Autodesk Revit 2013 Doesn't Get Web Update?

Autodesk has released a web update for Revit Architecture, Structure and MEP 2013. They each have their own web update files. If you don't have one or all of those versions installed, like me, and only have Revit 2013 installed, then we seem to be out of luck at the moment. If you're thinking, "I'll just download and install those other updates and I'll be good!" Nope you'll get this message.

At the moment there is no web update release 3 offering for Autodesk Revit 2013? I guess it is immune to what ails it's less endowed brethren? I sure hope they didn't forget they've got a fourth version of Revit?

You can check out the updates for each discipline focused version here:
Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013
Autodesk Revit Structure 2013
Autodesk Revit MEP 2013

There is a place for Autodesk Revit 2013 but there's no web update release 3...yet... fingers crossed.

Scaling Revit Families

Every now and then there seems to be a convergence in the "Revitverse". A series of events, themes and user attitudes and desires emerges. Lately it seems to be the notion of scaling families. Revit has not permitted the arbitrary "make this 2x bigger" unless we could provide all the constraints and parameters that allow that kind of input and result. For example we don't usually ask for a desk or chair to be twice as large. A chair becomes too big to use if so. I believe that this logic prevailed in their choice to be more restrictive about scaling things as arbitrarily as other software allows.

A common thread in scaling lately has been classical architecture and columns. These are defined by ratios and rules to some extent while the sculpting applied to them seems to have much more freedom. Reading other blogs and attending the Revit Technology Conferences and Autodesk University made me plan to write a post that provides some links to the various places that you can find intriguing information on this subject. With the many bloggers focused on Revit it really didnt come as a surprise that somebody beat me to it. That someone is Mark Cronin, who I chatted with in Auckland at RTC. He wrote a summary of resources that you'll find useful, techniques that capitalize on new features as well as one that recalls a longstanding feature that we've all managed to forget about.

Please let me encourage you to read Mark's post for the details since he took the time to compile it in the first place, you really should.

Thanks Mark!

Thin Lines and Printing Sheets

Reading reports (at RevitForum.org) of the Thin Lines feature affecting the output when printing from sheet views. In my own quick test I'm seeing the lines of the titleblock being printed respecting Thin Lines being on which isn't good.

The model views appear to be printing correctly, just the title block's own lines seem to be affected. When I printed a model view using Thin Lines the result was the same as with Thin Lines off. In other words, working as we've come to expect, the Thin Lines feature had no impact on printing. Or, we've not noticed it before.

When we use Temporary Hide Isolate we get this dialog to ask how we want the feature to be regarded. If Thin Lines is meant to be able to get printed then perhaps the same sort of warning/option ought to be offered?

Any readers that can confirm this too? Seems like an undesireable "feature".

Revit Journal Folder and Saving Files on Network Drives

Revitform.org member "Cellophane" dropped this reminder/tip recently.

When you save project files that DO NOT use worksets and family files on a network folder Revit stores a copy of the files in your user Journal folder. Since release 2012 Revit has been using this location for the Journal folder and files:

C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit "version"

While chatting with support they gave him this explanation:

"This happens when saving directly to a network location as a data security function, i.e. if the network save fails, the data can be recovered from the local journals folder. If you save locally you will not populate the folder. The reason behind it is saving non-worksharing files to a network introduces a greater possible of failure, so dropping a copy in the journal folder is a way of recovering them."

If you don't keep an eye on this you'll end up with quite a lot of files there. If other people use your computer and Revit then they've probably been "stealing" some disk space from your pc too. As tedious as it might seem to have to clean this out from time to time, the feature came in really handy recently when I managed to kill a few families that I thought I no longer needed. The next day a change came along and I needed them back. No, I didn't archive them for some reason...still not sure why. Regardless, the copies in the Journal folder sure came in handy though! I'm glad I didn't clean them out the day before.

Revit 2014 API Languages

Revit 2014 has added a couple new language options for people who can speak to Revit through its API (application programming interface). If you have a long history with CAD you might have spent more than a few hours "Lost in parenthesis" (LISP)? In Revit we can get lost in them when we deal with conditional formulas in the family editor.

In Revit 2013 the API supported two languages C++ and C# (technically any VB.net language). Revit 2014 has added Ruby (aka Ruby on Rails) and Python. If you have no programming experience they are not gems or reptiles, just alternatives to the far more widely used C++ and the much newer C# (and supposedly "easier to learn").

The dialog is a little smaller too (really subtle eh?).

If you are looking to get started with the Revit API you might consider Don Rudder's book:

Instant Autodesk Revit 2013 Customization with .NET How-to

Looking for some hands-on training with a sherpa? Get in touch with Harry Mattison (Boost Your BIM), he's gone from deep within Autodesk working on Revit and its API to the life of a freelancer who shares his knowledge on his blog and creates applications for hire. He's started offering some online training too.

Don Rudder and Case-inc have also offered API focused training in the past and are always considering hosting another so keep an eye on their site for a future class offering.

I've also written a couple blog posts before about getting started with the API (though I'm still remiss in taking it seriously myself).

Getting Started with the Revit API
My First Revit Plug-in

Years ago when I did some programming more seriously I found the book "Code Complete" by Steve McConnell quite helpful to help understand the process and concepts.

Happy coding!

Hide Workset Backup Folders

If you ever work on a project where there quite a few central files it can be bothersome that the _backup folders that Revit uses are presented first in the dialogs that provide access to files. I've found that I can use the "Hidden" file flag to get rid of them assuming I can live with my Folder View settings assigned to hide hidden files and folders.

In the properties of the Workset project's backup folder I check "Hidden".

Then in the settings that govern the display of files and folders in Windows Explorer I use the "Don't show hidden..." option.

Personally I find I need to be able to see hidden files or folders fairly often so it ends up being a bit annoying when I've made the change. I tend to flip back and forth and decide how long I'm going to be working a certain way before committing.

Something to consider...

