You might receive a message like this when opening a model in Revit:
Missing Third Party Updaters
An Updater is a piece of code that basically works to continuously sync a Revit model with some external properties or logic. In this case, the updaters missing included:
REXExtension: DReinfFootingSpread
REXExtension: DReinfWall
REXExtension: DReinfColumn
This was in a Structural design model that I received in Revit 2017 format, and I then upgraded to Revit 2018.
I then tried to install the “Structural Precast Extension” for Revit 2018 – but the error still appeared.
After that, I installed the “Revit Extensions for Autodesk Revit 2018” package.
Which appears on this Extensions Ribbon:
This solved the problem – the “Missing Third Party Updater” message did not appear again when opening this model in Revit 2018.
On this particular project, I’m acting in my usual Strategic BIM and VDC Implementation capacity, and we are rolling out our typical software stack to a large project team. This includes:
Setting up BIM360 for Revit cloud worksharing, federating models in Revit and creating control model/s
Syncing data to Deep Space – we will immediately use Deep Space for project quantification, compliance, and model compare between Tender dataset and current Revit dataset
Exporting models to Revizto for team review and collaboration
The Revit 2020 updates and hotfixes are cumulative and include all changes from previously released Revit 2020 updates.
After this hotfix is applied successfully, the build number specified on the Help > About dialog will be:
20.2.20.31
20200426_1515(x64)
2020.2.2
Software embedded in the update executable:
Revit 2020 – version 20.2.20.31
Autodesk Cloud Models for Revit 2020 – version 20.2.20.31
Personal Accelerator for Revit – version 21.0.11.0
OpenStudio – version 0.1.9
Issues Resolved
Annotation – Dimensions
Fixed an issue when upgrading a model with an incorrect dimension leader style.
Beams, Braces
Fixed an issue that structural framing elements might be incorrect for cloud rendering.
Fabrication – MEP
Fixed an issue that could lead to product instability when dragging to connect open ends of inline fittings.
Fixed an issue with the Optimized Straights feature which was occasionally incorrectly altering the length option from Auto to Value.
Family Editor
Improved stability when using Create Similar with certain families.
File Open/Save Internals
Improved stability when saving a family file from a cloud model after changing the Maximum backups in File Save Options dialog.
Floor
Improved stability when orbiting or editing elements in a 3D view.
gbXML
Fixed an issue that caused exterior wall surfaces to be assigned to a space without a spaceIdRef when exported to gbXML.
Import/Export Other
Updated Revit to use FBX Toolkit version 2020.0.
Licensing
Fixed an issue which caused Revit to become unresponsive.
Link Topography
Fixed an issue where coordinates were changed when the linked topography was reloaded.
MEP Other
Improved stability when editing a family that had been corrupted.
MEP Pipe
Fixed an issue that caused instability when switching views while editing a pipe’s diameter.
Reinforcement – Shape Driven Rebar
Improved stability when upgrading a Revit project containing rebar.
Improved stability when editing rebar constraints.
Revit Home
Fixed an issue where the name of the local copy instead central model was displayed on the Recent Files page.
Startup/Shutdown
Removed potential security vulnerability.
User Interface
When an unrecoverable error happens, a clear link from Revit to the self-service support page is provided.
View – Analysis Visualization
Improved the performance of the display of Analysis Visualization entities when more than one set of independent results is added to a view simultaneously.
ViewCube Navigation
Improved stability when click on the navigation bar.
Important Notes
Dynamo for Revit
In some cases Dynamo will not be visible within the Manage tab after 2020.2.2 Hotfix is applied. To restore Dynamo, replace DynamoRevitDS.sig and DynamoRevitVersionSelector.sig the following location: C:Program FilesAutodeskRevit 2020AddinsDynamoForRevitRevit
Content
Updated Content for Revit 2020.2 is not included in the patch deliverable and is provided on the Autodesk Knowledge Network, link.
Uninstall
Revit updates cannot be uninstalled to revert Autodesk Revit 2020 to its pre-update state. If you need to remove the update, please uninstall Autodesk Revit 2020 and then reinstall it.
Most experienced Revit professionals are somewhat wary of brand new versions of Revit, and they might wait a year or so before actually deploying a new version of Revit. The Revit 2021 release season is nearing in the next month or two, so it is somewhat surprising that a serious issue with Revit 2020 (specifically with update 2020.2) has surfaced in the last couple of weeks…
cue scary Jaws music da-dum da-dum
Some of you may have been tracking the Family Corruption issue with Revit 2020.2 update, the Autodesk Hotfix for that issue, and then some of the possible problems with the Hotfix. Below you will find some further detail on this, including download links.
