Early Fathers Day trip to the Dr Who Experience

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Thanks Girls for my early Fathers Day Gift......

What more could a Dad ask for, his two Daughters and the Dr Who Experience!!!!

Revit Structure 2012 UK Terminology Hotfix

A big THANK YOU to all of you that emailed Ralph Pullinger about the missing UK Terminology in Revit 2012 as a resuilt of my previous posting we now have a HOTFIX from Autodesk available.

Click Here to download the Hot Fix.
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There have been historical problems with UK installs of Revit and Service Packs in the past and lets hope that the Autodesk Development and Quality Assurance teams do finally learn from their mistakes and don’t persist in repeating the time after time like groundhog day and take time to use willinig members of the ever increasing UK Users Groups to test out final installs for them before they go live.

It’s going to save them so much aggravation and egg on the face if they do.

That said, all in all an excellent result from them in resolving the problem and providing the HOTFIX within 10 days of my original posting..

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Version 10.1 of Keynote Manager

As a subscriber I have been informed that version 10.1 of Keynote Manager is available.

Version 10.1 addresses some concerns expressed and adds some new flexibility to the program. A full list of updates can be found at http://keynotemanager.revolutiondesign.biz/History.html, but the most significant changes are as follows:

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F    Flexibility – Version 10.1 splits the program into an ad-supported free version and a paid ‘Pro’ version.  This allows the program to be used functionally for free, but adds extra features and flexibility for users who need more features.

      Banners – This system can be turned on or off in the pro version but is required for the free version.  Additionally, the pro version can be fully customized to point to a location on a local server for companies to display banners and links to their users in-house.

      

       Manufacturer Link – This system can be turned on or off in the pro version, but is required for the free version.

      Info Link – This system uses the same external xml file as the comment system to allow you to link keynotes to external files or web locations and open those files from the Keynote Manager interface.  Files on local or network drives are opened in their default editor and web locations are opened in the default browser.

      Help – The help system has been changed to an html system which should be much easier to use and update.

      The links regarding this version are the same as previous versions, but in case you don’t have them:

Download &/or purchase:  http://keynotemanager.revolutiondesign.biz

Feature Overview:              http://keynotemanager.revolutiondesign.biz/Features.html

Update History:                   http://keynotemanager.revolutiondesign.biz/History.html

DWF File Viewing Comes to the iPad

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Here is a repost from over at Beyond the Paper (Why repost?, because I know I'm gonna need to find this again soon!)

"Judging from the amount of email we receive requesting the ability to view DWF files on your mobile devices, we think you'll be interested in learning about an iPad® app called McDwiff, by third-party developer Austin Silver Software.

Using the Autodesk Freewheel Web service, which requires an Internet connection, McDwiff enables you to open, view, convert, and print 2D and 3D DWF files on your iPad. (Of particular interest to some may be the app's Dropbox integration.)

For more information about the app, visit the McDwiff website. And if you try the app, be sure to leave a comment on the original post over at Beyond the Paper, and let them know how viewing DWF files on your iPad works for you.

McDwiff (and the Autodesk Freewheel Web service). Just another way Autodesk enables our customers to go beyond the paper!"
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Update on the KIP Printer Problem

Time travel has featured quite a lot in the last few post on this blog

The concept of Past Present and Future got into a mucking fuddle when for some unknown reason the company that supplies the beast to us upgraded her driver software beyond the point that she should be upgraded too.

Thus It transpires that the imminently available driver (The Future) for our KIP 3000 was actually already available (The Past)

There are two IT support companies between us and the manufacturer, so to find this out I went straight back to KIPUK the manufacturer and their Customer Support Manager Greg Jackson who was great. He even downloaded Revit 2012 and checked it all out.

If you look at or print the build sheet and your restore version on your KIP is greater than or equal to 7.0 xxx then you can utilise driver 3.165 or above but KIP are still waiting for Microsoft Certification of the current drivers. Which is why no one knows when they will come out of the Bermuda Triangle, that is Microsoft, and that is why the term imminently is being used!