One Minute with a Pipe Trap

Placing a pipe trap can be counter-intuitive or maybe just awkward until you "know how". The pipe trap family is built with the origin at the vertical or riser connection. That means you need to attach it to the bottom of a riser, the bottom of the pipe that is leaving a sink for example. Want to watch? It's just about a minute...

If you'd like to avoid placing pipe traps entirely you can consider incorporating them into plumbing fixture families that use them. Just do all the subtle plumbing work under the counter in the family and put the connectors at the wall face. I wrote a post that discusses the concept of rough-in families if you're interested. These are the links:

First mention of Rough-in Families
Follow Up Post

Tag Slope of a Ramp

We can apply the Spot Slope annotation to a ramp but it isn't very useful because, while Revit does acknowledge the ramp element, when you attempt to tag it you see [no slope] (image using 2014).

Alfredo replied to my previous post with a tip in his comment:

If you first place the spot slope tool on a floor and then move the slope annotation to a ramp, it works!

In this image I've dragged a slope annotation from a floor element over to a ramp element and it recognizes the ramp's slope!

Definitely quirky and subtle but at least it is possible after all. A word of caution, it will probably be necessary to check the slope value before printing, for example if Revit regenerates information because the ramp is altered. The tag could could start to report [no slope] again. Fwiw, in my casual testing so far it hasn't broken the slope value even after altering a ramp's parameters. Your mileage may vary...

Revit 2014 New Categories in Schedules

Earlier this month I mentioned that we can create schedules for grids and levels. Those two categories are just a few of the categories that a schedule can see now.

These additional categories: Generic Models, Entourage, Structural path and area reinforcement, Structural Fabric Area, Structural Beam Systems, Detail Items, Pads, Levels (see previous post), Grids (see previous post), Architectural Columns and Roof Soffits.

In addition to new categories we can also include the parameters “Phase Created” and “Phase Demolished” in our schedules of model elements. It has been frustrating that such an important aspect of Revit has been overlooked for so long in schedules. Glad to see it is overlooked no more...

Our Model is Clash Free

Offering a "clash free model" is a bit like the car ads on television that offer a 100k car for $299/month. When we read the tiny print we realize that the monthly cost is more like $1600/month and mere mortals won't qualify for the financing terms. Like the car ads, we have to carefully declare/define what a clash is. What sort of clashes are acceptable (and therefore not considered a clash) and those that are not (and therefore are a clash).

One simple example, pipes pass through walls. If they don't cut a hole in every wall at every location where a pipe intersects with a wall then technically we've got a clash. If it is a poured concrete wall that requires a sleeve it is a bigger deal (even bigger deal if precast) than a wood/metal framed wall with gypsum wall board. By the time we are done defining clashes our client and/or team will feel like they are getting "nickel and dimed" to death. ...and that's just for our work...

We can't offer a clash free model if everyone else working on the project isn't working toward that goal themselves. Our model might be "perfect" (according to our fine print) but if they aren't coordinating their work with ours...and vice versa...we'll still have clashes. It's not a one way street.

It is also a moving target as a project moves through design phases. Are we promising "clash free" when people start swinging hammers or is it clash free within two weeks after receiving an architect's model, at the end of each design phase?

"Clash Free" - It's a worthy goal and one every client and project team would love to achieve. It's not possible without considerable commitment by everyone and can't be achieved in a vacuum by one part of the team. In my view someone casually offering "clash free" suggests to me that they may not have enough experience yet. Anyone who has been part of weekly clash review sessions can attest to it not being a trivial matter.

It seems to me that's just the sort of promise that keeps lawyers busy...

Three Minutes with Floor Sloping

I wrote a reply to a thread at RevitForum.org the other day so this is really just an echo. In the context of choosing a method for sloping floor slabs (or roofs for that matter) see which approach best fits your current situation.

1) Slope Arrow - This is very effective when you know what sort of offset is required from known points but they are not necessarily at the start and end edges of the slab or in the same direction as any slab edge. Slope is defined by the location of the tail and head "endpoints" of the slope arrow. Revit will slope the entire floor according to the offset/slope parameter values you provide, between those points. It is perhaps the most versatile method other than shape editing but it is also a bit harder to become comfortable with.

2) Define one edge as slope defining - This is very easy for slabs that slope consistently overall in one direction, from one edge, and you don't really care where the other edge "ends up", it is what it is. You just pick one edge, set a slope. It is just like roofs except we are limited to one edge defining slope with floors.

3) Defines Constant Height - This too is very easy when the start and end edges of the slab also define the floor's lowest and highest elevations (and what we see as the slope value isn't the priority). You just set two parallel floor sketch lines to the appropriate elevation values, whatever values define the required offset.

Fwiw, for structural floors/roofs - Pick Supports (shape editing) - This will slope a roof according to the structural elements you select.

I took a few minutes to record a video of each approach, embedded here. It also touches on using the cantilever settings to extend the edges of a floor slab beyond the structural support members.

Point Clouds in Revit 2014

The underlying engine for Point Clouds has been redesigned and implemented in Revit as well as in other Autodesk products. This effort is the result of integrating other technology acquisitions Autodesk has made (Alice Labs primarily and RealViz) in the past year or so. You’ll also want to check out Autodesk ReCap when you get a chance, image below.

The new point cloud engine uses RCP/RCS formats. The RCP format is a project file while an RCS file is a scan file. A RCP file is a group of multiple RCS scan files. If you have raw data in other acceptable formats Revit will index it in the background and let you know when the indexing is complete. It is also possible to run the indexing apart from Revit using Autodesk ReCap which is included as part of the Building Design Suites (image above).

There is a command line approach available too, using the “AdPointCloudIndexer.exe”. This application is stored along with other installation data in the Program folder. Ben Malone (BIMopedia) wrote about this shortly after 2014’s release. This is a link to Ben’s original post.

We can now control the colour mode for each point cloud import using Visibility/Graphics.

