The Week that was in Revit Add-ons for January 23-29, 2017

New

From the Autodesk App Store, we posted for the first time about Reports, for creating advanced schedules, Graphic Studio, for quick and convenient access to graphic override settings, and Export Link Path To Excel, which is self-explanatory.

From around the Internet, we posted for the first time about Ventilated Facades, for creating panel-covered exteriors, Piranesi EPix add-in, for exporting 3D views to Piranesi EPix files for visualization purposes, and Metamorphosis, a free and open-source change analysis solution.

Roundup – For the Week of January 23-29, 2017, New and Updated Revit Add-ins on the Autodesk App Store

The week of January 23, 2017 saw the release of a few new add-ins on the Autodesk App Store: Reports is for creating advanced schedules, Graphic Studio is for quick and convenient access to graphic override settings, and Export Link Path to Excel is self-explanatory.

Numerous add-ins were also updated, including Family Size Reporter, BIM Batch Suite, CTC BIM Manager Suite, CTC BIM Project Suite, and BIM Track, each of which received relatively significant updates.

New

Export Link Path To Excel
This tool is designed to export Autodesk® Revit® linked file's paths to Excel | USD 3.99
☆☆☆☆☆ (0 reviews)
About This Version: Version 1.0.0, 1/23/2017 – Initial Release

HOOPS Publish 2017

From the TechSoft3D website:

HOOPS Publish 2017 Extends the Reach of Engineering Data

BEND, Oregon — January 25, 2017 – Tech Soft 3D today announced the release of HOOPS Publish 2017, the leading tool to enable applications to publish 3D data in multiple formats for consumption, including native 3D PDF, HTML and in several standard CAD formats, including STEP AP 242, JT 9.5 and 3MF, used in 3D printing applications. HOOPS Publish enables engineering applications to publish product information for use across the entire product lifecycle for almost any workflow, including archiving, interoperability, visualization and collaboration, work instructions, smart reports and technical data packages.

“The rise of web and mobile technology, new standards and free readers have changed how people expect to consume data,” said Eric Vinchon, HOOPS Product Director. “People want to get data out of their applications and consume it throughout the product lifecycle. HOOPS Publish makes that possible. HOOPS Publish provides software development teams everything they need to add the output capabilities their customers expect into their applications.”

Metamorphosis – A Free and Open-Source Revit Change Analysis Tool

Editor's Note: Spinning out of the 2016 AEC Technology Symposium Hackathon comes Metamorphosis, a free and open-source change analysis tool for Revit. The following information is excerpted to focus on the add-in. To read more about the genesis of the solution at the hackathon, click over to the original post after the break.

From Kyle Martin's website:

INTRODUCING "METAMORPHOSIS" - An Open Source Revit Change Analysis Tool 

Running the model comparison add-in results in a list of Revit elements that can be filtered and re-sorted. Clicking on the categories and individual elements adds them to the selection in the active view and zooms to their location.

List of changed elements sorted By Category (left)
or By Change Type (right)

Piranesi EPix Add-in – Export 3D Views to Piranesi 6 Pro

From the Piranesi website:

Our EPix add-in lets you export a 3D view from Autodesk® Revit® Architecture to a Piranesi EPix file.

Free Visual Studio 2015 C# and VB.NET Revit Add-in Wizards Updated for Revit 2017

From The Building Coder blog:

Visual Studio 2015 Revit 2017 Add-in Wizards

I updated the Visual Studio Revit C# and VB add-in wizards for Revit 2017.

They enable you to create a new C# or VB Revit add-in in Visual Studio with one single click on File > New > Project... > Installed > Templates > Visual Basic/Visual C# > Revit 2017 Addin:

Free COBie Extension for Revit Version 3.0 Released – Support for Linked Models Added

From the CADD Microsystems blog:

Support for Linked Models in COBie Extension For Revit 3.0

The Autodesk COBie Extension for Revit just dropped a new version and it has a couple of brand new features that users have been asking about for some time.

First and foremost, the extension will now export COBie information from linked models. Previous versions would only pull out data from the active model and then you would have to add the data from the second model in there on a different export.  Not a huge hassle, but this makes the process tons easier.

Links!

1.26.2017 Release of Project Fractal – Now You Can Bookmark Your Favorite Design Options

From the Project Fractal website:

Release Notes
New Features
1.25.2017

Favorites:

• You can now mark your favorite design options with a star in the upper left cornder of each designs thumbnail to find them quickly 
• Sorting designs by 'is favorite' will bring them to the top (or bottom) of the sort order
• Other users with access to a workspace can also see (and change) the designs marked as favorites
• Setting favorites will persist from one session to the next.

Reports – Schedules for Professionals

From the Autodesk App Store and the archigrafix website:

Schedules for Professionals

The most advanced multi-page reports engine for Revit Schedules. Share long schedules in PDF, Word or send to any printer. Supports advance features: titleblock, autosave, custom logo, font formatting, document location, page number, and many more.

With Archigrafix Reports, you can create powerful, richly formatted, dynamic reports from Autodesk® Revit® schedules – delivered in formats used in the construction industry.

