Friday 30 April 2010

Certified Graphics Card Update

Obviously the whole criteria for the Graphics cards for Revit have altered from 2010 to 2011.

During some testing of Revit 2011 on a low specification spare 3 – 4 year old office laptop with years a NVIDIA GeForce 6600 graphics card. I had to turn off hardware acceleration just to stop Revit crashing after constructing a simple four column ring beam structure. I then had some very interesting graphical problems.




Now I know this is the office clunker, but this experience has made me somewhat nervous and apprehensive about rolling out Revit 2011 onto PC’s with Video Cards that are not on the list.

In my post on Tuesday 30th March Revit 2011 Introduces Certified Graphics Hardware List and Utility

I reported that “There is also going to be a new utility that you will be able to download and run on your computers to make sure you have a certified graphics card and driver.” and that “Once the list and the utility are uploaded, and I find it, I will post a link on the blog.”

On the 17th April I reported that Revit Certified Graphics Hardware List now on Autodesk web site

And again told you that I would let you know when the utility arrives. I have been chasing it because I wanted to check out those machines not listed. In my imagination I had created this utility that you would automate or semi automate the testing process to interact with the end user, using known testing techniques built into a utility that would assist the user to test the video card and send the information back to Autodesk to enable them to create and update the list of approved cards and drivers.

A representative from Autodesk asked me where I had obtained the information about the utility the answer was between 1:25 – 1:50 minutes into the video, Troubleshooting What’s New in Revit 2011 by Harlan Brumm Global Technical Lead for Revit between and I quote

“On Autodesk.com when the product ships a list of certified graphics hardware for Revit products will be available. There will also be a new utility you will be able to download and run on your machine to make sure your running a certified graphics card and driver”

At this point I’m worried am I having another senior moment,  (Post Update 2nd May 2010 the video has been edited  and the statement removed from the video and re-uploaded to YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4ol0lXnZ0U)

The next exchange of emails a term of that quote being a “Bit Inaccurate” was made.

Now in the world I occupy there are two options

Either

1 There is going to be a utility or
2 There is NOT going to be a utility

I’m British, Male and an Engineer….. I like a YES or NO answer to a YES or NO question.

And when anyone uses the term a “BIT” I always reply you can’t be a BIT Pregnant you either are or you are not.

I don’t do and have never done and will never do politics, or political jousting. A spade is a spade (you would think that I originated from Yorkshire that's Gumby country!)

Then we parlay about if there is or isn’t there going to be a Utility in the future, and what was I expecting of said utility etc etc.

Finally, its transpired there is kind of something in the pipeline, however It’s the same as what’s built into Revit which just looks at the same list that’s on web site, but it should have the added capability of being able to be driven from a script that could send the utility out to scan several machines on a network and aggregate the results.

I'm told the user case for this utiltiy would be for a system admin that wants to evaluate all machines in-house prior to installing Revit, so they can have a better understanding of their ‘graphics readiness’ for Revit.

Now that is exactly why I have been chasing such a utility. With three offices we have a number of network copies that we share around because we don’t all need Revit at the same time. Without this utility It has taken some time and effort to obtain the data, but about half of our computers are using video cards that are not on that list.

Now depending how quickly this thing actually makes out of the Factory, if it ever does, will depend how useful it actually is for anyone. For me and I suspect many others, I’ve don’t it the hard way.

Regarding getting your card on the list for testing, I would not hold you breathe. When answering the question about getting your card tested the answer was and I quote then I can't make a mistake in interpritation

“We added that to our list of requested cards to be tested and will occasionally be acquiring and testing new cards based on customer demand. Currently, we do not have immediate plans to test your specific gaming card.”

Occasionally = Ummmmmm, once a month, bi-monthly, six monthly, yearly , if enough fuss is made?

Such a nice vague descriptive word don’t you think!.

So if you want your card added to the list, I suggest that you post a request via the Report a problem with your Graphics Hardware stating that your card is not on the list and you would like it added to the list for checking. Then if they get enough requests for a certain card they might just might test it.

I have also been pointed to a new FAQ page on the Autodesk support areas regarding Graphics cards, so obviously there are a lot of us out there that are a bit twitchy about the stability of the software on our 2010 compliant hardware.

