Also known as Autodesk Revit Collaboration Add-On 2015 English-US Locked 64-Bit Service Pack 4. This goes hand-in-hand with Revit 2015 Update 7.

Direct link:
http://download.autodesk.com/SWDLDDLM/Updates/RVT/v4/A360_Collab_v4_for_Revit_2015_EN_Win_64bit_dlm.sfx.exe

Known issues:
http://download.autodesk.com/SWDLDDLM/Updates/RVT/v4/KnownIssues_A360Collaboration_v4_Revit_2015.pdf

Installation and Known issues text copied here:
Installation
Autodesk A360 Collaboration for Revit version 2015.4 can be applied to Autodesk Revit 2015 as a new installation, or as an update to Autodesk A360 Collaboration for Revit versions 2015.1, 2015.1.1, 2015.2, or 2015.3.

Note that this is a mandatory update; previous versions may cease to function at a future date.

Before installing Autodesk A360 Collaboration for Revit you will need to update Autodesk Revit with Update Release 7. Note that the installer for UR7 is specific to the variant of Autodesk Revit 2015 that you have, for example, Autodesk Revit 2015 vs. Autodesk Revit 2015 R2 (available only to subscription customers) or Autodesk Revit Architecture vs. Autodesk Revit MEP.  Please be sure to install the correct update for your installed version of Autodesk Revit.  Once you have installed Update Release 7 you are ready to install Autodesk 360 Collaboration for Revit.

New Installation
1.    Close all instances of Autodesk Revit 2015.
2.    Launch the installer, select the option to Install, accept the License and Services Agreement, and click the Install button.  This will complete the installation.
3.    At this point, your Autodesk Revit has been updated and is ready for use. You will need the appropriate entitlements to access the new functionality. (Please refer to the About A360 Entitlements section of the Autodesk Revit 2015 help for more information, link.)

Updating Existing Installation
1.    Close all instances of Autodesk Revit 2015.
2.    Launch the installer, select the option to Install, accept the License and Services Agreement, and click the Install button.  You will be informed that there is a previous version of Collaboration installed; be sure to confirm and allow the installer to remove the old version.  This will complete the installation.

 What’s new in this release?
1.    Performance improvements when Revit is downloading data from the Collaboration service.2.    Users now have the ability to control the model views that are published to the A360 project. The default behavior, to publish the default 3D view and all sheets, remains unchanged.To change which views are published, click the Views for A360 button in the Manage Models panel of the Collaborate tab. Make the appropriate selections in the resulting dialog and then Sync with Central.
Subsequent publishing operations will make these views available to A360. For more information, refer to the “Select Views to Publish on A360” topic in the Revit 2015 help.

3.    The A360 project page can now distinguish between models that have been published via the Collaboration service and RVT files that have been directly uploaded via the web page. Models that have been published have been changed as follows:o    Special icon badging
o    Dedicated file type identification (“Cloud Revit…,” rather than “Revit Files”)
o    File actions that should not have been possible have been removed from the user interfaceNote that these changes will only manifest for models that have been published using Collaboration 2015.4; those published with previous versions of Collaboration will continue to be indistinguishable from RVT files that were directly uploaded via the project web page.

Known Issues
Issues related to install

1.    Collaboration users who have updated Revit with UR7 but have failed to install the 2015.4 Collaboration update will experience an error on startup, stating Revit “Could not load file or assembly ‘Autodesk.RevitServer.Versioning.Client, Version=1.3.0.0…”  To resolve this, be sure to install the Collaboration update after installing the Revit update.
2.    If the Modified date for the revit.exe.config file (located in the Revit program folder, e.g., c:Program FilesAutodeskRevit 2015) is newer than the Created date, the patch installer will fail to update it and Revit may not launch correctly.  It is extremely unlikely that this will occur as the file is not intended to be edited, but if it does please contact Autodesk for guidance on how to repair and properly update the installation.
3.    The A360 icon may appear in the wrong position of the file navigation when Revit and the Collaboration Add On are first installed.  This condition will self-heal.
4.    In rare cases, the ribbon will fail to update after all components are installed. If buttons or groups of buttons seem to be missing and do not match what is expected according to Revit’s help documentation, please reset the ribbon state by deleting %roamingappdata%AutodeskRevit[flavor of Revit 2015]UIState.dat. This is a one-time correction and will not be required thereafter.

