Tip - Increase / Decrease Focal Length of Camera

Great tip!! I wonder how long this has been available? I only have back to 2014 and it's available there.  It's nice to be able to do this, just wish Autodesk would bring forward the setting in the Properties so we could choose an actual focal length :)

TheRevitKid.com! - Tutorials, Tips, Products, and Information on all things Revit / BIM: Revit Tip - Increase / Decrease Focal Length of Ca...: I bet you read the title of this post and said "no way, you can't do that in Revit!!"

Turning the Page

Recently, I turned the page and started a new chapter in my work life.  I’ve moved on from being an Application Engineer for an Autodesk reseller in the Chicago area and am happy to announce that I am now the Technical Application Manager for a General Contractor in the Chicago area!

I’ll continue to keep this blog going, just may have a slightly different twist on some of the items I’ll be posting about. I’ll now be dealing with much more that just Autodesk products, so you may start to see some info coming across about how non-Autodesk products are being utilized in conjunction with Revit.  You may even start to see posts about non-Autodesk products in general!

It’s definitely a different world being back in the AEC industry…should be a fun ride!

What’s New in Revit 2015

Instead of listing out all of the new features of Revit 2015, I’ll point you over to Steve Stafford’s Revit OpEd blog where he’s got the entire list of updates.  Thanks Steve for pulling this together!

Highlights for Revit Architecture are the following for me (in no particular order)…

• Sketchy Lines (Visual Style)
• Family Parameter Order
• You can now adjust the order of your Family Parameters (about time!!)
• View References
• You can now adjust the Referenced View to be something other than the original instead of redoing the Reference (about time!)
• Add Images to Schedules
• Revision Cloud drawing tools
• No more multiple picking of points, can use Rectangle and Polygon tools
• Shared Parameters in View Titles
• Allowing more customization to View Titles

Like I said, these are just some of the “high” points from what I’ve seen.  Nothing earth-shattering, but some decent enhancements mainly from a documentation standpoint.

Managing Room Separation Lines

For many of the users I teach Revit to the first time, the inevitable questions arise when we discuss Room Separation Lines…

“Do they print?”

Yes, yes they do.

“How do we get them not to print?”

You can turn them off in Visibility Graphics. 

“But then do we have to keep turning them on/off every time we need to add or manipulate them?” 

Yep, pretty much.

Then I usually get the disappointed look.  But then I go over this little way of being able to have them hidden on the “printed” plan and still be able to add/remove (manage) the Room Separation Lines.

Duplicate your Floor Plan View/Views that you need to use Room Separation Lines on. You don’t need to Duplicate with Detail, just Duplicate it. I usually will go with an Overall Plan if you’re using Area Plans/Matchlines.  (By Area Plans, I mean Area A, Area B, etc.)  Then, go into Visibility Graphics for that Duplicated View.  Navigate to the Room Separation Lines (Model Categories, Lines) and change the Room Separation Lines Projection (the only thing you can change) to be something like Red with a lineweight of 6. This will show those bad-boys nice and bright on your floor plan. You can then keep the Room Separation Lines turned off in your “printed” Floor Plan views.  Anytime you need to manipulate, add, remove, etc. your Room Separation Lines, just flip over to the “Floor Plan – Room Separation” (that’s what I tend to call it, call it whatever you want) view and do your work on the Room Separation Lines there.

This Operation Could Not Be Completed

This error message came up for a customer of mine when they were upgrading a Revit 2013 project to 2014 and using Revit Server.  The file worked perfectly in 2013, but as soon as the file was upgraded to 2014, they couldn’t save it to Revit Server 2014…the above mentioned error popped up.

So, like I do with a lot of my customers, I had them send me the file so I could test it out on my end.  This allows me to test the file using my setup, which helps determine if it’s a file issue, Revit Server issue, or maybe both.  Now, you might be asking…”how do you know what issue it is?”  If I can replicate the error on my end, it’s likely a file issue or potentially both.  If I can’t replicate the issue, then chances are it’s an issue with their Revit Server.

While I was getting the file downloaded from the customer, I had them try another file (different project) and it worked perfectly.  Okay, that narrows it down to more than likely being a file issue…but I still wanted to verify that on my end to make sure.  Sure enough, I got the file and received the exact same error message when trying to save the file to Revit Server 2014.  Autodesk, here we come!

I worked with Autodesk support to get their take on the file. They attempted to do the same thing we did, get the file saved to Revit Server 2014…same error.  After they reviewed the journal and log files (which I looked at as well, but couldn’t decipher what was going on) they determined that it was an issue with the project’s permission data.  The “short-term” fix was to detach the central and blow away the worksharing…yep, bring it back to a single-user file.  Then, once that process was completed, re-enable worksharing.  By doing that process, the permission data was stripped out and re-established and the file could now be saved to Revit Server 2014.  However, the file was sent over to the development team for them to take a look at what was going on in the upgrade process since the file worked just fine in 2013.