Main dialog with thumbnail.

Graphic Studio – All Graphic Settings with One Click!

From the Autodesk App Store and the archigrafix website:

All graphic settings with 1 click!

Make perfect graphic adjustments directly on your Revit objects. You no longer need slow and boring Revit override lists, many clicks away. Enjoy working with color eyedropper, archigrafix color palettes, multi selection tool, and many other tools.

Jump in
Whether you're a first-time user or an experienced architect, Archigrafix Graphic Studio makes it easy to get started. Benefit from an intuitive interface that lets you be productive immediately.

BIM Track Version 1.7.1 Released

From the Autodesk App Store:

BIM Track™ is a web-based collaboration platform that empowers your team with better coordination workflows. BIM Track™ provides a central hub for all coordination information from design to construction. With information at your fingertips, you can get access to your data anytime, anywhere, either from a desktop or mobile device. Charts and graphics help understand data and your management performance through precise metrics. We promote Open BIM workflow solutions by supporting IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) and BCF (BIM Collaboration Format).

Personal Profile

CTC BIM Project Suite 2017 Version 17.0.6 Released

From the Autodesk App Store:

To download the trial version of BIM Project Suite through Autodesk App Store, click here

This setup will install add-in tools for Autodesk® Revit® 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The BIM Project Suite is part of the CTC Express Tools  family of products, and contains the following tools:
                                               
BIM List
This tool is a content management solution providing the ability to browse, sort, search and leverage your families more effectively, helping to enforce company standards.

CTC BIM Manager Suite 2017 Version 17.0.6 Released

From the Autodesk App Store:

To download the trial version of BIM Manager Suite 2017 through Autodesk App Store, click here

This setup will install add-in tools for Autodesk® Revit® 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017. The BIM Manager Suite is part of the CTC Express Tools family of products, and contains the following tools:

Family Tools
This tool contains a collection of utilities that assist with the family creation process, including: Deleting backup families, working with type catalogs and shared parameter files, listing the version of Autodesk® Revit® in which families were last saved.

BIM Batch Suite Version 17.0.11 Released

From the Autodesk App Store:

This setup will install add-in tools for Autodesk® Revit® 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

BIM Batch Suite is part of the CTC Express Tools family of products.  It provides tools to allow Revit users to process workflows en masse, with a focus on importing and exporting data.

Family Exporter
This tool allows users to easily select specific families to export from projects, automatically create folder structure based on family categories and geometry, and add customized text to exported family names.

Export Link Path To Excel

From the Autodesk App Store:

This tool is designed to export Autodesk® Revit® link file's paths to Excel.
It's very useful, especially for large projects with many links.

You can also use it to check the linked file's paths.

Free Family Size Reporter Version 2.0 Released

From the Autodesk App Store:

A simple app that reports the file sizes of loadable Families in an Autodesk® Revit® Project. The resulting report is grouped by Project Category by default. You can choose to remove the grouping and sort the list of families by Family Name or File Size on disk (in Kb).

Ventilated Facades

From the AGACAD blog:

NEW Solution! Ventilated Facades – Take your walls to the next level in Revit!

By putting a new spin on some existing technology, we can make things which had earlier seemed out of reach. That’s certainly the case with using ventilated facades to cover the exterior of new or renovated building.

Both functional and aesthetic, the versatility of ventilated facades allows for a variety of eye-catching looks that come with lots of practical advantages like thermal and sound insulation, rain protection, thermal expansion, and fire safety.

A ventilated facade is designed so that panels – often made of technical ceramic or porcelain – cover a building’s exterior, leaving a space for air to flow between the structural wall and the facade. This buffer layer creates a chimney effect all around the building, giving rise to the aforementioned benefits.

Only problem is, there has been no efficient way of modelling ventilated facades in Revit.

Until now, that is.

The Week that was in Revit Add-ons for January 16-22, 2017

New

From the Autodesk App Store, we posted for the first time about the Egan Bubble Diagram and Egan Space Planning add-ins.

From around the Internet, we posted for the first time about the free Texture and BIM Terca Façade for creating accurate brick wall materials quickly and easily, AGACAD's wood framing models from Revit to CAD/CAM production lines and Prefabricated Roof Paneling software.

Updated

From the App Store, Xinaps Spatial Requirements Assistant, Xinaps Financial Simulator, and Xinaps Daylight Ratio Evaluator each received relatively significant updates.

For additional App Store updates not mentioned here, please check out our latest roundup.

Roundup – For the Week of January 16-22, 2017, New and Updated Revit Add-ins on the Autodesk App Store

The week of January 16, 2017 saw the release of a couple of new Revit add-ins on the Autodesk App Store: Egan Bubble Diagram and Egan Space Planning, both from Egan BIM Resources.

Numerous add-ins were also updated, including Xinaps Spatial Requirements Assistant, Xinaps Financial Simulator, and Xinaps Daylight Ratio Evaluator, each of which received relatively significant updates.