They enhanced Revit’s sensitivity to points and planes within the point cloud data. This should make it easier to sketch model elements using the underlying cloud data. Revit will detect planes that are perpendicular to the current work plane and very close to the cursor. Zooming in the view will cause Revit to reset the view and it will be necessary to detect a plane again. Snapping directly to point cloud data is a low priority in snapping order. Planar snaps are the initial focus for detection. You can use the TAB key to cycle through other possible snap options.

Adaptive Point Family and Ramps

Luke (What Revit Wants - original URL to blog site was lost) wrote a post the other day that shows how to use the "scary" adaptive point family to tag a ramp's slope, since the slope tool doesn't work on ramps.

I used them to identify sloped "ramps" that are really floors for a client last summer. We used a three point family that allowed us to click on a corner of the start of the ramp, then at the midpoint of the end of the ramp and finally at the other corner at the start of the ramp. The resulting triangle is what they wanted to see. Using model lines allowed us to see them in many views without having to resort to placing many annotation families in all sorts of views.

Don't be afraid of the adaptive point family!

Keynoting Sheets and Worksets

Ryan wrote a post yesterday at The Revit Clinic describing a couple scenarios that result in borrowing sheet views while keynoting views. These affect versions 2012 and 2013 in particular. If you've encountered some quirkiness on your project using keynotes it is worth a read. A subtle point made at the end of the post reveals that 2014 has been tweaked to help resolve these issues. Ryan wrote:

For Revit 2014 keynote and revision functionality has been improved. Sheet view worksets are no longer borrowed during the same process, which should give larger project teams additional flexibility (especially during documentation-heavy project phases).

Btw, Ryan is also one of the author's of the Revit Essentials book I mentioned the other day.

Revit 2014 Family Template for Two Level Relationships

The collection of Generic Model templates has grown a little bit with this new release, one new template called "Generic Model Two Level Based.rft".

Case App Delete Sheets Views and Links

This application will strip a model down so that just the 3Dness of the model is left. I feel it is a bit too aggressive in that it even removes all floor plans. There are lots of unnecessary views to be sure but having at least one floor plan for each level can be helpful. Also there are many who end up using "By Linked Views" to make sure what they are seeing is the same as whomever provided the model.

I am not convinced that removing views is really worth doing routinely. I'm inclined to think that only the super large projects might warrant resorting to doing so in order to reduce linked file size and loading times.

Odd quirk with the User Interface is the pair of OK buttons.

I hear Pee Wee Herman saying, "Okay okay..."

BIM is Full of Holes

I took Seth Godin's recent blog post title and plugged BIM in instead. His post said "Life is Full of Holes". His perspective and observations are always welcome and happily sometimes (often) they plug right into my own life and work.

In particular these lines resonated with me and what a friend once essentially asked his company during their deliberations regarding "To do Revit or not to do Revit"...

Seth wrote: "I don't think the right question is, "is the path perfect?" It's probably, "Is this somewhere I'd like to go?"

In the context of Revit the question is, "Do we want to continue to work this way or that way". Do we want to keep doing what we already do or see where and how we can benefit from using Revit instead?

The Revit path isn't perfect, no "path" is... but do we need to keep waiting for it to be perfect, or even have that expectation? Keep in mind it never WILL be perfect...nothing is.

Stop prevaricating about the bush, make a decision!

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2014 Essentials

The release of this book introduces a new team of authors; Tobias Hathorn, Tessa Reist Hathorn and Ryan Duell. They have taken over the book from the team that first introduced it a couple years ago; James Vandezande, Eddy Krygiel, and Phil Read. You are probably already familiar with their other book, "Mastering Autodesk Revit Architecture 20##", the bigger brother to Essentials and the "Introducing" book that was discontinued after the 2012 release.

The Wiley site for the book tells us:

Beginners will get comfortable with Revit's core features and functions. Current users will have a valuable reference to refresh and hone their skills. And everyone can use this practical book to help prepare for the Revit Architecture certification exams. Essentials gets readers up and running on Autodesk Revit Architecture 2014, Autodesk's industry-leading building information modeling software:

• Explains core Revit tools, features, functionality, real-world workflows, and BIM concepts
• Covers schematic design, modeling, families, views, creating drawing sets, and more
• Features best practices, rendering and visualization, worksharing, documentation, and annotation
• Provides downloadable starting and ending files, so readers can compare their work to that of the pro's 

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2014 Essentials is your perfect introduction to the powerful industry-leading BIM software.

Useful Links:
Description
Table of Contents
Author Information
Downloads

If you are just getting started out with Revit this book may be just what you need. If you have an office of Revit users it might just be a great addition to your library too!

Congratulations to the new team on the release of their book!

User Interface Configuration Calculator

EDIT: December 30, 2013 - This calculator appears to be missing during the migration from the older wikihelp system Autodesk Help was using. I don't know if it will be restored or not.

If you are a BIM Manager working on deployments and want to configure the Revit.ini file to turn on or off specific discipline options when you use Revit (not the discipline specific installations like RAC, RST or RME) they’ve provided a User Interface Configuration Calculator.

Check of the things you want and the calculator provides a value that you enter for the DisciplineOption setting in the Revit.ini file. For ex-AutoCAD managers this is similar (eerily) to the numbers that result from different OSNAP settings (and others), remember?? The same "bit" method is probably used to create unique numbers for each possible combination settings.

Displaced Elements Views and Path Wish

With the new Displace Elements feature in Revit 2014 we can use either straight or jogged "Paths" to show where displaced elements came from.

Methinks that straight paths tend to look best when the elements are displaced in one direction while jogged paths help more when the elements have been displaced in two axes.

My wish: I'd love to be able to choose which style of Path I want BEFORE picking elements to generate a path. AsferasIno we can only assign the style after we place them. The Path's style is a parameter that we see once we select a path in the view.

A little tip... it is really easy to put many paths on top of each other. Every time you click on an element in the same spot Revit happily drops another path. I was trying to delete a path and thinking that I must be missing something because no matter what I did I couldn't delete the bugger. Turns out I happened to pick a spot I apparently dropped six paths down. The first five tries at deleting the "one" path resulted in nothing happening. Take care out there...

