Beside the Cursor...

Removing Portions of a Continuous Dimension in Revit

Labels: AEC, Architecture, Autodesk, BIM, Building Information Modeling, Revit, Revit Structure Architecture MEP Autodesk, tips-n-tricks

# posted by Richard Binning : Monday, August 17, 2009 0 comments links to this post

Change your habits to speed up your Revit Model Response

Are you one member of a team who is working in a Revit Model? Wish you could speed up your file access? You can, but you must enlist the help of your team mates. Create a new text based legend and always set it active when you STC. (See image below)



My teams use a legend with the following title: *****Open and Save*****
On this legend you'll find a project "ToDo List", "User Coordination Notes", and more.

We've got three special text styles for use on our ToDo List. A grey version that indicates the item is complete, a black version that indicates a current item, and a red style that identifies something as "Hot" or "Important".

Each open and save operation is much quicker when performed with this view active.

Labels: AEC, Architecture, Autodesk, Revit, Revit Structure Architecture MEP Autodesk, tips-n-tricks, Workflow

# posted by Richard Binning : Friday, August 14, 2009 1 comments links to this post

Revit Tip - Clearing overlapping walls and room separation lines.

Keep your model performing optimally by eliminating conditions that result in overlapping room separation lines and walls. As an aid to assist you in finding these conditions, create a view template with these conditions:

• A graphic override for room separation lines where lines are red and heavy
• Model graphics style: set to wireframe.

Now whenever you need to clean up these conditions, you can apply the view template (see example image below) temporarily and you'll be able to see graphically where the "coincident" conditions exist.

Labels: Revit, Revit Structure Architecture MEP Autodesk, tips-n-tricks, Workflow

# posted by Richard Binning : Thursday, August 13, 2009 0 comments links to this post

AUGI AEC EDGE Magazine is THE Expert Resource for BIM and Revit

Do you want to deliver your projects faster and more efficiently? Then you need to read AUGI AEC Edge. It is jam packed full of industry best practices, best of class Autodesk Revit advice, and case studies and white papers from industry experts.


AUGI AEC Edge is a brand new publication dedicated to delivering mission-critical information to Architects, Engineers, Designers, and Contractors using Autodesk AEC products.




The image above is a screen capture from the AUGI AEC EDGE microsite. Check it out and download your copy today.

Labels: AEC, Architecture, AUGI, BIM, Building Information Modeling, CAD Management, Community, free member benefit, MEP, Revit, Revit Structure Architecture MEP Autodesk, Structure, tips-n-tricks

# posted by Richard Binning : Tuesday, June 23, 2009 0 comments links to this post

Revit Tip - Fillet with Radius

1. Right-Click one of your walls and choose "Create Similar" to launch the Wall tool using the correct family.


2. Click your Sketch Options pull down and pick "Fillet Arc" and then immediately pick your two walls.


3. Now graphically stretch the arc into size.

You could toggle on the Radius option, but why not draw and then modify? It's all about iteration after all!

Labels: AEC, Architecture, AutoCAD, Autodesk, BIM, Building Information Modeling, Revit, Revit Structure Architecture MEP Autodesk, tips-n-tricks, Workflow

# posted by Richard Binning : Thursday, June 11, 2009 0 comments links to this post

Revit Workflow in 3 Easy Steps - Think 3

Think 3. The workflow is clockwise within the Revit editor, no matter what flavor you are using.

ONE (1) - You begin by selecting your tool from the design bar on the far left of Revit's screen. Various palettes are available containing context sensitive tools for use.



TWO (2) - Once you've selected your tool, move your eyes and your mouse to the top of the Revit screen and select/modify the options available in the options bar. You can drill down using the element properties button if necessary, but most of the general properties are available within the options bar itself as shown below.



THREE (3) - Third and final step is to place the element within the design window using the options selected in the previous step.



Note: Some elements like slabs and roofs, require you to complete your sketch within the drawing window and then complete the sketch by picking on the design bar. This is another reason why the workflow resembles a circle drawn clockwise.

Want to learn more? Visit AUGI.com and take an ATP course.

Labels: Autodesk, Revit, Revit Structure Architecture MEP Autodesk, tips-n-tricks, Workflow

# posted by Richard Binning : Wednesday, June 03, 2009 5 comments links to this post

Key Schedules a potential fix for Jumpy Text

Did you catch Donnia's class at AU? If so then you know what key schedules can also be used for in Revit. If not, then Dave B has a good blog post that covers it. Go read his post.

Labels: Autodesk, BIM, Revit, Revit Structure Architecture MEP Autodesk

# posted by Richard Binning : Tuesday, March 03, 2009 0 comments links to this post

Revit Implementation Boot Camp at AU 2008

An all day session on Revit Implementation done Boot Camp Style will be held at AU 2008. Information is not yet available on AU website, but I understand it is coming. This could be really good for those ready to make the plunge....stay tuned for more info as it breaks!

