Revit OpEd: Five Minutes Working with Rotated Views: A common question from people with experience using AutoCAD is, "Does Revit have a UCS too?". There isn't a literal equal tool...
Thursday, July 11, 2013
CloudsCarsCameras: Using Bluebeam Revu to assist in upgrading a Revit Project
Saw this post on CloudsCarsCameras.com that I thought I would share with you. Great idea.
If you want more information regarding Bluebeam please drop me a note at bill@bim9.com
Here are the steps I use in the video:
Step 1 Backup
You should always create a backup of your or your companies work when ever you make a change that will impact the entire project, this would be one of those times. Here are some ways that you can backup your project:- Copy to local workstation
- Copy to USB drive
- Rely on your I.T. department to have a backup.
- Use a service like CrashPlan or Dropbox to copy your project files off site.
- You only need to archive/backup the .RVT files and its links.
Step 2 Check your Project
You should always check each central file before the upgrade process. It is always a good idea to know what errors are in the file before you begin the upgrade process.- Open each .RVT file and check for errors.
- Document what files are linked to where.
- Use Bluebeam to create a PDF of each sheet and view in your project.
Step 3 Copy the Project to a new folder
You may or may not want to have a new folder for you project, but I find that its a good idea to do so. you don’t need to make an entirely new project folder just a new folder to store your central files.- Create a new folder.
- Copy the RVT central files to that folder.
- Rename the central files if necessary to have the version number in the name.
Step 4: Upgrade Project
- You will want to start with the files with the least amount of links.
- Here is the order for my example project:
MEP
Structural
Architectural
Site - Use Bluebeam to Create a PDF of each sheet and view in your project.
Step 5 Check your work with Bluebeam
Now for the fun part; we will use Bluebeam Revu to compare both PDF files created in the earlier steps.- Use Bluebeam Revu to compare the 2013 and the 2014 project files.
- When you select the 2013 PDF you will see all the changes in the Markup List.
- Double click the markup to see both the 2013 and 2014 versions.
- Using Bluebeam Revu you can quickly find all the differences.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
CASE apps
I am a real fan of the CAD apps. They offer some unique tools that can really save you a lot of time and frustration. Even better, many of them are FREE. If you read RevitOpEd (and who doesn't) then you have heard Steve discuss the CASE apps as well. Check them out here
Revit OpEd: Revision Numbering
Revit OpEd: Revision Numbering: A month or so ago I received an email from a friend asking about dealing with revision numbering in Revit. Apparently the project team is ex...
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Revit API Wishlist - Repost from the Revit Clinic
Wish upon a Revit
Our friends over with the Autodesk Developer Network have
recently launched the Revit API wishlist survey. This is a great chance
to provide feedback on the future of the Revit API and let your voice
be heard.
The survey is open till June 15th 2013. Head on over the the AEC DevBlog for more info here.
The survey is open till June 15th 2013. Head on over the the AEC DevBlog for more info here.
Navisworks Database Link - Primer
One of the things I like about my job is that is the clients
I get to interact with. Their needs and challenges are different which makes
the job very interesting. Today one of my clients needed to connect database
information with their Navisworks models. This is essentially a FM exercise as
the data about the equipment is stored in the database and the geometry is in
Navisworks. Fortunately, Navisworks provides the means and method to do this,
if you can make heads or tails of the process. So lets go thru the process.
For this demo, I am going to use the Gatehouse sample file
that ships with Navisworks 2014. You can find the files C:\Program
Files\Autodesk\Navisworks Manage 2014\Samples\gatehouse\
The Process
In order to connect an external data source such as an Excel
spreadsheet to a Navisworks model, we need to configure a DataTools within
Navisworks. We will then be configuring the database connection.
When working with the DataTools in Navisworks, there are a
few very important rules to keep in mind. If you are using a 32-bit
workstation, then you need to utilize the 32-bit ODBC drivers. 64-bit
workstations need to utilize 64-bit ODBC drivers.
The link to Navisworks is one way. Data can be linked and
viewed inside of Navisworks, but the data can’t be updated within Navisworks.
My workstations are all Windows 7 64-bit workstations. My
PC’s are using Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010 64-bit. My Mac running Windows 7
64-bit on parallels using OpenOffice. I have only been able to make the
Navisworks database connection work using 64-bit database drivers. You can
download them for free from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C06B8369-60DD-4B64-A44B-84B371EDE16D&displaylang=en.
Make sure that you have download and installed these drivers.
Data Source
The Gatehouse project includes a sample Excel spreadsheet.
The first thing I did to the file was add three column headers to identify the
“Name”, “Finish” and “Notes” columns (Figure 1). We are creating these labels
to identify the columns.
Figure 1 - Data
Source with column labels
Our next step is to open Navisworks and the Navisworks model
that you want to connect your external data source to. In Navisworks, on the
Home tab, Project panel, click on the File Options button (Figure 2). This will
open the File Options dialog.
Figure 2 – Accessing
the File Options
In the File Options dialog, we will start the process of
configure our database connection (Figure 3). As shown in Figure 1, click the
DataTools tab and then click the New button to create a new DataTools link to
open the New Link dialog.
