Learn What's New in Autodesk Revit 2014 with an iPad App

"View What's New for all Autodesk Revit 2014, Autodesk Revit Architecture 2014, Autodesk Revit MEP 2014, and Autodesk Revit Structure 2014 software."

There's more information available on iTunes.

Autodesk Remote: Drive Revit and Other Autodesk Applications from a Remote Computer or From an iPad

"Autodesk® Remote is a stand-alone application for Microsoft Window 7 and 8 and is compatible with all Autodesk products. It lets you drive Autodesk software installed on your primary computer from a remote computer or iPad for fast access to native design data over standard networks. To use it, simply install Autodesk Remote on the PC you want to share. Install it again on the machine you want to connect from and start your connection. Autodesk Remote currently works in North-America only.

"Autodesk Remote also has a companion application for the iPad that allows you to access your host PC from an iPad. The iPad App is optimized for Autodesk® Inventor® so you can work from anywhere, improving collaboration and increasing flexibility.

"Autodesk Remote requires that you have a Subscription account that is associated with an Autodesk product."

There's more information available on the Autodesk Exchange Apps website.

BIM Manager Suite from CTC - Includes 2 New Tools!

BIM Manager Suite

STANDARD - FREE tools

Batch Family Loader automates the process of loading or reloading families into projects.

• Select one or more project files, or an entire folder tree of project files to have families loaded
• Select one or more family files, or an entire folder of family files to load into selected projects
• Control how the families are loaded

Family Tools contains a collection of utilities that assist with the family creation process.
Delete backup files

• Copy CSV files created in a spreadsheet for type catalogs to the TXT files Revit needs
• Compare or safely merge parameters between two shared parameters files
• See the version of Revit that was used to last save one or more family files

New!  Project Cleaner deletes views, sheets and Revit links

• Quickly remove all or selected views, sheets or links from a project
• Prepare a project to send off to consultants
• Lighten models from consultants before linking them into your projects

BIM Project Suite 2014 from CTC - Includes 4 New Tools!

BIM Project Suite

STANDARD - FREE tools

BIM List is a content management solution providing the ability to sort, search and leverage your families more effectively.

• Locate and insert families into a Revit project
• Search parameter data using filters
• Administrative controls help enforce company standards

Detail Link automates the process of linking AutoCAD DWG details for use in the Revit project environment.

• Reduce errors and ensure consistency
• Save time by automating an otherwise manual process

Project Link is an easy and customizable system for finding and organizing documents from inside the Revit interface.

• Make important documents and hyperlinks accessible from within Revit
• Locate and group all families that have a hyperlink associated with them
• Both administrative and user interfaces are provided

Renumbering provides a fast and simple way to renumber your rooms and doors.

• Auto-swapping avoids duplicates
• Alphanumeric sequential numbering
• Add separators and suffixes to room and door numbers

PREMIUM - includes Standard

New!  Fire Rating assists in the creation of life safety plans.

• Assign and review wall fire ratings
• Generate floor plan graphics based on line type and tag mappings
• Quickly regenerate graphics when the model changes

Scenario Virtual Project Delivery

The Ultimate Collaboration Solution for the AEC Industry

Scenario Virtual Project Delivery (VPD) is a software solution that dramatically streamlines the collection, distribution, analysis, and storage of design projects and Building Information Modeling (BIM) data. Our cross-platform system accelerates the production workflow by connecting the entire project team together while minimizing the risk and improving efficiencies by delivering and receiving the correct data, at the right time. 

VPD (Platform)
Integrate People. Process and Data.

Access your data in real-time and get complete visibility of your projects and your organizational team.  Direct and manage your project data intelligently.  Easily manage the complexities of today's projects with our Asset Management and Organizational Process.

• Easy to use, easy to learn
• Maintenance free technology
• Manage all of your data assets
• Track, log, associate, view and manage files with SmartFile technology
• Map and track processes
• Customizable workflows to match your process
• Automated recording of history revisions
• Controlled visibility of data across the project team
• Project setup by scope of work
• Define roles and responsibilities by company/scope of work
• Manage scope assignments, work breakdowns, permissions, and securities from anywhere, anytime.
• Easy file transfer between you and the central data center.

