Saturday, June 26, 2010

Video: Troubleshooting Product Stability in Revit

Video: Troubleshooting Product Stability in Revit


Published date: 2010-Mar-24
ID: TS13899709

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2010
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2010
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2010

Issue

You would like to know how to troubleshoot product crashes within Revit

Solution

In this video, we will discuss the common methods to troubleshoot and solve Product Stability issues and crashes with Revit products. It will discuss the types of crashes, how to identify them, and common things you can do to solve them.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Rendering processor core limit for Revit 2011 products

Rendering processor core limit for Revit 2011 products


Published date: 2010-Mar-24
ID: TS14633072

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011

Issue

You would like to know if the 4 processor core limit is still in place when rendering in Revit® 2011 products.

Solution

Revit 2011 products no longer limit the rendering process to 4 cores as in Revit 2009 and 2010 products. Revit 2011 products can take advantage of the total number of processor cores on the workstation during rendering.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Clean uninstall of Autodesk Revit 2011 products

Clean uninstall of Autodesk Revit 2011 products


Published date: 2010-Apr-12
ID: TS14633513

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011

Issue

There may be circumstances where Autodesk Revit® 2011 products need to be removed from the workstation. The following process will ensure all residual files are properly removed as well.

Solution

To uninstall Revit 2011 products and remove any remnants from your system, use the following procedure. The end result is a clean system on which you can reinstall. Please ensure to backup any custom family or template files prior to following this procedure:

  1. Log on as a Local System Administrator and disable any Antivirus programs.

  2. In the Windows XP Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > remove the specific Revit 2011 product. For Windows Vista & Windows 7, Control Panel > Programs and Features > Uninstall.

  3. In the Windows XP Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > remove the 3 Autodesk 2011 Material Libraries in the following order. For Windows Vista & Windows 7, Control Panel > Programs and Features > Uninstall:

    •Autodesk Material Library 2011 Medium Image Library
    •Autodesk Material Library 2011 Base Image Library
    •Autodesk Material Library 2011

  4. After the product is uninstalled, use Windows Explorer to locate and delete the following folders as appropriate. For steps 3 & 4 substitute the product name below based on which Revit 2011 product you are uninstalling; all paths listed by default are for Revit Architecture 2011:


    Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 & RAC 2011
    Autodesk Revit Structure 2011 & RST 2011
    Autodesk Revit MEP 2011 & RME 2011

    Where %username% is present below substitute the current Windows login name.

    For Windows XP installations (32 and 64 bit):
    • C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit Architecture 2011
    • C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data\Autodesk\REVIT\2011
    • C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011
    • C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\RAC 2011

    For Windows Vista and Windows 7 installations (32 and 64 bit):
    • C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit Architecture 2011
    • C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RAC 2011
    • C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011
    • C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\Revit\2011

  5. Open the system registry and locate then delete the following registry keys listed below as appropriate (Windows Start menu > Run > Regedit).

    Warning! Problems caused by improperly editing the Windows registry could render your computer operating system unusable. Microsoft provides a wealth of critical information that you need to know about the registry in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com.

    Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor only at your own risk and only after backing up the registry as well as the system.dat and user.dat files as outlined for your operating system in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and in the related solution, TS66513. Additional information about the registry is also contained in the Help topics in the Microsoft Registry Editor.

    For 32-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\Revit\2011
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\
    RAC 2011
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Revit\2011


    For 64-bit versions of Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\RAC 2011
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Revit\2011
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011

  6. Restart the workstation.

Before reinstalling Revit products

  1. In Windows Explorer, delete the contents of your Windows Temp folder, but do not delete the Windows Temp folder itself. You can locate the Temp folder by entering %TEMP% in the Address bar of Windows Explorer.
  2. Use the End Task feature to end any anti-virus programs.

Note: Disabling anti-virus programs from the system tray may not be sufficient. Virus checking programs may block certain activities that are seen as suspicious (for example, accessing the registry, adding/removing/updating DLL files, and so on), even though these activities are common when installing or removing programs.

Several anti-virus programs can be disabled by right-clicking the taskbar icon and selecting Disable from the shortcut menu. For more information about disabling your anti-virus software, refer to the vendor of that software.