Associate Family Parameter Button

Hey the little stuff makes me smile, what can I say? This little bugger has been a secretive button for ages and in Revit 2014 it gets real, it has a tool tip now!

Working with Type Catalogs

I recently replied to a question about type catalogs at RevitForum with this stream of consciousness set of comments. I thought it made sense to drop them here too since they mostly work outside of that of context too. I have altered (and added) a bit here and there to make more sense outside the context of that conversation. Here we go:

Many people like to use Excel to edit type catalogs though it is not required to do so and I usually don't bother. You can just edit the information in a text editor, Notepad ++ is a cool free one.

A Type Catalog does not technically need all the parameters that are part of the family, only the ones that vary from type to type. Values that are not in the Type Catalog will be passed on to the family from the default family type. For example you could put height, width and depth in the type catalog only if those are the only values that really change for each type. A type catalog can be quite simple to manage (without involving CSV files) when you only include the necessary values.

The new export family types feature is quite nice to make sure you have the parameters and units properly defined, especially for MEP content. It does not put parameters in a logical order, at least not one that I find satisfying. It also exports all the parameters in the family types dialog and I don't always want them all but it is easy to remove the ones I don't need.

A Type Catalog can include instance parameter values, these are the default value assigned to the parameter, the user can still change them once they are in the project, like any other instance parameter.

If 24 inches is a more useful input value than 2'-0" a type catalog will allow that even if the units in the family or project are assigned to feet and fractional inches. Just change the ##units from Feet to Inches.

Earlier I wrote that Excel is not necessary and that I don't usually use it. I do use Excel (and CSV files) to change column order because that IS a lot easier to do with it. A friend says that we can see the "matrix" when we look at the .txt file, so we don't need Excel. I save the work as a CSV file and then change the extension to .TXT. You have to delete the older txt file first. I don't bother to keep the CSV around. If I need a CSV again I just open the TXT type catalog file directly with Excel and set the delimiter options. Revit only cares about the .TXT file so no point confusing others with a pile of "irrelevant" files in the library folder.

I put the parameters (reorder them) that match the family type name in front of the list (first columns) in the catalog in the order of the naming in the type name, like 600H 800W 150D. So 600,800,150 are the very first values after the type name. I only include values that we want to set during loading and put dimensional values before informational values (text).

Related Family Interaction Advice

A family using a type catalog must be loaded properly, either with Load Family while placing a component or via Load from Library, or using a right click > reload in the Project Browser.

Do not use Edit Family (from inside a project) with families that have type catalogs, it puts all the loaded types from the project in the family. A family that has a type catalog really ought to only have one "default" type. Lately I have settled on using the name: "This family uses a Type Catalog". If I find that type in a project I know it has been loaded at least once improperly. That type will never appear in the project if the catalog is used.

Do not use Load into Project while working on the family, it does not look for or offer the type catalog.

Options Bar and the Mouse Wheel Zooming

In past releases we needed to be careful about using the mouse wheel button to zoom in and out after entering a value on the options bar, in particular with Revit MEP users. When we selected a duct or pipe and set the dimensions on the Options Bar and then rolled the wheel on the mouse the dimension values changed instead of zooming in or out in the view.

I am happy to report that I’ve observed this is fixed in 2014. When entering an offset value for walls though the Options Bar still keeps the focus so it is necessary to use the "pan with the mouse in the view" trick to return the focus to the drawing window.

RTC AUS 2013 Auckland

Today I am heading to Auckland, New Zealand to attend the Revit Technology Conference. On Tuesday night I'll be hanging out with fellow American Aaron Maller in Christchurch at a local Revit User Group meeting. It's my first trip to NZ so I'm looking forward to it naturally!

Next week I'll be writing via the RTC Blog. I've managed to get some OpEd stuff scheduled to post while I'm away, just on the off chance somebody might miss my rambling. :)

If you haven't committed to attending the conference in Auckland yet...reconsider there is still time. There are a number of options for registration if time and/or budget are concerns. Hope to see you there!!

If NZ can't be part of your plans... remember, there are two other RTC's to consider, North America's event in Vancouver (July) and Europe's in Delft, Holland (September). Don't be a stranger!!

Switch Between Palette and Browser with Keyboard Shortcut

With the new dockable window feature that supports hosting the Project and System Browser (MEP), Reconcile Hosting Dialog and Properties Palette comes the slight awkwardness of never having what you really want open (having focus) when you want it.

This video shows how assigning a keyboard shortcut to the Properties Palette gives me the illusion of switching between the Project Browser and Properties Palette quickly. I write illusion because the Properties Palette is really closing but then reopening within the dockable window framework. Try it, like it...mileage may vary.

Dockable Windows and Double Clicking

I noticed the other day that when I double click on the tab of an active docked browser or palette that Revit will "pop" the window out of the docked position. It will land somewhere on screen, probably near the middle of the Revit window. If you move it somewhere else Revit will remember that the next time.

If you double click on the title bar of the "popped out" window it will dock again. Activate a tab, double click...pops out...double click on title bar pops in. Interesting... here's a video, no audio.

Dutch Revit Standards and Template

Luke mentioned this the other day but it bears repeating to help spread the word for the Dutch Revit community at large.

Dutch Revit standard (template) is now available for download:

Download - RevitGG.nl
A Translated Version
This is made available using Creative Commons licensing.

There is a link to download version 0.8 from Dropbox at this page.

The download includes:

• Project Template
• Families
• Family Templates
• Materials
• Resource Files (CAD import / export maps, Shared Parameters and more)

Grids Generator Extension

While I seem to be in whine mode this week I might as well suggest that the long standing grids generator extension get full Revit status. I think it could live on the ribbon alongside the Levels and Grids tool on the Datum panel. It might actually get used more if it were part of application and where's the harm in that??

