Inside the Factory

A Case for Software Updates

When faced with the "Restart your computer to finish installing important updates" Windows pop-up, I think it's universal to click on the Postpone button. "I'll get to it later," you think to yourself, but sooner or later it's been days and that pesky reminder is still haunting you. Most of us do it; I'll personally admit to having gone weeks before finally taking 5 minutes to reboot. 5 minutes that would have saved me quite a bit of frustration and let Mike, our IT guy, sleep easier at night.

In an effort to change my habits (and possibly yours too), I'm going to tell you two Revit stories that show why regular software updates are so important and the good stuff you get when you take the time to update your software.

 

Story #1 - A Case of Better Performance

The Revit team runs thousands of nightly performance checks. Every day we have an accurate measure of how Revit is performing compared to the day before and compared to previous releases. Our goal - make Revit faster every day.

So imagine our extreme disappointment when one morning Revit view update is suddenly a whole bunch slower. The usual suspect: a component integration. Or is it? We can't reproduce the degradation on some computers. I'm thinking: now it's going to be difficult... Then someone suggests something - have we tried updating the graphics card driver? Somewhat to our surprise, it works! The updated component interacted badly with the outdated driver on the machines. By updating the driver, not only did we gain back all of the performance degradation from the component integration, but we crushed the Revit 2015 numbers. Here are the improvements we saw (thanks to Scott Blouin for the numbers):

Food for thought: Revit doesn't work in isolation - other software has bugs too. 30%+ faster performance may be just a driver upgrade away.

 

Story #2 - A Case for Greater Stability

Anthony explained MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) in a previous post. I'd like to use some MTBF numbers as a data point to show why updating to the latest update release of Revit might keep you happier.

Update Releases (URs) contain critical bug fixes to the Revit software. This includes things like security patches, functionality fixes, and especially crash fixes. Each UR makes the software safer and more stable and the Revit team highly recommends installing the latest update. Each UR includes a list of fixed issues. If you're curious, here's the list for 2015 UR7. Code word for crash fix is "Improves stability."

When broken down for each update release, the Revit 2015 MBTF numbers below show a clear trend. Note: a couple of URs are not in this chart due to low adoption.

Revit 2015 UR3+ is approximately two times as stable as the originally released version of 2015. That means that users on UR3+ crash approximately half as often. That's a lot of work saved.

It's still early for UR5+, but we expect to see numbers that are consistently higher than UR3 as adoption grows.

Food for thought: Revit URs are designed to fix critical bugs and improve stability. MTBF is just one measure of how much impact they can have.

We'll keep making Revit faster and more stable, but in the meantime, happy updating!

Sasha Crotty

Bucky Bim

I sit next to Zach Kron here at the Factory. One thing Zach and I talk quite a bit about is the “hands on” approach to parametric modeling in Revit/Vasari vs. the more abstract approach of applications like Grasshopper and Generative Components. Zach calls this the “geometers” approach. That is, using good ol’ fashioned drawing techniques to define the base geometry and relationships. This keeps one very close to the actual geometry, versus the abstraction of spaghetti diagrams and the inaccessibility of code for those of us without comp-sci degrees.

For a while now I have been somewhat obsessed with the notion of building a parametric geodesic dome in Revit. I was originally inspired by David Light’s winning DesignByMany submission for Bucky’s Dymaxion House (which, by its geometry, can take advantage of standard divided surfaces. I quickly found that geodesic domes cannot be built using stock divided surfaces.) Also, I just love geodesic domes. I visited Bucky’s own Biosphere in Montreal this summer and committed myself to figuring out a way to build one in Vasari without writing any code.

The following video shows my technique, including an aspect of 3D snapping to surfaces that was pleasant surprise to me (and Zach as well!)

Coda: After building this model, I came across George Mokhtar and Iwan Peverett at BimAcadamy  who took a very similar approach. Interestingly, they generated their icosahedron as a pseudo solid using formulae. This seems a bit more efficient than my technique of stitching the intermediate components across the golden rectangles.

Another Coda: And just last week the BIM Troublemaker made some trouble with a stellated dodecahedron in Revit (sweet!) Yet another (probably more efficient) way to explore building this dome.

_tom    

 

Visualizing Revit Journals

Revit has had journal files from the very beginning.  The main use was to assist in test coverage by allowing the Quality Analyst to record common use cases for later play back against future builds protecting functionality.  Journals were a testing force multiplier.

As journals used VBscript we've successfully modified them to read from text files to automate sheet creation, model geometry, and upgrade families.

In this post I'm going to share an idea to use a journal to visualize command usage and sequence - something of great interest to a software designer as it could uncover patterns of usage and common workflows.  I'll mention that Autodesk does collect command frequency usage via our CIP program but this can only tell you how often a command is used.  More meaningful usage data remains ellusive but not in journals.

Process a Journal File

To get the data I need I just want a list of all commands in the order they occur and nothing else.  A journal file contains this but its lost in the noise. Here is a line that contains a command:

Jrn.Command "Internal" , "Create a default 3D orthographic view. , ID_VIEW_DEFAULT_3DVIEW"

What I want is the last command ID or description - in this case the creation of a default 3D view.

To condense a journal file a there is a great text processing tool in Perl.  I downloaded the free version of Activeperl and here is a good perl reference.

I created "process_journal.pl" which contains the following code:

open(OUT,">JournalProcessed.txt") or die "Can't open $filename to write";

open(INPUT, "journal.txt") or die "Can't open journal.txt";

while (<INPUT>)

{

  $this_line = $_;
  if (/Jrn.Command\s*".+?"\s*,\s*"(.+?)\s*,\s*(\w+)"/) {

  # $1 is command description, $2 is ID

  print OUT $2 . " " ;

  }

}

close INPUT;

In pseudo code:

• open journal.txt
• read a line
• look for the lines that have "Jrn.Command" and extract the description and command ID storing these in two variables $1 and $2
• Print out the variable $2(Command ID) to a new file JournalProcessed.txt and add a trailing space
• loop through  journal.txt

The output of JounralProcessed.txt looks like this:

ID_STARTUP_PAGE ID_FILE_NEW_WITH_TEMPLATE1 ID_FAMILY_NEW ID_REVIT_FILE_CLOSE...

