The Week that was in Revit Add-ons for March 19-25, 2018

The week of March 19, 2018 was a moderately busy one here on Revit Add-ons with 14 posts published.

New

Revit

From the Autodesk App Store, we posted about Family Names for enforce family and type naming standards with a single click.

From around the Internet, we posted about the free CAD Manager for managing CAD inserts, the free self-explanatory External Dimensions on Plan, the free Henco Product Line Placer for piping systems, the free Mitsubishi Electric System Designer, the free Ostendorf Product Line Placer for sanitary system design, and PerFect Tools for facilitating some routine work.

Roundup – For Mar 19-25, 2018, New and Updated Revit Add-ins on the Autodesk App Store

The week of March 19, 2018 was an exceptionally slow one for Revit-related add-ins on the Autodesk App Store with just a single new one debuting and only three being updated.

The new add-in, Family Names, is for helping to standardize family and type names.

REVIT

New

Family Names
FamilyName – Easy to use plug-in that helps you in standardizing naming of families and types according to your set of rules | USD 10.00
☆☆☆☆☆ (0 reviews)
About This Version: Version 1.0.0, 3/15/2018 – Initial Release

Updated

Extract Selected Families Outside Model_2018

This tool is designed to extract selected families and save them outside the Autodesk® Revit® model | USD 1.99/M

☆☆☆☆☆ (0 reviews)

About This Version: Version 1.0.0, 3/22/2018 – Initial Release

Umbra – Lightweight, Optimized 3D Models for Effective Collaboration

From the Umbra website:

Umbra

ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION

Optimize and share your 3D designs for faster revisions cycles, more effective collaboration, and incredible mixed reality visualizations on any device.

WHY UMBRA?

DESIGN VALIDATION

Quickly identify problematic design elements before entering your clash detection audit and eliminate anomalies long before they become issues downstream with a simple one-click render

Gradually Turn the Revit Ribbon Red if Sync to Central Hasn't Happened in a Certain Amount of Time

John Pierson has posted a GIF on Twitter of a work in progress that gradually changes the color of the Revit Ribbon to red if a Sync to Central hasn't been done in a certain amount of time. Check it out below.

😎 pic.twitter.com/yiF1Zh0NGB

— john pierson (@60secondrevit) March 23, 2018

Test Fit – Dynamic Planning with Computational Design

Over on the EvolveLAB website, Clifton Harness has posted about a "test fit" Dynamo solution. It combines algorithms for placing firewalls, staircases, and units. The result is downright impressive:

Check out Clifton's post here.

Building Generator with Dynamo Studio, Fractal and Power BI

From the Architect Machines website:

Building Generator – Fractal – Power BI

By Ryan Cameron

Using Dynamo Studio, we now have the power to iterate design options quickly. Uploading to Autodesk Project Fractal, we can get multiple options automatically.

Below is an example of a programming model based on Commercial, Hotel and Office uses.  For a very basic example, download the Architect Machines package from the Dynamo Package manager.  We’ll be updating that package periodically to make it as robust as the script in this download.

Free Ostendorf Product Line Placer for Sanitary System Design

From the MEPcontent website:

Ostendorf Product Line Placer 

You can now quickly and easily design Ostendorf sanitary systems in Revit with this new free App. Setting up a complete system is done very fast due to the autorouting App functionality. This means that bends, tees, reducers and couplings will be placed automatically while drawing. The new optimizer functionality allows you to define the kind of solution you want for different scenarios and with a single click, your entire system is instantly optimized! The App grants you immediate access to localized and up-to-date Ostendorf products. Download the free App now and start saving time designing Ostendorf systems!

Free Henco Product Line Placer for Piping Systems

From the MEPcontent website:

Henco Product Line Placer

You can now draw Henco piping systems fast and easy! You no longer have to place every component in your system individually. While you draw, the auto routing and nodesolver functionalities of the new MEPcontent Henco Product Line Placer App for Revit will automatically add the correct Henco specific fittings to your system. Download the app for free and make sure you always work with the latest Henco product information!

