AU Customer Appreciation Mixer

Autodesk University is almost here! I am gearing up for a jam packed week of classes and events. My schedule is crazy this year. I am not sure when I will have a chance to rest, but it will be worth it (I think.)

I will be teaching 3 classes, and assisting as a lab assistant for 2 labs plus attending sessions on Revit and Construction.

Looking at the schedule, it appears that my nights will be just as busy... and I am not the party animal if you do not know me very well.

If you are an Alacad customer, I want to personally invite you to attend a special Customer Appreciation Mixer. Alacad wants to say Thank You for being our customer by hosting a mixer on Monday night at the V Bar from 7:00-8:00. Shoot me an email to ensure that you have your ticket to join us. You must have a ticket to attend.

I am looking forward to meeting many of you that are attending. Find me if you can in the sea of 10,000 attendees. See ya in Vegas!

Enhancing Elevations in Revit

Creating elevations in Revit are as simple as placing a callout. Enhancing the elevations once they are created is another task. Tools like the Linework, Split Face, and Paint help us enhance the elevations. The Linework tool will allow us to change the lineweight of any line in the view, or set it to be invisible if we do not want to see it.

The Split Face and the Paint tools allow us to split the surface of a wall and apply a different material to that portion of the wall.


These tools are great, but there is nothing built in the program to vary the lineweight automatically based on the depth of view. It would be nice for Revit to allow us to set some depth distances to automatically switch lines that are in the forground to be thick and the lines in the distance to be thin. Maybe some day we will have that.

Another tool that I find handy that few people know about is the Silhouette Edge setting. This setting will allow you to beef up the lineweight of the silhouette edge. This setting is found in the Advance Model Graphics Settings dialog box.

Inside the Advance Model Graphics Settings dialog box you can set the silhouette edges to any linetype you have in your project. This will automatically apply this linetype to the outside edges of your view.

Here is a before and after view with the Silhouette Edges changed to Medium Lines.

Silhouette Edge set to None

Silhouette Edges set to Medium

This should give you a head start on enhancing your elevations. You can still use the Linework tool with the Silhouette Edges turned on.

CADD Camp and AU

For those that are in the Alabama area, do not miss out on this year's CADD Camp in Birmingham on September 30!

We will be hosting a full day of training on Revit. I will also be presenting the basics of NavisWorks during lunch.

Check out the course offerings and sign up at:

http://www.augievents.com/Birmingham/tabid/432/language/en-US/Default.aspx.

This will be like a mini-one-day Autodesk University.

If you are fortunate enough to attend this year's Autodesk Unversity, check out the three classes that I will be presenting.

• AB110-6 AutoCAD® Architecture: Making Spaces Work For You!
• CV310-4 From Dirt to Doors: Making AutoCAD® Civil 3D® and Revit® Architecture Work Together In Harmony
• AB404-3 From the Existing to the Beyond with Revit® Design Options and Phases

These are both great opportunities, don't miss out!

Seek for Content

There is a new Autodesk website available to search for Revit Content.





Go to http://seek.autodesk.com/. You can search by keyword, browse by CSI format, and filter it down by manufacturer. It appears to pull from multiple websites. It is a one stop shop for all your content searches.

There is also a built in search line inside of the Revit 2009 products that will launch this site.

AutoCAD Architecture 2009

AutoCAD Architecture 2009 has some cool new features. I believe users will be excited to see the new enhancements. Here are a few of my favorites.

Wall Endcaps

Now AutoCAD Architecture 2009 makes it easier to create custom wall endcaps. While previous releases had this ability, enhancements to key “grip-edit” functionality makes the process more intuitive and streamlined.

Additionally, it’s easier than ever to modify endcaps using the “Auto-Calculate” feature and the integration of AEC Modify Tools.

Because of this, it’s now possible to extend, trim, and even merge wall components with AutoCAD linework, allowing you to create the endcap condition that you want… in fewer steps!

Match Properties Update

If you’re an AutoCAD user, you are probably aware of the Match Properties feature, commonly referred to as the “Paintbrush tool.”