Labels: AEC, Architecture, Revit

# posted by Richard Binning : Wednesday, September 24, 2008 0 comments links to this post

VSTA for Revit Architecture Install - (Think VBA's replacement!)

I installed the recently received Autodesk Revit Architecture 2009 application on my laptop the other day. In browsing the DVD, I noticed a folder titled VSTA. If you want to install the Visual Studio for Applications for use with Revit, pick the bottom installer option for tools and utilities as shown below.



I didn't see any mention of this in the documentation, readme, or the installer for the basic product. I did see reference and tutorials in the SDK install, but one has to know to look for these. I found a cryptic mention of this in the New Features Workshop. If you look in the Revit Architecture Help file, you'll find mention of "Creating Macros with Revit VSTA"...grab Gregory Arkin's pdf version using the link below.

Install Steps:

1. Install the Revit Product First
2. Go back to first page of installer and then install the VSTA tools.

The install is much improved in this release...much faster too!

Now lets see how it runs.....

Note: The product install forces an install of Design Review 2009. This may impact those of you running the BIM Smart Library by Reed Construction Data. If you create a deployment, you can potentially modify the installation.

Links: Looks like other sites have more info on this.
Check out

• AUGI Forums,
  
• Green Revit,
• Matt Masons Blog,
• Attend Webcast 06 May 2008,
  
• BimBoom,
• DevTV Video
• PDF Guide
• Jimmy Bergmarks Blog
  

Labels: Architecture, BIM, Building Information Modeling, CAD Management, Revit, VBA

# posted by Richard Binning : Wednesday, April 30, 2008 2 comments links to this post

Creating New Build Deployments - Tips

When a new build is available for Revit, you'll probably want to get it installed as quick as possible, but who wants to wait for all the content to be installed? During your client deployment creation select "skip content creation" and create your deployment. Aha...that seemed easy enough but unfortunately, this may result in your new build not finding the various libraries that you intend your users to utilize.

Here is a tip for you: You can predefine all the correct file locations by editing an ini file.

Navigate to your new deployment, find the "Revit Building" folder inside the "Revit Setup" folder within the "Admin Image" folder. There you will find a file named Revit.ini. This file gets copied to your hard drive's program folder when the deployment is run, so make your standard changes to this file prior to pushing your installs.

You can predefine the file locations by adding them to this ini file. Find the strings between [Directories] and [Design Pane] and edit them to point at your company standard folders.

Ex:

[Directories]
AccuRenderRoot=\\BIM\apps\Data\Office Library\RAC
2008\Content\Rendering\AccuRenderRedistDefaultTemplate=\\BIM\apps\Data\Office
Library\RAC 2008\Content\Imperial
Templates\default.rteFamilyTemplatePath=\\BIM\apps\Data\Office Library\RAC
2008\Content\Imperial TemplatesDataLibraryLocations=Imperial
Library=\\BIM\apps\Data\Office Library\RAC 2008\Content\Imperial Library, Metric
Library=\\BIM\apps\Data\Office Library\RAC 2008\Content\Metric Library, Imperial
Detail Library=\\Bim\apps\Data\Office Library\RAC 2008\Content\Imperial
Library\Detail Components, Metric Detail Library=\\BIM\apps\Data\Office
Library\RAC 2008\Content\Metric Library\Detail Components, Training
Files=\\Bim\apps\Data\Office Library\RAC 2008\Content\Training, Haskell
Standards=\\Bim\apps\Data\Office Library\Haskell
StandardsMaterialLibraryLocations=..\Data\MaterialsProjectPath=C:\Revit_LocalImportLineweightsNameDWG=\\BIM\apps\Data\Office
Library\Haskell
Standards\DataFiles\importlineweights-HASKELL.txtExternalParameters=\\BIM\apps\Data\Office
Library\Haskell Standards\Shared Parameters\Issue_Date.txt
[DesignPane]

This will keep all your users accessing a consistent set of standard files.

Note: The installer doesn't appear to overwrite an existing Revit.ini file in that same location, so be sure to uninstall the previous build or rename this file prior to running the new deployment.

Labels: Architecture, Autodesk, MEP, Revit, Structure

# posted by Richard Binning : Friday, January 18, 2008 0 comments links to this post

Under the Radar indeed...isn't this SP4?

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy that the "January incident" is fixed, but giving this latest build the identity of SP3 leaves the original SP3 build of 20071109_2345 lost to history. I celebrated that build because of the things it fixed and because it was the first time that I didn't have to wait for the MEP release to be posted. If you saw my blog on November 19th, you'll remember the party that was thrown!