Debugging Revit Add-ins During Application Development

From the archi+lab website:

debugging revit add-ins

By Konrad K Sobon

March, 22 2018

IMAGE BY ARCHI+LAB

Ok, so I always hear people complain, that writing Revit Addins is horrible because it takes forever to debug them. You know, that spiel about having to restart Revit, every time you make a change to your code. Well, the thing is that there was a solution to it out there for A LONG TIME. I am not sure why more people don’t use it, but it’s been talked about by people like Jeremy Tammik (Link) in 2011 and later by Matteo Cominetti (Link) in 2013. The point is that this has been out there for a while, and makes debugging Revit addins quite easy. Now this method runs a little contrary to something that I have posted a while ago about Post Build Commands and copying DLLs to Revit Addins folders automatically: Link

If you are going to follow this method, you should not be using the Post Build events. Let me explain the steps and you will see why...

Read more on the archi+lab website »

Free Mitsubishi Electric System Designer

From the MEPcontent website:

Mitsubishi Electric System Designer

You can now quickly find the right content from Mitsubishi Electric and place it within your project without ever having to leave your Revit or AutoCAD model. By downloading this free app you get instant access to all Mitsubishi Electric products related to airco systems. Save time by searching on article number, description, model or series and filter on technical properties. Download the free app now (no credit card required) and be sure to always find the Mitsubishi Electric content that fits best in your BIM projects!

Free Webinar March 27 – MWF Masterclass: CNC Output Workflow

From the announcement:

MWF Masterclass Webinar: CNC Output Workflow

Tuesday, March 27, 10AM/ 2PM EST

This month's MWF Masterclass will be taking you through steel stud generations and CNC output workflows within Revit. We will also be taking a look at our newly released CNC operations viewer which quickly allows users to see all CNC operations in a given panel as it would be outputted from the machine.

• Optimal CNC workflow and output from MWF
• Generation of shop drawings (development of .csv files)
• Panel regeneration

Family Names – Enforce Naming Standards with a Single Click

From the Autodesk App Store:

FamilyNames™ – Just one click away from ensuring naming conventions are met. With ease you and change and update names for families and types. With a complete set of features, you can easily handle renaming sets of elements. Using the validation section, you can easily check if the names you set are according to the requirements.

Easy to edit family names

Significant New Functionality in BIM 360

From the Cadline Community website:

February 27, 2018

With the new “Copy Project Settings” feature, Admins can copy the BIM 360 Document Management folder structure from an existing project when they set up new projects. This provides a great way to standardise your company’s project folder organisation across all projects. The folder structure from any existing project in your account can be copied. To promote standardisation, Autodesk recommends setting up one or more “template” projects that can be copied when creating new projects.

In the example below, a project called “Sample Project Template” has been set up with a standard folder structure, which is then copied when creating a new project called “New Project Based on Template.”  Here’s how to do it:

• In Account Admin > Projects, select the “Add” button to start creating a new project.
• In step 1 of 2, add the project name and other details (no change).
• In Step 2 of 2, in the BIM 360 Document Management activation menu, you will see “Copy Project Settings.”  Select the project you want to copy, add one or more project admins and activate your project.

Read more on the Cadline Community website »

Insert Multiple Shared Parameters with Dynamo with Interactive User Input

From the Dynamo forum:

Insert multiple shared parameters with UI 

By Ernesto Pellegrino

I just made a script that lets you insert multiple shared parameters at once. I started from the nodes release by @Mostafa_El_Ayoubi and used some nodes of the packages listed below.

UI changes

Lumion v8.3 with Improved LiveSync for Revit + LiveSync for SketchUp

From the Lumion website:

NEW IN LUMION 8.3

Lumion 8.3 enables real-time, lifelike visualization with SketchUp and Revit. By turning on the LiveSync synchronization, it’s like you’re modeling your SketchUp or Revit designs in their real-life settings.

Livesync for Lumion 8.3

With the new LiveSync, you can immediately set up a live, real-time visualization of your SketchUp or Revit model. Change the CAD model’s shape and you’ll see these changes taking place, in real-time, in Lumion’s breathtaking, lifelike environment.