Important! It is important that you not only disable the anti-virus software but also use the End Task feature to end the anti-virus software.

To verify that an anti-virus program is not still running in the background as a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident Program):

Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7

  1. Press [Ctrl] + [Alt] + [Delete].
  2. Click Task Manager.
  3. On the Processes tab of the Task Manager, select the process for the anti-virus program and then click End Process.

You are now ready to install Revit 2011 products on the clean system.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Video: Post Installation Tasks for Autodesk Revit 2011 Products

Video: Post Installation Tasks for Autodesk Revit 2011 Products


Published date: 2010-Apr-14
ID: TS14877683

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011

Issue

You would like to know how to complete the common tasks that are performed after the installation of Autodesk Revit 2011 products

Solution

Watch the video below for a explaination of the common post installation tasks.

Note: This video says Revit Architecture 2011, but the process is the same for all Autodesk Revit 2011 products

Friday, June 18, 2010

Video: Troubleshooting Worksharing

Video: Troubleshooting Worksharing


Published date: 2010-Mar-24
ID: TS14877765

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011

Issue

You would like to know how to troubleshoot worksharing related problems in Autodesk Revit Architecture products.

Solution

In the video below, learn how to reproduce, troubleshooting and understand what data is needed to help customers with worksharing problems in Revit products. Understand the best practices for Worksharing and how they can benefit users.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Resetting the Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 user interface

from Autodesk.com

Published date: 2010-Mar-24
ID: TS14880949

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
You would like to reset the Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011 user interface (i.e. the Ribbon, Quick Access Toolbar, and Project Browser) back to the out-of-the-box version and remove any customization that has been applied.

Have us do it for you:

Download and run the following script on your computer:

autodesk_revit_architecture_ui_reset_2011.vbs (vbs - 6Kb)

Do It Yourself:

Warning! This script may delete a file on your computer. It also removes a Windows Registry key. Do not use it without consulting your system administrator first.
To reset the ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar:
  • Rename or delete the UIState.dat file located in the Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 folder, which can be found in one of the following locations, depending on your operating system:

    Windows XP

    %USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011

    Windows Vista


    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011
To reset your Project Browser to the default location:
  • Using the Windows Registry editor, rename the following registry key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011\Components\Panels

Warning! Problems caused by improperly editing the Windows registry could render your computer operating system unusable. Microsoft provides a wealth of critical information that you need to know about the registry in the Microsoft Knowledge Base at http://support.microsoft.com/support.

Use the Microsoft® Registry Editor only at your own risk and only after backing up the registry as well as the system.dat and user.dat files as outlined for your operating system in the Microsoft Knowledge Base and in the related solution, TS66513. Additional information about the registry is also contained in the Help topics in the Microsoft Registry Editor.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Product keys for Autodesk Revit 2011 products

from: Autodesk.com

Published date: 2010-Apr-13
ID: TS14883011

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011

You want to know what the product key for your Autodesk® Revit® 2011-based product is.

Autodesk's 2011-based software requires both a serial number and product key to successfully activate.

Product keys are used to differentiate software sold on its own from those sold as part of a suite. Ensure that you select the correct product key in order to successfully activate your software.

The product key is provided along with your serial number in the following places:

  • If you received physical media, the product key is on the reverse of the package along with the serial number.
  • Emails from Electronic Fulfillment notifying you of your new serial number also include the product key.
  • Contract administrators can log on to Subscription Center to check for their serial number and product key.
  • The Autodesk Business Center (ABC) can provide this information. Their toll-free number is 800-538-6401.

Revit 2011-based Product Keys:

  • 240C1 - Revit Architecture 2011
  • 241C1 - AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2011
  • 595C1 - AutoCAD Revit Architecture Visualization Suite 2011
  • 255C1 - Revit Structure 2011
  • 256C1 - AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2011
  • 297C1 - Revit MEP 2011
  • 257C1 - AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite 2011

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Changing a Revit 2011 deployment type from imperial to metric

from: Autodesk.com

Published date: 2010-Jun-01
ID: TS15220364

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011

Issue

You have created a deployment of Revit 2011 and you would like to change the deployment default from Imperial to Metric.