At least they have posted this page on the Architecture, Structure and MEP support pages, this is a great improvement, and until recently it would have only been posted to the Revit Architecture area. So perhaps old dogs can learn new tricks!.

Revit Structure Services & Support Graphics Hardware FAQ
Report a Problem with Graphics Hardware for 2011 Revit Products


Revit Architecture Services & Support Graphics Hardware FAQ
Report a Problem with Graphics Hardware for 2011 Revit Products


Revit MEP Services and Support Graphics Hardware FAQ
Report a Problem with Graphics Hardware for 2011 Revit Products
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Thursday 29 April 2010

Gumbys working for Autodesk Support!


Do you ever wonder what happened to the Gumbys when Monty Pythons Flying Circus ended?

They went and found jobs at Autodesk Support, but these days they make the “end users brains hurt”



1) End user (Me) with support centre access tries to login and submit a support request

2) The online form can not be completed because there are no products listed to pick from, thus the request for support can not be made because I have not filled in a required field!

3) I telephone our contract administrator to ask if he can see our products listed on subscription centre ~ "YES"

4) Only difference we find is he is not using IE8 but Firefox

5) I download Firefox

6) Install Firefox on my computer.

7) Try to re-submit a support request and still can’t see the list of products on the support request form

8) I telephone our Reseller and inform him of the problem.

9) Email from Reseller stating that the user access within the subscription website is controlled by our contract administrator and AutoDesk suspect that you have not been given access to the Product Support area of the Subscription site. (Strange as I’ve been posting requests for the last year?)

10) As requested by Autodesk, I check with my contract administrator and see if this is the case or not. He promises me faithfully he has not altered anything; he has a poke around and can’t find anything wrong or any setting to reset

11) I email the Reseller to inform him what our contact administrator had done and said and asked him “Bottom line …… can they just fix the bloody thing so that I can post support requests?” A not unreasonable request thinks me.

12) Reseller emails me and asks for my login name

13) Email my login Name to Reseller as requested (his got my name and company name but OK)

14) AutoDesk have now asked whether our contract administrator can raise a support request on the subscription site as to why this is happening too me??!

Apparently AutoDesk Support cannot help with this matter and it needs to be raised directly with AutoDesk Business Centre through the support request (unfortunately Resellers do not have direct contacts with this area of AutoDesk).

15) I email my Contract administrator to ask him to make the request

15 Steps not including what has happened between the reseller and Autodesk and a day of wasted time, and all I want to do is submit a Support Request!

I do hope they can fix this after recieving his request

"My Brain Hurts!"   Bloody Gumbys . . . . . . . . 
The pain stops after a little while, if you stop hitting your head against the wall!


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Saturday 24 April 2010

Video Tutorials for Design Review 2011

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Design Review 2011Enhanced 3D Lighting & Field of View
Autodesk Design Review 2011 has once again improved the 3D viewing experience. In this video, I'll show you how 3D lighting has been improved, as well as how to use the new Field of View tool.

Design Review 2011Using and Sharing Workspaces
With Autodesk Design Review 2011, workspaces can be set up for any workflow. In this video I'll show you how to use workspaces and share them with your team.

Design Review 2011Using 2D Measurements
Autodesk Design Review 2011 enables you to measure a drawings published objects. In this video, I'll review the available 2D measurement tools.

Design Review 2011Using 2D Markups
Autodesk Design Review 2011 enables you to add your comments and questions to published files. In this video, I'll review some of these 2D markup tools.

Design Review 2011Using and Sharing Custom Symbols
Using and sharing symbols is a great way to customize Autodesk Design Review 2011. In this video, we'll show you how to use and share custom symbols.

For more information or to download Design Review 2011 visit
http://www.autodesk.com/designreview
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Wednesday 21 April 2010

Customer Involvement program CIP ~ Check out your system

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The web page says: "The Autodesk Customer Involvement Program (CIP) gathers usage and system information from customers across the globe every day. In the charts and graphs below, we have selected 4 pieces of your system's information and compared them to the averages of other Autodesk software customers. This is a quick way to see how your hardware stacks up."
 