If however you are below 7.0 then you cannot update the driver beyond 3.165. (Which is what some silly billy had done with our KIP) 

KIP may release additional drivers in the future which can be used across all restore versions.

Products which are able to utilise IPS restore version 6.5 and greater are KIP 3100, KIP 7100, KIP 7700, KIP 7900, KIP 9900.

Greg communicated with both IT companies between us and them, we tested the downgrade two Wednesdays ago and last Wednesday the servers were downgraded back to driver 3,165 and in the Present everything appears to now work OK.

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A Cautionary Digital Tale of Virtual Design and Construction

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This subject has been highlighted for discussion at a future LRUG meeting and this article found over at Engineering News-Record is well worth a read and some consideration:~

Insurance settlement related to a building information model shows that BIM without communication can be costly

A lawsuit over construction of a life-sciences building at a major university stands as the first known claim related to the use of building information modeling by an architect. Furthermore, the claim and its settlement serve as a cautionary tale to others using BIM, says the insurer.

Click here to read more.......

Don't forget it's good to Talk.
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Autodesk Givith and Autodesk Taketh Away

The Gumby Award goes to the Autodesk Revit Structure Development Team for yet another .

We’ve had

• The Inability to turn off the content library from being installed.
• Missing Templates
• Missing Content
• The wrong shortcut Icon used on Insulation
• And Now…. Where have the Localisation Enhancements Gone? 

With the release of 2010 there was a lot of fuss made about Localisation Enhancements from Autodesk.

What are Localisation Enhancements? I hear you cry…

Basically because Revit is a USA produced and based product and the Americans speak “English Jim but not as we know it” they use construction terms that are different to those that we use in good old Blighty

So Localisation Enhancements really means country specific terms

The following USA terms that have been in the product pre 2010 were changed in the UK installation, but just to confuse the user the online Help, CHM and shortcut files still reflect the US terms.

USA Term	UK Term
Girder	Primary
Joist	Secondary
Horizontal Brace	Plan Brace
Purlin	Tertiary
Coping	Notching
Coping Distance	Notching Distance
Remove Coping	Remove Notching
Coped	Notched (mostly appear in warning messages)

Spot the Autodesk Givith and Autodesk Taketh Away

If you would like to see the reinstatement of UK terms within Revit Structure – Don’t forget that we are still waiting for stirrups to be renamed links in the RC detailing side.

Then send an email to Ralph Pullinger, using This Link that will automatically generate a subject title which will enable Ralph to collate the amount of people that are unhappy about the removal of UK construction terminology from within Revit Structure. Please add any other concerns you have to the email.

Ralph has assured me that not only will he will read them, that once he has collected them all, that he will pass them onto the Autodesk development team in USA to support the request he has made to have this fixed.

If you don’t email Ralph then you are not supplying him with the UK ammunition he needs to do his job which is helping us, the UK Users get from Autodesk and Revit what we need.

 

10 Days in the Future there was a Hotfix for the Missing UK Termonology 

Loading Revit 2012 Missing Content

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I reported about the problems with not installing and missing content back on the 15th April - David Light has posted about it on his blog on the 10th May, however his process was for Windows 7.

For Windows XP

1. Open the Windows Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.
2. Highlight your 2012 Revit product and choose Change/Remove
3. In the subsequent Revit dialog, choose Add or Remove Features.
4. In the Select Content section, choose US Metric.

IMPORTANT - Make sure that you keep the United Kingdom ticked because if you don't it will remove all your UK Content so you end up with the missing templates but you will have lost all of your UK families.

How do I know this, because I didn't and after 15-20 minutes I had lost my UK Content.

5. Click Next to install the content.

We the UK users should not have to install USA content, and this does not address the missing European Specific content that is also missing see my review document click HERE to download

Autodesk - what you should have done was fixed the problem and not have recommended a bodge. The UK Library should have been fixed and a download made available.
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Revit 2012 Text Editor Poll Results

Autodesk are you taking note?