Again, like the Space Naming Utility, awareness is the issue. People just don't know it exists. Instead of "hiding" it away on Autodesk Exchange put it in Revit! By the time they find out about it they've already put their grids in. If it was on the ribbon poking you in the eye when you look for grids and levels to begin with you might be more inclined to remember to use it. Hey, I thought the ribbon was better for discovering tools than the old fuddy duddy menu and toolbars approach? :)

Autodesk 360 Kills my Internet Connection

Each time I let Autodesk 360 sync it seems to block all my other internet activity and my PC goes back and forth repeatedly between reporting access and no access to the internet. Very annoying. For this reason, I tend to log out and exit the application, not very 360ish, sad to say.

Revit MEP 2014 Space Naming Utility

This is still a separate download and installation but it is available now from the subscription center.

Why should it be part of the software?

Essential Tool - It is impractical to manage the relationship between architecture and engineering models without it. Many of the other extensions that are available (2014 versions available now too) are idiosyncratic, a small percentage of users will tend to use them. I don't think this one is. The fact that several other companies offer similar solutions as add-ons suggest that this one is at least solid enough for general use.

Development Plans - The utility has gone unchanged essentially since its inception. If it has been kept separate because they are going to do something else really wonderful and make it irrelevant, they've had years to do it. Until it really is part of the next release planning, put the one that works in.

Awareness -  Many people don't know it is available, because it is hiding at the subscription center, and therefore just suffer with room/space management. Most users I meet don't have access to the subscription site let alone know of its existence. Even when it is installed it is not in an obvious place so users who haven't been told about it either stumble on to it or don't use it until someone does point it out.

Complaint Dept. - If it remains an extension because of the fear that users will complain that they've "lost" one of their extensions...well... I sure hope that's not a reason.

I say put it on the Analyze Tab with the other Space tools, call it Space/Room Matching, like this:

Just do it!

Dominant Elements in Concrete Joins

This information is "ripped" from the WikiHelp topic...

Whenever elements that use concrete for their material interact with each other one element retains its geometry while the geometry of the other element sharing the join is cut to create the appearance of a single form. For example structural floors and walls possess dominant geometry characteristics and always maintain their geometry when sharing a join with other elements. Because of this, they will not automatically join with one another. These other concrete elements behave as follows.

These join behavior rules cannot be changed and it is not possible to disable the automatic joining of geometry. It is possible to manually change this condition using the UnJoin Geometry tool.

While were at it these are the valid combinations for concrete elements to join, in other words they may automatically join with one another.

• beam to beam
• beam to column
• isolated foundation to isolated foundation
• isolated foundation to wall foundation
• structural floor to beam
• structural floor to column
• structural floor to slab edge
• wall to beam
• wall to column

Remember that joined geometry may have an impact on project performance.

Project Unit Rounding Matters

Let's say for example that you need a metric dimension value in your family and it should be 6.35mm. Let's also say that the family's Project Units are set to zero decimal places. When you enter 6.35mm in the Family Types dialog Revit will round the value to 6.4mm.

When you change the family's units to show two decimal places the value that was stored in the parameter is still the single decimal value (6.4mm). Revit did not store the 6.35mm value but shows the rounded value instead, it stored the rounded value.

If you override the dimension style to show two decimal places (as shown above) but don't alter the Project Units of the family you can enter the correct value (in the dimension string) and the Family Types dialog will still report the rounded value. If you change the parameter value in the Family Types dialog it won't respect a two decimal entry and you'll see the dimension value return to a rounded value.

Short and sweet, if you really want a value like 6.35mm to be honored you need to set the family "Project Units" accordingly.

Fwiw, this is different from the project environment where entering a value that uses two decimal places is honored even if the project units and/or dimension properties do not.

Model Elements on View Worksets

The gang in Autodesk Support and Development seem to have isolated at least one clear cut cause for this quirky situation where a model element is associated with a view workset. It shouldn't be possible ordinarily. Apparently this sequence can be blamed:

1) The user selects and enters an edit mode for an element on a view workset, for example this might include plan regions, detail groups, or filled regions.

2 )Instead of using ‘Finish Edit Mode’ or ‘Cancel Edit Mode’ the user instead clicks Undo to exit edit mode.

3) Now back in the project, the user starts adding model elements, such as walls. The walls are placed on the current View workset instead of the active User-Created workset (until the user opens the workset dialog or changes the active workset).

Ryan reports that 2014 has been worked on to help address this situation better, if a user takes the steps above Revit will reset the active workset properly now.

The fix for these poor elements has been (and remains) to use Cut to Clipboard and then Paste > Aligned to Same Place. Just make sure the correct workset is active.

You can read the original post at The Revit Clinic, thanks Ryan!

It also explains how to fix the issue in older versions of Revit.

Spelt Chuking Dialoguess

While experimenting with the new Non-Rectangular Crop Regions I noticed this subtle spelling eror.

The dialog title says "Invaild Integer", the correct spelling should be "Invalid Integer". Now we have a solid reason for the first web update! ;)

Btw, a inscribed or circumscribed polygon of 36 straight segments is very nearly a "circle". Jay Zallan made a point of it during a Revit user group meeting last month. That means you can create a "circular" callout now.

Revit 2014 - Schedule Grids and Levels

Revit 2014 has added grids and levels as valid elements that a schedule can be based on.

I've not personally needed to schedule them for documentation purposes but I have wanted to do so many times just so I could analyse a project's datum. For example when someone says their level has "gone missing" a schedule of levels will quickly tell me if it is still there. Now I know that it is an issue with the extents of the level as opposed to someone deleting it entirely or perhaps assigning it to a workset that isn't open or visible.

I've seen a few offices that provide a "Storey" summary of their project on their general sheets, along side code compliance information. A level schedule can help provide this without resorting to text and lines that are not tied to the model data at all.

Mentioning worksets, it is worth noting that is not an available schedule field for a level or grid, it would be if it could be part of their schedule too.

Revit 2014 Learning Links in New Sample File

I mentioned the annotation families that function as learning links the other day. I should also mention the corresponding schedule provided in the file too.