It's a long string of command IDs separated by spaces.

Visualization

With a little searching I found someone has done the heavy lifting for me on the IBM Manyeyes website.  On this site you can upload tables and choose many pre-baked visualizations.  In my case I didn't even need a table!  Their "Phrase net" visualization only requires only a block of text.  The Phrasenet renders words with the font size relative to the word frequency and connects these using directional arrows that are also weighted by the relative number of connections.  A lot of data is encoded using this simple method.

Real World Test

So now I have a tool that can process a journal and another that can help me look at it.  The next question is "What to look at?"  Every journal file is different depending on the task at hand.  I could look at journal files from different disciplines or compare files from different phases in a project (creation vs. editing)

For this post I'll process a journal donated by co-conspirator Zach over at Buildz.  He gave me the journal file used to make TROGDOR the Burninator.  Here is trogdor in all his incendiary glory:

Here is a snippet of the processed journal:

ID_REVIT_FILE_NEW ID_FAMILY_NEW ID_OBJECT_3D_CURVE ID_ZOOM_IN ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_OBJECT_POINT ID_OBJECTS_CURVE_CIRCLE ID_SKETCH_PLANE_TOOL ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_EDIT_SCALE ID_BUTTON_DELETE ID_EDIT_SCALE ID_EDIT_SCALE ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_SKETCH_PLANE_TOOL ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_SKETCH_PLANE_TOOL ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_ZOOM_IN ID_OBJECTS_CURVE_LINE ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_OBJECT_POINT ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_SKETCH_PLANE_TOOL ID_OBJECTS_CURVE_CIRCLE ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_EDIT_UNDO ID_EDIT_UNDO ID_EDIT_UNDO ID_EDIT_UNDO ID_IMAGE_WIREFRAME ID_BUTTON_SELECT ID_BUTTON_DELETE ID_BUTTON_DELETE ID_BUTTON_DELETE...

and visualized in ManyEyes:

We can see heavy use of Select, ESC, Points, Sketch Plane, and Zoom.  Points are by far selected the most and the sketch plan tool has a high affinity with drawing lines (id_objects_curve_(circle))

The visualization allows me to select nodes and move them around.  Here is a different arrangement:

And a link to the live visualization so you can play yourself:

Happy visualizing!

_erik

Revit Spaghetti

Back in September, a little Revit add-in named Dynamo made the rounds through the blog/twitter-sphere. Dynamo is an early exploration into programming for Revit. It was created by Ian Keough, Solution Architect at Vela systems. Ian developed some serious Revit chops while working as an engineer at Buro Happold. He created Dynamo in his spare time and released it as an open source project under the Apache license on gitHub. Dynamo allows you to place and control family instances hosted on points using a familiar node wiring diagram interface – instead of having to write code. The installation is a bit wonky, so here are the steps:

1. Go to the Dynamo repository on github.
2. Click on DynamoInstall or DynamoInstall_32bit (depending on your Revit install)
3. Click on Release
4. Click on both the msi file and setup.exe. For each, click “View Raw” and that will allow you to download the file
5. Run setup.exe and restart Revit. I will post instructions soon on getting it going in Vasari.

Ian clearly admits: It’s incredibly buggy, feature incomplete, and completely undocumented. Regardless, this little science project is really cool and has generated a lot of interest internally as well as at Autodesk University last month. If you were were not lucky enough to attend Matt Jezyk and Zach Kron’s “Energizing Supermodels” course at AU, stay tuned. We will soon share some more cool stuff you can do with Dynamo. In the meantime, I put together a short video to introduce the add-in and show how to get started.

_tom

Intersecting Roofs

Taking a break from news and design to share some techniques for roof making in Revit.

In northern climates roofs are often steeply pitched to shed snow.  Many structures in New England have collapsed because they failed to follow that simple move.   In this post I'll explore some methods to create this particular pitched roof condition:

One method is to create two roofs and join them.

Joined Roofs

First create a footprint roof.

Next create an extrusion roof choosing a vertical workplane. In the example below the pitch is the same as the main roof and the bottom of the roof sketch starts at the top of the main roof eave soffit.

Once the extrusion roof is created you can adjust its start and end points and use the Join/Unjoin Roof  tool to attach the far end of the extrusion to the face of the main roof.

There are a couple issues with this setup.

1. The main roof is still present under intersecting roof. If the roof is not made from trusses you must use the Dormer Opening tool or an in-place void family to cut it out.
2. If you want the fascia of the intersecting roof to be aligned with fascia of the main roof you will see the following error when you attempt to align them:

Revit doesn't like this condition yet there are always alternatives...

Roof Shape Editing

Below I deleted the intersecting roof, removed the slope arrows from the main roof, and used the shape editing tools to Add Split Lines as my ridge lines.  The Modify Sub Elements tool can then move points up to the desired height.

Roof Slope Arrows

Last I'll share a rather obscure and old way of achieving this roof that might help you win a revit knowlege contest at AU next season.

In this scenario you make a roof sketch with 3 lines on the south boundary - two slope defining and one not.  Next over the non-slope line draw two slope arrows that point to each other.  For accuracy I drew one slope line, set the properties for its head and tail, then mirrored it to create its twin.

The fasicas are aligned, the space under the perpendicular roof is open and all with one sketch!

I'm certain there are other ways to acheive this condition.  Feel free to share or point out other posts on the net.

_erik

Write your first Revit plugin - in VB, at AU and beyond!

We posted back in May about the My First Revit Plug-in Series.  This is a great way for all of you non-programmer types to get your feet wet (and I mean SOAKED) in the Revit API. Now they have added VB.net samples to help lower the bar even further. The explanations in the lessons are still written for C#, but now depending on your language preference you can now follow along in VB.Net.

