CCTV Enhancement in Fuzor

I wrote about the Kalloc Studios product called Fuzor after seeing it at Autodesk University. I sat down with them at RTC in Melbourne and was really impressed with how much they've done since then (as in, "Oh! Did we tell you we've incorporated Clash Detection too?"). We chatted about a variety of things, one of which was security cameras.

I've worked with a few clients for whom security camera documentation is a big deal. I received an email this afternoon letting me know that they've got a cool addition they are eager to show me (and everyone) at RTC in Schaumburg next week, security camera features. Keep in mind that we sat down together less than two weeks ago and none of the below existed.

They've created three types of cameras so far: Small, Large and Dome.

You can switch between these types at will to achieve the look you want. They also have the option to choose black and white or color. Here's a sample screen shot. They've also taken notice of some important camera characteristics.

They've made it possible to save your current configurations as well as load previously saved configurations from the main Fuzor user interface. This is a sample dialog for selecting configurations.

That's a lot of ground to cover in two weeks!! If you think your firm could benefit from this sort of viewing and visualization enhancement then Fuzor's just presented another strong practical reason to check them out, ...and this is just a first pass, they'll be looking for feedback to make this a killer feature.

Revit INI Tweak and Properties Palette Apply Behavior

Courtesy of Aaron Maller the other day...

Aaron said, in a conversation about the Apply behavior of the Properties Palette:

You guys know you can edit that with a setting in the INI file, right?

He offered this explanation:

Within the [UserInterface] section of the Revit.ini (see image), add the line:

DisableMppAutoApply=1

When you move your mouse out of the Properties Palette Revit will no longer commit changes you make. They (the Factory) quietly changed the way this INI key worked, between versions 2013 and 2014. In 2013, if you did this you HAD to use the Apply button to commit your change(s). In 2014 moving your mouse out of the Properties Palette will NOT commit your change(s). When you CLICK in the viewport, or elsewhere, Revit then commits the changes. The same is true in 2015 too.

That's SUBTLE and NICE! Thanks for the tip Aaron!

Lock Down a Family

Projects that use Worksets have four kinds of worksets: User-Created, Project Standards, Families and Views.

User-Created worksets are the bookshelves we create to organize building elements logically (read How Many Worksets...). The other three are always there but ordinarily we can pretend they don't exist. Each family that is loaded into a project is assigned its own Family Workset. It happens quietly behind the scenes. We don't have to do anything at all.

Ordinarily we don't wittingly or intentionally interact with a Family Workset at all. For example, we can place hundreds of doors and not affect any doors's Family Workset. However, if we assign a value to a door's Type Comments parameter we'll find we are the Borrower of the door's Family Workset. Altering Type parameters affects the Borrower status of a family's workset.

Occasionally we find it desirable to lock-down some families. Users might get unruly and make changes we've agreed not to make without approval or someone can accidentally reload a family from the wrong library. I'm positive we can come up dozens of other examples.

We can deliberately become the Owner of any families we'd like to prevent users from altering significantly. Select the family workset and click the Editable button. Our username will appear in the Owner column. It's for this reason that most people create an alter ego like "Family Manager", "Model Manager", "Model Admin", or "Bubba"... you decide which is best. This alter ego only opens a local file when they need to deal with updating families or whatever other task they are reserving for certain roles.

This will prevent users from easily reloading and changing type parameters. They can still alter instance parameters. They can also move, swap the family for another with the Type Selector or even delete the family. There are still plenty of things that can go wrong. We've just made it a little bit harder to do a couple specific things wrong.

Be careful with Editing Requests, making them or granting them, when you lock-down worksets. Users can become the borrower unexpectedly, as THIS POST describes.

Sheet View in a Titleblock Family

Brian wrote to mention a quirky subtle situation that he thought I'd be inclined to write about.

Brian wrote:

Open a Titleblock family and then double click on the schedule in the project browser to open it in a separate view. With the schedule as the current view, close all the other active views. Notice that the view with the titlebock itself closes and now there’s no way to open it again, since it’s not listed in the Project Browser.

The subtle bit is that the view is still there in the project browser, it's just hiding under Sheets instead of Views where we'd expect to find it. It's that even more subtle dash listed beneath Sheets.

Yep, it's quirky enough for me.

Revit MEP - Copy to Clipboard and Paste Aligned

Face-Based families don't seem to like when we use Copy to Clipboard and Paste Aligned. Specifically they may go where we want but they don't report the correct elevation value. For example these two Air Terminals are reporting 18'-0" after I used Copy to Clipboard and then Paste Aligned to Selected Levels, choosing Level 2.

They ought to report 8'-0" since that's their actual elevation above the floor, their host ceiling's elevation. You can see they are reporting an elevation that is equal to the offset from Level 1, the host level of their original ceiling. Using the Edit Work Plane tool is little help unfortunately. I tried it but Revit doesn't change their elevation value, I assume because they are already hosted by the ceiling I picked. That made me think of trying to host them to something else temporarily. Then I used Edit Work Plane again to host them on the original ceiling, no joy.

I resorted to using the Pin Trick. I pinned them and then used the Pick New tool. When I picked the ceiling as the new host the terminals stay put, because they are pinned, and Revit now reports the correct elevation again.

Quirky is alive in Revit!

RTC and my Playlist

I don't recall whose session, or which event, it was that I first heard some music played while we all gathered in the room. I just remember thinking, I LIKE that! I've played music ever since then, before and after my sessions, if it was possible.

