The Revit Clinic

Small changes to the Revit Structure Suite package in 2010

There were some minor changes to the Revit Structure Suite package (specifically with AutoCAD Structural Detailing and AutoCAD) in 2010. I have had a couple of users ask questions about it and figured it was probably worth a post.

In 2009, the Revit Structure Suite shipped with Revit Structure, AutoCAD, and AutoCAD Structural Detailing (ASD). Users would need to install Revit and AutoCAD, and then ASD, as ASD ran off of AutoCAD.

This has changed slightly in 2010. Users are still shipped the same 3 discs, but ASD has its own version of AutoCAD for this release. So when you install ASD, you'll see that you get a shortcut to AutoCAD 2010 too.

The reason for shipping the separate AutoCAD 2010 disc was for users that didn't want to install ASD, or that were running on a 64 bit OS (as ASD won't install on that platform). So if you are running 32 bit machines and want to use ASD, you don't need to install the separate AutoCAD from the AutoCAD disc for ASD to run.

Crashing on the Recent Files page

We've been seeing some reports of users on 64 bit Operating Systems crashing with an unrecoverable error when they click anywhere on the Recent Files page in the Revit products. For more information on this, check out fellow user Dave Baldacchino's post in his blog, 'Do U Revit': http://do-u-revit.blogspot.com/2009/04/revit-64-bit-dont-use-ie8.html

To avoid the crashing in 2009, you should roll back Internet Explorer to version 7:

1. Open Windows Control Panel and go to Add or Remove Programs.
2. Select Windows Internet Explorer 8 and proceed with the uninstall.
3. After Internet Explorer has been uninstalled, restart your computer and Internet Explorer will automatically revert to version 7.

To avoid the crashing in 2010, you can roll back to IE7 following the instructions above, or turn off the Recent Files page:

1. Launch Revit.
2. Go to the View tab.
3. In the Window panel, select the User Interface pulldown and clear the box for Recent Files.

Note: The 2010 Revit products have not been designed for use with Internet Explorer 8, so the suggested approach would be to roll back to IE7.

Catching up with Email and Large Coordinates...

After my trip to Germany I had to spend all day yesterday catching up with my email.  This can be a daunting task when it seems like you need to respond to everything at once.  With the help of some friends over at Without A Net (Tom Stoeckel) I was led to a nice site that seems to have some very helpful ideas.  

Check out: www.43folders.com  It has some good information and tips on task management and ties into Getting things Done.  

Now on to something completely different....

While in Munich, I received a lot of questions via email and live at the event about large coordinates in Revit products.  It seemed to be the week about coordinates.  I've blogged about coordinates before in The 2 Mile Barrier.

In 2010 Revit products there was a change to the way Revit imports DWG files with large coordinates that might be causing some headaches.  

In 2010, you might see this error message when importing/linking in a DWG file:

This error message is meant to prevent problems with the accuracy of your BIM.  Due to limitations with computers (not just a Revit problem!) and floating point math, when models get larger than two miles in Revit, the application can no longer be accurate enough to display geometry and dimensions correctly all the time and this can cause instability in the application (like crashes).  

What do you do if you have a project that is bigger than two miles?  

The best answer for the stability of the model would be break the project into chunks that are each smaller than two miles.  This will allow you to model your project in Revit without problems.  You will need to break your DWG file into pieces in order to insert it into Revit (because the error above gives you no other options), so you might want to consider breaking up your project as well.  Besides this 2 mile limit, with a project this big, you probably will run into Memory related issues as well at some point as the file grows in complexity (that topic is for another day).  

If you must model everything in one file, you can break your DWG file up into 2 mile by 2 mile pieces and insert them one at a time side by side.  I remember doing this a lot for importing Aerial photographs into DWG files for doing pre-design work at the Civil Engineering office I worked for (those photos came in 1 mile by 1 mile quadrates and we had to line them up), which worked pretty well.

By importing smaller DWG files and piecing them together, will get you around this error message so that you can model everything in one file.  I wouldn't recommend this to much though, because like the message says, this can cause Inaccuracies and Instabilities in your Revit project.

Stress relief

My last post about using the demolish tool in Revit MEP got me thinking about a cool game that provides several implements of destruction (hammer, chainsaw, even termites) to empower you to "demolish" your desktop.  You think the hammer icon in Revit gives you a power rush, that's nothing. Check this out:  Game sample

If you're interested in downloading this free, harmless game, here's the link:  Desktop Game

(Disclaimer:  please be aware that using chainsaws and termites to destroy elements in Revit MEP is currently a wish item, and may not be available until a future release.  Until then, a workaround may be to assign a linetype in object overrides to something that resembles termite teethmarks).

Re-use existing duct taps

It may be beneficial to point out a limitation that exists in Revit MEP 2009 with respect to demolishing ducts with taps, that has since been resolved in 2010. 

Since much of the work done by engineering firms includes building renovation/tenant improvements, here is a common scenario that may come up:  Suppose an engineer wanted to demolish a duct branch, but keep and reuse the tap coming from the main.  First, the engineer draws the duct on the Existing phase.  The engineer then selects the demolish tool and applies it to the duct branch that is to be removed.  (Not for nothing, but doesn't that hammer icon make you feel like randomly smashing stuff?  No?  Ok, never mind).