Initially Autodesk released a hotfix (around 4mb), but I believe that has now been replaced with a new combined 2020.2.1 installer (around 378mb) that includes 2020.2 and the hotfix in one installation. You can no longer download the previous *bad* version of 2020.2 (such as was linked here). Screenshot below shows the actual mini hotfix file:
Use the instructions in the article above to reload the families called out in the Revit journal.
Question/Answer:
Q. What is the issue?
A. A change in the way that Revit 2020.2 processes families can cause family content to go missing from workshared central models created in previous versions if the families have existed in an active project for a long time without being modified. The defect results in the deletion of the family content from the central model.
Q. Which versions/models are affected?
A. This issue affects only Revit 2020.2. Previous versions are not affected.
Q. What models are affected?
A. The issue can affect workshared models that were created or upgraded in Revit 2020.0 or 2020.1 which are then repeatedly modified in Revit 2020.2. This issue can impact central models stored locally, on Revit Server, or in Revit Cloud Worksharing. The following models are NOT affected:
Non-workshared models
Workshared models created and exclusively modified in Revit 2020.2
Q. What is Autodesk doing to resolve the issue?
A. Hotfix was released 02/07/2020. A full install of Revit will be updated to include the hotfix in the next few days.Q. Revit 2020.2 has been available for months – why didn’t Autodesk communicate anything previously?
A. The Revit team was first made aware of a possible issue by our customers a few weeks ago. Since these kinds of issues can be difficult to reproduce from scratch, from the time a concern was raised we have been working closely with those customers to reproduce the issue. We were finally successfully able to reproduce, and therefore confirm, the issue at the end of last week when we took action to limit the availability of Revit 2020.2. We have been working diligently to clarify the full scope of the impact and the possible workarounds in order to write this communication.Q. Why didn’t the Revit team discover the issue during pre-release testing?
A. Unfortunately because this issue requires a combination of model creation and modification of families in a previous version and then extensive modification to the same model in 2020.2 it does not lend itself well to typical testing practices or automated regression tests. This means that unfortunately, despite rigorous Revit 2020.2 testing, we were not able to identify the issue before it affected customer models. We sincerely thank the customers that escalated the issue to us so that we are now able to take appropriate action.
Q. What actions will the Revit team take to prevent this kind of issue from happening again?
A. After the Revit team resolves the immediate issue, we will be holding a retrospective to clarify how the defect occurred and what specific actions we can take to prevent similar issues in the future. As much as possible we will look to create automated tests to cover this kind of situation as that means that every future Revit code submission will be scanned for similar problems.
A new Dynamo node called ‘Selection – All Elements of Category in View’, which allows for selection of all elements of a designated category in a view, is available.
A new Dynamo node called ‘Element-Delete’, which allows for deleting elements through a Dynamo script, is available.
File Corruption
Enhanced data storage implementation to prevent missing element file corruption.
MEP Analytical Systems
Added support for specifying an absorptance value for architectural element types and passing it to the Systems Analysis feature.
MEP Electrical Panel Schedule
Improved the behavior to show circuit and panel properties directly in a panel schedule view.
Revit Cloud Models
Improved support for increased communications security protocols to better safeguard data and communications.
Revit Home
Provided a consistent visual style between Revit and Civil application home.
Provided a self-guidance message that displays when a customer opens the published version of Revit Cloud model from Desktop Connector.
Route Analysis
An enhancement to the Route Analysis Path of Travel tool allows you to add and edit waypoints on an existing Path of Travel line so that it goes through specific points along the Path from A to B.
Two new APIs, PathOfTravel.FindStartsOfLongestPathsFromRooms() and PathOfTravel.FindEndsOfShortestPaths() support streamlined route analysis workflows to find longest paths from locations in rooms to destinations (such as exit doors).
Schedules
The currently active cell and row are highlighted so that they can be easily found when working in a large schedule.
Added the ability to freeze (lock)/unfreeze the schedule title and header in place to keep them visible when scrolling through a long schedule.
Shared Coordinates
Added the ability to show the Revit internal origin from the host model and the linked models.
Removed clip function on the project base point so that it’s always moved in unclip mode.
Steel Connections for Dynamo
Updated the “Autodesk Steel Connections” documentation with the new nodes for Load Connection.
Updated the “Autodesk Steel Connections” documentation with the new nodes for analysis results.
