IMAGINiT Building Solutions Blog

Come Talk with Us at CanBIM and RTC

We've been busy this month and last with the 2016 releases. We have webcasts on the Autodesk products next week (psst - see the webcasts and sign up here), we'll be on several panels at CanBIM the week after that as well as out at the Hexagon Conference talking about reality capture and BIM.

Then, we can take a quick break. Until the Revit Technology Conference in DC. Then we have more sessions and you can swing by our booth to see how our team can help your save time and effort.

See all the conferences we'll be at in June and July. Want us to come and speak to your group or association? Just drop us a line. 

Creating a new Pipe System Type

By Jordan Mussett, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

There are several Pipe Systems provided in the default Autodesk template. The out of the box ones are (in alphabetic sequence) Domestic Cold Water, Domestic Hot Water, Fire Protection Dry, Fire Protection Other, Fire Protection Pre-Action, Fire Protection Wet, Hydronic Return, Hydronic Supply Other, Sanitary, and Vent.

In most projects, this is not quite enough. This is especially true if you are designing a hospital or some sort of research lab. So how do I make more? The best route is to go through the System Browser, right click and click the Type Properties. 

Once in this dialogue box, duplicate an existing one. A common mistake here is the misconception that you can add more System Classifications. You can’t. If you will notice, the System Classifications of the existing Pipe Systems are greyed out, meaning that you can’t edit them.

The best plan of action if you need another Pipe System is to start with “other”, make a duplicate of that, and rename it what you want, compressed air, non-potable water, natural gas, refrigerant gas, etc.

The system Classification will always say “Other” which may not be correct, but it won’t be incorrect either. You can depend on the System Abbreviation or the Type Comments for criteria needed for filters.

Revit 2016 New Hidden Gem 2 - Multiline Text Type Parameter

By Carl Storms, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

Revit 2016 is now out in the world and has been for a few weeks. I have come to learn about 2 little hidden gems of “New” features in Revit 2016. For whatever reason these hidden gems have been left off the official Autodesk information for what is new with the 2016 release. In this post I’m going to talk about second of the two hidden gems – Multiline Text Type Parameter.

The Multiline Text Type Parameter is just that, a parameter you can add to your project. What this parameter allows you to do is have more than one line of text at a time for a single parameter (I guess that’s why its call Multiline Text).

This new parameter type can be accessed anywhere you would access any of the other parameters in Revit.

The way this parameter works once in your project is a lot like the way the Model Text feature works. Information can’t be added directly into the properties box where you see text.

What you need to do is select the 3 dots … icon within the properties box area and it will open up a text window like you would see if creating Model Text. You will also notice as you hover over the text, you will see a tool tip that will show you the full multiline text display.

If you use this parameter as shared parameter you can also tag and schedule the results. When you tag something with this parameter there is a limitation; you can’t simply double click on the tag and edit it. All editing must be done via the edit text dialog box.

Schedules work and look similar to what you see in the properties pallet. In the schedule view you will only see the first line of the multiline text that is contained in your parameter.

However, once you place the schedule on a sheet you are now able to see all of the lines that are within the Multiline Text parameter.

One key thing that has been discovered with this parameter is that it only works in 2016. So if you are using a shared parameter file (.txt) for multiple versions of Revit you will need to create a new one. Once you have the multiline text parameter within the shared parameter file it will no longer work with older versions of Revit as it did in the past.

You can learn more about this new parameter (as I did) from Steve Stafford’s posts at Revit OpEd here, here, and here.

You can also learn more about the new multiline text parameter as well as other new 2016 features over at the IMAGINiT YouTube Channel in the video: Autodesk Revit 2016: Favorite New Features – Part 2

If you are still looking for more new features for Revit 2016 check out these videos too:

Autodesk Revit 2016: Favorite New Features
Autodesk Revit 2016: Favorite New Features – Part 3

Link to Part 1 of the Revit 2016 Gems.

Revit 2016 New Hidden Gem 1 - Door Content

By Carl Storms, IMAGINiT Building Solutions

Revit 2016 is now out in the world and has been for a few weeks. I have come to learn about two little hidden gems of “New” features in Revit 2016. For whatever reason these hidden gems have been left off the official Autodesk information for what is new with the 2016 release. In this post I’m going to talk about one I think many Architects and Designer will love – New Door Content.

 

The out of the box door content for the US Imperial, US Metric, and Canada Libraries have been added to from what was available in Revit 2015 and before. In 2015 there were 32 families in the Door folder. In 2016, in the Door folder and sub folders, there are now 92 families. The subfolders are: Commercial, Hardware, and Residential.

Each of the new folders has new goodies for all to enjoy!

Residential

Commercial

Hardware

You will also notice that many of the doors now come with Type Catalogs which means you can be selective of what size you load into your model. Be aware as some of the door families have what seems like 50 – 60 Family types (sizes) which can bloat file sizes.

Now what I find even more exciting about the new doors is the fact that all of the doors can now have the door swings at any angle you like. This includes the curtain wall panel doors and the legacy or original doors (not must be 2016 content for this to work on legacy doors). You also have the ability in some doors to turn on and off the grills.

 

Here’s another neat little feature for some of the new door content (Residential & Commercial). When you have the detail level set to fine, the hardware is visible (which is also the hardware in the new hardware folder).

One note about the Hardware content; it is true 3D content that also serves as Stand Alone Components. What this means is that it does not associate itself to the doors, and by default comes in on the level you are working on (i.e. the floor).

You can learn more about this new door content (as I did) from Steve Stafford’s post at Revit OpEd and from Brian Mackey at The Revit Geeks Blog.

You can also learn more about the new door content as well as other new 2016 features over at the IMAGINiT YouTube Channel in the video: Autodesk Revit 2016: Favorite New Features – Part 2

If you are still looking for more new features for Revit 2016 check out these videos too:

Autodesk Revit 2016: Favorite New Features

Autodesk Revit 2016: Favorite New Features - Part 3

Link to Part 2 of the Revit 2016 Gems.