+BIM (Plug-ins)
Communication. Collaboration. Control.

VPD+BIM.  Better Together.  Manage your projects with the revolutionary VPD software.  Scenario VPD+BIM software combines intelligent data management while allowing an exchange of information between BIM's authoring software.

• Organizational Management by establishing roles, responsibilities and permissions.
• Process Management through workflowsRoute and review tasks through work tickets which can be sent from Revit to a team member working in software packages such as AutoCAD, Naviswork or vice versa.
• Visibility of data to all permissible project members
• Plug-in to existing state-of-the-art AEC software
• Contribute your BIM & data to the cloud in real-time
• Query all objects in a file or across multiple project files to create a searchable database that can be filtered by object type, trade, etc.
• Complete visibility to the development, changes and questions of the portfolio, project or model
• Attach/associate a wide range of information including sketches, material data-sheets, inspection records, etc., to the 3D model
• Perform model-based takeoffs
• Analyze data for trends and efficiencies

There's more information available on the Scenario VPD website.

Meet the New, Enhanced Ideate Explorer for Revit

From the Ideate press release...

Ideate Explorer for Revit is the Autodesk Revit add-on that lets you explore, quantify and manage the 100,000+ building elements in a Revit file. With it, nothing is hidden. Everything is easy to find, easy to reach. Performing a Revit project audit becomes a snap.

The just released Ideate Explorer for Revit 2013.3 comes with a full array of significant productivity enhancements that support several important new workflows:

• It is 3x faster than previous versions – with ultra-fast launch and the ability to speed through mega files
• Its added pre-defined filters let you find Model, Annotation or Audit elements
• You can create custom filters for use in making parameter-specific selections
• The new, improved UI gives you more time- and click-savers:
• A smaller dialog that remembers your preferences
• Improved, faster Export to Excel
• Check All/Uncheck All – a faster one-step operation
• Isolate Elements from within Ideate Explorer
• Enhanced information about CAD Links and Imports

Already Have Autodesk Revit 2014?

Ideate Explorer for Revit 2014.1 is here, with the same significant enhancements of this latest release.

There's more information available on the Ideate Explorer website.

IsDIM Add-in: Create Dimensions Quickly in Autodesk Revit

The IsDIM add-on for Autodesk® Revit® quickly creates dimensions:

• automatically adds dimensions for internal walls
• chains for external walls
• diagonals for rooms

There's more information on the Autodesk Exchange Apps website.

eVox Bill of Quantities Add-in: Calculate Costs in Autodesk Revit

Import price lists in Autodesk Revit for creating bills of quantities fastly and with few simple steps!

Using Estimate ribbon you may associate costs, descriptions, codes to elements for creating bill of quantities into Revit and export them into excel or word.

Import price lists in various formats such as xpwe, six.xml, excel, txt and csv. Associate imported descriptions and costs to families, materials and annotations and create bill of quantities fastly.

Estimate tab

Associate costs with materials

Associate costs with families

Export bill of quantities to Excel or Word (shown)

This add-in may be downloaded from the Autodesk Exchange Apps website, the free trial version here and the licensed USD 50.00 version here.

CADLearning Plugin for Autodesk Revit

"CADLearning® Plug-in for Autodesk® Revit® delivers video learning from within your Autodesk® Revit® software. When tools are activated, a CADLearning palette instantly presents links to related video tutorials. The plug-in can be used as a just-in-time learning tool or an instant video help system - with a click, you get visual demonstrations and guidance from an expert on screen so you can get back to your design in no time."

The video window and palette can be moved outside the application so videos can be viewed while attempting a task

Manage CADLearning Content allows you to customize the videos that display in your palette. Videos are unselected as they are viewed

There's more information available on the Autodesk Exchange Apps website.