The development team came back and said they found the issue, it was an invalid workset ID assigned to one of the elements.  They were able to fix the file by assigning a workset ID to the problem element.  They sent me the fixed file and it worked perfectly.  And they didn’t sent back the converted single-user file back, they sent back the original file with the original worksharing/worksets.  Sweet!

But, I couldn’t stop there….I had to ask the question; “Is this a fix I could have done, or does this issue need to be handled by the development team?”  The answer, they had to do it as we “end users” don’t have the ability to assign workset ID’s to elements.  However, you might be able to cut/paste the problem element once you know what element it is (by investigating the journals/logs) and fix it that way…

Challenge Accepted!! (when I get time to test it out …)

Autodesk BIM 360 Products

So I’ve been pretty quiet on the blog front this year (that’s kind-of an understatement!).  It’s not that I don’t have much to share, but it seems like every day passes way too fast.

The main reason though for my practical non-existence in the blogging world is that in the summer of 2013, I started the trek down the BIM 360 road with Glue and Field.  I was one of only a select few that were chosen by Autodesk to partake in being trained on the BIM 360 products in the US. The BIM 360 products are not like the majority of the Autodesk software and Autodesk didn’t release these products to all of the channel partners/resellers.  So much of my time that I have “free” (time that I’m not spending with customers around a handful of products), I’ve been diving into BIM 360 Glue and Field

I’m still involved in the Revit products, whether it’s teaching, consulting, implementing, supporting, etc., so I still have information to share around the Revit products.  This particular blog isn’t going to become a BIM 360 blog, I’m handling that over on my Navisworks/BIM 360 blog   I will however, be throwing some “nuggets” of information about how Revit works with BIM 360 Glue and Field on this blog, as well as hopefully posting more about Revit this year!  So hopefully you won’t be seeing a 9 month lapse in posts from me

System Requirements for Revit 2014 Products

Instead of copy/pasting a giant list of requirements that Autodesk has listed, below is a link to the System Requirements page on Autodesk’s website:

System requirements for Autodesk Revit Products

Please, please note that Windows XP is NOT listed!!  If you are still using XP (or even Vista, which I rarely run into), you’re going to need to upgrade your OS!  Not to say that Revit 2014 won’t install or run, but any issues relating back to the OS will not be supported.  Also note that Windows 8 32bit is not supported.  Autodesk has a page dedicated to OS compatibility for Revit, all versions - Operating system compatibility for Autodesk Revit Products

Out of the 3 configurations they list for system requirements, I would go for the Value: Balanced performance configuration at a minimum.  However, if you really look at the difference between that and the Performance: Large, complex models configuration, it’s mainly more RAM….so might as well stuff as much RAM in the machine as you can afford.

What’s New in Revit Architecture 2014

Yep, the wonderful time of the year when bloggers all across the globe push out their “version” of what’s new in the 2014 Autodesk software.  Instead of reposting a long list of enhancements, here’s a couple posts that do a great job of showing the new features…

• As always, David Light has his great post on the new features!  Click HERE to go to his post.
• Autodesk even got into the “game” this year and has provided a page with the new features (as well as many of the existing features).  Click HERE to see Autodesk’s page.

A couple items that probably won’t make the list for new features in Revit 2014 are integrations with Inventor and Vault. 

• Inventor 2014 can now export directly to a Revit Family (RFA) file.  I haven’t been able to work with an exported RFA file from Inventor yet since we had some version issues.  Once the products hit the streets, I’ll post more about this.
• Vault integration has been updated to now include search capability of the Family properties. I’ll be posting more about this as well in the future.

I also put together a video for our (MasterGraphics’s) YouTube channel. Once we get it uploaded, I’ll create a new post with it and update this post as well.

And now the wait begins until the software can be downloaded….

Flipping Stairs Flips Stringer Side

Little something I ran across during a class a couple weeks ago.  When working with Stairs in Revit 2013, someone asked about having a stringer on one side and not the other.  No problem with Component Stairs in Revit 2013. 

Then I went to show how you can change the “direction” of the stair by using the Flip Direction arrow at the top of the stair….and this happened:

Notice how the stringers also flipped sides, which is not the outcome that someone would want.  Sure, we can go in and remove/add the stringers to be on the appropriate side, but that’s just extra work!  Besides the fact that the stringers aren’t continuous …there’s a piece of stringer missing on one side of the landing (in the 2nd image).

Just a little something to be aware of when flipping stairs.  And it doesn’t even pertain to one sided stringers…it also pertains to each side having a separate profile being used!

Revit Backup File Notice

If you’ve used Revit, you pretty much know that you should avoid opening up a backup file unless it’s absolutely necessary to do so.  What I mean by that is you typically aren’t going to open up a file that has “filename.0000.rvt” (for example) as a name…the .”four digits”.rvt (or .rfa) in the file name means it’s a backup.

Well, the other day I was explaining to a group of new Revit users how saving and Revit’s backup files work and I opened up a backup file to show that it is a full size, fully functional backup file.  I went to hit save to show that when you save the file, it would still allow you to save the file.  To my surprise though, a little notice popped up asking if I actually wanted to save to the ORIGINAL file, not the backup!  This was a surprise to me since every time I’ve opened a backup file, I’ve always performed a “Save-as” to give the file a new name or overwrite the original file.