I just returned home from speaking at RTC in Melbourne. It was great, even if Melbourne was a bit damp! In keeping with other events, at least one person always asks me about the music I'm playing. I've chosen to use Joe Satriani's music as a prelude for the last couple years. His music is melodic, energetic, and mostly instrumental. I used his new album Unstoppable Momentum for my What's New... session. It features Vinny Colaiuta, one of my favorite drummers, as well as a bunch of other excellent musicians.

I used a shorter playlist for my other session "Grumble, Grumble, Snort". I knew I only had 15 minutes between the end of the previous session and the beginning of mine so I chose Jeff Beck's "Hammerhead" (a tribute to musician Jan Hammer and featuring Australia's own Tal Wilkenfeld on bass), Joe's "Jumpin' In" and "Can't Go Back" and finished with The Tubes "Mr. Hate". I figured we'd start off the session after hearing a "grumpy" sort of tune, to set the mood.

I don't know about you but music is always "on" in my head.

Use Spotify? Here's a LINK to the short Playlist

Revit 2015 - Parameters and View Titles

We can include any view parameter in view titles now. We can also create shared parameters and use them in our view title annotation. I was reminded by Lee Miller (a VP with HOK), while attending RTC in Melbourne this week, that this addition means they can include another language for the view name far more easily with this seemingly subtle change. It is a welcome change for anyone doing international work.

Insert using Auto-Center to Center

Whenever we insert a linked file we find that Revit is wired or biased to using Auto-Center to Center. It doesn't matter if we've just used another placement option Revit faithfully returns to its favorite.

The reason for this preference or bias stems from the reality that DWG files are a perfect storm of chaos that we cannot reliably expect that the elements in the file are located near the origin of the file. Floating Point math calculations rely on constraining the size of the world we work in to a practical scope so that calculations can be "accurate" enough to roughly 12 decimal places. Revit uses double precision which technically extends to 16 decimal places but it only displays 12.

When elements in the imported/linked file are very far from the file's origin then Revit's ability (of all CAD software by the way) to accurately display and describe information begins to suffer. The Revit development team is a bit more fussy about this than how other software confronts us with this concern. One visual clue that this is affecting your project is snap icons fail to appear directly on the element it is related to.

Using Auto-Center to Center is safer from the developer's mindset, protecting us from BadCAD and or ourselves.

Now we've been bringing this up for years, asking for Revit to remember what we've used before and/or letting us set which option we prefer. The good news, from my perspective, a recent conversation with someone at Autodesk has made me optimistic that we will get our way sooner than later.

Revit MEP - Choosing a Panel

This is a quick tip I picked up eavesdropping on a conversation with Martin Schmid (Autodesk). When you create a circuit and use Select Panel the list of panels in the drop-down on the Options Bar sorts the panels based on their proximity to your circuit's elements. That's pretty subtle and I never paid close enough attention to notice. I love subtle stuff!

Revit is Crashing

You're suffering with a file that is crashing on your computer. Have you attempted to work with/recover the file on a different computer? Doing so will help rule out the possibility that there is an issue with the PC you've been using.

Revit can be a grouchy bugger with too little RAM or an incompatible Video Card/driver. If you have very little RAM then it could be that Revit is running out of RAM before it can process the file properly during the save which can increase the RAM it requires to function. You can also try to disable the graphics options in the Options dialog > Graphics to see if that makes any difference.

I'd start by eliminating the PC itself, try to restore it using another. If that makes no difference then you need to consider the project file itself. Yet another thing to consider, linked files. You can move any linked files it is looking for to another folder temporarily so it can't find them to load them. If a link is really causing the problem then this file crashing is just a victim of a different problem. I've seen a link crashing the host several times in the past. It's a drag spending a lot of time trying to fix a file that didn't have a problem when a link really did.

In 2011 (my post about it) The Revit Clinic's Kathryn Langan wrote a post about a journal file parser she wrote.

That Thick Boundary on my Sheet

A conversation about our title block is inevitable when working through implementation. If we're going to produce a drawing we'll need one unless we've arrived at the day when a model is the only deliverable which, unless I've become Rip van Winkle and woke up twenty odd years in the future, isn't the norm yet.

One recurring theme is a thick boundary line. A polyline is often used for this in AutoCAD. Sorry, there is no equivalent element (AutoCAD polyline) in Revit, namely that a polyline's thickness can vary along it length. To replicate a thick boundary we need to use Revit's own lines to sketch thick lines. We also need to keep in mind that Revit's lines do not square off at the ends, an option that AutoCAD developers added to it in the past. Revit's developers designed it thinking that the tip of pens/pencils are round and when you sketch with a them you get rounded edges, consistent with "reality".

If we need a thick (or very thick) boundary with squared edges then we accomplish that with a Filled Region (solid black). It is sketched like two rectangles, inside and outside edges of the thick line, using a thin line. When the filled region is finished it will look just like a thick "line".

Hopefully the same result, just different technique.

Past its End

If you see this message, it's not a good message, sorry.

It is a database phrase for the file was not saved properly and the software can't figure out where the beginning and end of the file are correctly, which is a more complicated way to say the file is corrupted. When you get this error it could just be a one time thing. It might be an indication that there are network issues with latency which means that the saving process isn't able to complete reliably. If you get this error frequently it's time to have it checked closely to look for hardware problems.

If you are fortunate you'll be able to open and save a backup version of the project, you need to determine which kind you've got: Stand-alone or worksharing.

If your file is a stand-alone project there will be a project file like this: MyProject.rvt and additional files like this MyProject.0003.rvt, MyProject.0004.rvt and MyProject.0005.rvt. The extra four digits indicate they are backup files. Three additional backup files is the default. Revit writes over the oldest file, never using more than three files for a backup. This is something that can be changed but only when the file is saved initially or when you use Save As. Notice the Options button when you are in the Save dialog next time.