And if you are so inclined, a little event called Autodesk University is going on right now in a quite corner of Nevada. If you were not able to make it out there this week, starting today is AU Virtual. There are a number of courses related to coding in the Revit API. Check out the archive as well, which includes an Introduction to the Revit API from AU 2010.

Happy Coding!

_tom

Vasari Talk

I know most of the readers of this blog are already Revit black belts. However, if you, or some of your colleagues, are new to the concept of energy modeling, you may want to consider tuning in for our Vasari Talk webinar on Wednesday at 11:30 Eastern (-5 GMT.)  This is the first part of a three part series. We will begin by covering inputs, then analyzing and interpreting outputs and finally creating a simulation strategy for your project.

Apologies for the late notice, but we are recording the sessions. Past sessions are available on our wiki site as well. Hope to see you there!

_tom

Friday Fun: Tweaking Parameters with Sliders

As many of you may have already noticed, Vasari 2.1 just dropped yesterday. Even though we have been launching a new version of Vasari about four times a year since November, we still wanted a way to get some new cool stuff in front of users even faster. So, as part of this release, we also launched a Works in Progress page on our wiki. The first (of hopefully many) WIP is a small add-in created for Vasari 2.1 by our summer intern that launches a modeless window with sliders that represent all numeric (number, length, angle, etc.) parameters in your model. It works in both the project (by selecting instances) or in the massing family editor. There are a few bugs, including one that will crash the entire application when switching between two open files - but that is what puts the "P" in WIP! So we recommend not using this on any production files. Which BTW, goes for Vasari as a whole anyway, since it is a tech preview.  Have fun! 

 

_tom

Autodesk BIM Workshop

We are excited to announce the launch of the Autodesk BIM Workshop. This online experience was created to help prepare the next generation of architecture, engineering, and construction management students for professional practice. The site has an abundance of learning material, videos, and exercises designed to educate on BIM and sustainable design practices along with Integrated Project Delivery concepts.

Rotate 2012

Months back I posted on Revit rotate behavior (Twist and shout).  In the post we explored options for addressing some wishes, mainly better control over the specification of the center of rotation.

The feedback from this post helped inform the addition of some new behaviors to 2012 and the design approach.  In the approach we tried to maintain existing workflows for those who found the default behavior workable yet add enhancements allowing experts to quickly take full control.

So what is new in 2012?

New control behavior

The little blue rotate control that you could previously drag to re-position now allows repositioning with a two click operation.  "Click" "Click" instead of "Press" "Hold" "Release". The drag behavior will still work for those with strong muscle memory since both behaviors are compatible.

Option bar commands

The option bar now displays two choices for the center of rotation "Place" and "Default"

The former will place the center on the pointer and allow you to define the center manually - especially handy when rotating large elements that might have a center off-screen.

The later is the legacy behavior where the center is placed at the centroid of the element.

The tooltips and status bar were updated to provide further clues to the added behavior.

Spacebar

The above UI improves discoverability of the new behaviors for new users but could easily be viewed as more work by experts so more was done.  The spacebar has long been used to rotate components in selection or during placement and can now be used to quickly switch between the two rotation behaviors.  Type "RO" for rotate, tap the spacebar and you are in 3-click rotate.

Keyboard Shortcut

A shortcut for 3-point rotate was defined "R3".  Select an element and type R3 and you are in 3-click rotate.

Has anyone been using the enhanced rotate in 2012?  Are new Revit users able to perform a 3 point rotate?  Are experts also happy?  I'm curious to gain feedback on the approach and final design solution.

_erik

 

2012 Little Things: Dialog Launchers

A very subtle change yet one more crossed off a list of places we know of that can benefit from this type of UI:

In the type properties of views you can specify tags.  In previous releases you would see a list of tag types but if you wanted to make a new type you would have to exit the type dialog and go to the Manage tab to create a new tag type there.  Not convenient.  in 2012 you can jump to the Tag Type dialog directly from the View Type dialog.

 

View Type dialog and new launcher control

 

Destination: Tag Type dialog

 

Previous Single Access to Tag Type Dialog

_erik

2012 Little Things: Shortcuts

Introduced in 2011 keyboard shortcuts got a graphical UI and with it the ability to define shortcuts on the fly. The commands exposed to the feature were also expanded to include contextual commands, application menu and other areas.  In 2012 we came back and picked off a few more items on the punch list.

Single Shortcuts

In 2011 expert shortcut users noticed something they didn't like.  The shortcut feature displayed all matches and allowed the arrow keys and spacebar to make a selection as before yet single letter shortcuts used to always sort first in the order.  When there were multiple matches but in 2011 they appeared last in the sort order.  Clever to the end you discovered that by manually editing the XAML file and write protecting it the issue could be mitigated but I am happy to report in 2012 this workaround is no longer needed.  The pre 2011 sort behavior is restored.  You can now define a single shortcut like "Z" for zoom and it will appear first even if there are other matches like "ZA", or "ZF".  Type "Z" then spacebar and voila.

Duplicate Shortcut Warning

In 2011 if you define a shortcut that creates a duplicate we post a warning.  Duplicates are still allowed  and can be found by sorting the list by the "shortcuts" column header.

Note: For some time we have been making an effort to ensure that warnings are reworked to be more informative.  The dialog below could have said "Warning! Duplicate Shortcut Created".  We now try to provide more information to help you understand what was done, what will happen, and the names of related elements so you can make a better decision - in this case the offending shortcut letter and command it is assigned to.  The more a dialog communicates the less you have to remember - the system is less cognitively demanding. We also try to not to be too verbose, yell at you, or use a condescending tone.

Export all commands (including undefined)

This is one for those of you that want to define everything free of a friendly yet slower graphical interface.

In previous versions we allowed export but only of defined commands.  This allowed commands to be easily transferred but didn't help if the aim was to make the definitions in excel or a XAML editor.

While I don't expect the calls for a command line to completely stop we've come a long way from R2009.

; )

_erik

View Templates

While conducting some research on view I am reminded of some behavior regarding view templates that is worth sharing.