System - Screen Res - Video Ram - System ------------Click here to find out
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Good but still not a utility program to check out your system and Video Card...
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Tuesday 20 April 2010

Extensions and Utilities for Revit 2011 subscription users

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I discovered this today and have downloaded all the extensions, and have just seen a posting on Revit Clinic announcing and detailing the extensions and utilities that are available for download from the subscription center for those customers on subscription support. http://www.autodesk.com/subscriptionlogin
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Monday 19 April 2010

More 90 Second Revit 2011 Video Tutorials

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Experience the Power of BIM – 1:22
Building information modeling (BIM) is breaking down barriers and bridging communication between extended design and construction teams, providing consistent and reliable information across the scope of a project.

=======================================================================

Autodesk Revit Architecture: Placing Walls and Doors – 1:56 16 April 2010
lllustrates the procedure and tools used to add walls and doors to a Revit building model.

Autodesk Revit Architecture: Customizing Content – 1:45
Demonstrates how to create specific content types in Revit to meet project requirements

Autodesk Revit Architecture: Creating a Perspective View – 1:06
See how to place a camera in Revit to create a perspective view, and how to adjust the view depth, boundary, and camera angle.

Autodesk Revit Architecture: Adding Project Datums – 1:55
Demonstrates how to add levels and grids to establish a framework for a Revit building model.

=======================================================================

Autodesk Revit MEP: Placing Electrical Components – 1:16
Provides an overview of the procedure to add electrical components in Revit.

Autodesk Revit MEP: Placing Duct and Pipe - 1:47
Provides an overview of the procedure to place duct or pipe in Revit. and generate a layout.

Autodesk Revit MEP: Placing Cable Tray and Conduit 1:44
Provides an overview of the procedure to add cable tray, conduit, and related elements in Revi.

Autodesk Revit MEP: Modifying MEP Elements – 1:42
Shows how to adjust the size, change the fitting type, and modify the placement of Revit MEP elements.

=======================================================================

Autodesk Revit Structure: Creating Frame Modeling – 1:53
Demonstrates the procedure and tools used to create beam systems and trusses in Revit..

Autodesk Revit Structure: Working with Hosted Components – 1:19
Demonstrates that host components (such as beams, roofs, and walls) are required for placement of hosted components in Revit.

Autodesk Revit Structure: Using the Rebar Shape Browser 1-32
Shows how to add rebar to concrete elements, and how to change and modify the shape and type of rebar in Revit.

Autodesk Revit Structure: Introducing the Analytical Model and Loads 1-33
Shows how the analytical model can be used to analyze the structural integrity of the Revit building model.



Sunday 18 April 2010

Getting Started with Revit 2011 in 90 Seconds

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Just getting started with Revit? These videos will describe basic features that are common across Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and Revit MEP. Be sure to start here and then move onto the other "Getting Started in 90 Seconds" playlists or visit http://www.autodesk.com/ for more information. These were posed to YouTube on the 16th April 2011.




Autodesk Revit: Getting Started
Introduces the Revit user interface and helps you get up and running with Revit.

Autodesk Revit: Working with Parameters
Demonstrates that every object in a Revit building model, has properties that affect both its behavior and description. Also shows how to modify object properties

Autodesk Revit: Working with a Common Model
Illustrates that views are not simply static representations of the Revit building model.

Autodesk Revit: Using Revit Families
Provides an overview of using Revit families to add content to a building model, including how to load a family, select a type, and place an instance.

Autodesk Revit: Understanding Constraints
Introduces how constraints, such as dimensions and alignment can control the design intent of your Revit model.

Autodesk Revit: Sketching
Provides examples of when a sketch is required in Revit to create geometry (such as roofs, slabs, and ceilings), and introduces the draw tools.

Autodesk Revit: 3D Modeling in Revit
Presents the concept of 3D modeling in Revit while creating a full description of the building.

Autodesk Revit: Linking Models
Shows how to link building models in Revit to aid collaboration across architectural, structural, and MEP disciplines.

Autodesk Revit: Exploring Model versus Annotation Components
Illustrates that Revit model components display in all views, while annotations (such as tags and dimensions) only display in the view in which they are placed.

Autodesk Revit: Creating Section and Elevation Views
Demonstrates how to create and modify section and elevation views of the Revit model.
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Saturday 17 April 2010

Revit Certified Graphics Hardware List now on Autodesk web site

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In my post of the 30th March about Revit 2011 Introduces Certified Graphics Hardware List and Utility I reported that many of the new features within Revit 2011 will rely on the compatibility of your graphics card. And that when the product ships, there will be a list of certified graphic cards uploaded on the Autodesk web site somewhere, and that I would let you know when it arrives:-

It’s here Graphics Hardware List or use the url  http://www.autodesk.com/us/revit/revit_graphics_hardware_-_graphics_hardware_list_final.html

Use this list to check to see if your graphics hardware supports hardware acceleration in Autodesk Revit 2011-based products.