Issues related to A360 projects and the A360 web interface
1.    When a project is renamed, it may be necessary to perform a SWC (and, for links, a Reload… from the Manage Links dialog) in order for paths to update and resolve correctly.  Refer to the help documentation for more information.
2.    Project names should NOT include slashes or backslashes, or Revit may behave erratically.
3.    Projects that have been deactivated in A360 may still be visible from certain parts of Revit.
4.    A360’s filter by ‘Me’ function may display items from other users.
5.    Preview images for models that have been published to A360 may fail to update automatically, requiring a manual refresh.
6.    The A360 model viewer may incorrectly report that there are no views found, if only a single view is published.
7.    Notifications of newly published versions of a model may not be displayed in the Activity Stream.
8.    The commenting feature in the A360 model viewer is not supported for 2D sheet views.

Issues related to model or project access
1.    During a network outage it may not be possible to work in a model, even if worksharing operations are avoided. For best results, save the model locally and wait until connectivity is restored.  Note that the save process may take more time than usual, but it will complete successfully.
2.    If a user is added to a project as a contributor, they must click the project link in their invitation email before the project can be accessed through Revit.
3.    If a user is added to a closed project as a member, a project moderator will still need to approve their membership even though they have been explicitly invited to join the project.Issues related to initiating collaboration (saving a model to A360)1.    Initiate collaboration may fail and cause Revit to hang if the model’s current view is a 3D perspective view.  To avoid this condition, be sure to switch to another view before initiating collaboration.
2.    If a user does not have a valid Collaboration entitlement and they attempt to initiate collaboration, Revit will report “You cannot use the option “Collaborate Using A360″ because you do not have access to any A360 projects.”  This is potentially confusing because the message does not indicate the true root cause of the failure (i.e., the lack of an appropriate entitlement.)
3.    If initiate collaboration fails, entries may be created in Revit’s Most Recently Used file list and the zero document screen, even though the model was not actually saved to A360.

Issues related to the Communicator panel
1.    The Communicator panel will lose the context of the current project if the user attempts to save a loaded family to the local disk.  The context will be reacquired when the user switches views or closes and reopens the model.  Similarly, editing a family may cause the panel to falsely claim that the user have been removed from the active project. When the family editor session ends, the status will be refreshed and updated to the correct state.
2.    The Communicator button will still be active even when the panel is open, but it won’t actually do anything.
3.    User profile updates on A360 may fail to reflect in the Communicator panel.
4.    The Communicate panel may fail to sign in if the user signs out from Revit, closes the Communicate panel, and then signs back again.
5.    Sending image content in a chat session may fail, requiring a retry.

Issues related to publishing models or selecting views to be published to A360
1.    Publishing a model that has been renamed will generate a new RVT by that name in A360. When this occurs, the user will see published RVTs with the old name as well as the new name.
2.    Publishing a model to A360 may fail for large RVT files.
3.    Column sort by name does not function correctly in the Views for A360 dialog.
4.    The initial state of the Views for A360 dialog shows no views selected to be published, however, the default behavior (to publish the default 3D view and all sheets) still remains.
5.    Using the Views for A360 dialog may cause an update and redraw of current active view in Revit.
6.    Section views may not be published to A360 unless at least one 3D view is published too.

Issues related to models that have been rolled back or deleted
1.    Revit may incorrectly claim that a user is not a member of a project if they attempt to open a model that was previously deleted.
2.    The vertical scrollbars in the Manage A360 Models dialog may deactivate after a model has been deleted.  To restore them, close the dialog and reopen it.