New

Egan Space Planning
App for Autodesk® Revit® that imports a text-file program into re-sizable Cubes that can be arranged as desired, and then draws walls around the Cubes and places rooms | Trial

About This Version: Version 2017.0.1.10353, 1/18/2017 – Updated for Revit® 2017
☆☆☆☆☆ (0 reviews)

Chatting with BIM One's Christian Proulx, BIM Track's Director of Customer Success

A while back, we had the opportunity to Skype with Christian Proulx of BIM Track. We talked about the history and story behind BIM Track and its parent company BIM One, as well as some of their future plans.

Christian mentioned that he started his career as a 3D CAD specialist, specializing in CATIA for the aerospace and automobile industries. In fact, he once had a gig  training Boeing employees on CATIA at their Everett, WA, USA plant, which is only about 5 miles, or 8 kilometers, from 'Revit Add-ons central' in Mukilteo, WA. Considering that Christian lives in Quebec, Canada, some 4,620 kilometers away, or about 2,871 miles, that's quite a coincidence.

At 4,300,000 square feet or 399,483 square meters,
the Everett Boeing plant is the largest building in the world

Prefabricated Roof Paneling Software for Revit

From the AGACAD blog:

Roof Panel Layout is a powerful solution for prefabricated roof panels in Revit®. It enables easy roof panel planning and splitting into segments for prefabrication which can then be used in the roof framing process.

Wood Framing Models from Revit to CAD/CAM Production Lines

From the AGACAD blog:

New Possibilities to Create BIM Wood Framing Models and Data Flow for Automated CAD/CAM Production Lines in Revit® Environment

AGACAD team has created a new application for Autodesk® Revit® to export multi-layered frames of wooden walls and floors to automated panel production lines.

Earlier AGACAD offered optional export to any separate Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines, but from now on modelled timber house frames can be moved from Revit directly to large CAD/CAM production lines for mass production. When timber frame house building companies have a lot of orders and large volume of production capacity, production line greatly speeds up their work.

New Exporter is a separate software for Revit users that can automatically assemble all framing members in predefined ways and send all necessary data for flexible manufacturing of timber houses to CAD/CAM production line.

SALDA and AGACAD Collaborate on Free VentMaster Add-in

Editor's Note: We recently posted about the free VentMaster add-in from SALDA for air handling unit family creation. In the article below, AGACAD reveals how they worked on the development of this tool with SALDA.

From the AGACAD blog:

SALDA (UAB): “It’s great to be ahead of major competitors.”

This European maker of ventilation equipment seized an opportunity to boost sales by enhancing its product-selection software and enabling exports to Revit®. The custom integrated tool that AGACAD developed not only added that functionality, but was so advanced it gave the company a new competitive edge in being able to respond to customers’ needs more quickly and flexibly.

Free Texture and BIM Terca Façade – Create Accurate Brick Wall Materials Quickly and Easily

From the Wienerberger website:

Select your Terca façade brick, your fitting, the color, the thickness of the joint, you can also mix it with other bricks, then validate. Once generated, your custom texture is available and you can use it directly in your design software.

---

There's more information available on the Wienerberger website.

Egan Space Planning

From the Autodesk App Store:

App for Autodesk® Revit® that imports a text file program into re-sizable Cubes that can be arranged as desired, and then draws walls around the Cubes and places rooms.

What you can expect from the Egan Space Planning application:

Overview

The app is intended to help the user work in an intuitive and graphic way during early design. It allows for multiple rapid, lightweight iterations and reduces repetition and tedium in plan development. Help keep track of program spaces during the design process and provides constant, graphic display of program reconciliation. The app also provides a rudimentary bubble diagram at each step along the way.

See “Usage” below for expanded information on the following sections.

Import Space Program Into App

The app will import a user-defined space program in CSV format. Changes to the program can easily be made and re-imported.

Import page

Egan Bubble Diagram

From the Autodesk App Store:

App for Autodesk® Revit® that draws filleted Filled Regions to correspond with Rooms or Areas in the current view.

What you can expect from the Egan Bubble Diagram application:
Overview:

The app makes the process of Drawing Diagrams quick, easy and painless, allowing for the effortless production of multiple iterations. The app:

• Draws Filled Regions with an adjustable, user defined radius.
• Provides an in-process look, as opposed to the rigid, finalized appearance of the Revit® Color Scheme.
• Can skip over small jogs in the walls to give a smoother appearance, if desired.
• Works with all Rooms or Areas in the existing view or only selected ones.
• Draws different boundary line styles within the view.

The app is also excellent for quickly producing Bubble Diagrams of the existing layout for remodeling projects.

Draw Filled Regions For Rooms

Autodesk Seek Business Transferred to BIMobject

From the BIMobject website:

Wednesday, 18 January 2017 by Natalie Nilsson

BIMobject AB (“BIMobject”) announces today that it has signed an agreement with Autodesk regarding transfer of the operations of the Autodesk® Seek business to BIMobject. As part of this arrangement, BIMobject will assume the operational responsibility of providing Autodesk® Seek customers with high quality building information modeling (BIM) content services on the BIMobject Cloud.