RevitTricks

Bump- link to CAD addict list of software providers relating to BIM content http://www.cad-addict.com/2010/03/list-of-bim-software-providers.html

This document outlines the processes of Exporting Revit to CAD Matching Revit output in CAD Detailing in CAD to reimport to Revit STRIP REFERENCING (For Reimporting to Revit) Cad Export Process (After bare-bones & Materials are assigned) Revit Icon> Export> CAD Formats > DWG Select set to export (Or Insession) Select sheets/views to filter in the list. Sort by name to itemize everything by drawing type and its name Set up CAD Layer naming (If not already set) This may require selecting one of the read-only layer exports and resaving it under a different Name. Revit ADDS ALL LAYER NAMES from linked drawing files- to prevent this list from becoming too large we made it read only. Strip everything off the 'tail' of the file name so the project number (and building identifier if necessary) are the only   elements left to use as a prefix. Revit will add a "-" after this prefix. Make sure the [ ] Xref views ...

Revit Bug -   Wall sweeps will not cut in joined walls ...    So when a window is hosted to the exterior wall(shown below) the sweeps on the interior wall do not cut around the opening. Doors and windows hosted to the interior wall in the example cut the sweeps. So for now for the upcoming submission- if you run across this come find me so we can work out a solution on a case-by-case basis. If sweeps are not used (i.e. the wall materials are split) everything cuts ok- but doesn't always clean up that well (Although the 64 bit version seems to be much better at joining than the 32bit.) The same wall sweeps are cuttable when the cutting object is hosted.

This is cool- very cool- this is good tech! http://www.smartplanet.com/people/blog/pure-genius/cornings-e-asia-cto-talks-about-whats-next-after-gorilla-glass/3593/ O wens corning created enough glass for LCD screens last year to cover a complete 4 lane DOT highway from Seattle to Boston along the I90 route. There is information linking to the next generation of Fiber that is not susceptible to bending- allowing information to travel at the speed of light opening up new worlds of bandwidth for the Governments 100G to every house initiative. The time frame for getting 100 Mbps connections to 100 million homes was undefined, although Genachowski called this a “2020 vision." http://gigaom.com/2010/02/16/fcc-promotes-100-mbps-for-100-million-americans/ Verizon and sprint already offering connections to these networks in Orlando and Tampa...

Engineers Demo Smallest Room Temperature Laser (PhysOrg.com) -- One step closer to 4 billion nanolasers in three-inch semiconductor wafer. Researchers at the University of California, San Diego’s Jacobs School of Engineering, demonstrated a micron-sized laser - less than one-thousandth of a millimeter on each side - that can operate at room temperature. Wow- so we can spread out CPUs to dissapate heat and GIAN speed- eventually forming complete optical processors.- expanding beyond the limitations of electricity and electrical circuits.

List of AutoDesk products supported on Windows 7 (32 bit AND 64 bit?) http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=14185352   Autodesk expands power of Windows 7 certified AutoCAD 2011 with new features for conceptual design and drafting productivity http://microsoftfeed.com/2010/autodesk-expands-power-of-windows-7-certified-autocad-2011-with-new-features-for-conceptual-design-and-drafting-productivity/  

Light Peak is the code-name for a new high-speed optical cable technology designed to connect your electronic devices to each other.

Proposed standards for Revit WORK-SHARE ENABLED files. Why you should use this standard... Start with a project template JOB Number prefix for all files based on DOD projects this is usually assigned by USACE, NAVFAC, USAF etc. followed by a dash and the word "CENTRAL" File subfolder structure Either: The Non-preferred method   which can only be used for a SINGLE Building only: one CENTRAL file resides directly in the project's Revit Central folder -Otherwise a preferred method to take into account future additions and expansion- Multiple buildings and amenities should be broken into sub-foders: One master site file in the Revit Central Folder based on topographic locations ( NGVD  national geodetic vertical datum)  Simple subfolder name identifying the component (i.e. 72PN, SOLDIERS_CENTER, MAIL_KIOSK, DUMPSTER_SCREEN) Each subfolder contains central file located using shared coordinates on the site. NOTE: Files imported from ...

http://www.eareport.com/reprints-pdf/pdf/2000-12-revit.pdf http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=20803 Charles River Software 0.1 1999 11 (Early Adopter 1) 0.2 2000 01 (Early Adopter 2) Revit Technology Corporation 1.0 2000 04 2.0 2000 08 2.1 2000 10 3.0 2001 02 3.1 2001 06 4.0 2001 11 4.1 2002 01 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Autodesk Revit *.* 2002 04 04 (Autodesk buys Revit Technology Corp) 4.5 2002 05 09 5.0 2002 12 17 *.* 2003 04 28 (Zoogdesign Revit Forum goes Live) 5.1 2003 05 5.5 2003 04 01 (pseudo mac release screen shot, April Fools joke...Author unknown) 6.0 2003 12 22 6.1 2004 03 11 *.* 2004 05 26 (Zoogdesign Read Only to Merge with AUGI) 7.0 2004 12 13 Autodesk Revit Building (New Name) 8.0 2005 02 26ish 8.1 2005 08 12 (web release then withdrawn) 8.1 2005 08 23 (Actual release) 9.0 2006 04 12 (Shipping & Web Release) Autodesk Revit Series (Marketing Bundle w/ AutoCAD) 1...