The Graphics Hardware List provides you with the status of supported and non-supported graphics hardware for 2011 products based on the Autodesk® Revit® platform.

Finding information for your hardware is easy; (so the Web site says) just find your card and driver version in the list below.


OK so I have a NVIDIA GeForce 9500 GT and WinXP which is not on the list.

The driver I had was 6.14.11.8585 I got the error message so I’ve updated the driver to the latest which is 6.14.11.9621

This list is about as useful to me as a push bike is to a goldfish because my graphics card and driver is not listed!.

But don't forget what the web site said "Finding information for your hardware is easy; just find your card and driver version in the list below. "Having downloaded the latest driver I try Revit again and it warns me



Because I assume my card is not on the list, my questions to Autodesk are now:-

1. How do I get my video card and driver tested and thus become Known?

2. Is there going to be a testing utility as mentioned in one of the troubleshooting videos?

3. If there is when can I get hold of it to test not only my PC here at home but also my pc at work which also reported the same error message.


Report a Problem


The Autodesk web page says to "Report any problems with graphics hardware when using Autodesk Revit 2011-based products."

So I’ve posted the questions above and will let you know the answers in due course.
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Revit 2011 Trial Versions Ready For Download

Autodesk Revit Structure 2011, which is available on the subscription centre at  http://www.autodesk.com/subscription is now available for download from Autodesk.com at http://www.autodesk.com/revitstructure-downloads.


At this time only the English version is available. The localized versions will be released over the next several months. (What do I care? I speak English!)

For a list of new features and enhancements in Revit Structure 2011, please go to http://docs.autodesk.com/REVITST/201...7c01c-3c22.htm.

But as there is more than one version of Revit here is a list of the latest versions with links to the download pages:-
RAC2011-20100326_1700 Revit Architecture
RST2011-20100326_1700  Revit Structure
RME2011-20100326_1700 Revit MEP

Enjoy

 

Friday 16 April 2010

Revit Structure 2011 User Assistance

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Be sure to check out the Revit Structure 2011 User Assistance (Press F1), some very useful stuff here. David Light has a similar post with a link to Revit Architecture 2011 User Assistance.
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Thursday 15 April 2010

Autodesk Subscription Access is Temporarily Unavailable ~ I wonder why?

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Time to Tax the system. Revit Architecture 2011 is available for download immediately for subscription customers!!!! 4/15/10 7AM EST.

Looks like Gregory Arkin is psychic



It must be getting better, now at least It only thinks I have forgot my password



Perhaps Autodesk should have invested some money they saved on DVD's on hardware!

And Autodesk are thinking of Cloud Computing..............I don't think so!

3.0 Hours later and I still can't get in ..... I want to punch someone or something

So Frustrating AGHRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!

Morphing, turning into a cross between the HULK and Victor Meldrew again..............

After about 5 hours I did get in then spent until 2am in the morning downloading.
I should have used the download manager as I got to 99% then Blammmmmy gone...

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AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 - What's New Video Tutorials

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I found these  AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 Video Tutorials up on YouTube.

These videos are great, they show you what's inside AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 that comes with Revit. Hopefully one day these two programs will become one! (Revit)

AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 ~  Surface Distribution of Reinforcement Bars - 12 April 2010.
Surface reinforcement representation of concrete reinforcement bars where all of the bars are different sizes often does not conform to the realities of the construction process. AutoCAD Structural Detailing has been enhanced to allow for the surface distribution of reinforcement bars on inclined edges which can be defined into group segments, allowing them to be grouped by similar length. This method of grouping of the reinforcement bars allows for fewer bar length types.

AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 ~ Steel Connections Enhancements - 12 April 2010.
The steel connections feature has been enhanced to provide additional parameters which can help users define the size of undercuts to the upper/lower plane of the adjoining element in beam-to-beam connections. For beam-to-beam connections with rib plates, it is now possible to modify the location of the connecting rib on the right or left side of the adjoining element.