• Available for both Revit and Sketchup
• Point-of-view synchronization
• Use Lumion materials on LiveSync objects
• Real-time materials synchronization and visualization
• Automatic model importing into Lumion (no need to separately import a model)

Free CAD Manager – Manage CAD Inserts

From the ModPlus website:

CAD Manager

Author:  Pecshev Alexander

Manage all inserts of dwg files in the current document

DESCRIPTION

The function displays all types of inserted dwg files - both belonging to the types and not belonging to the views. It is possible to search in the list, copy the identifier of the dwg-insert or view, open the view containing the dwg-insert, and delete the dwg-insertion

REQUESTS / DIALOGUE WINDOW

All the functions are performed directly through the Functions window

The function window does not block Revit. The list of dwg-insets dynamically changes when adding / removing the dwg-insert using Revit and when switching the document to Revit.

Available version: 1.2.0.0

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CAD Manager is brought to you by ModPlus. It's free.

There's more information available on the ModPlus website.

Free External Dimensions on Plan

From the ModPlus website:

External dimensions on the plan

This is a free feature!

Author:  Pecshev Alexander  

The function allows you to put in one click the external dimensions on the floor plan. The function only processes horizontal and vertical walls and axes. The outer dimensions are set according to the current working configuration, which indicates the sides of dimensioning and setting of dimensional chains



Available version: 1.1.0.0

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External Dimensions on Plan is brought to you by ModPlus. It's free.

There's more information available on the ModPlus website.

PerFect Tools

From the BIM Revit - 3D website:

[PerFect Tools] is a tool kit for Autodesk® Revit®. Increasing work productivity and facilitating some routine work.

Download FREE Trial version - PerFect tools

Floor finish - Automatic creation of floors in rooms including thresholds. The surface area of ​​the flooring material is so translucent
Wall finish - Automatically create a surface finish in the room. The surface is placed on both vertical and horizontal surfaces. The result is the exact area on the lining or plastering of the room.
Door Tag - Automatically locates door labels across the floor everywhere identically. Saving space on drawings and time.
Windows Tag - Automatically locates window labels across the floor everywhere identically. Saving space on drawings and time.
Duplicate Sheet - Automatic duplicate layout. We can choose what parts we want to duplicate from the drawing.
Door Swing - Automatically add the left or right door parameter. Everything changes instantly. The door can also be mirrored
Openings - Automatic information about the perpendicular height of the upper, lower edge, hole axis. The holes are visible above and below the cutting plane of the floor planes. Simple handover to a static.

• English language
• Units: metric, imperial
• Requirements: Revit 2016, Revit 2017, Revit 2018

The Week that was in Revit Add-ons for March 12-18, 2018

The week of March 12, 2018 was a moderately busy one here on Revit Add-ons with 11 posts published.

New

Revit

From the Autodesk App Store, we posted about Dimensions by Line, for dimensioning objects using a crossing line, the free EXNO, for calculating the needed sound insulation of windows, iviva Smart BIM, Revit + Forge for building operations, the free Line Cleaner, for cleanup of CAD imports, and the free Section Height Editor, for editing multiple section crop heights with one click.

From around the Internet, we posted about Overtur, the cloud collaboration platform for door specifications.

BIM 360

From the App Store, we posted about MAGNET Enterprise, for connecting BIM 360 Docs to Topcon software and hardware products, and the free Cloud Browser, a lightweight alternative to the BIM 360 Desktop App.

The aforementioned iviva Smart BIM for Building Operations crosses over between Revit and BIM 360.

Roundup – For Mar 12-18, 2018, New and Updated Revit Add-ins on the Autodesk App Store

Even after sorting out the chaff, of which again there was unfortunately a lot, the week of March 12, 2018 was a busy one for Revit-related add-ins on the Autodesk App Store. Eight new add-ins were published (five for Revit and three for BIM 360), and another eight were updated (seven for Revit and one for Navisworks).

For new Revit add-ins, EXNO - Exterior Noise is a free add-in for evaluating the quality of sound insulation of windows against exterior noise, Dimensions by Line is for dimensioning objects identified with a crossing line, iviva Smart BIM is for extending BIM models to building operations, Line Cleaner is a free add-in for cleaning up CAD imports, and Section Height Editor is a free add-in for editing multiple section crop heights with one click.

For new BIM 360 add-ins, Cloud Browser is a free and lightweight alternative to Autodesk BIM 360, the aforementioned iviva Smart BIM is for extending BIM models to building operations, and MAGNET Enterprise is for connecting BIM 360 Docs to Topcon software and hardware products.