These backup files can be opened just like a regular project file. They represent the state of you project when you saved it, corresponding to the time stamp shown in the file properties. You'll need to use Save As when you do open the file because Revit will ask you if you really want to save a file, as a backup, using the backup file format.

If the project is using Worksets/Worksharing then there is a folder named something like MyProject_Backup. Revit stores all the backup history and data it needs to restore a file in there but you don't do anything with the files inside it directly. You need to open Revit, but don't bother to open a project file, and activate the Collaboration ribbon tab > click Restore Backup. You browse to the location of the project and select the project's backup folder. Revit opens a dialog that let's you choose from a history of saved versions you could choose to recover with.

You should use the Save As button. Pick an earlier version and click Save As. Save the file in a different folder temporarily. The resulting file is technically a local file that is expecting to connect to the central file that isn't working. Revit will ask you if you want to open the file, don't. You'll need to open the file using Detach from Central so that it breaks the relationship to the central.

In either case, hopefully Revit will be able to open the most recent backup file and you won't lose too much work. If the most recent file fails then try the next older version until you get the project open again. Save the file back into the correct project folder and carry on.

If you want more background on worksharing I've got a summary of posts I've written on the subject.

Starting my Project after Receiving a Model

From a Revit MEP or Structure perspective getting a project started, without delving into subtlety, should look something like this.

• Link the architecture model - Auto - Origin to Origin
• Examine an elevation - Make sure your levels match theirs (it's also helpful to get a better sense of the scope vertically)
• Use Copy/Monitor to create (levels you don't have) and watch the levels for coordination (optional but a good idea)
• Room Bounding (MEP) - The arch link has a Type Parameter called Room Bounding, this should be checked if/when you are using Spaces
• Create views for each level after you've made sure yours match theirs
• Repeat this for each discipline, HVAC, Plumbing etc...
• Phases between files should be mapped (same place as Room Bounding, and to truly work they need the same names too)
  
• If you need your own grids to adjust how your documents look - use Copy/Monitor to get a watched set of your own grids

As I alluded to in the beginning, there are other subtle things like worksets that can factor in as well, but assuming the above is all done, you're ready to start adding your own work.

Or We Could Do That

I read Bob Borson's blog post this morning and it made me think of a something that happened to me years ago.

Timmy and I were busy packing up our truck for yet another theater rigging installation in some other city in yet another state. I grabbed our Ramset gun and started checking our ammo. I saw that we were out of the smallest charges so I told Timmy that we'd need to stop by our local supplier to grab some more. He said he didn't think we'd need it. I replied, "What if we need to use it (Ramset gun) on wood?" He replied, "uh, Steve we could use a hammer?"

Yeah I suppose we could do that!

2014 Revit Technology Conference Plug

If you've been reading this blog for long you've probably heard of the Revit Technology Conference. It's blossomed from an event happening far away in Australia each year to an event that happens three times a year on three continents. I've been fortunate to be part of the crew that helps see that it does.

I'd like to encourage you to make it to RTC again this year. If you are already, Excellent! I look forward to seeing you there. If you can't, I'm disappointed, maybe next year. If you have friends, associates or anyone that you think would enjoy and benefit from attending RTC please pass along the good word to them. Let me know if you need some help telling them.

Below are the cursory details (click the links in the name for more info) for each event this year, Melbourne's RTC is NEXT WEEK!! RTC in Schaumburg, Il (near Chicago) is NEXT MONTH! If you feel like some royal treatment RTC Europe is being held in Dublin Castle. Something for everyone this year! See you there!?!

RTC Australasia 2014
Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Venue: Pullman Melbourne Albert Park (same as VisCon)
Dates: May 29 (Thursday) - May 31 (Saturday), 2014

RTC DTS JUNE 2014 (Design Technology Summit)
(Invitation Only)
Location: Schaumburg, IL (Greater Chicago)
Venue: Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel (same at RTC NA)
Dates: June 16 (Monday) - June 17 (Tuesday), 2014

RTC North America 2014
Location: Schaumburg, IL (Greater Chicago)
Venue: Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel (same as RTC DTS II)
Dates: June 19 (Thursday) - June 21 (Saturday), 2014

RTC Europe 2014
Location: Dublin, Ireland
Venue: Dublin Castle
Dates: October 30 (Thursday) - November 1 (Saturday), 2014

Revit 2015 Tag Leader Snapping

Revit 2015 has changed how tags and their leaders behave. They are more similar to text and their leaders. Specifically Revit respects the length and position of the leader's shoulder. When we drag the tag, using the move/grip, the leader's shoulder stays intact, follows the tag.

In the past, Revit left the grip for the end of the shoulder in the original location and we had to move it, an extra step, to revise its position relative to the tag. Unfortunately I've noticed that tags don’t seem to snap into alignment with each other as well now.

You'll see in the video above that when I move the tag it doesn't see the other tags. I find it unfortunate and a bit ironic that I have to purposely move the shoulder away to get the tag to snap into alignment with another tag and then fix the shoulder.

Ironic since I have to use the extra step to get the snapping behavior I want, the extra step the new feature is suppose to eliminate. This could be limited to my computer and its graphics card and driver. I'm curious if others can confirm this is happening for them too.

2014 Revit OpEd

Revit 2015 Double Click Deactivate View

The new companion to double-click to activate a view on a sheet is pretty simple. Just double-click outside the extent of the viewport to deactivate it. Double-click to Activate View works on schedules too, it opens the schedule editing window. Hopefully it's pretty obvious that double-click to Deactivate View won't work, in reverse, on the schedule once you are editing.

