Floor Perimeter

When you examine the properties of a floor you'll find Perimeter. Somebody decided perimeter shouldn't be available to tags so we can't tag a floor but we can see it in schedule (no, can't tag it in 2014 either).

If you alter a floor sketch to define an opening for something like for a stair or a mechanical chase, it alters the perimeter calculation. If you use either a Shaft Opening or Opening by Face it doesn't alter the perimeter value. Floor A is untouched, B is altered within the sketch and C has two openings one of each type. You'll see in the schedule that perimeter is not altered except where the floor sketch is changed to create the opening.

The moral of the story? If you'd like to be able to use the floor slab perimeter value then don't edit the floor sketch to create openings.

Copy Monitor and In Use Element Types

When you edit the Options for Copy/Monitor doesn't give any indication which of the families that show up in the lists are really used. This means you can assign elements unnecessarily.

In some cases it seems somewhat apparent which are used or not. In the first image the Level type actually used has a slightly different options than in the second image, which is the level type not used.

It would be cool if Revit identified the elements and types that are actually in use in the linked file, at least without having to read between the lines.

Associate Family Parameter

I've written about Revit's sneaky buttons in the past (see the three links below). I find the button for the Associate Family Parameter feature particular frustrating.

First of all it's tiny and second it has no tooltip, both of which mean it is not particularly obvious. I find myself wishing for a different way to interact with this concept. I can't say that I have a better solution in mind. I just know that this one feels awkward.

Keep in mind that I'm coming from the point of view of someone who has spent about eighty hours clicking on those tiny buttons about a thousand times recently. There are many tasks in Revit that seem quite fine when you think of them as occasional activities. When you start to think of them as your 9-5 job, doing them over and over and over and over all day almost anything can start to wear on you.

Perhaps a clear cut button on the ribbon that says Associate Family Parameter and opens a dialog that lists the parameters that qualify. Even better perhaps a mapping methodology that allows us to define a series of native parameters and then map them to the nested family or the connector's parameters?

Here's links to three past Sneaky Button posts: POST 1, POST 2, POST 3

Click in Empty Space to Reset

Using the Align tool, if you pick the wrong reference element just click away from everything. Revit resets the selection sequence, Align tool stays active.

Same is true for Trim/Extend to Corner, Trim/Extend to Element, Trim/Extend Multiple, Cut and Uncut Geometry, Join and Unjoin Geometry, Dimensioning and some others that don't come to mind.

The split tool is a bit quirky. I find that if I use a tool like copy or trim and then click on Split to use it instead, but then miss an element when I click Revit returns to the previous command. Try it, select Copy and then click on Split, click in empty space and you should see it return to Copy.

Measure Between Two References

Saw a post at Revitforum.org asking how best to go about finding out what the perimeter of a given building is. I was a little late to the party there and I was mulling over what to write about tonight...

The catch, the building is a linked file. Not much of a catch but there is no equivalent floor in this case. If there was a floor there I'd just check the properties of the floor. Technically if a linked floor matched the perimeter of the building you can still see properties of the linked element if you use the TAB select technique to grab a hold of the element in the link.

...or you could sketch your own a floor around the perimeter pretty quickly. or you could use the area tools. or you could draw a property line. or you could....

Use the Measure Between Two Reference (MbTR) AND check the Chain Option! This will give you a running total as you pick additional points along the perimeter of the building. Here's a quick video demo.

For my money, I'd probably favor a floor. That way when the person who asked you to find out says something like this, "Hey what was that perimeter value again? Sorry I didn't write it down" You can just check the properties of the floor instead of using MbTR again, or flinging your scale at them.

Clarity for Revit Server

Joe wrote a post on the IMAGINiT blog last night regarding a new product that I first heard rumors about at Autodesk University 2011. It says in the post that there will be a demo at BIM Spectrum today (It's a virtual event so you can attend - 10:30 AM - 5:00 PM EST).

Here's the text of the post...


Clarity for Autodesk Revit Server
Well, it's out now... what started as an idea and grew into something that captured all sorts of attention at Autodesk University has now become a real offering from IMAGINiT!

As is mentioned on our Clarity news release:

IMAGINiT Technologies has released IMAGINiT Clarity for Autodesk® Revit® Server. This web-based solution from the same IMAGINiT software development team who created Scan to BIM was built specifically to enhance the Autodesk Revit Server platform. IMAGINiT Clarity allows team members and external partners to share one centrally located BIM model securely from multiple locations.

It's first public presentation will be at BIM Spectrum tomorrow, and more information from our news release can be found for your viewing pleasure here

The full product page with even more information can be found here


This is the video embedded on their site. I heard nice things about it at AU...looking forward to learning more about it.

Pushing Parameters Around

Alternate title, "Getting What I Want"

I wanted to show a parameter for Mounting Height. I needed it assigned to a variety of elements. This isn't hard for families that are not hosted. Face-based families on the other hand seem to know what their "Elevation" value is but they are uninterested in sharing that data with a schedule. It's just not listed in the Available Fields list. Mean Revit!

This is a story of a white knight coming to the rescue, or rather Whitefeet coming to the rescue.