View templates are located in the ribbon View tab.

A template is a set of view properties saved off under a name much like a type in a family.

The commands:

Apply Template to Current View: Allows you to choose a saved template and apply its properties to the active view.  This is also available in the project browser view context menu.

Apply Default Template to Current View: Each view has a property "Default View Template".  This can be set to a saved view template or "None" the default.  When one runs this command the template is applied to the active or selected view.  This is often used to enforce certain visibility in a set of views. The command can be issued from the project browser view context menu while multiple views are selected.

Create Template from Current View: This makes a new template.  On running the command the values from the current view are copied to the template after you specify a name.  Once the template is saved you can edit its settings from the View Templates dialog.  Future edits to the source view can not affect the saved template - its a one-time copy

ViewTemplate Settings: This is where all the templates are stored.  You can rename, delete and duplicate saved templates as well as edit their settings.

Tip: One non obvious feature can be seen when applying a view template to a view:

Here we see a choice to "automatically apply this template to views of the same type".  To say this another way the option allows you to specify this template as the default settings for new views of the same view type as the one you are applying the template to.  e.g. If you are applying the template to a plan view then the next time you create a plan view it will start with this settings.  ...a bit subtle if you ask me.

This brings up a question for me.  When creating new views how do you desire to specify the view settings?

• The current behavior
• A setting dialog that allows you to specify a default template for each view type
• Ask if you want to apply a template at view creation
• Something else?

Currently most views are created by placing symbols and the scale or other options use a default that can be changed in the option bar.  Only 2D views like Legend or Drafting views ask for a name and scale during creation. In a multi-discipline environment it might be nice to choose a view template at creation but it might also be more interruptive.  The view settings in a MEP or Structure Plan view differ greatly from an Architectural plan view.

Curious to hear everyones' thoughts on this matter.

_erik

 

 

Section Perspectives

Another semester of Revit instruction comes to a close.  I'll share some of the best student work soon.  In one of the later classes we cover presentation techniques and one topic covered are section perspectives.  I'll illustrate the steps for creating one of these and share some tips to make setup easier.

Step 1 - Create a new camera view.  Once I have my desired angle I'll tile(WT) this view with a plan view and zoom both (ZA).

Step 2 - Next click in the perspective window to activate it and enable the section box in the Properties Palette where the view properties should display by default.

At this point you will see the section box enabled in the view.  If the camera is close to the model or the perspective is an interior shot parts of the section box may be outside the view frustum (field of vision defined by the camera).

This is not a problem when you have a plan view tiled.  By selecting the section box it will display in the plan view and when you activate the plan view you will get the controls to adjust it.

 

Step 3 - Next adjust the extents of the section box.  Activate the plan view with the section box selected and adjust the extent controls.

 
At this point all of the faces of the section box may be visible in the perspective view so you can make future adjustments there.  The trick in the beginning though is to use two views.

Selecting something in one view will select it everywhere.  Try selecting a window in the model while you have a window schedule tiled.   For system elements like cameras and section boxes selection will enable their display in all other visible views.

Below I show how you can also display the camera in the plan view by selecting the crop boundary in the perspective view. This can be used to reposition the camera but be careful to not move the camera so it looks away from the section boxed model!

 _erik

Addendum.  Scott Davis gave me another solution you can try.

I like to use the “steering wheel rewind technique” First, set up a camera where you want and open the perspective.  Next, turn on the section box in the perspective view.  Then use the view cube, and click on a corner of the cube to align the view orthogonally.  (yes, your perspective will be gone…temporarily)  Next, adjust your section box to clip off the portions you want to remove. Use the view cube to move around the model to help in placement/adjustment of the section box.  Finally, use the "Rewind" tool on the Steering Wheel to rewind back to the perspective view.  Viola!  The view resets, but the section box remains where you adjusted it to.  Just another way to do it!

Thanks Scott!

 

Tips from the Trenches - Enhancing Your Sky

 

Time again for another Tip from the Trenches. Thanks again to Emmanuel Di Giacomo, BIM Technical Advisor CSE based in France.

Enhancing Your Sky

 

Basic 3D views are very simple to achieve and can be really attractive. But did you know that you could enhance then by 2 or 3 simple clicks? Just adding an artificial sky…

Let's see how to achieve that with the project below.

To start, first click at the bottom of your 3D View window on the "Shadows button" on select the "Graphic Display" item from the drop up menu.

The Graphic Display options dialog box will then appear. Just check the "Gradient Background" check box in order to activate the sky visibility.

You can also change the default Sky colors by clicking on the "Sky Color" button. The Horizon color will be the second gradient color. Let's for example change the sky color as shown below.

Here's the kind of result that you should get. Nice isn't it?

Can you remember this request a few years ago for having the ability to put this kind of Gradient background on an elevation view? Well, this is not directly possible but we have an easy tip that will help you achieve it. Read details below.

Switch to your 3D axonometric view.

On your Full Navigation Wheel, click on the small arrow located at the bottom, then choose the "Orient to View" item and finally select the "South Elevation" (for example) item.

The view will be correctly oriented.

You can hide the section box by right clicking on top of it and "Hide in View > Element". You can also activate the "Drop Shadow" Options.

Once the shadows activated, you can proceed as in our first step on the perspective view. This is what you should approximately get.

You can then drop this view on a Sheet. The only issue is that you won't be able to get the Level symbols and to annotate it.

To do so, you will have to superimpose 2 views on a printing sheet. One Standard Elevation View with all its annotations as shown below + one Axonometric oriented view with its gradient background.

+

To get the Gradient Background View empty, and be able to position on a Print Sheet, you'll have to deactivate all categories except floors, and hide all upper floors. Just keep the ground floor in order for Revit Architecture to understand that the view is not empty.

Then, create a Print Sheet, whatever format is needed for your project. Drop your 3D empty view on top of it.

Revit Architecture will propose you to center your currently being dropped elevation view exactly at the place it should be with the help of some intelligent flashing axis, see below. Release the mouse button once you're OK.

