Autodesk University 2008

April? Really? I haven't posted since April. Wow, been busy.

We have made quite a bit of progress in that time, doing a lot with NavisWorks bringing it into the field and tying the model to the construction schedule. Have been training the construction project managers in Navis to view the model, measure, markup, etc.

We also hired a Revit Specialist so I can focus on the bigger BIM picture rather than just Revit. All of our projects are in Revit now, unfortunately with economy situation there are not many new jobs to speak of. We recently had layoffs and the possibility of more is very real.

But even with that bleakness we are still sending 18 people to Autodesk University! We still feel there is great value in it and you can't beat the training you get for the price.

I will be at the BIM Mixer, the Blogger Social, the AUGI Volunteer get together, AEC direction meeting (architecture and construction) and some other unconference events.

I'll be updating my twitter status (I'm stealing this idea from Greg) saying where I'm at so you can find me if you like. You can follow me here http://twitter.com/davidkingham

Revit Detail Level and NavisWorks

Steve at HOK posted about Interference Detection and Detail Level which reminded me the same sort of thing applies in NavisWorks also, the NavisWorks exporter only exports geometry that is visible at a FINE level of detail, if fine is unchecked it will not be exported, and it does not matter what your view is set to if you select export current view, it will still go to fine.

NavisWorks Forum Alive on AUGI

NavisWorks Forum
I will be moderating this forum on AUGI, will be posting some good stuff like search sets for revit categories soon.

Tools I use everyday

Thought I would share some of the tools I use that are not directly related to BIM but help me in getting the job done. Please share what you use!

nDroid
An application launcher similar to launchy or quicksilver only much much faster, I cannot live without this anymore.
xplorer²
A replacement for windows explorer, allows you to have two panes side by side, tabs, etc.
Notepad++
A replacement for notepad, this is invaluable when writing code, the best part is the syntax highlighting for virtually any programming language, also has tabs.
AutoHotkey
A programming language that is very simple to use to create very simple macros or hotkeys or fairly advanced programs (nDroid was created in AHK for example)
Mindmanger
For creating mindmaps, most people know what this is by now
7-Zip
Replacement for winzip, works for any compressed files and I like it better than winrar
Camtasia
For quick screen recordings
Captivate
If you want the very best program for creating help videos this is it.
CCleaner
Cleans out all the crap on your computer
GIMP
Free replacement for photoshop
Hatch Manager
Quickly make hatch patterns in AutoCAD
Firefox
If you don't know what this is you've been living under a rock. I won't even list all the extensions I have
PDFCreator
The best PDF writer ever.
SnagIt
Must have, great screen captures
StatBar
Helps keep an eye on system stats at all times
TerraCopy
Makes copying large files much easier
PDF Split and Merge
Just as it says, splits multi sheet pdfs up or merges single pdfs into one
Google Reader
RSS feed reader

Shading Elevations in Revit

Miles Walker from HOK posted this tip for fading out elevations
While this does work I believe I have a much better solution.
I originally posted it on AUGI and you can download the family here
What I did was create a mass family that has a transparent material with different levels of shading, so if you have a building with multiple steps you can make your elevations easy to understand.
Simply place the family between the elevation and the building, make sure mass is turned on in your elevation and turned off in your floor plans. You will need to use the linework tool to turn the edges of the family to invisible lines, hover on one of the edges and hit tab to select all the edges at once. The only caveat is you have to use Raster instead of Vector when printing.

Revit Grids in NavisWorks

I've been struggling to find my bearings in NavisWorks because the grids from Revit are not 3d so they do not come into NW. I've come up with a pretty good solution in the meantime.
I created a 2-Pick family in Revit that I creatively called 'Grid.rfa'

The grid bubbles and the grid line are extrusions 1/4" high, I tried using Model Lines but they are just too hard to select in NW. The grid name/number are tied to a 'Grid' parameter.

I created an empty project that I linked the structural model into and proceeded to Copy/Monitor the grids into the project. From here I can use the pick option for creating the 2-pick family grids with 'Lock' checked.

Then all you have to do is set the 'Grid' parameter in the newly created grid.

Now what happens if the grid changes? That never happens so we don't have to worry about it....oops had a moment of insanity.

Since we copy/monitored the grids we can simply do a coordination review (look in help if you don't know what this is) the grids will automatically be updated and since we used the lock option to place the new 2pick grids they will move right along with the monitored grids. The only coordination you have to do is check the grid names and make sure there are no new grids, coordination review will not currently tell you if new grids have been added.

Now here's the cool part, when you select the grid in NavisWorks you can look at the properties and you instantly know what grid you're looking at. No need to track down the grid bubble.

I also found it useful to group the grids in Revit and then copy the group to each floor, that way it's always easy to find the grid in NW.

I anyone would like my Grid family just leave a comment or shoot me an email and I'll be happy to send it to you.

Autodesk's Negative Effect on NavisWorks

Although Autodesk pledged to not change NavisWorks the effect of Autodesk is hurting the program unfortunately. It's not Autodesk that is doing the damage though, at least not directly.

This was posted on the NavisWorks site today

"PLEASE NOTE THAT SOME THIRD PARTY VENDORS MAY ELECT TO NOT PROVIDE FILE FORMAT SUPPORT FOR NAVISWORKS PRODUCTS AS OUTLINED BELOW FOLLOWING THE SALE OF NAVISWORKS TO AUTODESK. WHILE WE INTEND TO WORK TO PROVIDE CONTINUED DIRECT THIRD PARTY FILE FORMAT SUPPORT WHEN POSSIBLE, IN SOME CASES, SUCH SUPPORT MAY BE DISCONTINUED DESPITE OUR PREFERENCE. WHEN FEASIBLE, A WORKFLOW CHANGE MAY ADDRESS SOME CUSTOMER’S NEEDS (E.G., EXPORT OF FILES FROM AN UNSUPPORTED THIRD PARTY CAD PRODUCTS INTO A FILE FORMAT SUPPORTED BY NAVISWORKS). PLEASE COME BACK TO THIS WEB PAGE FOR FURTHER UPDATES ON FILE FORMAT SUPPORT AVAILABILITY."

It's unfortunate that the 'other' vendors are taking away support for native file format, this coincides with a previous post regarding file exporters,  If more vendors pull native support because they would be supporting Autodesk then we have to have the originating program to export from to get quality models. Again this forces us into the position of requiring subcontractors to purchase NavisWorks. A free exporter would alleviate a lot of my concerns.