The Revit Clinic

New Version of eTransmit for Revit available now on Autodesk Labs

Got a note last night about a new version (1.1).  Check out what the eTransmit team has been up to:

eTransmit for Revit – Technology Preview 1.1

The eTransmit for Revit team is pleased to announce that a new version of the eTransmit for Revit technology preview is now available for free download from Autodesk Labs.  This preview is available worldwide and will expire after June 30, 2012.

What’s new in 1.1?

You might recall that back in July we did a user survey to gather feedback from those of you who had tried eTransmit for Revit.  One of the things that we heard very clearly is that there are a number of people who were experiencing problems using the initial version.  Based on this, our biggest focus for this version was fixing issues.  For a complete list you can review the release notes and known issues, but highlights include:

• eTransmit will no longer crash when you try to create a transmittal on a network drive.
• The progress bar now updates correctly when there are errors and warnings (previously it gave the impression that the transmittal had failed when there were only warnings).

In addition, there is one new feature.  In version 1.1, you can use eTransmit even if you have one or more models open. 

Known issues:  Unfortunately, transmitted models still do not open correctly if you double-click on them from the operating system.  To open a transmitted model correctly, use Revit’s file open command.  This and other known issues are listed in detail in the release notes and known issues.

 What else did we learn in the user survey?

The survey certainly confirmed that eTransmit for Revit is a useful tool that saves time.  Most of the respondents envisioned using it to share models outside your firm a few times per week and many respondents would use it for archiving models as well.

As part of this survey, we asked participants to prioritize twenty-five wishlist items.  Based on the ranking, the top 25% are shown here:

 

The orange bars indicate the total points assigned to each request based on the number of users who classified it as “most important”, “very important”, etc.  Our team can’t promise anything about the future of eTransmit for Revit, but we did want to give you some idea of what your feedback has said.  Many thanks go to everyone who participated in the survey or offered suggestions via other avenues.

Thanks for taking the time to try eTransmit for Revit.   Suggestions, problems, and questions are all welcome at Labs.Revit.Etransmit@autodesk.com.

 

Interior Elevations and Large Coordinates in the Project

Let’s look at a quick troubleshooting scenario around interior elevations, which appear distorted.

You have an interior elevation of a room which looks like this in 3D:

However the interior elevation is displaying the cabinets as transparent:

This type of display inconsistency is often related to large coordinates in the model.

Once the distance range passes outside the 20 mile “box” you could potentially run into this behavior.

Revit 20 mile origin limit for imported and model geometry

Walls which appear transparent, or are displaying elements behind them, is often the same underlying issue.

The process below should help better determine if a stray element is creating large coordinates in the model:

1. Open a 3D View > Enable every Visibility \ Graphic Overrides Category for all Disciplines
2. Set the View Phase Filter to None
3. Verify all Worksets are visible in the 3D View
4. Reveal Hidden Elements
5. Set Discipline > Coordination
6. Zoom to Fit

If the view appears blank on zoom this indicates there are 2 or more elements a far distance from each other.

For example, the model may be in one location where a stray plumbing fixture was inadvertently moved further away, causing coordinates well over 20 miles.  Cross select portions of the view to see if any stray elements are selected.

Hopefully, if you can isolate and delete the element [or correct the location] the interior elevation appearance should return to an expected state.