IMAGINiT Building Solutions Blog

Levels and Grids – Beginning to End

By Jordan Mussett, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

Levels and grids in Revit have a beginning and an end. Despite being able to specify what the head looks like on both ends, the order of the first click and second click matters. Levels in the templates from Autodesk show Levels drawn from left to right.

You can uncheck the box for text on the right and check the box at the left side as desired.

 

If you check the box at the left end, you are left with something like this.

This works fine for that view. If the view is duplicated, or if a new view is created that can see that level, the beginning and end will be back where it was originally based on the draw order.

 

Oops!

This is one very intentional example to point out behavior of this element in the software. Whether you want text on the right or text on the left is going to drive how you create the levels. It depends on what you want. Remember that the levels that will already be there will default to having text on the right.

So what do you do if you want all level text to be on the left for all views? The answer, the first time the new Levels are drawn, draw them all the exact same way. For text on the left, that would be right to left. In this case, if there are existing levels for Level 1 and Level 2, you will need to address those. Bear in mind that when you reset these two, you will have to drag one end all the way across and flip it on itself. This is the only way, short of deleting the level, to truly change how text associated with the level represents itself. Normally deleting the level and redrawing it isn't an option since the views are directly tied to the Levels.

What if one level was drawn right to left, giving you text on the left, by accident? What you will need to do is find the level(s) that were drawn backwards from the others and flip them about themselves. Also keep in mind that you can delete them and redraw them. This will be the faster option as long as the level does not already have associated views. If the level is already associated with views, flip the level about itself.

This same conversation can be had about Grids. Grids can be seen in Elevation as well as in Plan but the same principal applies. The second mouse click is where the head or label of the Grid will go. If you want to flip it around for all views, you will need to flip the ends as previously described. You may need to “Reset to Crop” or “Reset to 3D Extents” if the Levels and Grids aren’t showing correctly in a view where they previously were displayed correctly.

Editing Plant 3D Isometric BOM Tables

By Brandon Anderson, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

Editing the column layout and reported fields in Isometric Tables is a big part of customizing Isometric deliverables. This post walks through some of that customization.

Start by opening the Project Setup either by right clicking on the project name in the Project Manager and then selecting Properties or Project Setup can be located in the Home ribbon tab under the Project Manager Panel drop-down.

Once the Project Setup is open in the selection tree on the left hand side expand “Isometric DWG Settings” and select “Title Block and Display”. Ensure that the correct iso style is selected in the drop-down at the top of the screen and the press “Setup Title Block”.

That will open up the iso.dwt file which is the template file of the iso border. In the Ribbon you will see the option for “Table Setup”.

That option will open the Table Setup dialogue box. Here you can make changes to any of tables either placed or not placed in the BOM (Bill of Materials).

Notice the Table type drop-down list where you can flip between the various table categories.

Here you can re-arrange the order of the already placed columns with a simple left click hold, then dragging it to the desired location. If there is a field in your class definitions that is not currently shown but you would like to add it, press the “Add Column...” button to bring up a dialogue box where you can select the desired property. Once you have selected the property and pressed ok it will be added to the Table Layout.

The newly added field will not show up until you check the box below it. This is also a good opportunity to move the column to the desired location within the Table.

Note: Once placed, it may be necessary to adjust the column widths so that the header can be read and so that there is enough room in the field for the data being reported.

[Infographic] IMAGINiT Clarity, By the Numbers

Here's a quick rundown of how many hours we're saving people with Task Automation in IMAGINiT Clarity. It doesn't even touch the hours saved by providing the online datasheets and other collaboration tools. Interested in Clarity for Revit? Learn more now.

Revit 2016 New Features

By Nicholas Bowley, IMAGINiT Applications Expert

I always get excited about the next software release to find out what is new and improved. To get you excited about the new release, below is a list of things you'll get to use in Revit 2016. This list is not a complete list of everything that's new, just some of the highlights I've noted.