Updated the “Autodesk Steel Connections” documentation with the modified behavior of the “Connection.ByType” Dynamo node.
Added support for envelope minimum and maximum in the load case/load combination input drop-down for the “Autodesk Steel Connections” Dynamo package.
Added Input.ResultTypes node for “Autodesk Steel Connections” Dynamo package, containing a drop-down of result types (Fx,Fy,Fz,Mx,My,Mz).
Added a drop-down Dynamo node to the Steel Connection Automation package to list the Analysis results, Load Case/Combination/Envelope, and model name for the current project and provide as input to FilterBy.AnalysisResults node.
Added the “Filter.ByVerticalPosition” node for the “Autodesk Steel Connections” package, and the “Connection.ByType” node now throws an exception when placing base plate connection types at the upper end.
Changed the names of the following Steel Connection Automation nodes : ConnectionNode.FromStructure, ConnectionNode.SubNodesOfSize and BySectionType.
Removed the Sub-connection category, which included Miter and Cope, from the Steel Connection Automation “Connection Type” drop-down. The placement of those cuts can still be automated by including them in Custom Connections.
Added a new Dynamo node, which can filter the connection nodes using the analysis results stored in Results Builder, to the Steel Connection Automation package.
Added the “existing” output to the “Connection.ByType” Dynamo node for the “Autodesk Steel Connections” package.
Fixed an issue in the Steel Connection Automation package that caused all typical scripts that can apply Base Plate connections to display an incorrect warning message on each run.
View – Other
Added a Fly mode to the Navigation bar that provides direct access and shortcuts to give the experience of “flying” through a model live to present it to clients and stakeholders.
Issues Resolved:
Autodesk A360 Sign In
Improved stability when launching Revit.
Dynamo for Revit
Fixed an issues where the Path of Travel nodes were not available in Dynamo for Revit.
Export DWG/DXF
Fixed an issue where exporting a sheet with multiple rotated views to DWG resulted in elements being moved away from the correct position.
Fixed an issue that resulted in incorrectly moved and rotated blocks, caused by exporting sheets that contain rotated viewports to DWG.
Fixed an issue that occurred when exporting a sheet with multiple viewports to DWG and resulted in some elements missing parts of their geometry.
Fabrication – MEP
Fixed an issue that prevented product data from being read when it was located in the common database directory.
Fixed an issue that enabled users to access costing information from the data that was cached in the model.
Fixed a stability issue that resulted in splitter warning messages displaying incorrectly when attempting to place some parts in the model.
Family
Fixed an issue in which non-existent doors were shown in schedules.
File Corruption
Improved stability when performing Sync with Central.
File Open/Save Internals
Improved stability when working offline with file-based worksharing.
Ensured that the model’s name is presented when generating warning dialogs.
Updated .ini setting for ignoring foreign file warnings to save the full file path of the suppressed file.
gbXML
Changed the tolerance value that is used to determine analytical surfaces that are passed to gbXML so that it corresponds with the value used by EnergyPlus and other simulation engines.
Graphics – Display
Fixed an issue where pan and orbit stopped working in an uncropped perspective view after an error dialog was closed.
Host Sweeps
Improved stability when editing a gutter with a potential geometry failure.
Link Topography
Improved performance when switching to the Topography tab in the Manage Links dialog when many topographies are linked.
Improved performance when placing spot annotations by picking points on the link topography.
MEP Analytical Systems
Fixed a weather service timeout issue that caused a sporadic systems analysis failure.
Added support for weekend usage schedules when running an annual simulation systems analysis.
Improved the usability of systems analysis reports by matching the zone names to the model’s analytical space names when using the ideal air system to calculate loads.
Improved performance by generating the default unconditioned zone equipment using one per analytical space.
Fixed an issue that could cause a systems analysis report to be truncated due to a size limit for Revit views by locating all systems analysis reports in a Revit subfolder.
Fixed an issue that caused instability while running a systems analysis that produces a very large report.
MEP Connectors
The ability to add pipe insulation and change parameters for piping elements can now be performed by using group edit mode.
Fixed an issue that caused instability when displaying a pipe or duct rise or drop symbol within certain views.
MEP Duct/Pipe Display
Fixed an issue that caused the wrong rise/drop symbol to display when an accessory is located in a vertical duct.
MEP Electrical Settings
Improved stability when opening and upgrading a Revit model.
MEP Graphics
Fixed an issue that caused a line to appear inside the rise symbol for single line piping when printing.
MEP Insulation lining
Fixed an issue that occurred when a model contained insulation with a specific thickness, and which caused the project to fail to upgrade.