This is what you should get. You can now refine your presentation by redefining the crop limits of your Gradient Background. Just activate the view and set it correctly.

Like this…

And this is the final result!

 

Palette and Element Creation

Some History

In 2011 with the introduction of the properties palette we implemented more pre-setting of properties on placement.  Internal these are called "Dummy" elements since they are not real until an instance is placed.  They are stand-ins like crash test dummies.

Take the case where you are drawing a duct.  The reason that you can set the size and elevation of the duct is because a temporary duct is “created” (maybe not placed, but created) and you are actually setting the size and elevation of that temporary duct. When you go to place another element those “last used” properties are remembered from that temporary element and those becomes the defaults for the “next” element to be placed.  The same is true of wall base offset.

Prior to the 2011 release, for most “loadable” categories (the categories which support loading an .rfa file as the thing being placed, which is different from things like duct, pipe, and wire) MEP didn’t implement these “temporary” elements. As an example of this if you start 2010 and start to place an electrical device and go to instance properties, you’ll notice that the dialog is completely empty (no properties, nothing, type properties are there, but nothing for the instance).

The Issue
As implementation of the properties palette began; people noticed that for a number of categories the palette was empty, which completely negated its usefulness when placing certain dummy-less elements. The solution was perceived to be quite simple, since we already had it for other elements. Unfortunately in the case of face based families, there is both a type parameter (Default Elevation) and an instance parameter (Elevation). From above, the rule is for placement to remember the last used value, so if Elevation was previously set to 18” it’s going to be set to 18” next time as well (regardless of what the Default Elevation parameter says). 

There were additional issues that have been identified but are really the same problem. There are a number of people who, for different family types supplied different instance parameter values. For example on a Lighting fixture I have a parameter called "Load" and it is an instance parameter. I have two types for this family, a 2x4 type and a 2x2 type. In family editor, for the 2x4 I set the Load value to 96, and for the 2x2 I set the load value to 50. This worked fine in 2010 and previous releases, but because of the new rule about remembering instance parameters, when I change types the load value will NOT change, as it is now remembered. There affected all the verticals but might have been most visible in MEP since it used this “lack of functionality” more than others generally did. This is a case where we gave MEP users the ability to specify instance parameters before placing the instance, which they’d never had before, and of course might have loved, but it turns out to be otherwise.  There is a phrase about how roads in the nether regions are paved with good intentions.

The Solution

For the web update 2 we enabled an ini setting to adjust this behavior.

To do this:
Browse to wherever you have Revit installed and open Revit.ini with your favorite text editor. Search the file for the term "UserInterface". If a string of "UserInterface" is found it should be in brackets, and if it is, somewhere below that (but before another bracketed term) enter the string"ResetInstParamsPerTypeFor2011DummyInst = 1"(sans quotes) on a blank line
If the term "UserInterface" is not found then at the end of the file paste in the following:
[UserInterface]ResetInstParamsPerTypeFor2011DummyInst = 1

I’d like everyone who can to set this and continue testing as normal to see if there are any issues.  It mainly affects certain types of loadable families.  The ini setting will be valid for all alpha releases as well if you are participating there.

So far the setting appears to address the issue for those who were affected by the 2011 change.  To make the fix permanent we want to ensure it does not adversely affect people who were not seeing the issue and so we would like more people to enable it.

_erik

Shortcuts | Best Practices

I've caught up on reviewing some issues that were introduced in 2011.

One occurs when a single letter shortcut shares the same first letter of other two character shortcut.  It does not appear first in the order but should.  This prevents single shortcuts from being matched on the first try so they can then be executed with the spacebar.

Another item is only defined shortcuts export to XML. This makes it more difficult for someone to setup their standards outside of Revit.

In both these cases the solutions look straightforward.  What I appreciated in investigating these was the subtlety of the usage.  In each release we define new commands and they require shortcuts.  We would like to define these using the best practices so it would be great to hear how people approach setting theirs up - not just for me but for all the readers.

Here are a couple simple suggestions to start:

Adjacency

Avoid defining shortcuts that are far apart on the keyboard.  "WA" is better for Wall than "WL"

In 2011 the use of accelerators such as Cntrl or Alt should expand the number of combinations and allow one to group many shortcuts on a single side of the keyboard.

Mnemonics

This is subtle but could be used when characters in the word are already in-use.  In English for instance PH can replace an F sound.  The idea is to be able to find a sound that evokes the command and then find characters that make the sound.

There are many types of mnemonics "WA" evokes the sound of "Wall' better than "WL"

Acronyms can also be used such as the way "Roy G Biv" symbolizes the colors of the spectrum (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).  In Revit the shortcut of "ER" might be used for "Editing Requests"

These are just a couple examples to get people thinking and sharing.  What criteria and systems are you using?

_erik

 

Tips from the Trenches - Using Parameters To Filter Views in Your Browser

The un-sung heroes of Autodesk are the Customer Success Engineers (CSEs) - the brave souls who spend 99% of their time in the trenches lending their expertise to individuals like yourselves. They pitch in on projects, impart their knowledge, and save many a you-know-what. Inside the factory we rely on these guys to be our eyes and ears on the ground. I recently found that many document their tips and tricks. I thought I would share some of these gems periodically. This first one is from Emmanuel Di Giacomo, a BIM Technical Advisor CSE based in France. This is one of those expert techniques many of you BIM managers already know. But for those that have not yet organized your browser in this manner - have fun! Thanks Emmanuel...

Using Parameters To Filter Views in Your Browser

You know that organizing your Project Browser can sometimes be kind of challenging. Some organizations and Teams often work by specialty like curtain walls experts, steel structure experts, façade experts, etc. Using parameters (either project or shared ones) to filter their views can help them directly see what they have to work on. Let's see a small example below. Let's imagine that some of the Team Members would have to work on the building skin and the rest on the Curtain Walls.