Will anything Happen in 2013?

is this on your

In my posting Subscript - Superscript and Symbols back in November 2009, I talked about the fact that in Revit 2010, we did not have the ability to enter superscript or subscript and special or greek symbols and we use these kind of things all the time.


Area m²
Volume m³
Density kg/m³
Stress N/mm²
Degrees i.e. roof pitch 36°
Tolerance to be ± 5mm, etc
Diameter i.e. 22Ø Bolt

I mused that perhaps the next version of Revit 2011 will give us direct control for superscript, subscript and symbols with text which is something plain old AutoCAD has had for some time.

Improvements were made to the text editor but with everything Autodesk they didn't finish the job properly, Then you hope that it will come in the Subcription Advantage Pack mid 2011, It didn't happen.

Guess what It still has not happened in Revit 2012.

I'm starting a campain to FIX THE BASICS on various social networking platforms, let's get Autodesks attention, it about time they really listerned to their users.

I was 53 this year, will Autodesk have fixed this before I retire or die?

I guess it's a case of which comes first, they are thinking of putting up the retirement age to 70 so if I don't snuff it before that gives Autodesk another 17 years!

Odds please? (Please add comments to this posting) 

WORKAROUND

So for all you young people who don't recall CPM and  MS-DOS machines, and DOS Versions of AutoCAD, here is the workaround again.

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is the standard format used for text files within computers and online.


As computers can only understand numbers, the ASCII code is the numerical representation of alphabetic and special characters, such as


155 = ø
157 = Ø
167= º
171 = ½
172 = ¼
241 = ±
243 = ¾
248 = °
251 = ¹
252 = ³
253 = ²

If you know the keystroke value of the special character you want to insert, you can insert the special character directly into your document by using your keyboard.


To do so, open the document and position the cursor where you want the special character to appear. Then, with NUM LOCK on, press and hold the ALT key, and then press the keys on the numeric keypad that represent the keystroke value of the character you want to input.


After you finish typing, release the ALT key, and Windows generates the character you specified.

Dr Who: The Adipose Care Guide

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OK "I don't believe it" ... that there are those of you out there, that don't watch Dr Who!

It appears to me that most Revitheads also like Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr Who and Scfi generally  it must be all that 3D stuff models and animation!

That's also why I'm enjoying experimenting with the 3DConnexion mouse - No I'm not using it on Google Earth and pretending to be Superman flying!

If you find an Adipose walking lost down a street, here is how to look after him or her.

My ones name is "Jor" because he looks like half of Jordan (you know Katie Price the EX Mrs Peter Andre )....

I could have called him "Dan" but I would have felt like a RIGHT TIT

"Matron can I go and sit in the comfy chair now please?....... No No not the comfy chair!

 

3D Rodents - Computer Gadgets and Stress Toys

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Here is a quick snap shot of my workstation or desk in the office.

There is something new on the desk that I really want to experiment with and blog about, and it isn't the Adipose who has just found that I have a new anti stress gadget to play with!

After some playing (Ummmm I mean serious review time and research) I will let you guys know how I get on with the 3D rodent! or to give it it's real name 3DConnexion SpaceExplorer USB.

I would like to thank 3Dconnexion UK  for providing me with the hardware.

David Light has also had a play, I mean serious research time, and has even produced a blog and video of his research time!

Here are some useful Quicklinks if you want to find out more.

3Dconnexion UK Autodesk Revit Supported Software
3Dconnexion Uk Videos
Read more and price in £ for the SpacePilot Pro
Read more and price in £ for the Space Explorer USB
Read more and price in £ for the Space Navigator for Notepads
Read more and price in £ for the SpaceNavigator
Purchase a 3Dconnexion device with Graphics Card from Excitech

Here is a video of the SpaceNavigator being used with Google Earth from YouTube


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It’s Revit Upgrade Season ~ A Short Review

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So the work on our company new and Improved Revit 2012 Template is complete. As recommended by Autodesk we take the time to re-build the template with each new version.