Obviously not the cat, I must mean the tools that Mario Guttman has made available to us via his alter ego "Whitefeet Tools". To get what I wanted I created a shared parameter called Mounting Height and added it to my project. For this post and this example I've assigned it to the cateory Data Devices. Once that's in place the steps are pretty easy (apart from getting the tool installed).

You either select all the devices first or just tell the tool to apply it to everything in the model. You start by running the Parameter Tools.

Next you click the Math Calculation button.

Now you've got to fill in some blanks and click a button.

When your information matches the image (change the category appropriately, I show Security Devices for example, Obviously this picture and the next one don't sync up, taken at different times).

Once the routine runs you can close the open dialog boxes and check the results. Cool eh?

Want to watch a video?

The Fat Pen - A Tale Two Lines

Every now and then I read or hear someone say that it is faster (in early design) to just sketch lines to create a quick floor plan for concept design (often as a justification for doing the work outside of Revit as well). I also hear that if we are going to do that (in Revit), we should just use Room Separation lines because we can put rooms in to identify them. I think both notions are "off", use walls.

"But Steve I don't want two lines, I just want a "fat pen" (think Sharpie)."

I say either sketch using really thin walls or use the Coarse Scale Fill Pattern as intended. That's my choice because they aren't any more work than sketching lines (ignoring their height), they provide boundaries for rooms and they can host doors and windows. It's also simple to change them to a better type later. If you use room separation lines first and then need walls you have to recreate stuff that's already there, they just aren't the right "stuff".

Years ago I worked with a guy that I found sketching lines in plan first. I asked why and he said he needed the lines to know where to put the walls. Somewhere deep inside we have this notion "we must draw lines". Everything he was doing was just as easy to do with walls instead...he "needed" lines first. Sometimes we must forget what we know. ~ Try walls, you'll like'em.

Still thinking that those "lines" are better than walls? Can those lines do this? (Please don't be distracted by my clever building design)

Okay, sure they can do that but what adding rooms and doors?

And then a few clicks more...this?

or easily changing to look like this instead (by changing wall types to use "Coarse Scale Fill Pattern")?

Can those lines generate cool shadows? (well, I think they are cool)

or switch to a more construction oriented appearance by changing "Detail Level" (okay, should have turned off the shadows)?

Do I really need to bring up schedules or 3D views or sections/elevations or enlarged views or ceiling plans and so on? I guess I just did. Walls set the stage for everything else downstream ~ I say use'em!

Point Cloud Feature Extraction

When I first saw this show up in the Labs blog post it was called "Scan to Bim". I wondered about the name conflict with the application already using that name, created by the folks at IMAGINiT. I thought at first maybe that Autodesk bought it. However barely a day later and it's called Point Cloud Feature Extraction.

[Added 1/26/2012: There are reports that some users experiencing difficulty getting this plug-in to work. Check out the follow up post at It is Alive in the Lab to see what's happening. One tester believes it is related to deployment vs. individual installations.]

[Added 1/27/2012: If you can't get it running, the latest development: "A user in the discussion forum installed a newer Visual Studio runtime and resolved the issue in his case." TRY NEWER RUNTIME ]

WHAT TOOLS DOES POINT CLOUD FEATURE EXTRACTION PLUG-IN FOR REVIT PROVIDE?

Point Cloud Feature Extraction for Autodesk Revit 2012 provides the following tools to facilitate the point cloud editing after it is inserted into Revit:

Crop/Uncrop: Temporarily hide the points outside a rectangle or polygon Hide Point Cloud: Temporarily hide the whole point cloud object to facilitate the inspection of the feature extraction result Adjust Axis: Transform the point cloud data so that floor can be aligned with XY plane and major walls are parallel to Z axis

Moreover, this plug-in includes some main features specifically for Revit so that the extracted features / geometry can be smoothly integrated into the BIM workflow:

Datum Extraction: Extract both level and orthogonal grid Site Extraction: Extract both terrain surface for ground surface creation and building footprint on terrain surface for building pad generation Wall Extraction: Extract both straight wall layout and arc wall Floor Extraction: Extract floor from selected points on the floor plan level

AVAILABILITY

The Point Cloud Feature Extraction for Autodesk Revit technology preview is licensed for a limited term and for a particular territory as referenced in the End User License Agreement. The technology preview will operate until August 1, 2012.

Want to watch some videos? (links to You Tube)

Crop and Uncrop Axis Adjustment Datum Extraction Site/Building Footprint Extraction Wall Extraction Floor Extraction Arc Wall Extraction

They'd like your feedback

See how well the Point Cloud Feature Extraction for Autodesk Revit technology preview works for you, and be sure to tell us how we can improve this technology by following the feedback links in the upper-right corner of this page. You can also post comments on the Between the Lines or It's Alive in the Lab blog.

Free Tools from Case Design

Just a quick one tonight, still burnt out from Autodesk University and Revit Technology Conference committee meetings.

The guys at Case Design created some free applications for Revit recently. They'd like you to know about them, as well as use them!

Just need to register (so they can spam you, teasing Don!), then you can try out their Change and Replace Line Styles, Revision Cloud Data Export to Text File and Door Mark Updater tools!

I'm bugging Don to work with him to build a cool "Where's my Stuff" tool, a clever way to track down things that go "missing in the night" since there's only something like 30+ ways that things can get "disappeared".

Oh, I'll be finishing up my last day at AU post tomorrow...I hope! ;)