Ceiling Grid Lines Don’t Move

Never had this one happen until the last class I taught.  Had a student moving their Ceiling Grid lines in one of the exercises and the Lines were not moving.  I watched a couple times (to make sure they were using the Tool correctly, which they were) before I noticed something…the “Disjoin” checkbox in the Options Bar was checked, but it was greyed out…couldn’t change it.  So I had the student get out of the Move command and then grab something else (like a piece of furniture or something) and go back into the Move command.  There, we could uncheck the “Disjoin” checkbox and had them move the object (to make sure the “Disjoin” unchecking stuck).  So with the “Disjoin” unchecked, I had them go back and try to Move the Ceiling Grid Lines…bingo, it worked!

If you weren’t aware, the “Disjoin” checkbox remembers whether or not it was checked the last time you were in the Move command.  So, if you try and move your Ceiling Grids, make sure the “Disjoin” checkbox has been unchecked.

Autodesk University (AU) Virtual 2011

As much everyone would like to go to Las Vegas in 2 weeks, many of you do not have the opportunity.  Budget limitations and work demands will keep you from attending the Autodesk University in Las Vegas.  To expand the audience and make Autodesk University more accessible to a greater number of people the Autodesk created AU Virtual.  This year AU Virtual is offered at no charge to all AU Members (Membership is free).  If you’re not an AU Member, you can register HERE.

With AU Virtual, you can choose from 100’s of online virtual sessions directly from your desktop.

Register for AU Virtual here: http://au.autodesk.com/?nd=auv2011_event

Registration begins November 15.

After the event, AU Virtual classes will continue to be available on the AU website.  So if a “fire” needs attention and you can’t watch the Virtual event you wanted, you can go back and still get the information you wanted.

Revit 2012 Service Pack 2 Available

Well, the latest service pack for Revit is now available!  You can download the update HERE. As always, make sure you download the appropriate version (for OS) and read the Readme file.

The update list isn’t available yet, but check back on the download site within the next couple days and it should be available.

I posted this morning that SP2 was needed in order to utilize the Cloud Rendering that’s now available via the Autodesk Cloud.  So once you install SP2, you should now be able to utilize the Add-in for Cloud Rendering.

Autodesk Cloud and Revit Rendering in the Cloud

By now, many of you have probably already have heard or read about Autodesk Cloud for Subscription Customers.  One of the items available in the Autodesk Cloud is being able to Render  Online (in the Cloud) directly from within Revit 2012 via an Add-in that you can install (from the Cloud site).  One thing (and kind-of a big thing) is that in order to install the Add-in for Cloud Rendering, you must have Update 2 for Revit 2012 installed.  Oh wait, Update 2 isn’t available yet!!

So, looks like we’ll just have to wait for SP2 to come out…which I would have to guess won’t be too much longer.  That was quick, SP2 is now available!

New Ceiling Modify Option

Here’s a little something I ran across in my last training session…

When you want to modify a Ceiling, you typically had to get the to edge of the ceiling, select it, then you would get the option to Edit Boundary (left image).  If you select just a grid line, you don’t get that option (right image)…

   

This has now changed in Revit 2012!  If you select just a grid line of a ceiling, you now get the option to Edit Boundary…

So, no more placing your curser at the edge of a ceiling/wall and using the Tab key to cycle until you get to the ceiling to select it.

Off Topic–Autodesk Certification

Last week I received my results from taking the Autodesk Certified Instructor program back in early June.  It was a tough 4 days, doing 3 presentations, 2 of them recorded, scored and critiqued during that time.  Then, the videos of the 2 presentations are sent around the world (from my understanding) to get critiqued as well.  I thought I did well, but it’s a little nerve-racking waiting basically a month to find out if I was “made the grade” to become certified.

Well, WOO HOO, I passed!  I am now an Autodesk Certified Instructor (Revit Architecture)!!

It was a great experience, learned a lot about presenting/instructing in a different way then I typically do for our classes.  If you are an instructor of Autodesk software, even if it’s within your own company, and especially if you are an education instructor, I would highly suggest going through this program if you get the chance.

You can learn more about the Autodesk Certified Instructor program HERE.  The Revit and Inventor programs are listed yet on the site as they are still in the preliminary phase.  The program is hoping for these programs to go “live” towards the end of this year (2011).