WebGL-Publisher: Share Your Revit Models on The Internet

WebGL-Publisher uses the WebGL-Standard which is supported by various browsers on different platforms and operating systems.

The exported models can be viewed in any WebGL enabled browser without additional software installation.

After installation WebGL-Publisher Export for Autodesk® Revit® can be used for 30 days without a license.

After 30 days the export is disabled and the software must be licensed at www.webgl-publisher.com

The WebGL-Publisher Export for Autodesk® Revit® license contains the permission to publish the needed infrastructure (JavaScript libraries and textures)

in the Web as long as the possessor of the web site where the WebGL-Publisher model is published is the owner of the WebGL-Publisher license.

To publish Revit® models to the Web the following steps must be performed:

• A model must be opened in Revit
• The 3DViewSectionBox command must be clicked in the Add-Ins toolbar
• The target directory must be defined in the export dialog where the export should be written to.

The WPG export must be started in an active 3D View.

Before exporting it is recommended to ajust the section box in order determine the boundaries.

The export includes:

• Visible categories of the active 3D-View
• Solids and geometric instances inside the section box

The export itself creates a wpm file (WebGL-Publisher Model) and a html file which displays the exported model.

In addition to that all needed textures and JavaScript libraries are copied to the target directory.

The generated html file can then be opened directly in a WebGL enabled browser.

To publish the model in the Web, the content of the target directory must just be copied to a web site.

There's more information available on the Autodesk Exchange Apps website.

BIMiTs DataLink Add-in: Extract Revit Data to Excel

"With this plugin for Autodesk Revit, you can extract your BIM data to a custom Excel template. The template can be customized from within Revit to select the data that need to be exported to the excel sheet. The user has the possibility  to customize the Excel workbook with own formulas, layouts, ... and link the Revit parameters with the custom fields in the workbook. The data is exported separately for Category Instances and Category Types, Material Instances, Project Information, ... used in the model. This can be done for each category.

"This tool distinguishes oneself because of its possibility to dig up data that cannot be shown in Revit schedules (i.e. volumetric data on stair treads, risers, supports, compound structure of walls and floors, ...). Additionally, the tool allows the user to take into account linked Revit files."

Configure the fields to be generated in Excel

Results after data-extraction

There's more information available on the Autodesk Exchange Apps website (for the Revit 2013 version here and the 2014 version here).

IMAGINiT Utilities for Revit 2014 Now Available, Including New Link Fixer Utility

I previously posted about the 2011, 2012 and 2013 versions of the IMAGINiT utilities. Now IMAGINiT is excited to announce that the IMAGINiT Utilities for Revit are available for 2014. This version includes a new utility and lots of enhancements.

Re-Path Links Quickly and Simply

The new Link Fixer was developed to eliminate the tedious, manual work of re-pathing links when combining BIM models. Once set-up, it automatically scans the model and creates the correct paths – eliminating the tedious work and potential human error while allowing the BIM Manager to focus on higher value tasks.

Enhancements for Revit Utilities

Multiple enhancements have been made to existing utilities including Room Renumber, Element Renumber, Change Case, Translate and more. Check out the entire list of updated utilities. My favorite is the ability to draw a path to renumber rooms or elements.

Click here for a complete list of the IMAGINiT utilities.

Availability and Pricing

IMAGINiT Utilities for Revit are available for purchase in Standalone or Named-User versions and remain free for IMAGINiT’s Autodesk Subscription clients via the ProductivityNOW Portal.

There's more information available on the IMAGINiT website.

Free Exceler8 for Revit from Case: Roundtrip Revit Data to/from Excel (Updated)

"This is a must have utility that supports the export as well as import of data from Microsoft Excel 2010 and higher. While this tool is still under fierce development, it is ready to use for basic use. We have lots of features planned for this one that will make it into a series of future updates."

There's more information available on the Case Apps website.

Update 5/8/2016: CASE and the CASE Apps website are no more but, courtesy of WeWork, the CASE Apps are now open source. They may be accessed on GitHub.

David Light has been posting about how to use Exceler8 over on his Revit blog.