Solution

When modifying the options of a deployment, in Applications Settings > Language, toggle the Language option to English in the drop down menu. Once you have selected English, you will be able to edit the Default Units to Metric.


revit_imperial_to_metric.mp4 (mp4 - 965Kb)

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Top issues with file maintenance in Revit Architecture 2010

From Autodesk.com

Published date: 2010-Jun-02
ID: TS1106647

Applies to:
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2010
Revit® Architecture 2009
You want to know the best practices to use during the modeling process in order to maintain the performance of your files when using Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2010.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Pressure Drop Calculation

From: Revit MEP

I got an call from a client last week asking about some of the calculations that Revit MEP does.


I am trying to get results for Duct Pressure drop in Revit MEP.



Can you please share your ideas, as how can I achieve this?

This post has some additional information but is based on the Revit MEP calculation white paper from Autodesk. Revit MEP Duct Sizing calculations

Revit MEP computes pressure losses in ductwork based on the geometry and roughness of the ductwork, air

density, and air viscosity. Values for Air Density and Air Viscosity are specified in the Mechanical Settings.


Roughness is specified in the type properties for duct/duct fitting component families.




The following example shows how Revit MEP calculates the pressure drop for a 100 foot segment of 36"x24" duct carrying air flow of 12,000 CFM. Pressure drop is defined as:


This values checks with the Hydraulic Diameter parameter shown in the Properties of the Duct in Revit:


The velocity is based on the cross sectional area:


After determining the friction factor, the pressure drop can be calculated:


The value for the calculated pressure drop matches the value found in the duct’s properties in Revit MEP.

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Worksets, Links & Filters in Revit 2011

Source: Revit Clinic

June 02, 2010

Worksets, Links & Filters in Revit 2011

In Revit 2011 view filters now work across linked Revit files. This allows additional flexibility when creating view filters for the project.

Along with this, Revit can now read the worksets through a linked file. This is great to control visibility of a workset in a link, or to use in conjunction with a view filter.

One item to keep in mind is when you create a view filter, which is filtering by workset, the workset in the linked file will be read. So if you have your Revit link placed on a specific workset in the host project, Revit actually looks inside the linked project for each individual elements workset.

Example scenario is as follows…

1. You have 3 linked models; LinkA, LinkB & LinkC.

2. Each link is on a unique workset in the host project; LinkA, LinkB & LinkC.

Links

3. You wish to create a view filter to override the color of the display for the entire link.

4. Because Revit is looking into the linked file, it will not see the workset assignment of the overall link for filtering purposes. Instead elements on a given workset, in the linked model, will be filtered according to the view filter in the host project.

If you would rather override the color of the entire link instance, you can navigate to Properties > Visibility/Graphic Overrides > Revit Links > Display Settings > Custom > Model Categories.

DisplaySettings

You can select all of the model categories at once with the SHIFT key, and apply a surface pattern / color as needed.

VG
This will override the link display similar to the example image below:

Colors
Hope this helps!