Nevertheless, the "Failed to open document" error is no more with the latest release, so create your deployments and announce them to your users. Now get back to work!

Labels: Architecture, Autodesk, BIM, MEP, Revit, Structure

# posted by Richard Binning : Thursday, January 10, 2008 0 comments links to this post

The January Fix for REVIT Products is In...under the radar!

Looks like the fix for problems associated with the Jan 2008 bug are now available. Had problems recently opening older files? Trouble editing schedules or groups?...Install the latest build 20080101_2345 to fix these problems and more! It is definitely time to upgrade and install the latest Revit Builds! Learn about and download the latest builds using the links below.

Click on the Web Update Enhancement List links below to read about the changes and fixes provided in the latest builds.

• Download the Architecture Web Update Enhancement List.
• Download the Structure Web Update Enhancement List.
• Download the MEP Web Update Enhancement List.

Want to download the latest English builds directly? Get it/them at Autodesk by clicking on these links:

• Revit Architecture 2008 Build: 20080101_2345
• Revit Architecture 2008 for AutoCAD Suite Build: 20080101_2345
• Revit Structure 2008 Build: 20080101_2345
• Revit Structure 2008 for AutoCAD Suite Build: 20080101_2345
• Revit MEP 2008: 20080101_2345
  

Don't forget to read up on the content changes. I'll include this important reminder until the next full release.

Thank You Autodesk for understanding the need to release all the disciplines tools at the same time!...

Labels: Architecture, AutoCAD, Autodesk, BIM, Building Information Modeling, CAD Management, MEP, Revit, Structure

# posted by Richard Binning : Wednesday, January 09, 2008 0 comments links to this post

Stagger your STCs, use High Speed LAN, Face Based Families and more

1. High Speed LAN Required - 100mbs is just not enough...standardize on 1GB LAN...Anyone working with black fiber?


2. Stagger STC for Teams - Ensure that Save to Centrals are done on set intervals at different times for each team member.


3. Provide Dedicated Server for BIM/Revit Projects


4. When using multiple disciplines in a single model, ensure that hosted families are used only where necessary...otherwise Face based is the choice du jour.

Labels: BIM, CAD Management, Revit

# posted by Richard Binning : Tuesday, January 08, 2008 0 comments links to this post

Revit Uses Relative Links on Network

Did you know that by default Revit uses relative links when importing other files? While this may or may not be news to you, it does require you to think when moving or copying files to new destinations on your network.



Lesson: Don't assume that Revit will remember the full path and filename of linked files.





Sidenote: This opens up possibilities for remapping drive letters, using dos subst commands etc.

Labels: Architecture, Autodesk, BIM, Revit

# posted by Richard Binning : Tuesday, December 18, 2007 0 comments links to this post

New SP3 Revit Builds Available - All co-released! (20071109_2345)

It has happened. All three releases on the same build at the same time! It is definitely time to upgrade and install! Learn about and download the latest builds using the links below.

Click on the Web Update Enhancement List links below to read about the changes and fixes provided in the latest builds.

• Download the Architecture Web Update Enhancement List.
• Download the Structure Web Update Enhancement List.
• Download the MEP Web Update Enhancement List.

Want to download the latest English builds directly?
Get it/them at Autodesk by clicking on these links:

• Revit Architecture 2008 Build: 20071109_2345
• Revit Structure 2008 Build: 20071109_2345
• Revit MEP 2008: 20071109_2345

Be sure to read up on the content changes. I guess the renaming wasn't complete when they released the last build. Hopefully this will be the last.

It is a party now that all disciplines are on the same build....

Labels: Architecture, BIM, CAD Management, MEP, Revit

# posted by Richard Binning : Monday, November 19, 2007 0 comments links to this post

Identify Revit Builds Painlessly

I thought you might be able to use a tool to identify what Revit build is sitting on your pc. If so, continue reading...

1. Are you a CAD/BIM manager responsible for installing and updating Revit on multiple computers?


2. How about a quick way to check all the Revit Build Numbers on each computer without actually launching Revit?

Sounds good right? Download the zip file containing a short vbscript routine and run it on each machine that has Revit installed. It will display a web page with all the build information for each Revit product installed. It will look more or less like the image shown below.

Want to capture info from multiple computers?

1. Search the code for the following string: "c:\BTC\revitbuild.log"


2. Replace it with a path to file somewhere on your network.


3. Make sure to create the file in the appropriate folder


4. Every machine that runs the script will now append it's info to the log file.

Lather, rinse, repeat....

Labels: CAD Management, manager, Revit, tips-n-tricks

# posted by Richard Binning : Friday, November 02, 2007 0 comments links to this post