It is called "How Do I". The schedule is a list of all the "?" families that have been used. You can select one and use the Highlight in Model button to find where it is. The "What View" column lists the view you'll find it in too. They've included a column for "Reviewed?" so you can check each of them off as you work through each topic, nice for a beginner to track their progress. In the image below I added a column for "Learning Link" (URL parameter) which lets me click on the URL to browse to the WikiHelp topic right away.

2013 Central States Revit Workshop Registration

Registration for the next workshop opened 9 days ago, very sorry to be so slow to mention it.

Please let me encourage you to consider spending a couple days (August 15-16, 2013) at the Scott Conference Center in Omaha soaking up Revit information and wisdom. I attended and participated in a couple sessions last year. It was good fun, well worth your time and a great bargain.

Here are a few important links:
Welcome
Location
Schedule
Speakers

REGISTRATION

Come mingle with and hear special guest speakers Paul Aubin, Brian and Desirée Mackey (and maybe their BIMbino), Birgitta Foster, Andrew Jizba and Chuck Mies.

New Selection Features and Keyboard Shortcuts

The new selection options that I mentioned earlier are accessible via keyboard shortcuts too by the way. This question was asked at a recent user group meeting but wasn't answered explicitly other than to say, "I think so". Well they can!

Tables of Data in Revit

One of the more subtle things that the new schedule features allow in Revit 2014 is creating a table of data that may not be tied directly to elements within the model. For example residential projects that I've worked on in the past were required to document how the proposed design or remodel fits within the property boundaries and required setbacks, or stated another way...zoning compliance. In the past I've written about creating tables using a family to accomplish this. Now we can do this, all within the schedule header itself (notice I used Comic Sans?).

The Revit Clinic posted an example of this for jamb conditions yesterday, check it out! These are the steps their post provides:

First, create a new schedule and either choose a category you do not have in your project, or alternatively filter the schedule so nothing displays in the body section.

Then under the Schedule Properties > ‘Appearance’ tab, un-check ‘Show Headers’. Now you unmerge the default title row and add additional rows, text, parameters, images, shading, etc. And you still get the specific control to resize the column and row dimensions.

Two tips:

First use the ‘Clear Cell’ tool to remove the default schedule view name. You can then use that cell to enter any data you wish.

Second, set up your cell sizes before adding new rows. The new rows will use the previous row for cell number, size and formatting:

Window or Door Frame Positioning

We quite often want to be able to move a window or door assembly back and forth within a host wall. This is easy to do as long as the assembly is moving "in" but doesn't need to move beyond the host in the opposite direction. A relationship between reference planes does not generally like to be reversed. We usually get yelled at with a message like this.

When we want the flexibility to move something from or toward something else we need to define an alternate reference point, reference plane in this case. If we place a reference plane in front of the exterior side of the host we can set it far enough away to provide enough room to move the assembly without generating an error message.

In the image above I can move the Frame Offset reference plane "outside" the exterior face of the wall by using a negative dimension value and toward the Interior by using positive values. The fixed dimension value of 12 inches defines the reference offset value I used in the formula column. This means when I enter zero for Frame Offset that the assembly will be flush with the exterior of the wall. Here's what it looks like using a negative 8" offset to move it outside, from the exterior face.

There are firms that use multiple walls to define the layers of what many people use one wall with layers for. When you place walls next to each other a door or window family is hosted by one of them. If you need to move the family "forward or backward" you need to be able to change the notion of what host reference plane is relevant. This is one approach to solving the problem.

Revit 2014 Sample File WikiHelp Links

After enduring the painful download, unpack and install process that literally took from Friday morning to Sunday night I got to run the shipping version of Revit 2014. It took over 30 minutes to open the first time, but AutoCAD took over an hour. I think there is something seriously wrong with my computer but all the usual things check out fine. I digress...

[Edit: I apologize if you read this before. I had View References on the mind, but these are just Generic Annotations. Thanks to Jeff Hanson for the reminder.]

The new sample file includes new help references.

These are Generic Annotation families that take advantage of the URL parameter to let you navigate to the WikiHelp page related to the features or elements that the documentation team placed a reference next to. Wherever you see a help "?" select one and then in the Properties Palette click on the sneaky "Browse" button (little button that appears with the ellipsis "..." at the right of the URL parameter field)

I wrote about using the view references before, to simulate a "next slide" arrow for presentations instead of using Power Point. View References do not have the URL parameter but Generic Annotation families do. Using the URL means we can do the same thing except browse to specific items on our network or elsewhere via the internet without storing the data inside the Revit model itself. These are not entirely new concepts since the URL parameter has been in Revit all along and View References are not new, but not very old...but it is a nice twist on how they are applied.

Imagine the office training project files pointing users to office standards or other code practices etc. Something to think about.

Is it Too Late to Change

Whenever I spend time in the Revit Family Editor I run into past decisions. Sometime they are my own and quite often they belong to somebody else. I've always encouraged people to develop good habits when it comes to using and defining reference planes. I've even been teased about wasting time in a demonstration by naming each reference plane even though doing so wasn't pertinent to the topic. Habits...

I recently encountered a bunch of families that were built by a few people for their project. I was asked to make some changes so a part of the family could be scheduled separately. That meant making use of the concept of making a family "shared". A family that is nested into another is only treated as a symbol when we see it a project. A family that is nested AND Shared is loaded into the project as an actual separate family (appears in the project browser) as well as being visible as part of the host family. This special condition allows for scheduling nested parts as though they are unique parts, apart from the host, as well as permitting us to place them separately. This subject could easily be few separate posts.

While I was digging in I noticed that few if any of the reference planes were named. I also noticed that most of them did not redefine the original reference planes so that they made sense in the context of the family itself. By that I mean that people will use the default Center (Front/Back) or Center (Left/Right) reference planes as a "left" or "right" or "front" or "back" or something...but not rename/redefine them as such. That means that when we examine a family the "center" (the reference plane that Revit thinks is center) of the family is really an edge or side. Autodesk's own content isn't immune to this either.