As I was saying, in 2009, when the duct branch is demolished, the tap disappears.  Why?  Because the original code required that a tap could only exist if both ends were connected.  Once the branch was demolished, the tap was removed since an end is now unconnected.   To prevent the tap from being deleted, you could select the tap first with the demolish tool before selecting the branch.  However, if you switched the properties of the tap to be existing to remain (set Phase Demolished to None in Element Properties), the tap could not be reused.  Attempting to connect a new piece of duct to the tap produces an error 'No auto-route solution found".  The workaround?  You can use object overrides to assign a demo linetype to the branch (ignoring the demolish tool altogether).  Alternatively, you can draw a piece of duct just above the end of the tap and use the align tool to make the duct appear as though it is connected to the tap.

This is now resolved in 2010 and the tap remains in place for use after demolishing the connected duct.

Here’s a quick video showing the behavior in 2009 (with one of the workarounds) and the improved behavior in 2010:  Click here

Rotational Parameters and Face-Based Nested Families

We often come across requests or recommendations for adding rotational controls to family geometry.  This is most commonly present for door swings, hinge type families, or geometry which needs to rotate around a given point in a family.  I wanted to pass along a recommendation which typically works well.

The first step is to separate the family geometry [which will be rotated] into a separate face-based family.  Face-Based families offer additional flexibility when placing the nested family into the host family.  By utilizing a reference line for the rotational basis, the face-based family can be hosted onto the reference line by the “Place on Work Plane” option.  By using the “TAB” key the two planes of the reference line can be specified, as well as the “SPACE” key to designate the nested family rotation during placement.

 

With the reference line in place and an angular dimension parameter attached, the nested face-based family will rotate with the reference line it is hosted on.  I have outlined an example process in the video below:

Video Example

Please keep in mind this process can be applied to other scenarios for family creation.  I typically recommend a reference line over a reference plane because a reference line can be aligned and constrained using the end point.  This is often useful for a family rotating along an end point.  In addition you can check the “Shared” option in the nested family under “Category and Parameters” to ensure visibility and scheduling occur as needed.

The difference between Volume and Material:Volume

If you've tried creating Material Takeoff Schedules before you've probably noticed that there are two parameters to represent volume. The parameters may result in different volumes, so it can be unclear as to what they actually represent. I've had many users ask this, so I'd like to try to clear it up.

Volume is calculated based on the coarsest geometry of an element that has a volume. So for example, for a beam there is no physical geometry in Coarse detail, so its Volume is calculated based on Medium detail.

Material:Volume calculates the volume based on the element's geometry in Fine detail.

Blogging from Munich

This week I am in Munich for the Autodesk Industry Academy.  Product Support is delivering 8 hours of training for AEC Building products.  The training is geared at our Channel partners in Europe to help them help customers.  We are focusing on providing the latest troubleshooting techniques with our products (like what we share here).  While I am typically just a Revit person, this week I get to put on a few different hats.  I'll be teaching courses on all three Revit products, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD MEP, and Navisworks.  

The week has been going well.  Its been a good opportunity to talk to partners and our own support staff (we have over 20 people from Product Support here presenting different courses over the week) about the new version of our products.  I don't actually teach until Thursday. 

I will share more about the event and our classes when I return next week.  I am sure there will be some interesting questions to share from the event.  

Key Schedules and Building Component Schedules

In Revit there are two distinct schedule types, “Building Components” and “Key” schedules.

 

Building Component Schedules

These are the default schedule types, each object instance will appear in the schedule by default.

Key Schedules

Best used to setup a number of standard “styles” for an object type.  Each row of data in the Key Schedule will create a new style to apply to an object.  Once applied, the style will pre-fill all fields as needed.  This setup is ideal where there are numerous standard types, and you don’t need every instance of the object to appear in a schedule.  I have included a short video below on this process:

Video Example

A few items to keep in mind:

1.  Key Schedules cannot utilize Shared Parameters for a field; “Project Parameters” are only available in this schedule type.
2.  To combine “Keys”, “Project Parameters” and “Shared Parameters” in a schedule, use a “Building Components” schedule type.  I have included a short video below on this process:

Video Example

I hope this information is helpful to better explain the two schedule types.

Element Ribbon Panel Display

In Revit 2010 when you add or select an object, the “Element” ribbon panel should become active and visible on the top left.

 

When adding or highlighting an object, if you do not see the “Element” ribbon panel there may be graphics card management software overriding the window display.

Often when you install a graphics card driver you can also install control panel management software for the card.  Two examples of this software would be “nView" by Nvidia or "HydraVision" from ATI.

If you have noticed this behavior in Revit 2010, I would recommend doing the following:

1.  Close Revit 2010.
2.  Disable the specific graphics card management software and make sure no software is attempting to control the position or graphics of windows.
3.  Launch Revit 2010, and highlight an object to verify the Element Ribbon Panel displays as expected.

The Element panel should look similar to the image above.  I hope this information is helpful for anyone who may be experiencing this behavior.