By the way, it (double-click to Deactivate View) can't be turned off. There is an option to disable the Activate View behavior. If you happen to change it to Do Nothing. If you use right-click to Activate View you'll find that Double-click to Deactivate View works regardless.

Deactivate View just don't care.

2014 Revit OpEd

Deleting Spaces or Rooms in Schedules

Want to delete all the Spaces or Rooms you see in a schedule? Take these steps:

• Scroll the bottom of the schedule
• In one fluid sequence click to select the last row (left mouse button) and...
• Drag your cursor UP until it is over the ribbon (yes, beyond the schedule)
• Let go of the left button
• Click Delete

Revit will prompt with a total number of elements that will be deleted. It should match however many was listed in the grand total. Wherever you put your cursor in the schedule and drag up to the ribbon, Revit will let you delete all rooms from there to the top of the schedule even though it is off screen

If you try the same thing from the top down you only get as many rows as are visible in the schedule window.

2014 Revit OpEd

Stair Cut Mark Zigzag

There are two types of zigzag graphics that we can apply to stairs, single and double zigzag. It is a Type Parameter of a stair. When you click on the parameter (Cut Mark Type) to choose one or the other a little sneaky browse button appears.

You can't just switch from one to another, it's not a drop down list box. You have to open the properties of the zigzag type to choose it. If you do, don't be tempted to change the parameter Cut Line Type at the top of the list under the graphics group. If you do you'll be changing the graphic for the Type, not changing the type. To change the Type you've got to look at the top of the dialog and change the Type with the drop down list box there. If you don't pay attention here you'll end up making your single a double or your double a single. That could get confusing!

Here's a plan view of the pair in action: Single and Double Cut Mark.

It is also possible to edit the Stair Cut Mark types via the Project Browser under Families. It's a category listed under stairs.

If you elect to change the setting for Cut Line Extension here you may notice something weird. If you change the value for the single zigzag it will update immediately (when you close the Type Properties dialog) in the drawing window. Try to do the same for the double zigzag and nothing happens.

You can ensure immediate success if you only alter the settings via a Stair's Type Properties dialog. If you click the Edit Stairs button and then immediately click Finish Edit Mode it will force Revit to refresh the cut mark. It will also update if you close the project and open it again. There may be other conditions that will force it to regenerate the cut mark but I haven't stumbled into one yet.

The Stair Cut Mark is governed by Object Styles. There are separate sub-categories for Cut Marks and Cut Marks.

Here's the same stairs after messing around for a minute.

2014 Revit OpEd

No Print Text

A fairly common request is a special text that won't print. This would let us add comments to various places in the model for other people to act on. Filters don't see annotation categories either, at least not Text.

One approach we can take is to use a Detail Item family because Filters do work on them. This means instead of placing red text, we place a Detail Item family that has a red text formatted label that we can enter whatever comment is necessary. Then we can apply a Filter using the Family Name as its criteria to find all of them and turn them off in Visibility/Graphics.

A bonus is that Detail Items can also be scheduled since the release of Revit 2014. This means we could schedule them to provide a summary of comments or remarks that have been placed in the model for action. Add a parameter for "Resolved, Resolved By and Resolved Date" (and perhaps more) and users can indicate when the comment has been acted on, by whom and when.

It is also possible to create Saved Selection Sets. Select all the Red Text, Save a selection Set. Then that selection set can be used to create a Filter. For example in the following image, I've created a Saved Selection Set of text called No Print Text and then created a Filter to control it in the view.

If you've got a Saved Selection Set you can Load or Edit them via the Manage ribbon > Selection Panel. If you select multiple elements then the Selection panel appears and you can also Save your selection set.

Be sure to check out the Selection Set features and not just for this!

2014 Revit OpEd

Basd on a comment I've edited the post and added the following (March 27, 2015)

If you'd like to experiment with a sample of this click the links to either download the family or a project with the family and a schedule in place to see it wall working together.

Download an EXAMPLE DETAIL ITEM
Download an EXAMPLE PROJECT USING IT

Where are the Constraining Dimensions

When you edit a family that someone else created you may encounter a situation where the constraints that control it aren't readily visible. Yeah, it could even happen to you with content you created. These are a few things to consider when you start hunting for them.

Inside the Sketch - It is possible to add dimensions and parameters to control solids/voids while editing their sketch. If that's been done you won't see them unless you edit the sketch for that solid/void.

Associate Family Parameter - The little sneaky gray button (that has a tool tip since 2014) allows us to constrain some things without an actual dimension in canvas. We just connect the dots between the parameter of the form with a parameter.

Automatic Sketch Dimensions - These kick in when you start creating parameters and elements without tying them to anything specific. Revit guesses what you have in mind. They'll usually only be visible while you are editing a solid/void. They are definitely off by default in Visibility/Graphics. You'll find them under the Annotation Categories tab. I've written about these in the past.

Choice of View - Sometimes the dimension isn't in a view that we'd expect it to be in. For example the stock door template has the width parameter in an elevation view instead of the plan view. I certainly wouldn't expect to find it there. I try hard to put X/Y oriented dimensions in plan views and Z oriented dimensions in elevations, usually Front but occasionally Right.

Visibility/Graphics - Sometimes dimensions are just turned off in the family's views.

2014 Revit OpEd

Post Scraping

I think Revit OpEd is part of a pretty narrow slice of life on the internets. Having that opinion, I find it bewildering how much comment spam it receives. Even more so that there is another blog out there that just scrapes off my stuff here and posts it on their own as their own.

I used to have a link on my list of BIM blogs that pointed to the site, removed it today. Beginning in 2013 it has apparently shifted from writing original work to just using mine. There isn't any older work, copied or original, there now either.