AutoCAD Structural Detailing 2011- Reinforcement Bar Definition Enhancements - 12 April 2010.Enhancements have been made to the reinforcement bar definition feature such as automatic recognition of a bar shape and the ability to assign the correct shape code to it. This option is available for all types of reinforcement definitions such as manual bar definition, surface reinforcement, reinforcement defined by using macros, and for drawings imported from Autodesk Revit Structure and Autodesk Robot Structural Analysis.

AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 ~ Table Rotation ~ 12 April 2010.
AutoCAD Structural Detailing now takes advantage of the AutoCAD Rotate command which allows users to change the orientation of tables created with AutoCAD Structural Detailing features.

AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 ~ Bidirectional Link with Autodesk Revit Structure - 12 April 2010.
The exchange of a steel structural model with Autodesk Revit Structure has been extended by adding curved elements and groups. Also, new mapping capabilities have been added to help identify the element cross-sections between the applications. To have this capability, you need to install Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit Structure

AutoCAD Structural Detailing 2011 ~ Elements with no Machining  - 12 April 2010.
No description for this Video!

AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 ~ Element Definition in UCS - 12 April 2010.
Structural elements can now be defined in the local User Coordinate System (UCS) allowing for buildings to be modeled quickly and easily in a given coordinate system.

AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 ~ Copying/Moving Openings - 12 April 2010.
Copying and moving selected elements in the Formwork Drawings part has been enhanced to allow for copying and moving openings in walls and slabs from one level to another, independently from the structural element itself

AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 ~ Improved Construction Documentation - 12 April 2010.

During the definition of simple dimensions, users can now select the types of elements to be considered, regardless of the general settings. Also simple and group dimensions now allow you to define a minimum dimension value that will be omitted during dimensioning. Additionally, automatic level descriptions for drawings, such as plan views of the stories and foundations, can now be created.

AutoCAD® Structural Detailing 2011 ~ Enhanced Automatic Drawing Creation - 12 April 2010.
The method of arranging, grouping, and justifying the elements in automatically generated drawings has been enhanced to allow for higher quality drawings to be produced with better overall organization. Additionally, the functionality of automatic drawing generation has been extended to allow table generation that lists elements that are not subject to machining as well as elements that have vertical and flat cuts at their ends.
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Wednesday 14 April 2010

Post-Install Tasks of Autodesk Revit 2011 - Revit Clinic

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13 April 2010 — Corrections to the video posted in March due to errors found. read more at Revit Clinic .

Overview of the most common tasks you have to do immediately after installing Autodesk Revit 2011 family of products. This includes: initial startup, registration and activation and installing the VBA enabler. Other topics include: uninstalling or repairing an Install and install/uninstall of the new material Libraries.

It should be pointed out that although the video is for Revit Architecture 2011, the same process and video points would apply for Revit Structure and Revit MEP 2011 as well. 
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Tuesday 13 April 2010

Where is the Revit Structure & MEP Customer Council?

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Welcome To the Revit® Architecture Customer Council! the web site says

This exclusive online council is designed for you, our customers, as a forum to help us develop Autodesk products that better meet your needs.

To help counsel us, you are invited to provide feedback through a number of methods including online surveys and interviews, which will allow the Revit Architecture software team to make the most of your input early in our development process. Our goal is to deliver new product releases that are more relevant to you and your business, while enabling you to work more effectively.

The Revit Architecture Team values your input and appreciates the time you will take to complete surveys in this program. Thank you for helping us gain better insight into your specific needs.

So the Question is What about Revit Structure and MEP?

 

Program Benefits

There are several benefits to participating in the Revit Architecture Customer Council.

When you become a member:


  • You join an exclusive group of customers who will have more communication with the RevitArchitecture team and better visibility into our development process

  • You have the opportunity to provide direct feedback about RevitArchitecture to the product team which will help us deliver a higher quality product that is more relevant to your needs.

  • You will receive exclusive access to survey results that will enable you to see how other professionals from around the world are using RevitArchitecture.

 YES Revit Structure and MEP Users would like this as well!

How to participate

Who can join the Customer Council?

Anyone who uses Revit Architecture or AutoCAD RevitSeries Building products ( I assume that means Revit Structure and MEP so why not just say so?) can join this council. To be a council member, participants must have access to the Internet.