First step would be to create 2 parameters that will be used to "tag" our views. To do so, go in your "Manage" tab and click on the "Project Parameters" button as shown below. Then click on the "Add" button, the "Parameter Properties" dialog box will appear. Type in "CW" (for Curtain Walls) in the "Name" input field, choose a "Yes/No" Type of Parameter and apply it to the "Views" Categories on the right hand side. Click on the "OK" button to finalize your creation.

Do the same operation and create a "SK" parameter for the building skin.

 

You now have to create the corresponding views that will be used to help people working on the right architectural elements without having to see too many views in their browser. We will simply base our workflow on: one plan view, one section and one axonometric view for the 2 Teams, e.g. 6 views. Duplicate the 3 original Revit Architecture views 2 times by right clicking onto it in your Project Browser as shown below.

Then rename them using the following convention:

View Name – Skin / View Name – Curtains

This should give you the following structure:

It's now time to concretely "filter" these views in order to filter them further in the Project Browser.

Let's take an example for the "Curtains" views. For each of these "Curtains" views, do the following:

1/ Hide all Categories, except Curtain Walls by right-clicking on the Building Skin. In a more complex situation where you would have had more categories, you could have used the Visibility/Graphics dialog box.

2/ Then, from the View Properties dialog box in the left hand Properties Palette, uncheck the "SK" check box to indicate to Revit Architecture that this view is not about skin but only about Curtain Walls. Propagate the same properties for each of the "Curtains" Views.

Do the same for the "Skins' related views. In this case, you'll have to hide all Curtain Walls and deactivate the 'Curtain Walls" parameter in the View Properties as shown below and for each view of course.

It's now time to set up our Browser in order to have 2 sets of view displays, one for the Curtain Wall Engineers and the other one for the Skin Engineers.

To do so, switch to your "View" tab and then select the "Browser organization" item from the "User Interface" button.

Then, click on the "New" button to create the "Curtain_Walls_Only" browser organization. Once prompted to, type in the ad-hoc name for this set of visibility as shown below and click OK.

 

The "Browser Organization Properties" dialog box will then display. Choose to group by "Family and Type " first from the drop down menu as shown below, then to sort by "View Name" in an ascending way.

Once done, click on the second Tab, so called 'Filter". Once on that part, choose to filter by "CW" (your custom parameter) equals to "Yes". Click on the OK Button.

Once clicked on the OK button, you should reach the below dialog box. From the "Type" drop down menu, choose your new Browser Organization set up "Curtain_Walls_Only".

Please note that you should verify that all your Views'CW or SK parameters are correctly checked and not slightly grayed out as shown below. If this would be the case, the parameter would not work. To remove its "grayed" state, just click once on top of it.

You should get the below browser organization where only Curtain Walls oriented views will be displayed.

Once understood the process, just end up by doing the same for the "Skin" oriented views.

Everybody can now focus on the right task! Enjoy!

Its the Little Things - View Titles

Note this small change in 2011 that came directly from customer feedback.  The title of tiled windows has always been: %Project Name%-%View Name%.  This was inverted in 2011 so that when many windows are tiled the view name (most unique item) is last to be truncated.  The specific use case involved reviewing a large number of views such as a set of standard details.  It can often be easier Tile "WT", Zoom All "ZA" and find your view.

_erik

Wink Wink - Nudge Nudge

Sometimes absolute precision is not required.  You've placed some element and want to move it around but don't want to type in distances to do this.  You just want to play.  Enter Nudge.

Nudge is a tool that has no ribbon icon yet can be invoked using the arrow keys anytime you have an element in selection.

Select an element and press left, right, up, or down.  The element will move a set number of units with each key press.  This works in most views.

The distance of each nudge is derived from your zoom scale.

If the element is not moving fast enough zoom out.  If it's moving too fast zoom in.

If you are zoomed in yet want to move more quickly hold Shift + Arrow Key.  This will increase the nudge distance by a factor ~10X (in my testing).  I'm told this behavior is called Super Nudge.

_erik

Dept of Obscure - Override Cut Line Styles

In the process of doing some research into model and symbolic graphic representation, and the various methods Revit uses to control these, I came across a feature I had forgotten about.  As I refreshed my memory I thought I would share the details with you our readers since its a rather involved and obscure feature.

First the "Override Cut Line Styles" feature is located in the Visibility Graphics dialog.  Since it is located here all changes are view specific.

Here you can set some controls on how Cut Edges in Host layers appear in views that cut the model (plan and section).  The check box enables the behavior and the Edit... opens the Host Layer Lines Styles dialog where you can set the appearance:

The "Hosts" in the dialog title refers to walls, roofs, floors, and ceilings.  These element types all have layers and each layer has an associated function.  Here are some layers and their functions in the wall Type dialog:

1. Select Wall
2. Edit Type
3. Click "Edit..." in the Structure row of the Construction group

Back in the Host Layer Lines Styles dialog you can assign line weight, color, and pattern to each of the layer functions (Structure, Substrate, Thermal/Air, ect...)

Common Edges

"Common Edges" refers to a line that is displayed between two host layers of differing functions.  The example below comes from the wall type "Exterior - Brick and CMU on MTL. Stud".

 
So where are the "Common Edge" styles defined?  Answer: Object styles.  Now you know what that subcategory under all the host categories (walls, roofs, floors, and ceilings) was for!

Core Layer Cleanup

...back in the Host Layer Line Styles dialog there is a drop down at the bottom to control Core layer cleanup. This only affect the graphics where core layers come together - typically just a small line at the core boundary.

You can choose from the following Core Layer Clean-up options. 

• Default. This is the current behavior.
• Use Function - Sets the style of the separating line based on the layers' functional priorities. The style of a separating line is determined by the layer of the two with the higher functional priority.
• Use Common Edge Style - Ignores the functional priorities and material settings, and always uses the "Common Edge" style.
• No Edge - Sets the separating line to invisible whenever the layers have the same fill pattern

Here is an image where "Core layer cleanup" is set to "No Edge":

Finally, here is an image that shows how the various parts come together:

 

• All the Non Common Edges are set to be blue in the Host Layer Line Styles dialog.
• The Common Edges for walls are set to be red in the Object styles dialog.
• The core layer cleanup is set to use the Common Edge style and so that boundary also appears red.  If it were set to No edge it would be absent.