Since the comments are most likely generated by web-bots I imagine this is also true of the blog in question. I'm writing this to see if they scrape this post and add it to their own too. If they do it will prove to me that there isn't an actual person doing the work of creating the replication of my work.

Viewport Title Line

The line that appears along with a Viewport, when you place a view on a sheet, is a property of each viewport type. You get to decide whether you want it to show up or not. It is also the reason you must select the viewport to alter the length of the line, not the view's title annotation, a common mistake or assumption.

Revit will make the line as long as the length (horizontal distance) of the viewport when you place it on a sheet. If you're not careful to clean up a view before adding it to sheet you'll end up with a title line that's far longer than you really wanted.

In some cases people only want the line to be as long as the length of the text in the title. There is no correlation between the title value and the length of the line. It's a close enough situation. You can take a different approach. The font assigned to each view title annotation family can use the Underline option.

Turn off the Viewport title line and alter the viewport's view title family. Reload and you'll get something like this automatically, every time.

Keep in mind the above only deals with the line, not the length of the label itself which affects how soon the text will wrap. You might be able to get away with making the label really long to avoid wrapping at all. More often we need to nest a few labels of different widths to all for short, long and longest title situations where the text should or should not wrap. We then create parameters and types to define which label should be visible. Each type is then associated with a specific Viewport type in the project.

Remember, new to Revit 2015, we can include our own Shared Parameters in Viewport title families. This means we can easily include other kinds of information in a viewport title now. This was a bit more cumbersome in the past.

Testing a plageriser's feed...

2014 Revit OpEd

Space Naming still a Utility

Yes, sadly the Space Naming Utility for Revit MEP 2015 is STILL a utility, as in a separate download AND installation from the Subscription site.

It's just wrong, wrong, wrong...

2014 Revit OpEd

Revit MEP - Wish for a Secondary Option

When we select an electrical panel (Electrical Equipment category) Revit will display the Distribution System parameter on the Options Bar to make it easy to assign one.

I think the Options Bar is suffering from an ongoing case of nobody loves me anymore or at least an identity crisis of sorts. The persistence of the Properties Palette means that there is some redundancy between it and the Options Bar. We can change parameters in either place, Revit doesn't care. It's just a little confusing at first glance, at least for new users...but I digress.

Transformers have a parameter called Secondary Distribution System. I think it is fair to say that this parameter is overlooked easily and often. That's because it is hiding in the Properties Palette in the Electrical - Loads group, along with a bunch of read-only parameters.

Later when we attempt to use Select Panel it pokes us in the eye when we can't choose the transformer. I'd like the Options Bar to respond like this when we select a Transformer. Subtle change but adding it here would make this less subtle.

2014 Revit OpEd

Standards are Unicorns

Pointed to it by Don Rudder (with Case), I read this post titled Programming Sucks on the blog Still Drinking yesterday and loved it, I particularly liked this line:

...The first few weeks of any job are just figuring out how a program works even if you're familiar with every single language, framework, and standard that's involved, because standards are unicorns... (bold is my emphasis)

I can attest to standards are unicorns even in the work I do, let alone programming. I'd be rich if I had a nickel for every time I heard, "Oh, we just use the standard symbol for this".

Another favorite is...

...There's a team at a Google office that hasn't slept in three days. Somewhere there's a database programmer surrounded by empty Mountain Dew bottles whose husband thinks she's dead. And if these people stop, the world burns...

And another, I've not seen this particular approach to WTF, reminds me of my habit of using EyeTee instead of IT.

...You're all up to date, so that's cool, then everything breaks. "Double you tee eff?" you say, and start hunting for the problem...

After reading his essay see if you understand why Revit is different from AutoCAD, and Microstation, and ArchiCAD, and... See if Tom and Harry's feud over units resonates?

I've mentioned it before that Revit and AutoCAD had different biological parents and then Revit got adopted by AutoCAD's parents. Except we need to factor in the world that Still Drinking's author describes.

okay, back to work, here's to hoping those people don't stop and the world doesn't burn!

2014 Revit OpEd

How Many Levels

In Revit 2014 they added Levels to the list of things we can create a schedule for. Working in a project stuck in 2012 I found myself wishing I could use that feature. I really just wanted to know how many levels were actually in the project. I was pretty sure there were more levels than I could see in a section view. I still got my answer but not with a schedule.

I started the process to create a new floor plan view. Revit's dialog has an option to hide levels that already have views. I unchecked the option: Do not duplicate existing views. Now I was sure how many levels were really in the project, more than I suspected.

It really means don't create new views for levels that already have at least one view associated with them. Their phrasing is less wordy but I usually get furrowed brows at first when we discuss the purpose of the option.

Want to speed up creating views? Close all User Created worksets first. Revit will generate the views much quicker when there is nothing to display in them.

2014 Revit OpEd

Installing Revit 2015 Standalone versus Building Design Suite

My friend Simon (works with Autodesk) wrote to let me know he's seen a number of support requests recently regarding the Web Update for Revit 2015. The current situation can be described like this:

• Building Design Suite (BDS) installation does NOT include the Web Update release
• Revit Architect, Structure or MEP installation DOES include the web update release.

If you download BDS and install Revit the update is NOT already part of the installation package and you need to download and apply it separately. Keep in mind that one of the available options for the installation is to download and let the installation apply it as part of the original installation.

If you download Revit Architecture, Structure or MEP separately (not BDS) then the update IS already included in the installation. As I understand it, the version or build that is packaged apart from BDS is different, including the update's changes.

Regardless of the version you install you may get a notice that there is an update available despite having already installed it (like I mentioned in an earlier post). Go with the flow, let the Autodesk Application Manager (APM) try to install the update. It (APM) will fail to do so if the update is installed. It (APM) will be in sync thereafter.

