Revit 2014 API Languages

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

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

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

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

Instant Autodesk Revit 2013 Customization with .NET How-to

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

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

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

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

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

Happy coding!

Chameleon for Grasshopper and Revit

Hiroshi Jacobs has some news about a plug-in for Revit (and Grasshopper) that he's been working on. A hint of this leaked out a bit early last year if I recall but he's now ready for more eyes on it. He's calling it Chameleon and it is a plug-in that makes it easier to transfer geometric data between Grasshopper and Revit, plus other tools. It is currently compatible with Revit 2012 and 2013 and Grasshopper 0.8.0066.

It offers a Curtain Grid Manager that controls both panels and grids now, offers a preview of the system as well as helping to distinguish between vertical and horizontal orientations. There is a Chameleon Forum on his Revit City site as well as Chameleon Group at Grasshopper3D.com.

Here's a video from his site:

BIM Coordinator for Civil 3D and Revit

Autodesk Labs posted an application that was developed by Autodesk Consulting. You can read more information HERE.

It functions as a plug-in that is installed in both applications, Civil 3D and Revit. It allows a Civil 3D user to define the shared coordinate system to be passed on to a Revit project. Running the tool in Civil 3D is based on selecting two points on a reference building footprint file (don't forget paying attention to elevation) and saving the information to a separate file.

Note that it uses a file formatted as ACCSXML (Autodesk Consulting Coordinate System eXtensible Markup Language).

The file is then used in combination with a plug-in tool inside Revit that asks you to pick the same points in Revit and then select the source file. As the project progresses, you can pass model data back and forth easily as long as you export by specifying the correct project units and Shared Coordinates each time.

You can watch a video at You Tube that explains how it works (9:53)

The process described assumes that the person deciding where the building goes is using Civil 3D which in my experience is not necessarily accurate. They'll ultimately be responsible or define it precisely eventually but the building location is often affected by a lot of things and roughed in by designers using an underlay of a survey and civil data.

It is also very important that the person using Civil 3D passes along the two key points on the building. If they get this wrong or we misunderstand them we’ll end up with a discrepancy when we potentially pick slightly different points. Of course this assumes that the civil engineer is not sitting right next to “us”, the architect or structural engineer. Connecting the information between all parties still boils down to someone deciding what building location is "spot on".

Check it out, might help your next project?