Now, in AutoCAD Architecture, the “Paintbrush Tool” has been extended beyond AutoCAD entities to also work with AEC objects, such as walls, doors, and windows. The object matching paintbrush will allow users to match the style and graphic properties of one object to like objects in a drawing.

With this update, you’ll be able to quickly make design revisions to linework and objects, so that you don’t have to learn a separate set of revision commands!

Multiline Tags

Another feature around construction documentation is the ability to annotate with multi-line tags.

Now you can have more control over the way text appears in your construction documents by specifying text wrapping, rotation, and alignment in its tags with intuitive grips. With these tools, you’ll find it easier to communicate your design intent clearly.

These are just a few of the improvements. I believe the users will be happy with this release.

Welcome to Revit Architecture 2009

It's that time again! Time get excited about what the new features are in the up coming release of Autodesk products. My favorite time of the year!

Revit Architecture 2009 will be here soon. Inside of it will be new features and enhancements that will make your work easier. Here is a sneak peek at a couple of my favorite enhancements.

Dimension Enhancements

Revit Architecture 2009 makes documenting your designs even easier. With new dimension capabilities, users can dimension to intersections and arc centers. New dimension text formatting enables users to apply common text effects, such as bold, italics, and underline, to their dimension text.

A second new addition to dimensions is the ability to override dimensions with text. While this feature enables users to override dimensions with text such as “Varies, See Stair Plans” or “11” MIN” and thereby achieve new flexibility in their documents, the feature helps to maintain model integrity by disallowing user overrides that misrepresent actual dimensions. For example, users cannot make a 14’ 4” dimension read 14’ 6”.

Revision Enhancements

The new revision enhancements allow architects and designers achieve the various revision styles that they demand. New flexibility enables revision tables to build from the bottom up or top down. Also, numbering sequences can include and be sorted by numbers or letters. A new field called “Issued By” helps revision tracking.

New flexibility for revision layouts includes an ability to rotate the schedule on a sheet and to set revision schedules to fixed or variable size.

The added control and flexibility over revisions makes the differing standards in various regions around the world easy to meet.

Pretty cool! More to come soon.

Adjusting Door Swings

Revit comes with many types of doors that can be used in your projects. You can also download additional types from sites like Revit City and BIM World. Searching through these libraries, I relealized that none of them came with the ability to adjust the swing from 90 degrees to 45 degrees. This is a must in situations as shown below.

Modifying the plan swing of doors is a simple process, as long as you understand a few things. You will need to open the door family that you want to modify by highlighting the door in your project and then picking the Edit Family button on the Options bar.

This will open up the door family in a Family Editor mode. You will then need to navigate Project Browser to open the floor plan view of the door.

Revit uses Symbolic Lines to represent the swing and the door panel in plan views. The actual 3D door panel is not visible in the plan view because we typically want the door panel to be closed in a 3D view or elevation, and we want the door panel to be open in plan views.

To add additional swing angles, simply copy the existing door panel to the desired swing angle. I used the Rotate command with the Copy Option check so it would rotate and copy the panel in one step. Then you will need to copy the swing arc and trim it with the new door panel.

The thickness of the door panel is set to a thickness parameter that users can change. You will need to add a new dimension to the new door panel. Once this dimension is added, assign it to the thickness parameter by using the Label drop down bar on the Options bar.

The last step is to set the visibility parameters to allow one swing to be visible and the other swing to be hidden. To do this, you will need to highlight one panel and the corresponding swing arc. Once highlighted, go into the Properties and select the small box at the end of the Visible check box.

This will allow you to set the visibility to a parameter that users can control inside of their projects. Add a new parameter. Provide a name for the parameter that relates to the swing angle. Make the parameter an instant parameter so users can control this instantly as opposed to by type. Choose the group to place this parameter under. Repeat this process for the other door panel and swing arc. In the end, you should have one door panel and swing arc set to one visibility parameter, and the other door panel and swing arc set to another visibility parameter.

Load this door back into your project or save it to your library. Now when you select this door inside of your project, you will have the ability to check the box to show which swing you want to view. The end result is a plan that does not have doors swinging into each other.