How do I become a member of the Customer Council?

There are two easy steps to joining the Council:

Click the Join Now link on the revitcc.com website and submit your name and a valid e-mail ID, and you will receive an e-mail invitation to join the council.

Follow the link in the email invitation and fill out the Customer Council Registration Survey.

You will become a member upon completion of the Registration Survey, and then you will be eligible to receive future survey invitations.

Then you fill in the Registration Survey and they tell you
"At this time we are only interested in members who use Revit Architecture in the past year... etc etc"
So no change there then!
 

Come on Autodesk Buck your Ideas up and offer Revit Structure
 and MEP the same level of support as Architecture!

See also http://cadalot-revitlearningcurve.blogspot.com/2010/03/autodesk-revit-product-support.htm

and also http://cadalot-revitlearningcurve.blogspot.com/2010/01/there-are-more-revit-users-than.html
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**************  UPDATE 14th April 2010 *************

Below is an email I recieved from the manager of the current Revit Architecture Customer Council and Senior Manager of AEC User Research team in Waltham, MA, USA.

"Over the next two months, we are revising our Revit Architecture Customer Council system so that it will be a single Revit Customer Council that includes users of Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, and Revit Structure. We will be asking for users of all the Revit products to sign up for the integrated Revit Customer Council and we will be inviting Council members to participate in surveys and other research activities targeted to Structure and MEP users as well as Architecture users."

Finally the Version Equality Massage may be getting home!
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Saturday 10 April 2010

CADclips - Parametric Room Size Label



Originally posted on Monday, March 22, 2010 over at Revit Rocks! by Daryl Gregoire, these nice little series of video tutorials about creating nested families and parameters and building a fmaily that will also save you a ton of time if you ever need to label room sizes.

Daryls' posting generally got missed because of all the hype about Revit 2011.

In the videos Daryl will teach you how to nest an annotative family (with instance parameters) into a model family. How to then link up the two sets of parameters in the model family and tie it all together with reference planes that result in downstream shape handles at the project level.

Once the family is loaded into the project you can 'align and / or lock' the nested / controlling reference planes to walls or parallel edges and the room size label updates. Use the 'align tool' or select the family and use the shape handles.

The lessons learned here on nesting an annotation family within a model family and being able to nudge or move 'the annotation' part of the model family at the project level is NOT widespread knowledge.

On Revit Rocks! You will find an embedded playlist with 1 CADclip demonstrating the family in action and 3 more CADclips showing you how to build the family yourself from scratch.

These are also available on YouTube and are hyperlinked below


CADclip Lab - Room Size - RAC-10-LA-07-01 - Demonstration
CADclip Lab - Room Size - RAC-10-LA-07-02 - Annotation Family
CADclip Lab - Room Size - RAC-10-LA-07-03 - Generic Model Family
CADclip Lab - Room Size - RAC-10-LA-07-04 - Flex In Model

In Addition to the Free Video Tutorials that Daryl releases on Revit Rocks! There are volumes of Revit Structure, Architecture and MEP Video Tutorials that can be purchased on the CADclips website.

Thursday 8 April 2010

CAD Notes Revit Architecture Tutorial: Create residential building from scratch


Whilst surfing for new revit sites I happened upon CAD Notes by Edwin Prakoso. he has produced Revit Architecture Tutorial: Create residential building from scratch, see list below

1.Introduction to Revit Architecture
2.Revit Architecture User Interface
3.Understanding Views and View Navigation
4.Defining Levels
5.Placing Exterior Walls
6.Finishing Your Walls
7.Placing Doors and Windows
8.Understanding Wall Structure
9.Creating Your Own Wall Type
10.Creating Floors
11.Creating Roof
12.Creating Roof Edges Profile
13.Creating Staircase
14.Creating Railings
15.Creating Ceiling in Revit Model
16.Creating Floor Edge Slab and Custom Component
17.Introduction to Revit Components
18.Revit Annotations: Dimension
19.Door and Window Tags
20.Defining Room and Room Legend
21.Creating Schedule from Revit Model
22.Placing Views to Sheet
23.Vertical Compound Wall
24.E-book: Revit Architecture 2010: Your First Residential Design
25.Placing Curtain Wall
26.Placing Wall and Material Tag



Edwin has compiled the Tutorials on his blog into an e-book that you can read comfortably without having to visit the blog pages. It’s not exactly the same with the existing tutorials, but, it’s very similar. he has fixed some editorial errors, add some more screenshots to describe the steps better, and provide some tutorial files. With the tutorial files, you can compare what he did to his model, or simply start a chapter using files provided. If you want to see what’s inside the book, you can download the table of contents


The e-book price is US$ 12.5  Click here to view more details 
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Wednesday 7 April 2010

Creating Small Movement Joints In Concrete Elements

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Here is a question from a thread on the RST AUGI forum that I answered,and then found one of my guys having the same problem.