Also helpful:
How to Get Started with Your A360 Collaboration for Revit Subscription | Revit Products | Autodesk Knowledge Network

Some details on the different project types:
Project types
If you are using the free version of A360, your project is Secret by default, requiring you to invite people by email addresses; the project type cannot be changed. If you are using the paid version, A360 Team, you can choose between three project types, Open, Closed, or Secret; the project type can be changed. You can see the project type on both the project card and on the project Profile page.
 

Open : A360 Team only. Use for projects where the intent is to share information broadly to everyone. All Open project information is searchable and accessible to all members of the organization. Anyone in the organization can join and leave an Open project at any time. People outside the organization are not allowed to be invited to Open projects.
 

Closed : A360 Team only. Use for projects that require some privacy. Anyone in the organization can see the Closed project name in search results, as well as the Closed project Profile and People pages. All items in the Closed project shared with the entire hub (Hub All) are also visible. Only members of the Closed project can search for and access the project page, activities, and content. The Closed project’s moderator must approve membership requests. An organization’s hub settings determine if people outside the organization can be invited to join Closed projects.
 

Secret : Use for personal projects or projects that require extra privacy. Secret projects are hidden from people who weren’t invited to the project. Only existing project members of a Secret project can search for and access the project page, activities, and content. Team Administrators can’t view content inside Secret projects. Membership to a Secret project is by invitation only. If you are using the paid version, A360 Team, the hub settings determine if people outside the organization can be invited to join Secret projects.

From http://help.autodesk.com/view/ADSK360/ENU/?guid=GUID-C6DC09BF-1680-4EE6-853A-563AC4B5E953

Direct download link for Revit 2015 R2 versions:
http://download.autodesk.com/SWDLDDLM/Updates/RVT/UR7/Autodesk_Revit_2015-x64_Update7_forR2.exe

Readme (live):
http://download.autodesk.com/SWDLDDLM/Updates/RVT/UR7/Autodesk_Revit_2015_Release_2_UR7_Readme.htm

Quote:

“After Update Release 7 is applied successfully, the build number specified on the Help > About dialog will be 20150303_0715. For reference, you should save this readme to your hard drive or print a copy.

Issues Resolved by this Update Release
This subscription only update release addresses issues reported to Autodesk against Autodesk Revit 2015 R2. In addition, Autodesk Revit 2015 Update Release 7 contains the fixes within Autodesk Revit 2015 Update Release 1, 2, 3, Multi-Category Schedules Hotfix for Update Release 3, Revit 2015 R2 for Subscription customers, Revit 2015 Update Release 5 for R2 and Revit 2015 Update Release 6 for R2. Consult the enhancements documentation for all areas improved by this update.”

Note: additional deployment links will follow as an update to this post when they are available.

Enhancements list (not yet live):
http://revit.downloads.autodesk.com/download/2015RVT_RTM/UR7/Enhancements_List_RVT_2015_UR7_forR2.pdf

Download for non R2
http://updatesdl.autodesk.com/updates/files/autodesk_revit_2015-x64_update7.exe

Architecture Readme
http://updatesdl.autodesk.com/updates/files/autodesk_revit_architecture_2015_release_2_ur7_readme.ht…

MEP
http://updatesdl.autodesk.com/updates/files/autodesk_revit_mep_2015_release_2_ur7_readme.htm

Structure
http://updatesdl.autodesk.com/updates/files/autodesk_revit_structure_2015_release_2_ur7_readme.htm

An update to the dates:
http://revitclinic.typepad.com/my_weblog/2015/03/alert-upcoming-downtime-for-update-to-a360-collaboration-for-revit-2015.html

My previous post:
What Revit Wants: Revit 2015 Update 7, and planned A360 downtime for Collaboration for Revit

Alan Moylan has posted a Star Trek Enterprise 1701 Revit family for you to download. I, for one, am glad to see a Trek vehicle added to the current interstellar Revit line-up, mostly from that ‘other’ franchise, including the Walker by Dave Light and something else that wasn’t a moon.