Friday, June 4, 2010

Enabling 3GB switch on Windows Vista™ or Windows 7

Enabling 3GB switch on Windows Vista™ or Windows 7


Published date: 2010-May-27
ID: TS1069947

Applies to:
AutoCAD® 2011
AutoCAD® 2010
AutoCAD® 2009
AutoCAD® 2008
AutoCAD® Architecture 2011
AutoCAD® Architecture 2010
AutoCAD® Architecture 2009
AutoCAD® Architecture 2008
AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2011
AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2010
AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2009
AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2008
AutoCAD® Electrical 2011
AutoCAD® Electrical 2010
AutoCAD® Electrical 2009
AutoCAD® Electrical 2008
AutoCAD® Inventor® Professional Suite 2011
AutoCAD® Inventor® Professional Suite 2010
Autodesk® Inventor™ Professional 2009
Autodesk® Inventor™ Professional 2008
AutoCAD® Inventor® Suite 2011
AutoCAD® Inventor® Suite 2010
Autodesk® Inventor™ Suite 2009
Autodesk® Inventor™ Suite 2008
AutoCAD® Land Desktop 2009
AutoCAD® Land Desktop 2008
AutoCAD® Map 3D 2011
AutoCAD® Map 3D 2010
AutoCAD® Map 3D 2009
AutoCAD® Map 3D 2008
AutoCAD® Mechanical 2011
AutoCAD® Mechanical 2010
AutoCAD® Mechanical 2009
AutoCAD® Mechanical 2008
AutoCAD® MEP 2011
AutoCAD® MEP 2010
AutoCAD® MEP 2009
AutoCAD® MEP 2008
AutoCAD® P&ID 2010
AutoCAD® P&ID 2009
AutoCAD® P&ID 2008
AutoCAD® Plant 3D 2009
AutoCAD® Plant 3D 2010
AutoCAD® Revit® MEP Suite 2011
AutoCAD® Revit® MEP Suite 2010
AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite 2009
AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite 2008
Autodesk® Inventor® 2011
Autodesk® Inventor® 2010
Autodesk® Inventor™ 2009
Autodesk® Inventor™ 2008
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2010
Revit® Architecture 2009
Revit® Architecture 2008
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2010
Revit® Structure 2009
Revit® Structure 2008
Autodesk® Vault 2009
Autodesk® Vault 2008

You want to enable the 3GB switch on the Windows Vista™ or Windows 7 operating systems.

To enable the 3GB switch on Windows Vista™ or Windows 7:

  1. Right-click Command Prompt in the Accessories program group of the Start menu. Click Run as Administrator.
  2. At the command prompt, enter "bcdedit /set IncreaseUserVa 3072"
  3. Restart the computer.

To disable the 3GB switch:

  1. Right-click on Command Prompt in the Accessories program group of the Start menu. Click Run as Administrator.
  2. At the command prompt, enter "bcdedit /deletevalue IncreaseUserVa"
  3. Restart the computer.

For more information on the 3GB switch, refer to the following Microsoft MSDN article:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff556232.aspx

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Blue Screen on Startup when using Nvidia Graphics Card Version 197.85

Blue Screen on Startup when using Nvidia Graphics Card Version 197.85


Published date: 2010-May-21
ID: TS15178992

Applies to:
AutoCAD® 2011
AutoCAD® Architecture 2011
AutoCAD® Civil 3D® 2011
AutoCAD® Map 3D 2011
AutoCAD® Mechanical 2011
Autodesk® 3ds Max® 2011
Autodesk Alias Design 2011
Autodesk® Inventor® 2011
Autodesk® Maya® 2011
Autodesk® Moldflow® Adviser Advanced 2011
Autodesk® Navisworks® Manage 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011
Autodesk® Revit® MEP 2011
Autodesk® Revit® Structure 2011
Autodesk® Vault 2011

Issue

You may experience a "blue screen of death" crash when starting a machine when the 3GB switch is enabled on a Windows XP 32 bit operating system using the NVidia graphics card driver version 197.85

The following graphics cards may be affected:

Quadro FX series:
FX 570, FX 5800, FX 580, FX 370, FX 3500, FX 1800, FX 3800, FX 550, FX 350, FX 560, FX 5500, FX 380, FX 4500 X2, CX, FX 540, FX 4700 X2, FX 4600, FX 4000, FX 1500, FX 3400/4400, FX 370 Low Profile, FX 3450, FX 4500, FX 5600, FX 1400, FX 3700, FX 4800, FX 1700

Quadro NVS series:
NVS 295, NVS 450, NVS 440, NVS 420, NVS 290, NVS 285

Quadro Blade/Embedded Graphics Board series:
Quadro FX 770M, Quadro FX 560M, Quadro FX 370M, Quadro FX 1600M, Quadro FX 3600M, Quadro NVS 120M.

Solution

Disabling the 3GB switch on a Windows XP 32 bit operating system using one of the graphic cards listed above and the NVidia graphics card driver version 197.85 will prevent the crash from occurring.

Information regarding the 3GB Switch on Windows XP

NVidia is aware of the problem and is investigating

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