MEP Pipe
Fixed an issue that caused a lag when selecting a pipe or duct.
Materials
Improved stability when editing custom parameters in the Material Browser.
Reinforcement – Fabrics
Corrected an issue related to the wire mesh diameter exported to IFC.
Reinforcement – Multi-Rebar Annotation
Fixed an issue that caused a multi-rebar annotation to display, even when all the rebar references where cropped out of the view.
Improved stability when adding parameters to a multi-rebar annotation tag and reloading into the project.
Fixed an issue that resulted in a multi-rebar annotation displaying information from non-rebar references if the option to group tag heads was disabled.
Reinforcement – Shape Driven Rebar
Improved stability when constraining a bar connected by couplers to another bar.
Improved stability when editing rebar constraints in a view placed on a sheet.
Revit Cloud Models
Fixed “Manage Links” dialog to show full model path names.
Stopped creating some collaboration cache files to reduce customer disk space usage.
Revit Home
Fixed an issue in which the File Menu list did not display when enabling the ‘Do not keep history of recently opened documents’ Windows setting.
Fixed the File Menu lagging issue that occurred when opening a central model from an external internet path.
Fixed truncated texts in button and description in Open Published Version dialog for some languages.
Route Analysis
Enabled access to Route Analysis settings from within any active view, not just plan views.
Fixed an issue to prevent a path of travel analysis from being placed or copied to a section or elevation view of the model.
Shared Coordinates
Fixed an issue that resulted in the highlighted point being too large when snapping to the project base point and the survey point from a linked Revit model.
Improved stability when binding a linked model where the project base point or survey point is visible in the current view.
Steel Connections for Dynamo
Fixed an issue that resulted in the Dynamo scripts creating invalid Steel Connections and not counting or deleting the connections.
Fixed an issue with one sample Dynamo script where it could place invalid Apex connections.
Fixed an issue resulting in duplicate and overlapping connections created by Steel Connections for Dynamo scripts with invalid input.
Fixed an issue that resulted in scripts designed to filter for vertical beams (columns) using the Slant Angle node incorrectly considering horizontal elements.
Fixed some of the sample scripts delivered with Steel Connection Automation packages that had overlapping nodes.
Fixed a typo in the “Apex Haunch” sample script (En-US) of the “Autodesk Steel Connections” Dynamo package.
Templates
Aligned the Project Base Point with Internal Origin in the DACH project templates.
UI Frameworks
Improved stability when opening a model.
User Interface
Fixed an issue where Revit could lock up and did not react to any commands when using a Network license.
Upgrade
Improved stability when upgrading a 2019 Revit model that contains steel elements with an invalid state.
Worksharing
Increased program stability when network is disconnected mid-session.
API
Enhanced the Revit API Help with the addition of several new code snippets.
Analytical Model – Other
Added the Autodesk Analytical Modeling 2020 Dynamo package to help structural engineers have better control and automate the creation of analytical models in Revit, by creating a complete and consistent analytical model with parameterization, definition of logical assumptions, priorities, and customizable scripting.
Content
Added 104 MEP families for Japan.
Updated the DACH library by adding the path of travel tag in the templates and samples, improving the material setting in the templates, and adding wood construction in the samples.
Dynamo for Revit
Integrated Dynamo Revit 2.2.1 into Revit 2020.1 release, including multiple user enhancement, API changes, and bug fixes.
Energy – Analytical Model
Replaced the 3D Energy Model view that is automatically generated when creating the Energy Analytical Model, with a view called Analytical Spaces that displays only analytical spaces with the model categories set as underlay.
Foundation
Added 4 parameter tooltips for wall foundations: Eccentricity, Length, Width, and Foundation Thickness.
Graphics – Sun and Shadow
Improved the accuracy of shadows.
Improved stability when adjusting the sun position or date, in cases where the sun does not rise or set at far north or south locations.
Import/Export Other
Added support for importing Sketchup 2019 files.
Link Topography
Added the ability to link topography published to BIM 360 European server.
MEP Analytical Systems
Added the ability to represent HVAC systems analytically and assign them to the analytical spaces created with the energy analytical model for use in a downstream systems analysis.
MEP Electrical Circuits
Improved the Move To behavior to support swap the existing circuits.
MEP Electrical Wiring
Improved the default homerun length behavior during auto-wiring.
MEP HVAC Zones
Added the ability to run local energy analyses locally, including system sizing and annual simulation, using an installation of Energy Plus.