Figure 3 - File
Options dialog for creating a new DataTools link
In the New Link dialog (Figure 4), we first want to name the
new link connection we are creating. For this example, I am using the name
“Gatehouse Example”. We then need to select the ODBC Driver Connection type. We
are going to be working with a Microsoft Excel data source, so select the
“Microsoft Excel Driver (*.xls, *.xlsx, )” driver. Then click the Setup button to open the ODBC
Microsoft Excel Setup dialog.
Figure 4 - New
Database Connection Link dialog
In the ODBC Microsoft Excel Setup dialog (Figure 5), we will
select the version of Excel data file and select the file we will be using. The
sample data file that we are using is a Excel 97-2000 version so select “Excel
97-2000” from the Version: dropdown. Then click on the Select Workbook button
to find and select the Excel data file. If you have the default installation of
Navisworks 2014 and are using the Gatehouse example, you can find the file at: C:\Program
Files\Autodesk\Navisworks Manage 2014\Samples\gatehouse\ After you have
selected your excel file, click OK to close the ODBC Microsoft Excel Setup
dialog.
If you are having
issues with your Database Link connecting to Excel, be sure to check the
Version of Excel database that you are using.
Figure 5 - ODBC
Setup Dialog for Excel
We are now back to the Edit Link dialog box (Figure 6). If
we look in the connection section portion of the dialog, under the ODBC Driver
selection, you can see that the connection has been updated. We can now
complete the SQL String and Fields section of the dialog.
Figure 6 - Edit Link
SQL String
The SQL string is used to specify how the database will be
queried. I have found this part of configuring the database connection to be
the most difficult. Fortunately, there are a lot of external resources
available for creating SQL strings. My personal recommendation is to keep it as
simple as possible.
The code that we will be creating for this example is:
SELECT * FROM [Gatehouse_Layerinfo$] WHERE "Name"
= %prop("Item","Layer");
We start out our SQL String with SELECT * FROM The “*” is actually a field name, in this particular
example, I am using the wildcard to query all the fields.
[Gatehouse_Layerinfo$]
This is the Excel sheet tab name that we want to query in our Excel
spreadsheet. The Excel sheet tab name must be spelled just as it is in Excel
and should be followed with the “$”.
WHERE
"Name" = %prop("Item","Layer"); This is where
we are going to define what data we are going to bring from the Excel
spreadsheet into Navisworks. For our example, we are going to conditional match
the value Layer property data for each element that can be found in the Item
tab and match that with a value in the Name colum of the Excel spreadsheet.
“Name” refers to
column that we will be searching in the Excel file.
%prop is a SQL
command that allow you to retrieve model data for conditional matching.
("Item","Layer");
“Item” refers to the Item tab in the Properties Window. “Layer” refers to
the internal file property, in this example, the Layer (Figure 7).
Figure 7 –
Navisworks Properties Window
In the SQL String section of the Edit Link dialog, enter the
following string of text.
SELECT * FROM [Gatehouse_Layerinfo$] WHERE "Name"
= %prop("Item","Layer");
The next step in the process is to specify what information
we are going to display in the Properties window. In the Field section of the
Edit Link dialog (Figure 8), we are going to specify what Field names to list
and the display name to use. Using Figure 8 as a reference, add the Field and
Display Names.
Note that we are having the Field Name “Name” display as
“Layer” in Navisworks. The Name column in our Excel spreadsheet refers to an
AutoCAD Layer and rather than changing the column name in Excel, we can have
Navisworks use a different Display Name.
Figure 8 - Inserting the Field and Display Names
After you have entering the Field Names, click OK to close
the Edit Link dialog box. Make sure that the “Gatehouse Example” DataTools Link
that we just created is checked. This will enable it in our current session.
Click OK to close the File Options dialog.
Figure 9 - DataTools
When you select an object in Navisworks, note that the
Properties Window has a new tab called “Gatehouse Example”. That is the name of
the DataTools link that we created. Figure 10 shows an example where we have
selected a foundation. The Gatehouse Example tab in the Properties window
provides us with the Layer, Finish and Note information from the Excel data
file.
Figure 10 - Foundation Selected with
External Data Displayed
If you have gotten this far and it is not working, a lot can
go wrong. I think setting up the DataTool link can be as complicated and
frustrating as using Timeliner. The first thing to check is the SQL String
text. Then check to make sure that your using the correct version of Excel,
which might be different than the selection, I made in Figure 5.
This Gatehouse example is not the most robust example
around, but it is a great starting point. As many of you are aware, CAD and BIM
applications are not great data entry applications, so having this type of data
linking capabilities is very beneficial.
Monday, July 8, 2013
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Navisworks 2013 - Importing Search Sets
From time to time I will be asked how to utilize a Search Set from a previous project in Navisworks. So I thought I would quickly post the steps.
In Navisworks 2013, switch to the View tab and select the Windows dropdown in the Workspace panel. Make sure that the Sets checkbox is checked. This will open the he Sets dialog box where you can import/export search sets.
By clicking on the icon indicated above, you can export or import search sets.
In Navisworks 2013, switch to the View tab and select the Windows dropdown in the Workspace panel. Make sure that the Sets checkbox is checked. This will open the he Sets dialog box where you can import/export search sets.
By clicking on the icon indicated above, you can export or import search sets.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
IMAGINiT Clarity for Revit Server Review
If you are looking into IMAGINiT Clarity for Revit Server, be sure to check out my CADALYST review.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Revit OpEd: Rooms and Synchronization
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