Revit and AutoCAD

It's been 14 years since Revit formally began knocking on the doors of architectural firms. The first response quite often was, "We've already got {insert your software here}, no thanks"! Other responses were, "Really? Let's have a look"! Which was then followed by "Oh gosh, you mean it doesn't do "X" just like {insert your software here}? Well thanks for coming by, good luck"!

As Revit matured there were fewer opportunities for showstopper items. The rejection response or yeah, but response also matured to focus on the practical side of changing an office from this to that. Such as, "We've got all these people who are {insert your software here} experts. We can't justify the time and effort required to move to Revit". Another familiar one, "We've got a decade of {insert your software here} detail and object libraries, we can't possibly be expected to do that all over again." Revit Structure was introduced (2005) and the conversation began again with engineers. A year later Revit Systems (now MEP) started the same dialog for another set of engineers.

When Autodesk decided to buy Revit Technology Corporation they confused many of their own customers who, until then, were using AutoCAD or Architectural Desktop (aka ADT, now AutoCAD Architecture aka ACA). I think Autodesk has a curious relationship with its customers. All too often I meet (and read people's writing) who, regardless how much they like the software they use, are at best ambivalent about being an Autodesk customer, at worst resentful or angry.

Witness some of the comments in response to my earlier post about Revit 2015's new features. Accused of being a monopolistic company or evil empire, we even joke that friends have joined the dark side if/when they are hired by Autodesk. I'm not sure what they can really do to alter this perception, except to suddenly offer their software for free? I suspect the stockholders might object to that move.

With that in mind, it has taken a formidable marketing effort to get Revit where it is today. In my opinion the phrase Building Information Modeling (BIM) was born in part because Autodesk desperately needed to differentiate ADT/ACA from Revit, at least as BIM is defined and expressed by Autodesk. The notion of using computers to help accomplish the broad goals of BIM is nearly as old as computers so it's not a brand new idea.

And yes, other companies lay claim to the doing of BIM and living up to BIM ideals too. It (BIM) just wasn't on the lips of AEC professionals or their clients the way it is today before Autodesk began expressing it in conjunction with Revit. This means Revit was the latest expression of those ideas on a desktop computer instead of a mainframe. Marketing is the telling of a compelling new story to motivate people, to consider changing how they do things, to buy things. Like them or not, Autodesk has done an earnest job of telling the story of BIM and Revit.

One of the many stories we've heard that was meant to help us in our transition was how easily Revit worked with other CAD software's data. Revit was the new kid on the block. What chance did it really have if it couldn't import a DWG or DGN file? Being able to import external data was meant to ease the collaboration with firms that didn't use it as well as the transition from other software.

All these years later I keep reading, "It is necessary to use Revit AND AutoCAD", or "Revit can't be used productively without AutoCAD" or "...since AutoCAD is a superior drafting tool it isn't sensible to use Revit for basic drafting tasks".

It is NOT necessary to use AutoCAD if you use Revit. The error (thinking that it IS necessary) is mistaking necessity with what is merely an available interim approach as we work through the transition from AutoCAD to Revit.

Using AutoCAD to do detailing is NOT optimal because doing it entirely within Revit is integrated within the project more tightly and logically. If you are not efficient drafting in Revit then the implementation is not effective, but it could be. That's not Revit's fault, it is our fault (though it could always ship with a larger stock library). If you'd like some examples of Revit details that are devoid of lines/circles/arcs/text have a look at ARCxl's free samples. If you are looking for a shortcut to build that better implementation then their library might a place to start.

To some degree the perspective, "It's better, faster to draw details in AutoCAD" is a mind over matter issue, not a software issue. We tend to ignore or forget the reality that we've been changed by {insert your software here}, not the other way around. The software doesn't change to suit us. Our use doesn't change the software, we change in response to how it works. If we are fast then it's because we've grown accustomed to it, learned tricks, customized it, built our own library and so on.

It's no different whether we are talking about AutoCAD, Revit, Excel or Word. We do influence what the developers code into the software but we respond to the software and then provide feedback, not the reverse. The only exception is when no code exists and the software is in its infancy. Once code exists we are always dealing with legacy decisions.

When we say that {insert your software here} is faster or better than Revit it really means we know it better, we are more comfortable with it. There was a time that I'd agree I was faster with AutoCAD or Microstation than Revit. That is far from true today. In fact I find AutoCAD to be a very frustrating experience now.

Faster is also a subjective term. What context? Faster sketching a single line? Faster creating an entire detail? Faster for whom? Me myself and I? What about downstream members of the team? What about the hours of design and investigation required to decide what to draw? What if another section is required to figure out what is required to finish that detail? What if the Revit modelling activity helped inform the decisions? What if the ability to create more sections automatically or have a look at the model in 3D provides more insight?

The further we can step back from our experience and bias with a given software the easier it is to see they are all flawed in some way, Revit included. I clearly remember realizing just how convoluted AutoCAD is when I began supporting Microstation users that had to start using it (AutoCAD) instead. They'd just shake their heads at the quirky rules and methodologies that were in stark contrast with Microstation's own quirky rules and methods. They are ALL quirky. Some quirks just happen to match our own thinking or approach better than others.

As for our legacy library of details, we forget or minimize the fact that it didn't happen overnight. It was built project by project. Remember, all the previous details were drawn by hand, right? At this point I think it's a safe bet that, like most libraries I've seen, it could stand some careful weeding or pruning anyway. Maybe it isn't so precious that we can't consider creating Revit native versions now? The sooner we do the sooner each project can be better integrated.