General platform enhancements include:

• Reveal Constraints
• A new rendering engine
• The ability to filtering based on <blank field> 
• 3d selection box
• Change your background color to any color (not that I would recommend that)
• Another improvement to revision capabilities
• Search capabilities in the project browser and properties palettes
• While they are not always appreciated, there are several performance enhancements in this release as well such as the ability to navigate while the view is refreshing.

Check out the video here for a few of these new features.

Architects will see a few more improvements to the energy analysis tools such as combine building element and mass mode analysis at the same time. Features from Vasari being incorporate into Revit natively or by additional plugins which concludes Project Vasari as of May 15th.

Structural engineers will see another round of improvements related to reinforcing.

MEP engineers may have felt left out in the past release but some engineers will be seeing an entirely new workflow with the incorporate of Fabrication modeling inside of Revit using the same configurations as Fab CADMEP. Related to this will be a new set of schedules, filters, splits, hangers, and show disconnect options. Check out the video here for a quick preview.

What are you looking forward to most? Tell us in the comments!

Tips for Rendering Your 3D Model - with the background photo

By Vince Daniele, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

So you've put the time in to create a really spectacular 3D model but when you go to render it, something is missing … it’s just a static object in space. No need to fret! It’s time to make that model come alive by giving it some context! This whitepaper demonstrates the methods needed to render your 3D model with a background environment image and give it that realistic touch.

 

Clean up Hand Rails in Plant 3D

By Brandon Anderson, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

If you want to miter your Plant 3D hand rails you first need to use the “Structure Explode” tool in order to un-group the members. If not done you will get a warning in your command line stating “Unsupported object: structural member expected”.

The Structure Explode tool is located in the ribbon on the Structure tab on the Modify Panel. It is important to use this option rather the AutoCAD Explode command.  The Structure Explode is more similar to an “Ungroup” command and will retain the object’s identity. The regular AutoCAD explode will strip all of the properties out, removing intelligence.

Once done to both sides you can see the rail members are no longer grouped and you are able to apply the Structure Miter tool to the corners.

When cleaning up the vertical rail members you can use either the Structure Cut Back tool which is next to the Miter tool or the AutoCAD Trim command. The Cut Back Member tool cuts the vertical member to the bottom of the rail but the Trim command cuts the rail to the center giving the appearance of a coped finish.

When using the Trim command in 2015, your tool tips will indicate a red “x” before you make your selection indicating that the vertical piece is not a supported object. Even though this appears before your selection you are still able to select the member and complete the task with the Trim command.

 

Understanding Revit Roofs: The Forgotten Options

By Heather Alley, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

I was talking with a client recently who designs residential roof framing and wanted to know Revit’s capabilities to create specific overhangs and precise details with its Roof Tool. Revit does have the features they needed but they were unaware they existed. I showed them where the tools and options were and how to use them. This whitepaper addresses the hidden options inside roofs.

COBie 101

As a facilities manager, you may have heard of COBie, but perhaps you are unsure exactly what it is or how it could benefit your organization. In this post, we’ll provide a primer with the basics of COBie.

• What is COBie? COBie stands for the Construction-Operations Building information exchange. Contrary to what some believe, COBie is not a building model. Instead it is a specification for importing data.  An example of this would be importing space and asset data from a Revit model into ARCHIBUS.  
  
  
• What is the benefit of COBie from a facilities management perspective? Historically when construction teams handed off new buildings to facilities managers, they provided extensive paper documentation. Significant effort was required to identify the data that was useful and to manually enter it into the facilities management systems. COBie can streamline this process by providing a standardized framework to move data from one system to another removing the need for manual input.
  
  
• How can facilities management teams use COBie? The COBie specification defines the format in which data should be delivered. Each organization, should develop a BIM execution plan which will define what COBie data is relevant to their organization. Many facilities management systems have the ability to import data that conforms to the COBie specification. Data can be gathered in spreadsheet format or it can be exported directly from another information system – as long as the data conforms to the COBie standard, the means by which it is generated doesn’t matter. 

Has your facilities management team adopted COBie? If so, has it been an effective way to bridge the gap between construction and ongoing facility operations? IMAGINiT’s Facilities Management team has seen COBie in action at many client sites and would be interested in learning more about your successes and challenges.