If you click “Yes” on this message, it will actually save the file over the original file, just as if you would have opened up that file instead of the backup.  If you click “No”, then you’ll be saving the changes to the backup file, thus creating a “new” file and the subsequent backups will now be “filename.0001.0001.rvt”!

I’ve been working with Revit since it was Revit Building 7 (I believe, whatever it was called in 2005) and I’ve never seen this.  So, I went back to Revit Architecture 2011 (which is as far back as I have installed) and this message does appear.  I’m not really sure if this has always been there or when it was introduced?  Regardless, I like the message and hopefully it will help those that accidently open a backup file save the changes to the appropriate file. 

Can’t Change Scale of Elevations, Sections, Callouts

The screen shot below is the Ribbon/Options Bar after initiating the Section tool….notice anything missing?

What used to be in the Options Bar is now gone….the ability to “set” the scale of the View you are about to create.  In 2013, you have to basically just create the Section, Elevation or Callout, then once the view is created change the scale. 

Not sure the reasoning behind this one, but it’s kind-of annoying that you can’t set the scale prior to placing/creating the View.

Can’t Copy Light Fixtures in Gyp Board Ceiling Revit 2013

Something weird I ran into a while back while teaching a class…not being able to copy a Light Fixture in the out-of-the-box GWB on Mtl. Stud Ceiling.  I can copy Fixtures all day long in a 2x2 or 2x4 ACT Ceiling (even the Generic Ceiling), but as soon as the ceiling is changed to the GWB, I get the following error…

The 2nd part or the error just says the the “Elements were deleted”.

This happened even with the latest service pack installed (Update 2).  The only work-around I’ve used and have told my students to use is to basically use either the 2x2 or 2x4 ACT Ceiling for all of your Ceilings to start.  Once you get the Lights placed, then swap your Ceiling out to the proper type.  I even tried taking one of the ACT Ceilings, duplicating and making a new Ceiling Type (mimic the GWB type), no go.

BUT, I did find that if the Ceiling Type doesn’t include the Gypsum Wall Board Material, the Lights can be copied just fine!  And it doesn’t matter what Gypsum material I used from the Library…as soon as Gypsum was applied to the Ceiling Type, the Lights didn’t copy.

Remove Dimension from String Revit 2013

In Revit 2013 (all flavors), we now have the ability to remove a single dimension in the middle of a string!!  It’s always been painful to tell people that they needed to wipe out one end or the other and recreate the string if something in the middle needed to be removed for whatever reason.

Here’s a very, very short video on how it works…just remember, don’t select the string and try to Edit Witness Lines to remove a dimension this way.

Removing Single Dim from String

BDS-U 2013 Doesn’t Install NWC Export

For those you don’t know what BDS-U is, it’s the short form for Building Design Suite Ultimate.

Anyway, finally got this bad boy downloaded, extracted and installed yesterday.  Installed practically everything in the suite and popped open Revit 2013 and noticed the Add-Ins tab wasn’t showing.  This was a little odd since the Suite is supposed to install the NWC Exporters, so the Add-Ins tab should be there.  Even checked the Export within the Application Menu, no NWC Export Option (new feature of 2013 by the way).

Great, I can see the numerous amount of support calls/emails coming in about this.  It’s a simple, yet annoying fix…and I’ve already posted about it.  See this post about the NWC Exporters not installing and how to fix it.  Even though the post is from 2009 (2010 software), it’s the exact same process.

I really, really hope I had the odd-ball install where the exporters didn’t get installed in the proper order…

Revit Architecture 2013

Well, the first few months of 2012 have been busy, which I guess is a good thing!  Since the 2013 products were introduced on March 27, I’m not going to repurpose the what’s new features for 2013….I’ll simply point you in the direction of David Light.  He’s always got a very good summary of the tools.

Here’s a few little things that I’ve run across that you probably won’t see in the What’s New Feature list…

1 – The Home tab in the Ribbon in Revit Architecture is now called Architecture.  This is more than likely to keep the naming convention consistent with the introduction of the Revit 2013 product that will be included for those that will be getting/have the Building Design Suite Premium or Ultimate 2013.  (In case you weren’t aware, the Suite products will have 1 Revit product that will have tools for all 3 disciplines)

1a – The layout of the Architecture tab vs the Home tab has changed slightly from 2012…

2 – When you create a New Project, you now get a drop-down list to choose which template you would like to start with, Architectural or Construction.  You can still browse to choose a different template.  (I’ll have a separate post about what you can do to Customize this as well)

 

3 – If you’re working with Navisworks or need to produce NWC files for Navisworks, you can now access the NWC Export tool via the Export within the Application Menu.  The NWC Export is still available via the Add-Ins Ribbon tab.  Just remember, you need to have either Navisworks (Manage or Simulate) or the NWC Export Utility installed to get the NWC Export ability.

As I run across more, I’ll report back

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.