For updated add-ins, CaManSys Clash Management Suite for Navisworks Manage received a relatively significant refresh.

REVIT

New

Section Height Editor
Edits multiple selected sections crop heights with just one click! | Free
☆☆☆☆☆ (0 reviews)
About This Version: Version 1.0.0, 3/16/2018 – Initial Version

Line Cleaner - Quickly purge duplicates & convert!
Now you can easily delete duplicate and / or smaller lines in a view with a single click! Additionally convert model lines to symbolic/detail lines even faster than Autodesk® Revit®! | Free
☆☆☆☆☆ (0 reviews)
About This Version: Version 1.0.1, 3/16/2018 – Initial Release.

CaManSys Clash Management Suite v3.0.0.0 for Navisworks Manage

From the Autodesk App Store:

About This Version

Version 3.0.0.0, 3/14/2018

• New Features
• Performance Enhancements
• Disable Clash Isolation
• Clash Isolation can now be completely disabled.
• Load xrefs automatically, or on demand
• Xrefs can be loaded and unloaded for specific clashes
• Useability Enhancements
• Test File Names against model naming convention format
• Improved support for Imperial models

MAGNET Enterprise – Connect BIM 360 Docs to Topcon Software and Hardware Products

From the Autodesk App Store:

MAGNET Enterprise is a browser-based web application designed to connect Topcon software and hardware products together via a cloud connection. The web application comes with several additional benefits such as the ability to project manage data, assets, employee time, proposals, and tasks. As an oversight tool, survey data and information for geo-referenced projects can be easily overlaid on a Google® map. MAGNET Enterprise is available as a subscription service only and is available for purchase through a Topcon dealer, or through the Topcon e-commerce store (www.magnet-enterprise.com). Typical users include survey and mapping experts, construction layout teams, earthworks contractors, engineers, DOTs, and more.

The MAGNET Enterprise integration with Autodesk® BIM 360® is designed to streamline document management bi-directionally and provide a dedicated location for sharing and saving the most updated project files. Construction teams can perform field layout from building plans stored simultaneously in the MAGNET Enterprise and the Autodesk cloud and machine automation users can have direct access to plans or constructible models stored within BIM 360 Docs. The cloud connectivity is another example of Topcon and Autodesk continuing to work together to provide our users the most concise and succinct workflow through collaboration and commitment to openness in our software.

Free Line Cleaner – Cleanup CAD Imports

From the Autodesk App Store:

Save time while importing CADs by finding and removing those overlapping lines that pack up your models.

Open any window in the model and...

1. Option 1: Click to remove coincident lines
2. Option 2: Click to remove lines shorter than a specific amount. You may set this amount in "mm" or "in"
3. Option 3: Click to convert model lines into symbolic / detail lines in an unbeatable time!

What's Hot in Revit Add-ons for March 2018

Here on Revit Add-ons, with What's Hot, at about the middle of each month, we take a look back at the preceding month to see which new posts received the most pageviews.

We published 32 posts in February 2018 – that's down near our minimum target of an average of at least one per day – and received 46,404 pageviews.

As we expected, our interview with Flux CEO Jamie Roche about the sad news that they are discontinuing their current platform and apps received the most pageviews. Two frequent contributors to the Autodesk App Store also scored this month, BIM SOFT SOLUTIONS at #2 and BIMODEL at #5. Two Dynamo-related posts made our shortlist, at #3 and #6, including one from Architect Machines, which had content chart on our shortlist for the third month in a row. A Navisworks add-in also charted, at #4, a rarity here on Revit Add-ons. Also, two of the six charting posts related to MEP.

Overtur – Cloud Collaboration Platform for Door Specifications

From the Allegion website:

We've re-written the way specs are written.

An architect's cloud collaboration platform for the design and specification of door hardware.

Download Infographic

Allegion's Overtur™ is a cloud-based suite of tools where architects and door hardware consultants can come together to collaborate on specifications and the security design of doors and openings. These tools provide a centralized place to capture and maintain door hardware requirements and decisions, with easy options to push that information back to the design tools (e.g. Revit).