Feedback
After looking at all this I have to admit its very obscure and involved.  I'm curious to know who is using this and how specifically?  Where are you located? Is it satisfying your needs?

_Erik

 

Linework Tip

Its raining in Waltham.  The building energy program has increased the lighting a bit to compensate for the gray day outside.  Perfect atmosphere to compose and share a Revit tip.

The line work tool lives here on the Modify Tab in 2011 (similar for 2010).

The tool simply allows you to change the view specific style of a model edges (cut or projection) to a line style different than the one assigned to the category.  Common uses may be to increase the weight of specific lines or eliminate them by choosing the style <Invisible Lines>.  To set a line back to its default you choose <By Category>.

A neat trick first proposed by the developer that implemented the tool way back in the day is to use the line work on lines from other views displayed via underlay.  I'll demonstrate on this simple model.

In the Level 1 view I'll set the view underlay property to Level 2 so I can see the roof.

The lines from the gable roof ridge and eve are now displayed.  Using the line work tool set the line style to <Overhead> and click each of the eave lines.

This will cause the edges to appear in the overhead style (dashed).  Next turn off the Level 2 underlay and note that the view specific line work remains.  The line work is not just visible but is still referencing the original edges even though they are not displayed.  When an edit affects the roof the overhead lines will adjust automatically.

Other overhead elements such as slab openings, balconies, lighting, and soffits can also be referenced using this line work technique. Give it a try.

_erik

Revit as a Database Part 2

This is a follow-up to the video I created back in February. In response to a user request: "I wish I could reference the total from one schedule as a calculated value in another schedule." True, that is not doable in Revit. But it got me thinking, I bet I could do that in Access using Revit DB Link. Here are the results.

Keep in mind, this is a very simple example. I would like to hear feedback, especially other "real" uses you could find for this.

Shape Editing

In the previous post I talked about the roof cutoff properties.  The same mansard roof from that example can be made using the shape editing tools and are available when you select a flat roof (must be flat).  These tools were introduced more recently (Pleistocene) and represented an initial foray into some new manipulation tools.  It doesn't enable super sexy curvy like the 2010 concept modeling tools can but something great for roofs and floors with drains.  Using these one can also create most roof shapes including some interesting saddle shapes.

Below are the basic steps for the Mansard:

Click the image below for a video of the complete process:

BTW These 1st generation tools can also model 1st generation stealth aircraft like the F117.

 

Now that the 2010 conceptual modeling tools are out I need to try modeling the second generation F22 before Zach over at Buildz beats me too it.

_erik

Dept. of Obscure: Cutoff properties

In the next two posts I'll cover two parameters and a feature both of which can solve the same problem in different ways.  This post is on the "Cutoff Level" and "Cutoff Offset" properties we find in Roofs.

In the strata of Revit features the Cutoff properties were introduced somewhere in the cretaceous.  Like a vestigial tail you might have wondered what purpose it serves.  You may have even set some values and not seen any visible change or got an error "Cutoff Level cannot be below bottom of roof".  Scary.

Essentially what these properties do is cut back or trim (perhaps better terms) a footprint roof.

Below is a progression where a roof is created, the Cutoff properties set, and then a third roof added to create a Mansard shape.

Voila!  There are other ways to do this that may or not be less steps but perhaps easier to understand.  I'll cover that in the next post.  BTW if you are developing an in-house test to plumb the Revit knowledge of your hiring candidates this could be a devious inclusion.

_erik

Autodesk Revit DB Link with 64bit Revit

Quite a few comments on my Revit as a Database post from last week focused on the fact that Microsoft's various versions of 64bit Windows do not include or support a driver for connecting to an Access database via ODBC. The good news is, Microsoft appears to be changing course on this in the upcoming release of Office 2010. Their download site includes both 32 and 64 bit beta versions of their data connectivity component driver. I tested this out in Vista x64 with Revit 2010 x64 and the Office 2010 x64 beta and it works. The bad news: you will have to wait for Office 2010 to ship and many of you do not have a say in when your office upgrades.

_tom

Revit as a Database

This post marks the beginning of an exploration into a little-known new feature of Revit: RDB Link. Well, not exactly a feature, but an add-in that was developed in-house, released on Autodesk Labs last year and "graduated" last month to a subscription bonus tool. Revit has been able to export to a number of database formats via ODBC for some time, but it has always been a one-way trip. RDB Link now allows you to edit that exported data and import it back into the RVT file, all without closing Revit or the database! Since being released on Labs, I have not seen any examples of this tool being put to good use. I have been playing around with RDB Link since a recent customer visit highlighted two problems that I thought the tool could be useful for: driving irregular column size/placement and scheduling level heights in a large tower project. The following video shows how these two tasks could be completed with RDB Link (albeit on a very small test file.) Have any of you tried this tool? What are some other uses you can imagine?

_tom

Dept. of Obscure: Edit Verticies

In the process of reviewing some tool-tips I came across a command that really felt like a blog post waiting to be written.  What is this command, where does it live, and why would one need it?

Essentially this command allows you to control triangulation on the surfaces of a blend. The two forms below are made from the same blends but the edgy guy on the right was worked over with the "Edit Verticies" command.

Note:  The workflow in the new massing environment is different.  This command applies only to general family blend forms of non-mass categories.

When working with blends I typically make some "Bones" using model lines.  These can be made parametric and live in nested families that are placed at different heights in the parent family.  Not a requirement but powerful (An extreme example of this "rig" technique using the new modeling tools can be found here on David Lights blog and here on BIM Troublemaker)

Once you have your bones use the "Pick Lines" method when sketching the top and base of the blends.

 

While making the blend, or later editing the blend top or base, you will see the "Edit Verticies" command.  When clicked you'll get the 'Twist" and "Reset" commands as well as toggles to control where the vertice controls appear.