In this situation I thought like a mechanic, if I've already dropped the transmission I might as well fix some things that I can't get to otherwise, or "while I'm in here"...

Sadly if a project is using this content and people have done things like put hundreds, perhaps thousands, of them in their models, bad things can happen, when they are reloaded. As Mr. Maller says... it can be a "screwtastrophe". Families that have dimensions referencing them in the project will generate the dreaded "dimensions must be deleted" messages as soon as you reload them. Specifically if you change the IsReference status of a reference plane and reload the family Revit can't find the original reference plane anymore. Worse a family might shift its location, particularly if being swapped out for a different version.

I don't think it can be overstated or stressed enough, content needs to be created carefully and good habits need to developed and observed. It may not be too late to make changes but it can be painful.

Download Manager

I started this process about noon today, this post is 8 hours later. In my opinion this does not define a good download experience :(

At 37,216 days I don't think the extra detail of 15 hours is worth mentioning? At this rate I'll be checking out the new features for Revit 2115? Oh, I may not be around in 101 years...drat, double drat! 

Schedule Column Width

In my griping about schedules in my previous post I mentioned (in an addendum) that we get a new feature in Revit 2014 that provides some measure of control over column width. I decided it worthy of its own mention so here it is.

The Revit 2014 Modify Schedule/Quantities ribbon interface now looks like this.

When you select a column or columns you'll get this Resize button which will bring up a dialog, much like Excel does.

This means we can at least enter a specific value for column width. Yes we can make sure one column is exactly the same as another. We still have to travel from schedule to schedule to make it happen but it is more control.

Btw, bummer... in 2014 we've also lost the ability to "double click" on the vertical column boundary to automatically resize the schedule columns.

If you know you will need several schedules to report information but filtered differently you can save some time if you create the first and then duplicate the schedule, adding filters afterward. In some cases it might be less work to toss out existing schedules and duplicate/filter again than fixing the existing columns across all the schedules. Your mileage may vary

Floor Perimeter

When you examine the properties of a floor you'll find Perimeter. Somebody decided perimeter shouldn't be available to tags so we can't tag a floor but we can see it in schedule (no, can't tag it in 2014 either).

If you alter a floor sketch to define an opening for something like for a stair or a mechanical chase, it alters the perimeter calculation. If you use either a Shaft Opening or Opening by Face it doesn't alter the perimeter value. Floor A is untouched, B is altered within the sketch and C has two openings one of each type. You'll see in the schedule that perimeter is not altered except where the floor sketch is changed to create the opening.

The moral of the story? If you'd like to be able to use the floor slab perimeter value then don't edit the floor sketch to create openings.

Fittings Do Not Look Right

A troublesome thread popped up at RevitForum.org the other day and DMapes came to the rescue. I haven't encountered this peculiarity before, and now that I know about it it's a bit surprising that I haven't. I guess I've just been lucky.

When you use the Underlay setting in Revit MEP you run the risk of altering the way your pipe fittings (duct fittings too in views using Detail Level: Coarse) scale and/or look. Here's a good and bad side by side.

The pipes on the left are good but those in the view on the right are smaller and halftone, as a result of using the Underlay setting.

Set to None the fittings look correct, but using the same level the fittings are associated with as the underlay equals sadness. It doesn't seem to mind if you use other levels as the underlay though. Careful with your underlay!

Family Type as Type Catalog Flag

I don't see this technique used much but it is a pretty good way to let a user know that a family is supposed to be loaded with a Type Catalog. I was reminded of this by a thread at the RevitForum.org which also pointed to another thread at AUGI.

It's easy, create one "default" type in a family that uses a Type Catalog but instead of "default" use a more descriptive name like, "Family Is Not Loaded Correctly" or "This Family Uses a Type Catalog" or "You Should find the Type Catalog"... get the idea?

When you gaze over a list of families in the project browser you'll see that a family was loaded at least once without the type catalog because your "default" special name will be among the types listed there.

Revit 2014 Schedules Pending Gotcha

Revit has always treated the schedule view for editing as separate from the sheet representation, at least for column width adjustments. This always made sense to me. I should change the width of columns on a sheet where I can see the impact of the change. When I am editing a schedule and I want to see a bit more or less of a column I could change it freely without an impact on a sheet that shows the schedule.

Everything changes with Revit 2014 because when you change a column width in either place, a sheet or the view itself, it changes in the other. This is, as my Spanish speaking friends say, Muy Mal!! Ay Caramba! That's probably too polite?

I think it's safe to say that we've all wished for more control over column width from one schedule to the next. Imagine four door schedules, filtered by floor on separate sheets. Ideally we'd like the columns to be uniform widths from schedule to schedule. So we resort to tricks like an annotation family that provides the "columns" we want and we drag columns over until they cover the "column lines". Then we either delete the guide or "bury" it in a titleblock family with a yes/no parameter to control its visibility.

This enhancement does not help that situation and worse because of the legacy behavior and the assumptions that users will having as they begin to use 2014 we will see lot's of, "Why are my schedules changing constantly?".

Yes we can just create "working" schedules to deal with data entry and "sheet" schedules for documentation but it is unnecessary redundancy, we've got enough of it with other views already. I'm not looking forward to this "feature" getting in the wild.

Added 4/12/2013:
There IS a new Resize button for columns and a dialog appears that you we can use to enter a specific width. This means you can ensure that specific columns have the same width but it is a manual adventure, from column to column and schedule to schedule. It does work on multiple column selection so we can apply the same width to several columns at once. I believe the API does not provide access to this yet.

Language Flexibility

There are a few things that are hardcoded values that we can't do much about. For example the word "Grand Total" at the bottom of a schedule or "As Indicated" for view scale when used as part of a sheet's titleblock. The choice of words, the language used and formatting all  remain out of reach still after all these years. It would be excellent if these were added to project settings so a team could define what these should say. It's all part of refining the product itself and the documentation we produce using it.