Turning CO2 into concrete may be one of many ways to sequester our carbon dioxide issues... See what Calera is up to on their web site!

Dennis Neely wrote an article you can read on Reed Construction Data- On the project he quoted the Architect took on more fees and proceeded to save the client big bucks in the long run. It looks like the hope is the industry will build all the fine content and architects will just use it- but the reality is there is not any standardization across the manufacturers for content. What we need is a Data mapper database to help tanslate and funnel all that manufacturer content into parameters we can and will actually use. Its a nich market - architectural data managers- and we are going to need to meet these data coordination issues sooner than later. Owners - It's Time to Substantially Increase Your Architect's and EngineerDennis's Fees

Rent or own software - flying in the clouds- remote access- There is much more coming- Microsoft is attempting to brand the cloud... With collaborative packages like Revit there are huge potential gains from wider pipes for data transmission (think intranet 1GB/sec VS direct disk access) - it is a lot faster to reference in other files that aren't being updated, riverbed'ed, pushed or pulled across networks (especially distant ones) One Major drawback- if the internet is cut or lost- you're stranded and down just as if the power went out. So best to have several pipelines routed out the front and back of the office in case one gets cut ; ) AEC Bytes BIM and the Cloud Chris France - CIO, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting covers these basic benefits of Cloud Computing in his article on AEC bytes he covers- 1. Growing Desktop Computing Needs 2. Collaborating Over Wide Area Geography 3. Collaborating with Outside Firms on the Same Model 4. IT Infrastructure Cost Conso...

AutoCAD VBA And - reset fonts to Arial... OPTION EXPLICIT Sub ResetTextStyles_TO_ARIAL() ''reset ROMANS and other text styles to ARIAL Dim ObjTStyle As AcadTextStyle For Each ObjTStyle In ThisDrawing.TextStyles ObjTStyle.fontFile = "C:\WINDOWS\Fonts\ARIAL.TTF" Next ObjTStyle End Sub

AutoCAD VBA Routine to strip formatting in ALL Autocad MTEXT (Translating Revit "text" to autocad drawings dumps as MTEXT with some odd formatting issues) try this: OPTION EXPLICIT Sub Make_Mtext_StyleDependant() Dim oAcadObj As AcadObject Dim ObjBlock As AcadBlock Dim ObjBlocks As AcadBlockReference Dim ObjTxt As AcadMText Dim ObjAcad As AcadObject Dim x For Each ObjBlock In ThisDrawing.Blocks If InStr(1, LCase(ObjBlock.Name), "seal") < 1 Then ''don't mess with the seals! For Each ObjAcad In ObjBlock If InStr(1, LCase(ObjAcad.ObjectName), "mtext") > 0 Then Set ObjTxt = ObjAcad x = Split(ObjTxt.TextString, ";") ''split all formatting delimeters in the text string ObjTxt.TextString = x(UBound(x)) ''take the last one (Should be text)- may not work correctly on stacked fractions.... 'S...

Figured it out-( I think)... Columns not joining the wall correctly? I may have figured it out... To get the columns to cut- you need to add a SOLID to match the extrusion extents/height PLUS a tolerance(say 1/4"- could be a Type Parameter)- check the parameters and turn it off everywhere(uncheck visible). Join the wall and the column... and the invisible solid cuts beyond the wall. Bummer is material tags get confused- come up as "?". Wish we could just label it "See structural" ; )

I had to include everything in one tag- so now- click on the note show to show the notes, the hex to show the hex#, both to show both. the only difference you will see is this:    

Good article on BIM Evolution:   http://www.bimconstruct.org/steamroller.html   Ron E. Allen

Revit OpEd: Revit Style Guide 2.1 Available

I have an An example of a script available that I generated to copy REVIT central files to local files in a standardized local directory system, delete existing file & backup folder and rename from central to local. You can use it as a starting point for your localizers. Revit VBS to Localize files: Unzip the zip file to your desktop Double click the install It copies the other VBS to your SendTo folder To use- This will require some modifications for your specific needs but this one: Save the script in black below to  FILE-REVIT_Localize.vbs    Double click it and it should auto-copy itself to the sendto folder.  Then select any *CENTRAL*.RVT file on the file server and it will make a copy to the MyDocuments\[jobno]\*LOCAL*.RVT file  This will ask to use a a local copy on open in Revit This will need some tweaking with the Regular Expression to match your job numbers It requires the word *CENTRAL* in th...