This year it has been easier for my Padawan or Revit Apprentice “Rikki” to complete his task because he finally has twin screens and was able to have 2011 on one screen with 2012 on the other.  

OK before he reads this and gives me any of his lip, the Pupil is fast becoming or has become the Master, he so reminds me or me at that age, when I was the company AutoCAD power user and became the CAD Manager on the basis that all the users came to me for help, now it’s Rikkis turn, scary.I must be getting old.

The reality is that I would love to spend all my time playing and producing with Revit but these days I have too many other duties to perform during the day.

In my soul, I’m still a draughtsman and computer nerd, which is why I love to play with Revit and Beta it and other software in my spare time, having long since given up writing CADesign software and bolt-ons for CADrafting packages.

During development of the template Rikki is occasionally bouncing up and down saying, have you seen this in 2012 it does xyz which is better than 2011 and demonstrates too me, each time he finds a new feature or improvement he likes.

We are still awaiting the release of the new compatible KIP printer driver which after some investigation we were informed on the 28^th April that a Revit 2012 compatible driver is to be released “imminently” so keep on checking the KIP website for updates. We do nothing appears and no one seems to be able to inform me how imminent "imminently" is?

A quick telephone call to CSC our Analytical software provider and I’m informed that their conversion program to and from Revit 2012 will not be available for one or two months! And that they are releasing a newer version for 2011 before they get around to 2012!

Great Stuff…… more reasons not to roll out the new version yet..

Then I come across a posting from Eagle Point that their add-on software is already compatible with 2012 (shame they don’t write Structural Analytical packages)

I’m keeping an eye on the AUGI Forums for reports of problems with 2012 as its’ the annual dilemma of how stable is this and do I wait for the first Service Pack before rolling out to all the guys in the three offices is in the mix.

The other two companies to keep an eye on at this time of the year are Wiley and ASCENT who release lists of new books and training materials for Autodesk products.

A link to the ASCENT Courseware Release Roadmap can be found on the left hand panel of this blog and has been there about a week now…. Or click here to download. The good news is that ASCENT have increased their portfolio of Revit Architecture courses this year, the Fundamental Course in Imperial and Metric is already available, and the rest will be sometime in July 2011. The bad news is that the Structure and MEP Fundamentals are only available in Imperial and currently there are no plans to release Metric versions!.

It is also sad to see that currently there are no plans for additional publications or courses for either Revit Structure or MEP. I have requested some review copies of their training material from ASCENT so that I can blog about them here, for those of you just starting on the learning curve, who may consider purchasing them.

Following my discussions with my contact at Wiley I’m also sad to report that once again they have decided not to publish Mastering Revit Structure this year, but are keeping an eye on the growth of BIM and Revit and may well re-introduce it for 2013 

Mastering Revit Structure 2009 and 2010 were a fantastic resource,  I personally purchased a copy of both books before it was dropped for the 2011 release.

What I don’t understand is that whilst not publishing a Mastering Autodesk Revit Structure 2012 they have published Mastering Revit MEP 2012! 

In terms of units sold and being used, there are more seats of Structures out there than MEP?

Source of Poll Graph RevitGuru.com 

My contact of Wiley is sending me over a selection of books to read and review so there will be some blogging about my findings in the near future.  It will be good to see how much of Mastering Autodesk Revit can be used and will be of use to Revit Structure Users. There is after all the core which is applicable to all versions of Revit and then those additional features that apply to the particular flavour of Revit you are using.

Let’s also hope that the Free Upgrades and introduction of the Design and Creation Suites will encourage more equality of support across the three flavours of Revit..

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Eagle Point Ships Version 2012 of Autodesk Revit Companions

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Here is a nice little post I found over at TenLinks.....