Q: So I have a building that requires an expansion joint, between grid lines. So I have one beam canted off of one column, and I have another beam I'm trying to cantilever off the other column.

So here's my question. How the heck do you get them to not join. I've been banging my head against the desk for the last 2 hrs trying to get this to work. As soon as I get within 12" of the other they join. Do I need to tell my Architect that he has to deal with a 12" expansion joint because Revit won't model it right.


A:  Workaround ~ draw a slim column in the location of the movement joint, the one in my example is 20mm wide and the depth is greater than the width of the concrete beam. The I changed the material to glass and connected the beam to the face of the glass column. finally I hid the glass column in the view. Thus 20mm Movement joint and no auto joining.



Revit Factory  

There has to be an easier way of dealing with this....
Wishlist Revit 2012 ~No more gimmicks it's time to "FIX THE BASICS"
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Tuesday 6 April 2010

Autodesk AEC Technology Day

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I received a pleasant surprise invitation to attend this event last week. It's taking place on Tuesday, April 6th at Autodesk's Trapelo Road office in Waltham, but without me......... 

If only I had an up to date passport!.

I could have been looking at the same view as David Light (Drat, Darn and other expletives) and meeting up with Steve Stafford , David Harrington and other Revitheads

Have a great event guys.......

Autodesk Assistance Program extended through January 31st 2011


Enrolment in the Autodesk Assistance Program and software download availability has been extended through January 31st, 2011. Classroom training is subject to training centre scheduling and availability.
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--
In order to get ahead in the workplace, you need to invest in yourself by increasing your knowledge and expanding your skills. And the good news is that Autodesk can help you get back in the game. With the Autodesk Assistance Program you can take action today to gain a competitive advantage in your field. The program offers:

  • Free* Software License: Student licenses of over 25 Autodesk® products including AutoCAD® software and other industry focused products supporting Building Information Modeling and Digital Prototyping technology. 
  • Free OnlineTraining: On-demand training available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  (requires internet access)
  • ClassroomTraining: Many Autodesk Authorized Value Added Resellers and Autodesk Training Centre (ATC®) partners are offering classroom training at their facilities at a discounted price for Autodesk Assistance Program members. (Offers vary by partner, please check with your local ATC or Reseller to get details)
  • Certification: Certification preparation and exams available at discounted rates through Autodesk Authorized Certification Centres (Offerings will vary, please check with your local Certification Center to get details)

  • Software Discounts: Commercial product discounts are available for select products exclusively for Autodesk Assistance Program members, or employers that hire them. Contact your local Autodesk Authorized Value Added Reseller for more information about this and other programs. (approval by an Autodesk Territory Manager is required)

Seize the opportunity now. Don’t just survive, thrive!

*Free products MAY NOT be used for commercial, professional or other for-profit purposes, and are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreement that accompanies the software.  A copy of this agreement can be found here.

To learn more about the program and included benefits, download the Autodesk Assistance Program FAQ


For firms that must reduce their workforce, the Autodesk Assistance Program can help. The program is designed to help displaced employees in the Architecture, Engineering, Design and Manufacturing industries update their skills and improve their employability in a down economy.

Download this 1-page flyer as a handout during exit interviews, or to share with those that may benefit from the program.
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Thursday 1 April 2010

Autodesk Bloggers Day Yeti Game ~ Bloody Version as well!

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Those of us fortunate enough to be invited too and to remember to attend the Autodesk Bloggers event (Steve Stafford) were greeted with a Yeti Penguin Sports game.....which we played whilst waiting for the event to start.

I've had a little search on the internet and found the game plus a bloody version.

Click Here to go to the game.

Should your Yeti catch the penguin at the right moment and angle, you might just hit one out of the arctic continent.