Download here

View it in 3D here

Source page

(Note: I have been working on a 1701D (TNG) for a while, but have just never got around to finishing it…)

via
@BIMgeek
USS Enterprise @AutodeskRevit family’s all finished. Be careful, it’s full size! Download here:http://t.co/4Iz2YZVGn6 http://t.co/zeCUWNEtZQ

https://twitter.com/BIMgeek/status/573120141808025601

Revit doesn’t like to deal with an array that has 1 instanced element or component (although there is one exception). The array will break. So, the way to handle it is to have a separate single instance of a component for that scenario, and then the actual Array for whenever you need two or more instances.

To accomplish this, you need

  • some formulas to hide or show the required elements, and 
  • another formula to maintain the array at 2 or more. 

It looks something like this:

That particular example also caters for some other ‘switches’ that may turn off the array (notice the if-or formula.)

If you are having problems, try manually loading families like this:
“Hi Russ.
I believe the issue is that you first need to load the Site Designer families (from C:ProgramDataAutodeskSite Designer for Revit 2015Library) into the project before you try creating roads/walks/etc., and then convert your toposurface into a Base Toposurface (via the Set Base Toposurface  button).  After that, I was able to create roads, walks, retaining walls, etc.
Hope that helps.
Ross Kirby”
via
Revit 2015 R2 – Site Designer – Autodesk Community

or it might be visibility related:
“got it working.  I have mass unticked by default in visibility view graphics.  all works after turning on mass.
Russ Green”
(from the same thread)

I previously posted about Site Designer here.

You can also download an interesting review by Aaron Maller here (link from RFO).

You should be able to find your manual here:
“C:ProgramDataAutodeskApplicationPluginsAutodeskSiteDesignerForRevit2015.bundleContentsSite Designer for Revit 2015 Reference Manual.pdf”

You probably know that you can import a Viewpoint animation into a Scene animation in Navisworks, like this:

  1. Animation Ribbon – Animator
  2. Add Scene
  3. Right click on the Scene, Add Camera, From Current Viewpoint Animation

Ok, that’s fine. But what if you do some work on the Scene Animation, add keyframes, adjust pacing, and then you want to convert it back into a Viewpoint Animation? Here’s how you do it:

  1. Open Animator and get a Scene animation ready to press “Play”
  2. Animation Ribbon – Click the Record button 
  3. Click the Scene name, and the Play button will activate in Animator
  4. Press Play in Animator, and wait for your animation to complete
  5. Press Stop in the Ribbon
  6. Press the Record button again to toggle it “off”. Navisworks will now save the Animation into your Saved Viewpoints
  7. Delete any unnecessary Cuts etc

With this tip, you can now convert to and from a Scene and Viewpoint animations as needed. Viewpoint animations are a bit easier to put together, but it might be easier to adjust the pacing in the Animator. Obviously, the Animator has more power and control if you intend to actually animate objects in your scene.

On a related note…
I’ve come across a bit of a bug in Navisworks 2015 with Viewpoint animations and huge models (like 2gb huge). If you have a Home view with Hide/Required and Materials set, and all your Animation views have those options unticked, then you should be able to flick to your animation without losing your colours, right? Well, in some cases it seems to work, but in others it seems to reset the appearance whenever I switch to the animation, meaning I lose colour overrides.

I tried working around the color issue like this:

  1. Open project
  2. Make a new folder
  3. In the folder make a new animation
  4. Drag all of the views from previous animation to the new one
  5. Collapse the Animation
  6. Switch to a view with Hide/Required and Color applied (ie. Home view)
  7. Click on the new animation name (OK, doesn’t seem to reset colours)
  8. Expand and click a view (sometimes works, maybe, but can also fail)

Another workaround is to switch to your coloured Home view, save a 2013 version NWD and work in Navisworks 2013. Sometimes the downgrade bakes the colours into the elements, meaning you don’t lose them when you switch to and from the Viewpoint Animation.

