ID and IDs of Selection. Measure is still on the Modify ribbon tab though.

Dept. of Errors - Slightly Off Axis

David Duarte (Revit Beginners blog) mentioned in a post at AUGI that he's observed that detail lines in drafting views that are drawn at very small angles no longer generate warnings or are stored in the Revit Warnings dialog box. He posted at AUGI looking for confirmation that it is supposed to be working this way now or not. I don't recall it being mentioned at all in the various sessions regarding new features.

In my testing I find that Model Lines do generate a warning message and store a warning but Detail Lines do not when sketched in Drafting Views (or plan views for that matter). In the following image (in a regular floor plan view) the model line generates a warning but the same angle does not for the detail lines.

Hopefully this is an intentional change. Regardless it is welcome since I've seen many projects littered with such errors in drafting/detail views. In particular those that have been created from external cad data originally. Now they just need to reconsider the <1/32" (less than) line length limitation, at the very least in drafting views.

Revit MEP Now?

In the past I've found that a fair number of engineers considering Revit MEP were able to dismiss it fairly quickly for a several reasons, such as; no conduit, no cable tray, no flat oval duct, panel schedule inflexibility and overly simplistic demand factor concept. That is a fairly long list of things that a given HVAC designer or electrical designer could consider a deal breaker.

I think that the Revit MEP 2011 release represents a tipping point. Enough of the easy obstacles have been removed such that you can't dismiss it as easily. Sure you can still avoid it, dismiss it, disregard or marginalize the software and keep on doing what you've been doing even with the new features they've added. Doing so now though just appears less objective as much as subjective.

In past posts at AUGI, maybe even here, I've commented that Revit MEP is still youthful even though Revit just quietly celebrated its 10th birthday on April 5th. When Revit 5.0 came out I think it reached its own tipping point with architects. Prior to that it was still too strange and weird to go for it. The very idea that someone actually used earlier versions to do real work is nearly shocking to some. I know at least five people, off the top, that used release 1.0 to do jobs. Wow! Nutty eh? Not many considering but still, brave doing real projects with the very first release!

Well for comparison sake Revit MEP is at that same point, counting up the releases since the first one in 2006, the 2011 release is number 6. You can review the Revit Timeline hosted at AUGI but here's the sequence: Revit Systems 1, 2, Revit MEP 2008, 2009, 2010 and now 2011. The first release was in April 2006 (four years ago). Revit 5.0 was the ninth release but only two years young (excluding 1999 before the public release) at the time.

It has taken a little longer to get here with Revit MEP but architecture is just "one" discipline, Revit MEP is focused on three, four if you count Fire Protection as separate. Is it perfect, no. I think for MEP users this is an exceptionally strong release. We'll always want and find more to ask of it but I think we've reached that tipping point where the excuses to pass on it till later are just that now, excuses.

To steal a song lyric/title from Pablo Cruise - "Whatcha Gonna do"?

To focus on one of the new features that knock off an excuse, you can check out this Autodesk video narrated by Armundo Darling - Panel Schedule features.

Family Editor - Use a Default Type

It has always been a good idea to create a default type for a family, even if there is only one. When Revit loads a family into the project it gets a Type name that just matches the family name if you don't go to the trouble of making a default type.

When you reload the family later you might find that it doesn't update properly or that if you get around to creating more types you'll have this rogue original one to replace.

Simple solution, create a new type right away and you can call it default for now. Rename it later if you decide you don't like it or need it anymore.

With the 2011 release we can test parameters in-canvas. In the past any attempt to drag a reference plane or element that was constrained by a parameter/dimension would generate an error message. They provided this in an effort to make the Family Editor more relaxed about this. When you select a reference plane that has a dimension and parameter associated with it and drag it to change the size of a family Revit will just let you do it.

The change(s) you make is/are applied to the current type.

It becomes more important to consider a default family type in light of this. You probably don't really want to mess up specific type dimension values. If you are careful to make the default type current and then adjust the family you'll avoid creating a problem. Then again you can just reset all the values that get adjusted. Either way just be aware that you can manipulate them in-canvas and you can mess up existing family type parameters.

If you'd like to watch a video that discusses this new direct manipulation of families then check out Autodesk's You Tube Channel, THIS ONE narrated by Chico Membreno. I've embedded it here too.