If you take anything away from this post at all I hope it is this:

It is NOT necessary to use AutoCAD to be productive with Revit. Revit does NOT need a software crutch to be useful or a productive good decision for any firm. The longer you pretend that it does or is, the longer you prolong not being as productive as Revit was intended to help you become.

Revit 2015 Web Update 1

With Revit 2015 comes the new Autodesk Application manager. It is intended to help let us know when software updates are available.

When I installed Revit 2015 the other day I downloaded Update Release 1, which is an option during preparatory steps, and let the installation apply the update as soon as Revit 2015 was installed. When that was finished Revit showed the update was installed as expected. This morning the Autodesk Application Manager told me there was an update available and it seemed to think that Update Release 1 should be installed despite my belief otherwise.

I should add that this is the first morning I've been able to use this hard drive in a few days. A hard drive crash derailed some of my progress toward getting things installed last week. That means this is the first day that the Autodesk Application Manager could attempt to tell me about the update. In other words, I'm not saying that it was late telling me about the update. The installation process for Revit offers/shows updates that are already available, so I did already know it existed though.

Since the manager seemed to think I should, I let it attempt to install the update just to see what would happen. After a few minutes it reported that the update was already installed and continuing to install it wasn't necessary. When I acknowledged the message by closing the dialog my New Updates item reported "installed" (as shown in the image above). Quirky but it now appears to be in sync.

As such it seems to me that the Application Manager isn't aware of installation status (not inward looking) just that updates exist (outward looking to Autodesk). If it is really going to live up to the manager name it probably needs to be a bit smarter in this regard.

Revit 2015 Improved Performance

The Revit Clinic's recent post describes how Revit 2015's performance compares with Revit 2014. Here's the graph they provided to compare the results for various operations in both versions.

I find it a bit surprising that Autodesk has not made a bigger deal of this, especially considering the general malaise felt by users to the quantity and specificity of new features. I suppose improving performance isn't a sexy thing to talk about but it seems to matter in racing? Why not with software? It improves the user experience. It's amazing how loooong 1-2 seconds can feel.

Regardless of the number of features I'll always appreciate improved performance...bring it on.

Fun Formulas

Saw this via Twitter. Kirklyn provided an example of practical formulas with Revit. You may not need Revit to make this kind of decision for you but the logic can be applied to other decision making. Do you want a sandwich?

Finding and Loading Content

Dan Stine wrote the other day,more sharing somewhat related to your post…

Finding content: staff often call me asking if we have a “this” or a “that” family. I do a quick search at the highest reasonable folder level in Windows Explorer. Of course, I tell them how I found the content so they can do it themselves next time.

Windows-based previews: Windows Explorer and “File Open” dialogs (see images below) we can Ctrl+Scroll to increase the preview size. [this does not negate the need to clean saved previews as you mention]. Here are some examples.

Reducing Family File Size

We can use Purge Unused on a family as well as a project, assuming Revit finds anything that it thinks can be purged. A family can inherit size from imported CAD data and nested families too. Importing and exploding a CAD source file will add object style sub-categories, line patterns, materials, fill patterns, text styles etc. There may not be any in the family right now but if you didn't create the family from scratch yourself and know everything that it went through until you noticed its size, anything is possible.

I ran into some families recently that were all more than 15 MB each. I first used Save As to create a new family with a new name. This reduced the file size quite a bit. Then I used Purge Unused and between both actions the biggest final file was about 600 KB. If you use Save As on a file and it only decreases in size by about 10 KB then it's about as small as it can get. That's been my observation.

If I really want the original file name to carry on, I just rename it to something like MyFamily-temp.rfa and then rename the original and rename the new one to use the original name again. The key part is the Save As to a different name initially. I've never just overwritten the original though technically I suppose I could do that. I prefer to keep a copy of the original intact, just in case.

Revit 2015 Help is Online

I saw a tweet this morning that said the Revit 2015 Online help is ready to go. I noticed this bit regarding the eTransmit for Revit add-in.

When you transmit a model, you can now select to:

• Include supporting files such as documents and spreadsheets
• Disable worksets
• Delete sheets
• Include only views that are placed on sheets
• Include or exclude types of views such as detail views or sections

Luke (What Revit Wants) provided links to download the various versions of Revit 2015 as well as the fact that there is already a web update 1 for Revit 2015. If you want to use a custom Assembly Code file you'll want to make sure you install the update (per Aaron Maller).

Family Thumbnail View

One little thing you can do to improve the user experience when choosing and loading a family is to prepare the thumbnail view nicely. Revit will use the view that is open (has focus) when you save and close the file to generate the preview we see in the Open Family dialog or in Window's Explorer. Here's an example of a preview for a family in the stock pipe fittings folder.

I really can't tell what it is at all. The connector graphics are making it impossible for me to tell what sort of fitting I'll get when it is loaded. Here's how it looks after I tweak it a bit. Now it is a lot easier to tell what it is.

Most of the stock Revit content already has a 3D view called View 1. If I make a family from scratch I create one too. I make sure I open this view and close others before Saving and Closing the file when I'm done working on it. I caution users to be wary of content that does not have a clean preview, at least if they are using anything I've made. Messy means not done or not ready. Ideally content that isn't ready shouldn't be in a live folder at all but sometimes we get distracted and our own rules or habits aren't followed.

To clean up a family's preview:

• Use Temporary Hide/Isolate to control what is visible in the view.
• Use Thin Lines. (I hide host walls and faces for example)
• Use Detail Level setting to show off the family.
• Use Zoom Region to maximize the important geometry we see in the preview.

It's all meant to make it easier to understand what the family is and decide if it is the one they really want.