    The Revit Clinic has revealed some key dates for upcoming Revit releases, and the associated effect on the Collaboration for Revit platform. Highlighted in red below, it appears that the release of Update 7 (UR7) for Revit 2015 is imminent, and that Collaboration for Revit 2016 will be released on April 17. Could this mean we will see Revit 2016 available on that date also?

    “The planned downtimes are as follows:
    2015 Update Release 7 & C4R 2015.4 – March 6

    C4R 2015.5 and C4R 2016.0 – April 17

     
    Full post:
    http://revitclinic.typepad.com/my_weblog/2015/03/roadmap-for-planned-downtime-for-collaboration-for-revit.html

    “EcoDomus is offering a free version of its EcoDomus PM online software application called EcoDomus COBie Basic, which will help qualified design and construction teams simplify the COBie deliverable process. To qualify for using COBie Basic please submit the form on the right.
    The EcoDomus COBie Basic software functionality enables:
    • Data export from Autodesk Revit to a secure online database (more BIM authoring apps support is on the way)
    • Online data entry and editing for all COBie entities (“worksheets”)
    • Uploading and attaching documents to BIM objects
    • Import and export of COBie Excel files”

    Check it out at:
    http://www.ecodomus.com/index.php/cobie-basic/

    Heads-up:
    https://draftsman.wordpress.com/2015/02/28/cobie-basic/

    Warning: some have had unexpected results, use with care.
    Update: one reader discovered that  C:Program FilesAutodeskRevit 2015AddIns is yet another path that Revit uses. The script below has not been modified to act on that path, but if you have problems after running the tool, perhaps moving the items out of this folder to a backup folder will help. This user had the following errors in the Journal:
    “managed exception occurred” and “An item with the same key has already been added” and ExceptionCode=0xe0434352

    … If you are experiencing a problem with Revit starting up, it could be due to a problem with one or more of your addins. As you probably know, Revit looks in a couple of key directories for *.addin files, and then it loads your addins based on what it finds. Also, in current versions of Revit it also looks in an ApplicationPlugins folder at the .bundle folders.

    I created a Powershell script that looks in each of these three folders (for Revit 2015) and then renames the addin files and bundle folders, meaning that you can then open Revit 2015 in “addin-free mode”. The script requires that you are loading addins from the default AppData and ProgramData folders.

    Important note: there are two scripts that are intended to work as a toggle, and for troubleshooting purposes only. After you run the Enable script, do not run it again. Make sure you run the Disable script next.

    Here is the intended workflow:

    1. Download and unzip the ps1 files
    2. Ensure all Autodesk products are closed
    3. Run the 1_DisableRevitAddons.ps1 script to disable all Revit 2015 addins
    4. Start Revit
    5. If it starts, you know that some addin is causing your problem
    6. Close Revit
    7. Run the 2_EnableRevitAddons.ps1 script to restore the addin and bundle folder names

    You can download both Powershell scripts here

    Here is a quick Screencast showing it in action:

    And some sample code for the disable script:

     cd $env:ALLUSERSPROFILEAutodeskRevitAddins2015  
    Dir | Rename-Item –NewName { $_.name –replace “.addin“,”.addin.disabled” }
    cd $env:ALLUSERSPROFILEAutodeskApplicationPlugins
    Dir | Rename-Item –NewName { $_.name –replace “.bundle“,”.bundle.disabled” }
    cd $env:APPDATAAutodeskRevitAddins2015
    Dir | Rename-Item –NewName { $_.name –replace “.addin“,”.addin.disabled” }

    After running the Disable script, you will end up with something like this:

    Important: This is an extreme troubleshooting measure, and should be used with great care. Use at your own risk!

    Here are some of the warnings / errors from the Powershell output. Some of these are due to the fact that I had Navisworks open and it could not rename those *.bundle folders. Various Autodesk products share the ApplicationPlugins folder, so it may have some unintended consequences on other products. Having said that, it seemed to work ok on my system.