Revit Architecture 2012 Update 1 Available

I knew this would happen… get busy and things slip through without being noticed.  Thanks to a co-worker, I was notified this morning that the 1st service pack/update was now available for the Revit 2012 products.  You can download the update HERE.

For some reason, the list that’s typically included isn’t available quite yet.  There are a few people that have posted about some of the fixes (What Revit Wants has a post that explains this a little along with a couple of the items people have notice that are fixed).  As soon as the list becomes available, it will be plastered all over the web!

One of the things that I noticed and am very, very happy that is fixed is Revit 2012 crashing when working with the Materials dialog.  My Revit 2012 has been crashing every time I went to close the Materials dialog, and now with Update 1, that’s been fixed!

So keep your eye on the web for the list of updates…I’m sure it won’t be too long before it’s out.

Vault Integration with Revit 2012

Last week I spent a couple days starting to learn the ins and outs of Vault Collaboration 2012 and it’s integration with the AEC products for 2012.  This is the first iteration of Vault being integrated with the AEC products, so this is definitely a work in progress.  At this point, here’s how Vault works with the Revit family of products for 2012…

• Archival of Central files – This process doesn’t need to happen every time you sync to central, this really only needs to happen when you want to save a copy of the central for archival purposes. There are options that you can enable so that when you sync to central, Vault will make a detached copy inside Vault.  This is essentially taking the place of a manual Detach and Save-as when you need to archive a central file.
• Family Management – This is something I can see being very handy for many firms, but I think it still needs some work.  The concept here is that a “content manager” can set families to different statuses, thus allowing the end users to only see content that is say set to “Approved”.  So while families are being worked on and aren’t ready for prime-time, users won’t see them in Vault.  There is a search function that allows users to search for families based on many different things, which is nice.  But at this point, there isn’t the ability to search for parameters that already exist in the families themselves…this is where the improvement needs to come in.  Sure, you can tag a family inside of Vault with properties, but the ability to search the parameters would be a great addition. (Just like SmartBIM currently does)

 

Overall, I think the biggest benefit of Vault for Revit at this point would be the Family integration…but we’ll see where Vault goes in the future.  As I get more time to work with Vault and really get to dig into some work-flow pieces, I’ll definitely be posting more about this subject.

Copy Doors and Constrain

I’ve had a few people ask me recently why they can’t copy Doors from one wall to another.  I was surprised they couldn’t as I could without any issues.  But then something clicked…the Constrain checkbox.  Sure enough, if Constrain is checked, you can’t copy a Door outside of the wall it’s placed in.  So in order to copy the door from one wall to another by utilizing the Copy tool, just make sure the Constrain checkbox is unchecked.

Or, just utilize a right-click and Create Similar.

How Much RAM Should I Get

I get this question quite often from many people, whether they are looking to get a new computer or looking to make some updates to their current computer.  Here’s a little excerpt from the Revit  Model Performance Technical Note…

“Please keep in mind the amount of local machine RAM required is approximately 20 times the size of your compacted central project file.  Each linked file would apply to this total as well.”

What this really talks about is how much RAM is required to OPEN a Revit file.  So if you have a 100MB Revit file (I like easy math!), you’ll need 2GB of available RAM to open that file.  Got a 100MB Revit Structure file linked into the Arch file, better have 4GB of available RAM when you open the Arch file.  Notice, I’m not saying that you need “X” amount of installed RAM, it’s “X” amount of available RAM  to open a Revit file.

Because of this requirement, I’ve been recommending that people utilize a 64bit OS so you can get at least 6GB of RAM installed, but preferably 8GB of RAM.  Unless you are working on small projects and you’re Revit files are going to hover around 50MB or less, then you could get away with 4GB of RAM and potentially a 32bit OS.

Revit 2012 Products Availability

Now that the information is out about the new 2012 Autodesk products, the questions start coming up on when the 2012 products will be available. 

First things first, 2012 will be the same as 2011…it’s going to be available as a download for Subscription Customers unless you specify you want a disk.  So keep an eye out for an email from Autodesk Subscription (if you are a Subscription site manager for your company) as you’ll get your new serial number and notification that 2012 is available for download.

