IMAGINiT Building Solutions Blog

Clarity 2014 - My Favorite Unexpected Feature

You might have seen some press releases about it already, but IMAGINiT just announced Clarity 2014 today. There are plenty of ways to get into the details of what Clarity does or what's new in this release - take a look at our product page, sign up for one of the webcasts held on Friday, May 17, watch a recorded presentation, or contact your local IMAGINiT office for some personalized attention - but I wanted to take a moment to point out one of the features that I put in my top ten of what's new.

Hyperlinks in Data Sheets

What really brought this to the forefront in my mind is that this was a feature that I didn't know existed until I was showing a colleague of mine (Kaylee Krom) the new Clarity 2014 beta site on an iPad. She started navigating around a Room Data Sheet for a sample project and then tapped on an area of the project's keyplan. That tap brought us to a new Room Data Sheet for the building. I had no idea that feature existed until she was just poking around and brought it to my attention. Sonofa...

Well, we started looking further and wouldn't you know it, the development team put all sorts of new hyperlink capabilities into the program and web portal.

If you are in a Room Data Sheet, click on a different room in the available Key Plan:

 

... to jump to a different room's Data Sheet.

Or, if you are looking at a table in the Room Data Sheet, click on the Type Name of a piece of equipment or furniture in the Room Data Sheet:

... to get to a Data Sheet for that object (in this case, called a Specification Sheet).

All of this is done by editing the Data Sheet templates. They are all based on HTML, so everything can be customized to your heart's content. Add or remove information from any Data Sheet. Add or remove any graphics. And when you want a parameter to link over to a different type of Data Sheet, all you need to do is edit the template add "(roomlink)" or "(itemlink)" after the linking parameter and you're there!

In its raw HTML it might look a little scary if you've never coded before, but there are tools in place to make it a fairly painless process.

There's a quick look into one of the items that is new for Clarity 2014 - and a thanks to Kaylee for being the one to point it out to me. :)

have fun!

joe

It’s March – That Must Mean New Software!

Yes, it’s that time of year again - time to see what sort of goodies we’ve got waiting for us in our latest release of Autodesk software! Let me set something clear from the onset of this blog post, that this is not intended to be a comprehensive list of “what’s new” in the software. We will have plenty of time through this and other venues to review the technical aspects of the new software releases. Instead, the purpose of this post is to keep a broad view of things. As you pour through all of the various software offerings (especially if you have one of the Suites) and look to see what it means to you, here are some thoughts to keep in mind as you work through the evaluation process:

• Cloud services are growing, but not at the cost of reduced desktop solutions. The foreseeable future of the Autodesk Solution consists of a blend of desktop solutions (especially Suites) AND cloud services. Autodesk 360 is intended to extend the desktop, not replace it.
• There is a stronger push behind interoperability and workflow between individual pieces of software in the Suites. If you have the Building Design Suite, you’ll have better integration between Revit and AutoCAD, between Revit and Inventor… if we have access to all of these tools, why shouldn’t we take better advantage of their capabilities?
• Windows 8 support. ‘Nuff said.
• IMAGINiT had a webcast a few months ago that was all about “Evaluating the Upgrade” It’s available in our webcast archive and is worth a view. If you haven’t been there before, you’ll need to fill out a quick form to get access, but access is free. http://imaginit.com/knowledge-resources/webcast-archive Look for the one a little less than a quarter of the way down in the list called, “[Building] Evaluating the Upgrade”.

At this point, let’s go ahead and violate the statement I made earlier and mention a couple of features that I think stand out in some of the new releases – and even though this list is only a tiny fraction of everything that was put into the software, take a look at them within the context of the statements above – how do they help bridge the gap between individual pieces of software, how do they utilize both desktop and cloud technology, and perhaps most importantly – how do they matter to you and your firm when evaluating the upgrade process?

AutoCAD 2014

• Live map and geolocation in all suites
• Enhanced point cloud tools and features

Revit 2014

• Non-rectangular crop regions View this photo
• Alternate dimensions View this photo
• Building element energy analysis View this photo
• Enhanced point cloud tools and features View this photo

Autodesk ReCap (new software)

• Create 3D models from laser scans and captured photos – built into all 2014 suites

There are a few things for you to chew on – we’ll keep this blog going along with other webcasts to help your investigation and analysis of what is new and what it means to you and your firm.

As always, post any questions below or reach out to your local IMAGINiT office for assistance in this migration process!

Have fun!

joe

Your Problem - Solved!

