A Leap in Technology

David Light recently Blogged about a new technology called "Leapmotion".....

I want one!

http://leapmotion.com/

Imagine Design Create

Scott Sheppard recently posted on his blog about Jason Silva who is a TV personality as well as a producer and filmmaker.

He creates what he calls a "Philosophical espresso" short videos. Here is his recent addition includes the "Imagine Design Create" book by Autodesk.

http://vimeo.com/42588838

Check it out, it's great and just over a minute long.

FYI: I have a copy of this book and it's a great read, it's also available as a PDF from Autodesk.
http://bim4scottc.blogspot.ca/2012/04/imagine-design-create.html

Revit Family Guide

The Revit Family Guide is a exercise file including a pdf exercise file as well as Revit datasets for you to use.

A guide that contains conceptual explanations, tutorials, and reference information to help you understand how to work with Revit Architecture families.

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Autodesk-Revit-Architecture-Families-Guide.html

It's a great resource for you to learn how to start building your own Revit Families...

Updated link: Jan 2015.

Roof Slope Default

So recently I have been asked "How can I change the Roof Slope Default" which is typically 9/12 slope (for Imperial). I want to set it to 5/12 slope.

I remember way back on earlier versions of Revit (2010 i think) we were able to adjust the roof slope prior to drawing the sketch lines and it'll stick to what I set it too for the next time I create a roof... If I did this in the Template it would set the slope I changed it too set as the default roof slope...

However in later versions this option to change the pitch prior to sketching the roof lines was taken away and any roof slope adjustment will not be set as the default. How can we now set the default roof slope?

So I asked Autodesk how this is now achieved... below is the response I received from the technical support... and once gain thank you to the Autodesk technical support team for promptly replying to my query. The technical support guys (and gals) really do a great job!!

I understand you want to know how to change the default slope used when sketching roof elements in the 2011-2013 Revit Architecture software.

Since the Slope parameter is unavailable prior to drawing the roof Boundary Lines, I don't see a way to change the default value.

Once you have drawn all of the Boundary Lines, you can change all of them at one time by clicking the Modify command, and then changing the Slope value listed for the roof properties (instead of the individual Boundary Line properties). This will apply the value you specify to all of the Boundary Lines at the same time (although it does not change the default slope value for new roof elements).

If you would like to see the option to change the default slope value in a future version of Revit, the following link is setup for you to submit feature requests, or feedback, directly to our Development group:

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=1109794

I encourage you to use the feedback link as our Development group is always interested and would like to hear your feedback directly, as you are better suited to state the business case for a feature request.

So.. as mentioned above if there is something you want Revit to look at send them feedback! I did, I also included the fact that I want views to be modeless so I can drag the view onto another screen...

To follow up: I just received a nice email from "Subject Matter Expert" for Revit at Autodesk stating that he will share these ideas with the rest of the REvit team for Consideration.... now I know Im not the only person asking for this but it's nice to get a positive responce from Autodesk...

Oh Sketch-up I love you....But!

Oh Sketch-up I love you!....But you know were really not compatible! :-(

Sketchup is soooo popular for doing quick and easy conceptual design and visualization.
However in a Architectural firm or a Design office using Revit, Sketchup can cause some issues.
you can loose design intent whenever you switch from one program to another where you cannot transfer information, like in the case of doing the concept design in Sketchup and then preliminary/construction design in Revit.

When I talk about design intent I'm referring to the feel and flow of the design. When recreating that in another program you typically find that whoever is inputting the design there are inevitable design changes that occur for a variety of reasons (I wont go into here).

The same is true for any program I'm not just picking on Sketchup.

I have seen instances where floor plans don't match elevations which don't match sections because each was created using a different program!

What few Reviteers realise is that a lot of the same tools you use in Sketchup are available in Revit, it's just a matter of spending a little time familiarising yourself with how to use them and you'll quickly see you'll be able to recreate what you can create in Sketchup in Revit.

In fact you may find that you can do more......!

AND! You will not loose the integrity of the design making the transition and flow from each design process easier with less mistakes.

So next time your doing a concept design give the tools you have in Revit a try, such as the Massing tools, Visualization, Solar study, Paint materials, Space scheduling, Visual Styles etc... I think you'll like the results and you wont be replicating work you have already done!

Thoughts anyone?

Sc

Rename Corresponding Views

You know when you rename a level and Revit will ask “Would you like to rename corresponding views”.

If you select No (so your level name doesn’t exactly match your view name) so whenever you change either the name of the Project Browser view or the name on the Level they will not change the other.

But latter on you find that you do in fact want to change the names so they match if you change the Project Browser View name to match your Level name it “resets” and will ask you Would you like to rename corresponding views” once again linking the view name to the level name.

If you go the other way and change the Project Browser view and then try to change the Level name you will get an error message stating that the name is already in use.

Breaking Up Stacked Walls in Revit 2013

Of all the information I have read and seen on the new features of Revit 2013 I have seen little on how you can now Break a Stacked Wall.
We have already used this feature in our office as it's very handy.

WikiHelp: To independently control subwalls within a stacked wall, right-click it, and click Break Up.

Once a stacked wall is broken up, the subwalls become independent walls. There is no reassemble tool to restack them. The base constraint and base offset of each subwall are the same as for the stacked wall. You can edit instance properties for any of the walls.

Using the stacked wall tool is a quick and easy way to place a wall that includes multiple types of walls and now with this tool you will easily be able to manipulate portions of the stacked wall...Great...

Check it out!

Revit 2013 Issue,:Sending Filled Regions Front to Back

So after some discussion with Autodesk it does appear that there is a bug in the system in regards to sending regions Back and Front.

Here is the feedback I received from Autodesk regarding this issue.

"After some research and discussions with our Development group, it looks like Bring to Front does not work in 2013 for filled regions when the background is set to transparent.

At this time, we do not have a workaround or than changing the detail families as I mentioned previously. We understand that this may not be the preferred workflow, but the permanent fix for this issue requires that the code for Revit be modified. Because this issue has just been logged, there is no specific timeline for when any fix may be released. If an update is released, I would review the accompanying documentation to see if this fix is included."

I fully expect Autodesk to come out with a patch for this pretty quickly as I'm sure a lot of their customers will quickly become frustrated with this issue.

Another good reason to keep your Revit "Builds" current...

AUGI Connection Autodesk New Software

Yeah... the new AUGI Connection online magazine has just been released...
Check out this fantastic article... (written by me!)
http://www.augi.com/library/spring-release-new-autodesk-software


I always look forward to the monthly AUGI Magazine, there are great articles. Frequent contributes include my fellow bloggers such as Luke Johnson from "What Revit Wants" among others....

Anyway I hope you enjoy the Article and I hope to be able to contribute more articles in the future...

(Also for those of you who may know me personally check out my new title at the bottom of the article, I recently moved from my roll as BIM Manager from MQN Architects to BIM Manager for CEI Architecture)...

Sc ;-)