As for the date, the Revit 2012 products will probably be available around mid April based on the past few years.  Remember, this is not a 100% certainty and is purely a guess, Autodesk has the right to provide the download/ship the disks at a earlier or later timeframe.

Hope you enjoy the new 2012 products!

Revit Architecture 2012 New Features

Instead of just replicating the new features here, I’ll post a link to a great post by David Light over at his Revit Blog.  David did a GREAT job at covering the new features with some commentary….well done David!!

If you just want a quick list of the new features, here you go…

• Revit Server (Now Native inside Revit)
• Citrix Ready Release (Cloud based Revit??)
• Autodesk Vault Collaboration AEC
• Linking Improvements (Tag Rooms, Keynote, etc.)
• Worksharing Enhancements
• Improved DWG export fidelity
• Visualisation Enhancements
• 3d Tagging (Annotate a 3D View)
• Modelling Enhancements
• Performance
• Construction Modelling
• Massing enhancements
• Materials
• Point Cloud Support
• IFC

As time goes on, I’ll be posting more about the new features as well.   

System Requirements for Revit 2012 Products

That time of year for new Autodesk products.  Below are the updated system requirements for the Revit family of products for 2012…

32-bit Systems

• Microsoft® Windows® 7 32-bit Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional, or Home Premium edition, Microsoft® Windows Vista® 32-bit (SP2 or later) Enterprise, Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium edition, or Microsoft® Windows® XP (SP2 or later) Professional or Home edition*
• For Microsoft Windows 7 32-bit or Microsoft Windows Vista 32-bit: Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon™ dual core processor, 3.0 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology 
• For Microsoft Windows XP: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon dual core, 1.6 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology
• 4 GB RAM
• 5 GB free disk space
• 1,280 x 1,024 monitor with true color
• Display adapter capable of 24-bit color for basic graphics, 256 MB DirectX® 10-capable graphics card with Shader Model 3 for advanced graphics (find out more about recommended graphics hardware)
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 7.0 (or later)
• Microsoft Mouse-compliant pointing device
• Download or installation from DVD9
• Internet connectivity for license registration

64-bit Systems

• Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional, or Home Premium edition, Microsoft Windows Vista 64-bit (SP2 or later) Enterprise, Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium edition, or Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional x64 edition (SP2 or later)*
• For Windows 7 64-bit or Windows Vista 64-bit: Intel® Core™ i5-2300 quad-core processor (2.8 GHz, 6 MB cache) or equivalent AMD® processor.
• For Windows XP Professional x64: Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon dual core, 1.6 GHz (or higher) with SSE2 technology
• 8 GB RAM
• 5 GB free disk space
• 1,680 x 1,050 monitor with true color
• Display adapter capable of 24-bit color for basic graphics; 256 MB DirectX 10-capable graphics card with Shader Model 3 for advanced graphics (find out more about recommended graphics hardware)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 7.0 (or later)
• Microsoft Mouse-compliant pointing device
• Download or installation from DVD9
• Internet connectivity for license registration

Looking for the (Performance) RECOMMENDATIONS and not the Requirements, take a look at these specs…

• Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit Enterprise, Ultimate, Professional, or Home Premium edition
• Intel® Core™ i7-2600 quad-core processor (3.8 GHz, 8 MB cache ) or equivalent AMD processor
• 16 GB RAM (or more)
• 1,980 x 1,200 monitor with true color
• 2 GB (or more) DirectX 10-capable graphics card with Shader Model 3 (find out more about recommended graphics hardware)

Disallow Join vs Don’t Clean Join

Ever wonder what the difference was between these two, or even know that there was a difference between these two options?  Both are part of the Wall Joins tool and are selected by different methods. 

The Disallow Join option is selected when you pick the end of a wall with the Wall Joins tool when it’s not connected with another wall, or now in 2011, when you right-click on the drag grip of a wall and select Disallow Join.

     OR    

The Don’t Clean Join option is available when you are trying to manipulate a wall join.

Now for the difference…and we’ll work with the 2 walls at the intersection. 

If you use the Disallow Join, you’ll get this result…

And if you use Don’t Clean Join, you’ll get this result…

As you can see, Disallow Join doesn’t allow the walls to cleanup at all.  Where as the Don’t Clean Join keeps the walls joined, but doesn’t clean up the materials.  In this case, that meant the gyp board didn’t try to cap off the masonry wall.