 

Here is what the controls look like in the view.  The controls are either hollow (no vertice) or filled (vertice). They kind of point to an intersection where they will try to connect to.  The best way to learn how they work is just start clicking them until you get the shape you desire.  If you go too far use the "Reset" command.

Below I enabled eight vertices on the base of the blend.

  Continuing on editing eight vertices on the top of the upper blend.  Voila.

 

_erik

Exploded Axons

Fall in the factory brings new feature announcements and demos.  Features are put through their paces and refined as needed and time allows. A lot of this work will become visible in the upcoming beta so its a good time to turn back on the released product and share some tips and workflows. Why let the other Revit blogers post all the neat tips and tricks?

Somewhere on the mile long list of "wouldn't it be cool if Revit..." are exploded axon drawings.

I can imagine a setting dialog that controls how items separate from their parent elements (windows out of wall, walls off floors ect..) and some in-canvas controls to specify the separation. You would enter the mode and then drag a control to see the structure produce a refabricating architecture - like image right before your eyes.  Very revity and awesome....in my mind.

So given this feature does not exist outside my mind what can Revit do now?  Impossible or Possimpible?

Below are the basic steps for creating an exploded axon:

1. View Creation

• First create a base view
• Duplicate this base view for each logical group of elements you want to dislocate.
• Name these views for the logical groups
  

 

2. Isolate Elements

In each special view select and isolate the group of elements you want to dislocate.

3. Make Isolation Permanent

• In the Temporary Hide/Isolate menu on the View Control bar choose Apply Hide/Isolate to View.
• Repeat this for each duplicate view you created.

4. Create a Viewport type

Create a viewport type that matches the settings shown below (no title or extension line).  Be sure to make a new type and name it so you don't mess up other drawings or confuse other team members.

 

5. Assemble views on Sheet

• Drag the views onto a sheet in the desired sort order.  (Revit does not currently allow Bring to Front/send to Back for viewports)
• make sure each view uses your new viewport type
• Add dashed Detail lines as needed

et Voila!

In the example above I used graphic overrides in one of the views to dim the house.  You can also use section boxes to cut out and separate parts of a model.

I am sure others have tried this and have other tips so please share them.  In theory this would work in a perspective view too but it would be tricky to get the relative camera positions to match.

_erik

Flip Flop

Reading other blogs I always enjoy posts that shine light into some dark Revit recess.  The posts explain something that might not be self evident at first glance  Well here is a very old feature I recently crossed paths with.

When creating/editing 3D families there is a tool available called "Control"

 

The icon shows the control we all know from Doors and Windows and sure enough these families have these controls inside.

When you press the tool you get more contextual items:

What do all these do?  Whats the difference between Single and Double?  A flip is a flip is a flip right?

Not quite.  As the icons subtly communicate the Single flips behave more like Rotate.  They flip the element around its origin 90 180 degrees with each click.

The Double flips cause a behavior more like mirror - they flip it across the reference axis (vertical or horizontal).

Below is a test family with all of the controls and what they do.

 

Here is the family in a project with 4 instances after the controls were pressed:

Now that we see what it does I see some opportunities to improve clarity:

• Rename the commands to more accurately reflect the behavior. e.g. replace the novel "flip" with the tried and true mirror / rotate. (BTW this is already done in the contextual menu for doors where we find "flip hand" and "flip facing")
• Consolidate the two single flips into a single command as they both rotate.
• Make the in window controls match the icons which better communicate the behavior

_erik

Familiy Editor Tips

This season at the Boston Architectural College we started an advanced class to get into more topics such as design options and advanced modeling.  The family editor also gets more attention to cover topics such as nesting, parameter linking, type parameters ect..

I thought I would just post some tips and tricks/best practices here for those who are just getting started in the Family Editor.  I encourage other experienced "Reviteers" to contribute as well.

Flexing a family

Always make two types and set the parameter values in each type to different values.  As you work in the family editor you can then switch between types, pressing "Apply" as you go, to test the family and see if it behaves as desired.  If you have a missing constraint you will see it fail in the canvas.

Place Constraints Consistently

It is good practice to place plan constraints in the "floor plan" ref level view and vertical constraints in the "front" or "left" views only.  Avoid placing constraints in the "back" view or "ceiling plan" ref level unless required.  This can make future editing and troubleshooting more simple.

Don't over constrain

When sketching lines that are placed over ref planes or ref lines they often do not need to be locked.  Test your sketch without locking and see if it behaves.  Setting a dimension to a set value or zero length may also not require a lock to hold the value.  Adding constraints everywhere can make a family more fragile.

Avoid Chaining References

It is better to have different elements reference the nearest parallel reference plane than each other.  Geometry shape handles can serve as references but it is better to avoid constraining one shape handle to another unless it is required.

Use Control+Drag

Need another reference plane?  Grab the nearest parallel ref plane and drag it holding the control key.  Voila a copy.  This works for all ref planes except for those that define the origin.  No need to leave the canvas.

Dims: Make Permanent

Need to add a constraint?  Click the element to be constrained (e.g. ref plane) and click the "Make permanent Control" on the temp dim.  If the dim is not to the right location drag the blue controls to other references.  Again no need to leave the canvas.

Label Dims from Option bar

You can create new labels or assign an existing one from the option bar whenever a dimension is selected.

Model Once

A woodworker friend told me once "If I have to make more than one of anything I make a jig"  If you have anything that repeats (e.g. table leg) make it as a separate family and nest it into the main family.  Your life will be much easier.  The leg as nested will be easier to reference and update in the future.

Name It

Use good names.  For parameter values I adopt a programming syntax that capitalizes the first character of each word in the text string.  Example: "chairLegVisibility" or "tableWidth" or "tableLegType".  Choose good names for your types. Avoid using default names like "Type 1".

It is also good to choose a pertinent parameter group for your parameters.  If it is a material parameter place it in the "Materials and Finishes" group.

There are many more.  I hope someone can pick up a tip here or provide one of their own.  Happy family editing!

_erik