Joe here... We're holding a free virtual event on March 13 that spans all disciplines and trades - we'll look beyond software to the processes that help make a successful organization run smoothly. Whether it's understanding data management, needing to hear what government agencies are requiring or hearing how other organizations handled their issues, this event covers the top issues our clients brought to us in 2012 and the resolutions we provided.

Who should attend: Managers of all types – project, plant, CAD, BIM, operations, engineering, etc. Designers, engineers, and executive management.

What you'll learn: From data management to best practices and future output concepts, there's something for everyone. You'll also gain valuable insight from industry peers in the networking lounge.

Why you should attend: Watch the short video below as IMAGINiT’s Laurie Elliott explains why everyone from designers and engineers to operations and executive management should attend the Problem Solved Virtual Event.

Beyond the content, you'll have an opportunity to network with those in your industry or others in related industries. Capitalize on one another's experiences and shared knowledge – meet virtually for an hour or stay for the whole day.

http://imaginit.com/ProblemSolvedVE

 

3D Printing a Building... not that far off?

Check this out:

http://www.psfk.com/2013/02/3d-printed-plastic-house.html

It's an interesting concept that has a lot of issues to resolve, but certainly is worth thinking about, discussing, and serving as a catalyst for inspiration!

Happy Monday!

joe

AU 2012 Classes Online!

AU 2012 classes are now available online and on demand for anyone with an AU account. If you don't have an AU account, well... that's something you should take care of right now. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200.

AU Web Site

AU Account Creation Link

When I checked just now, the link above was not quite working - maybe there are a lot of people signing up right now. :)

For class overviews, pop over to the AU BLAUG here.

Enjoy!

joe

New Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Blog

If CFD means anything to you (and it should!) take a moment to pop over to our new CFD Blog, run by IMAGINiT's own CFD team - Ryan Stamm, Jason Pfeiffer, Rob Taylor, and Tommy Mello. Add it to your list of super-awesome-cool blogs to follow!

If you're not sure where and how CFD fits into your business or workflow, give us a call and we can help you get a better understanding of where it might improve your design process and building quality.

http://blogs.rand.com/cfd-analysis-consulting/

have fun!

joe

Airflow Analysis in Revit

It looks like Autodesk has a nifty new tool available in Autodesk Labs for basic airflow analysis on a building site:

http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/falcon

Project Falcon is available as a stand-alone product or as a plugin for Revit. As a Revit plugin, it appears to be the next iteration of the airflow analysis that we recently got in Autodesk Vasari. Project Falcon lets you put things of your choosing into a virtual wind tunnel and simulates air flow around those objects. Based off that description, it's not going to work for building interior CFD analysis - you can still reach out to us for that - but there certainly are some good use case scenarios for calculating wind in and around a building and its site.

Cool Tools to Have Fun With!

joe

Ken Flannigan Interview at Sustainabuild

IMAGINiT's own Ken Flannigan was at Sustainabuild in Vancouver recently, and while there he gave this interview - take a quick watch and listen, there are some nice thoughts and good insight:

http://www.journalofcommerce.com/article/id53263/--video-ken-flannigan-at-sustainabuild-vancouver-2012

Enjoy and have fun!

joe

A rare occurrence of a virus for AutoCAD

Our IT staff passed this one along - hopefully it has no affect on you and your business (it seems to have been mostly infecting Latin America):

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/21/autocad_worm/

As stated in the article,
"The worm, dubbed ACAD/Medre.A, steals files and sends them to email accounts located in China. ESET said it had worked with Chinese ISP Tencent, the Chinese National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center and Autodesk – the creator of AutoCAD – to stop the harvesting of drawings by blocking email accounts associated with relaying stolen data... ESET has released a free stand-alone cleaner utility to aid in the clean-up of infected systems.

AutoCAD malware strains are rare but not unprecedented. For example an AutoCAD virus surfaced in 2009.

More details on the AutoCAD worm attack can be found in a blog post by Eset"

Here is that more detailed blog post:
http://blog.eset.com/2012/06/21/acadmedre-10000s-of-autocad-files-leaked-in-suspected-industrial-espionage

-joe

Are You Best in BIM?

It's been nearly five months since our last BIM Spectrum event and we just announced our Call for Presentations today. We had an amazing group of presenters in February (and if you missed those presentations, you can watch them in the ProductivityNOW Portal) who really upped the bar for the fall.

BIM Spectrum is an online event that covers everything BIM-centric. From surveying to designing and beyond. We're looking for people with amazing stories to tell. If you think you've got what it takes to be a BIM Spectrum presenter at our October 4th event, check out the Call for Presentations and then submit your speaking proposal.

We'll be taking submissions until August 13, 2012 and notifying presenters no later than August 17. Looking forward to seeing your submissions.