Error: Not Enough Space on C Drive

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had quite a few people call or email into our support line about getting this message “Not Enough Space on Drive C:” when trying to save their project and Revit then crashing.  Everyone says that they have “a ton of space” available, so there’s no way there isn’t enough space on the C.  And besides, we’re saving to the Network!

I did a little investigating and contacted Autodesk about the message.  It turns out that the message is not quite worded correctly!  What it apparently means is that there isn’t enough Virtual Memory available to complete the task, so Revit needs to close.  So, the message is somewhat technically correct, Virtual Memory is usually on the C drive, but the message makes you think there isn’t enough actual disk space available, even though you are saving to the network.

Up to this point, we’ve usually been able to limit the message from popping up by cleaning out the Windows TEMP folder, but even then it didn’t help eliminate it.  So, how do you fix it/adjust your virtual memory and what should I use for values?  First off, the value(s) for Virtual Memory according to Autodesk should be at least 1.5X the installed RAM.  So, if you have 4GB of RAM installed, the virtual memory should be at least 6GB.  Here’s a screen shot of how I get to change my Virtual Memory settings on my Window 7 x64 laptop…

One thing to note about this…you may need to talk to you IT person in order to change these values if anything is grayed out.  You will also need to restart your computer before these chance take affect.

As you can see in the Performance Options dialog, my virtual memory was initially set to the installed RAM (8GB of RAM = 8191 MB).  I went ahead and unchecked the “Automatically manage the paging…” in the Virtual Memory dialog, then hit the “Custom size” radio button.  I set my “Initial size (MB)” to be 1.5x my installed RAM (8191*1.5) to get the 12286.  I then set my “Maximum size (MB)” to be 2x my installed RAM (8191*2) to get the 16382.

Changing this value should alleviate the error message of not having enough space on the C drive.  Granted, if you are working on a 32bit PC, have 4GB of RAM installed, you’re Virtual Memory still may not be able to handle very large Revit projects/files.  Definitely check out the Revit  Model Performance Technical Note from Autodesk for more info on RAM and Virtual Memory.

Happy New Year and Personal Update

For those of you who still actually follow my blog, I need to first off say Thank You! and sorry for not posting since mid Sept. (I can’t believe it’s been that long!) This past year was an interesting year…work was up and down (mostly up and busy) and I really started getting into photography The latter, is the main reason why I haven’t been posting this past fall and winter. As much as I wanted to post about Revit and BIM, photography just kept pulling me aside and taking up much more of my time during my off-work hours. In the new year though, I will be posting much, much more to this blog and my Navisworks blog…I promise!

Now, speaking of photography…I need to also share some great news. This past fall I took pictures of an area Freshman football team and had a blast. I stumbled upon a national photo contest from Canon called “Why Do You Love Football?” and decided to submit a few pictures. Much to my surprise, one of my pictures was selected as a finalist in the contest! I could not believe it. The photo below was selected as 1 of 7 finalist in the Adult Action category…

This is where I need to ask for a little favor/help. There is a public voting period that ends on January 7, 2011 and I need your help! If my photo is selected as the winner in the Adult Category, the picture will be unveiled and hung in the Pro Football Hall of Fame! Not only that, but anyone who votes is entered into a drawing to win a Canon T2i camera kit.

To vote, you can go to http://www.nfl.usa.canon.com/vote/photoContest.html When you enter the voting, you will first vote for your favorite Teen Action, then Teen Feature, then your favorite of those two. After this, you will get to the Adult Action category, this is where my picture is. You’ll then do the same as the Teen categories. The name of the picture is “Determined”. After all of your voting, you’ll need to enter your information…this is to enter your votes and yourself into the drawing for the camera.

Again, thank you for still keeping an eye on my little area of the blog-world and I look forward to bringing much more information in 2011. I hope everyone had a safe and great New Years! (And yes, thank you in advance for anyone that votes for my picture)

Dwane Lindsey

::Update on Contest - My photo finished in 2nd place in the Adult Action Category! Thank you to anyone/everyone who voted, it is very much appreciated!