DUBUQUE, IA, May 5, 2011 - Eagle Point Software Corporation announced the release of the 2012 versions of Siteworks for Revit and LANDCADD for Revit. Updates to these solutions take advantage of new functionality in Autodesk Revit 2012 software supporting a more complete building information modeling (BIM) workflow.

"We are glad to announce the release of Eagle Point's Revit 2012 companion products as we strive to provide architects, landscape architects, planners and consultants with an enhanced workflow and better collaboration tools that facilitate a higher adoption of the Building Information Model," says Luis Rojas, Building Design Product Line Manager at Eagle Point.

Click Here to continue reading the article......
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They sent my Census form back!!

 

 

In answer to the question, 'Do you have any dependants?'

 

I put, 'Asylum seekers, gypos, smack heads, unemployable  bar stewards , the cast of The Jeremy Kyle Show, Northern Rock, RBS and half of Eastern Europe!'

...apparently this wasn't an acceptable answer.

Installing the FREE Tekla BIMsight 1.1

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Below is a copy of an email I sent around our offices back in February after I had downloaded Tekla BIMsight 1.1.
I did mean to post this on the blog but never got around to it.

Seeing the news from Autodesk re the free upgrades can only make me wonder if the free Telka software was in someway a contributing factor in the formation of the Design and Creation Suites that are now being offered as free upgrades for those on subscription? 

The other thought is that perhaps Super Revit, all in one is on the horizon, because that is basically what these new bundles give you. Perhaps not in 2013 but by 2014-15 a combined Revit with the ability to change the toolbars from version to version on the fly?

Anyway back to the email about installing Tekla BIMsight 1.1 and if you want to download it HERE is the LINK

SWH have been doing lonely BIM for some time, we are now working on schemes sharing models with Architects which is termed Social BIM but we have not quite got to Intimate BIM, when we do we may need additional software like Navisworks or an equivalent.

Here is an extract about Navisworks from the Autodesk web site:

“Autodesk® Navisworks® Products deliver project review software for 3D co-ordination, 4D planning, photorealistic visualisation, dynamic simulation and accurate analysis. Create a whole-project model by integrating design and construction information including complex building information modelling (BIM), Digital Prototyping (DP) and process plant data. With Autodesk Navisworks project review software, you can collaborate, co-ordinate, and communicate more effectively to reduce problems during design and construction.”

The RRP price of Navisworks Manage is £7600 with and Annual Subscription in the order of £1000 per annum. Navisworks Simulate is an additional £2400 plus subscription. 

On our Utility Drive we now have a copy of Tekla BIMsight 1.1 here is a comparison chart

This has been released for FREE with no subscription required……. Yipeeeee

Click Here to go to the Download Page

Be warned that if not already on your computer, the install program downloads a prerequisite dotnet file from the internet that can take up to 8-10 minutes to install before the main program installs.

Once loaded there are instructive videos that you can watch to learn how to use the program.

Double click on the image on the top left corner

To unpack the example files

It will be interesting to see how Autodesk respond to the release of Tekla BIMsight 1.1

The last time this happened Bentley released their free viewer and marking up software and Autodesk stopped charging for Design Review!

Enjoy…….

FREEish Upgrade to Autodesk Design and Creation Suite

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Steve Stafford over at Revit OpEd mused in his posting Rumor Mongering - Building Design Sweet Deal

"Autodesk may be offering a nice upgrade deal for existing subscription Revit customers. Essence of the deal...free short term offer to upgrade to the Premium level with the catch that the yearly subscription fee will increase at renewal time later. I'm hopeful that this rumor will come true! "

Someone commented on his blog that this was a deal direct from Autodesk, but no it will be via  Resellers who in the UK are being briefed right at this moment.
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BIM Development in the UK

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This has just popped into my mailbox.....

It makes for some interesting reading for those of you that don't subscribe to the NBS newsletter

CLICK HERE to download

Enjoy......