New Selection Quirks

Dan Stine passed along a couple thoughts after working with Revit 2014 in earnest. The new selection options Select by Face and Drag Elements on Selection can have some undersireable effects on your modelling experience. He wrote to describe these two situations:

Select by Face combined with Drag Elements on Selection is a “deadly” combination because you can much more easily start moving floors and ceilings.

When Select by Face is turned on you cannot select Rooms or Spaces. Ouch or maybe that's good, depending on what you are up to? I'll have to check to see if we can still TAB over the room tag to select the room.

Sometimes when we get things we ask for we also get some unintended consequences along with them.

Modelling Serendipity - Revisiting an Old Post

In July 2009 I wrote about "Modelling Serendipity" when I encountered something that made me ponder my past work. Some recent conversations made me think of it again so I thought I'd put a link here to point at it again.

I recently told somebody, "I don't know what I don't know and I find that I bump into what I don't know in 3D faster than 2D"...that's modelling serendipity.

A RELATED POST (Sept. 2009), related to the notion of 3D shop drawings.

Choosing a Room Name

The Properties Palette lets us make some choices before placing elements that in the past were not possible. For example we can decide what elevation mechanical equipment or air terminals should be first. When we place rooms, without bothering to fill out a room schedule in advance, we can decide what name to use before we place one. In the image I've changed the room name to Office.

If we need to place several rooms that use the same name all we have to do now is type it into the room's name parameter within the Properties Palette. If you don't like the name you see when you place a room later, just check the Properties Palette. Revit remembers the last value you put there.

Remember that you can easily place rooms that are defined in a schedule but not yet placed in the model, just check the list!

Get a Panorama on Your iOS Device

John Sepannen sent me this information recently. He wanted to get a panorama on his iPhone or iPad and came up with this workflow. His approach does involve 3 other software applications ($) that may or may not be practical for you, or there might be another option to use instead of Autodesk Stitcher.

1.   Autodesk Stitcher Unlimited ($350 single license or 30-day free trial)
2.   iPano app ($2.99) -
3.  Photoshop or equal
4.  Dropbox (or similar used to aid in transferring images to iOS device)

Using iPano allows anyone with an iOS device to view panoramic images (offline).

1.  Rendered view with Autodesk 360
       a. option #1 - render directly to panorama.
       b. option #2 - re-render any fixed camera image as panorama
2.  Download panorama file (right click on web thumbnail).
3.  Open panorama file "photo strip" with Photoshop and cut out (6) separate square image files .
4.  Rename image files based on relative direct of image facing the floor.
       image_u (up)
       image_d (down)
       image_f (front)
       image_b (back)
       image_l (left)
       image_r (right)

Using the Autodesk Stitcher Unlimited software

1.  File: Open: Panorama
       a. select any one of the six images.
       b. Stitcher will then process the six images and create a panorama
2.  Render Panorama as spherical image.
3.  Copy image to Dropbox
4.  On iOS device export image from Dropbox to Photo Library
5.  In iPano app - import image from Photo Library
6.  Save to bookmarks.

He shared a PDF slide deck that explains the process with images and more information if you are interested in pursuing this yourself.

Revit Technology Conference Info

This is an echo of my earlier post, which was quickly overshadowed by news about Revit 2014 features, just to give it a little more attention.


If you read this blog (regularly) then I think/hope that RTC is no surprise to you. I'm writing this as a reminder to those who already know about it as well as to introduce them to anyone who hasn't already heard about them. After all May and RTC AUS isn't far away now...

These are the events in the order that they occur this year:

RTC Australasia - May 16-18, 2013 - Auckland, NZ
RTC North America - July 11-13, 2013 - Vancouver, Canada
RTC Europe - September 27-28, 2013 - Delft, Holland

Each event gives you an opportunity to listen, learn, talk and mingle with many of the best and brightest people that our planet has to offer, seriously!

I attended my first RTC in 2006 in Australia, where it all started (in 2005). I've been a fan ever since and even became a committee member to help start the first RTC in North America in 2011. It isn't any single thing that made me a fan. It was the whole of the experience.

For example, I knew that every person I saw around me was like me, fascinated by Revit, just Revit then and now by what it has expanded into. I knew that no matter who I listened to, talked with or saw in a hallway that I'd see them again...in a session, in a few minutes or during a break or during dinner and drinks. The value of the social side of the event can't be overstated. People have cultivated great friendships, formed at each event, and these last and prove mutually satisfying for years to come. I can vouch for this personally.

If you struggle with getting your firm to support sending you, or if you are the firm, or if you are trying to justify sending your staff consider just the classes alone. If you or someone in your firm was charged with putting together a class of equal quality, compared with any you'll find at RTC, you can reasonably expect a 10-20 hour commitment. That's time spent preparing themselves, making sure they've covered every angle of Revit knowledge they need, then organizing it all, preparing to share it with other staff and finally actually sharing it with them. It might take longer if it is the first time they've had to do something like this, or they might not be knowledgeable enough yet to tackle it all themselves. If this same person attends RTC and returns home not only with the material from the dozens of sessions they attend but access to all the material for each and every class offered at RTC you'll have a wealth of material for FAR less cash outlay than devoting them to developing the same material in-house.

It isn't just the classes either. It's the interaction, the setting, the focus, the passion and excitement expressed by others and witnessed by everyone. You can't help but feel reinvigorated. You'll recharge your batteries so to speak. When you leave RTC you leave ready, ready for anything and eager to take it all back to the office. It's just a shame that you can't bring your whole office along to experience it for themselves...well you can...just not many offices will dare to. There are a few firms that do send as many as 10-15 staff as they see it as their annual training for key people. Do your best to attend the nearest conference, you and your firm won't regret it!

P.S. If you represent a Local User Group focused on Revit I'd like to help you get the word out to your members. Get in touch with me so I can pass along information that you can use to make it easier to talk about it at your next meeting.