If you examine the stock door folder you'll see that most of the families have been oriented so that View 1 is a Front or Back elevation so you can see the panel design head on. I usually prefer a 3D axon orientation because it can give me a better sense of the frame and other proportions. Try to pick an orientation that best describes the family from the user's perspective, whatever will help them decide that this family is the correct family to load.

A cool feature of KiwiCodes Family Browser is that you can use your own custom Thumbnail images. This means you can set your custom library up in a project setting and take advantage of Graphic Styles like shadows and ambient shadows. This image is a sample of Aaron Maller's handiwork for Beck Group. His thumbnails include context and it really helps to understand what the family is, what features it has. He's put more effort into this than anyone I know of so far and I really like it.

It's the little things in life, every little bit helps the end user experience.

Hidden Parameters

Hey we missed an undocumented feature in 2015! Hidden Parameters! Notice the column for Hidden in the dialog?

Maybe a product manager will see this and blink? Sorry it isn't real, it is a mock-up. Yes, it's a few days late for an April Fool's joke.

Daniel Stine and I traded a couple emails recently and part of that conversation included the concept of making parameters hidden. He passed along this image to illustrate his idea.

For background, if we edit a Shared Parameter file with a text editor, something that we are warned not to do in the opening paragraph of the file itself (see the link for Walking on Thin Ice below), we can set a value that causes a parameter to be hidden from the user when the family is loaded into a project.

This technique only works for Shared Parameters and is really only practical for loadable (component) families. You have to set the parameter to hidden BEFORE you use it AND you can't reverse your decision without removing and replacing the parameter. The parameter remains visible while editing a family. It is not visible to users in their project. By not visible I mean it does not appear in the Properties Palette or Type Properties dialog.

I think it IS desirable to have more control over user interaction with parameters. I'd like to be able to make it more obvious which parameters are for their input versus derived from other parameters. Color coding, locked, hidden, and many other ideas have all been discussed over the years. It seems to me that adding a Hidden column would be an interesting way to define how a parameter should be regarded by a project. Certainly less secretive than the existing approach.

Related Posts:
Walking on Thin Ice
Ignore Good Advice
Making Shared Parameters Hidden (from What Revit Wants)

Revit and iTunes are not Friends

Guillaume, a friend who works in Montreal, wrote to me to share an issue they encountered recently.

He wrote:

We noticed a weird issue with one of our Revit projects. The expected (normal) time to open this model was about two and half minutes. On some machines it would take as long as eleven minutes and browsing through the project was rather slow. We also noticed that there was a pronounced lag while working in the model, while zooming and panning on sheets for example.

After systematically isolating every possible cause that we could think of, we found and we have no doubt, that the iTunes suite of software (including “Bonjour” process) is the culprit. We suspect the likely cause of this is that “Bonjour” uses the same port and background process as some parts of Revit, for example Worksharing Monitor.

We tried removing iTunes from the computers that took nine minutes to open the model and it always solved the issue. We also did the opposite. We installed iTunes on machines that opened the project normally and then they took about nine minutes to open. It is the first time I've seen this presented to us so obviously. We are using Revit 2014 primarily. We don't know if this is true for older versions of Revit.

If you are going to start using Revit 2014 by upgrading a project you'll want to be aware of it. If you have had a similar experience then check to see if iTunes is installed. You may need to remove it completely. If you don't allow the installation of iTunes on office computers it shouldn't be an issue. If users can install software then you'll want to check. It's not safe to assume simply having a rule against installing software is enough.

Revit 2015 Subtle Changes

Reading through the AUGIWorld issue for April I saw two new feature items that haven't been published or acknowledged formally by Autodesk yet. First is a change to the formula options and syntax for Logarithm. Here's what it looked like in Revit 2014 and how Revit interpreted/applied the formula to a value.

Here's what it looks like in 2015. Note the new syntax to express a natural logarithm with ln(x), shown for Value3.

The second is really subtle, more a change that was necessary because of the changes to pinned elements. When you create Attached Detail Groups they used to display a Pin to indicate their relationship to a Model Group. They've changed them to display a Paperclip instead. This is what it looks like now.

There are two articles (in AUGIWorld) that discuss the new Revit features. They also mention items that were not included in the final release, a separate Family Browser and MEP to FAB Fabrication Parts workflow. It's my understanding that it was decided that both are not quite ready so they've been pulled for now.

David Light recently wrote down his thoughts about the new release as well as a summary of other posts about the new features (including mine here).

Revit 2015 Feature Review

Daniel Stine contributed a feature review on AECbytes the other day. Be sure to check it out as well. His comments are geared toward getting better acquainted during implementation of the new features.

Read his Article There

Upgrade to Revit 2015

Should you upgrade? Yes!

Not enthusiastic about the new features in 2015? I'm not happy with the scope of what's new in 2015 either but when it becomes available I'll still install it and use it for the very next project and/or upgrade ongoing work too. I'll be happy to do so. I've never regretted installing and using a new release no matter how ambivalent I've been about how well specific changes met my needs or client's needs. Besides, my subscription fee entitles me to it and other new versions (Building Design Suites) so I owe to myself to take advantage of using them and getting as much mileage as I can out of them. It seems like cutting my nose off to spite my face to fail to use it.

Fwiw, I've noticed that I get quite grumpy if I have to use last year's version quite soon after installing and using the latest version. Even more so when I have to use an even older version, like 2012 for example. I'm using a five year old laptop with just 8 GB RAM and so far with Revit 2015 it looks like I can elect to continue to use it for another year. Revit's performance keeps improving with each release in contrast to and in spite of the aging tech of my laptop, at least as long as it (my laptop) continues to want to work...here's hoping it's still happy to hang out with me!

My two cents, I'd upgrade, I'd use it...