Revit MEP Blog

Kyle Bernhardt of Autodesk has started a new Revit MEP blog called Inside the System. Check it out. It already has 3 great videos on creating view filters, and creating systems inside of Revit MEP.

Gearing Up for Birmingham CAD Camp!

Alacad will be hosting CAD Camp in Birmingham, AL on Thursday November 8th. I have just finished my courseware for this event and I think it will be an outstanding day of learning. Plan to attend if you are in the area.

Here is the line up for the Architecture and Building track.

• AutoCAD Architecture 2008 - Making Spaces Work For You! (revised and improved from last year)
• Revit Architecture 2008 - Design Options - Existing and Beyond
• Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Structure 2008 - Completing the BIM Model - Collaboration Across Disciplines
• Revit Architecture 2008 - Raising the Roof - Creating Roofs in Revit
• Revit Architecture 2008 and AutoCAD Civil 3D - From Dirt to Doors – Making Civil 3D and Revit Work Together

Check out the complete course descriptions at www.cadcamp.com/birmingham.

Register TODAY!

Revit and Google Earth

If you are a subscription customer using Revit, then listen up. Autodesk has finally posted their Google Earth extension that you can download to add your project to Google Earth or bring a Google Earth image into your project. Simply log into your subscription site and look for the Revit Globe - Link. You will find it on the "Autodesk Building Solutions Product Modules, Add-Ons, and Enhancement" page.

Once you have installed this, it will load some new commands to your Tools pulldown menu.

You must have Google Earth downloaded, installed, and running to use these tools. If you want to bring in an image from Google Earth, simple navigate to your site in Google Earth, then switch to Revit and use the Acquire from Google Earth tool. It works great for creating a site plan with the surrounding terrain.

If you want to publish your 3D model into Google Earth, you will need to switch to a 3D view in Revit and use the Publish to Google Earth tool. This will add a Temporary Place to your list inside of Google Earth. You can then zoom and orbit to see how your building fits within its context.

This is just a quick example of how you can begin to move your model to a site.

I will take this opportunity to advertise for one of the Autodesk University classes that I will be assisting with. It is not being advertised very well to the architectural community because it is listed in the Civil track. I am teaching "From Dirt to Doors" with my in-house Civil guru, Jason Hickey. Check it out the description below and sign up for it.

Revit Wall Library

Are you trying to set up Revit Architecture for your company? If so, creating wall families can be a time consuming part of your task. I have a possible short cut for you. USG's web site has lots of walls, acoustical ceilings, and custom ceilings available for you to download. They have created just about their entire library of walls and ceilings in Revit format that you can download for free.

You can download the entire wall library, or search for a particular wall that meets your needs. Once downloaded, you will see that they are .rvt files (Revit Template files). You can start a new project, and browse to open the particular template that you are looking for. Here is a view of the available wall templates.

This brings up a good topic to discuss... How are you creating wall libraries? I have worked with several firms that are trying to tackle this issue. Your first thought might be to simply load them into your standard template. That is okay if you don't mind working in a large template with extra families that may never be used. Walls are project created families. You cannot have external files of walls like you do for other families (i.e. doors, windows, furniture.) I have found that the easiest way to have a library of walls is to create a separate project that is stored on your network that has nothing but wall families created in it. Users can open this project and find the wall they want to use and simply use the Copy/Paste command to copy the wall to their current project. I would create a view in this "wall project" that lists all the walls in an order that everybody understands. It could be similar to the way USG has created their files, as shown below.

I think manufacturers are finally realizing that Revit is here, and here to stay. I look forward to other companies making Revit content available in addition to the standard .dwg format. But until all manufacturers grasp this concept, you can continue to use my two favorite web sites to grab content for your project. If you have not already, check out Revit City and BIM World. They contain lots of information. Just be careful what you get for free, because sometimes what looks correct is not always the case. For example, I am working with my church to develop plans for a new multi-purpose building, and I downloaded a basketball court to use. Lo and behold, when I pulled down my nifty Graphic Standards, I found that the court was 10' too small.