Reinforcement – Constraints
Improved the performance when editing rebar constraints in hosts with complex geometry or containing a large number of bars.
Reinforcement – Rebar
Added the ability to adjust rebar constraints faster and more intuitively, enabling easier modifications of bars.
Added the ability to constrain any shape-driven rebar sets in the model and preserve reinforcement layouts when making changes.
Route Analysis
Enhanced the performance of Path of Travel lines by storing internal calculation information for a view so the information can be reused without needing to regenerate the data.
Improved the Route Analysis Path of Travel tool to allow you to view, schedule, and tag the room name and number associated with the startpoints (From Room) and endpoints (To Room) of paths in the model.
Improved the Route Analysis Path of Travel tool to allow users to drag or use the Move key to adjust the location of the start and endpoint of a path line.
Improved the Route Analysis Path of Travel tool to allow users to indicate which elements are considered obstacles, making it easier to troubleshoot a failing path and better understand obstacle settings.
Added a Dynamo node that takes an array of start/end points and creates multiple Path of Travel lines simultaneously for fast and efficient route analysis calculations.
Schedules
Added the ability to set the rows to display in contrasting colors to make it easier to follow them across the schedule when working in wide schedules.
Wall
Improved the Attaching Wall to Floor and Attaching Wall to Roof dialogs by setting No as the default for automatic attachment, and setting it to remember the user’s selection.
API
Improved the usability of the API when creating or opening internal types for documents.
Updated the SDK sample which could cause instability in Revit 2018 & 2019.
Fixed an issue in which the RadialArray.Create() API was not able to create a correct radial array on a vertical workplane.
Fixed an issue that prevented rebar couplers to be placed between free form bars from the API.
Corrected the RevitAddInUtility.dll file which was incorrectly reporting a version of 0.0.0.0.
Fixed an API issue so that Reference Planes, created via the API, can be drawn and displayed in drafting views.
Analytical Model – Other
Fixed an issue that caused API method AnalyticalModel.ManuallyAdjust to throw InternalException for beams and braces.
Analytical Model – Surfaces
Added the prefix “Analytical Surface” to the name of new materials that have been added for analytical surfaces and spaces when upgrading from Revit 2019 and previous versions.
Fixed an issue that caused the wrong properties to appear in the Properties palette for an analytical surface for a curtain panel.
Annotation – Dimensions
Improved stability when upgrading a file which contains incorrect dimensions.
Improved stability when creating a spot elevation on a roof.
Fixed an issue with dimensions on references of element cut edges from a linked file that could not be displayed in host file.
Improved stability when copying or deleting a dimension.
Improved stability when moving a spot elevation.
Improved stability when editing a dimension.
Assembly
Improved stability when changing the naming category of assemblies before editing the type.
Ceiling
Improved stability when using Auto Ceiling to sketch a ceiling with a modified room bounding.
Cloud Model (Non-workshared)
Added a warning dialog when saving a non-workshared cloud model and removed the incorrect dialog when opening a non-workshared cloud model in the Revit viewer mode.
Fixed an issue that non-workshared cloud models would fail to open if an empty save is applied to the model after restore.
Removed the Worksets tab in the RVT Link Display Settings dialog for non-workshared cloud models.
Cloud Project Upgrade
Fix a bug in Revit which caused upgrade failure when using the automated Revit Cloud Model upgrade tool.
Content
Updated the voltage and distribution system settings in the electrical and system templates.
Dynamo for Revit
Fixed 16 problematic Dynamo Revit nodes which have no elements or SelectedIndex is invalid, such as “Wall Location” and “ScheduleType”.
Improved stability when leaving Dynamo open with a pending change.
Removed GetAllFamilyInstances and GetAllWalls from RevitSystemTestBase.
Fixed the Dynamo Revit node “FaceAnalysisDisplay.ByViewFacePointsAndValues” so that it could be correctly used.
Energy – Analytical Model
Fixed an issue that prevented internal load density parameters from being populated in an Analytical Spaces schedule.
Fixed an issue that could cause the thermal properties for doors, windows, and curtain panels to not export correctly when using detailed elements and overriding the object’s thermal properties with user defined values.
Fixed an issue that prevented the updating of thermal properties when changing the Define Thermal Properties by parameter to Schematic Type in door, window, and curtain panel types.
Fixed an issue that prevented the “Define Thermal Properties by” parameter in a new window, door, or curtain panel type from being set properly when the family is loaded back into the model.
Fixed an issue that could cause the thermal properties of an analytical surface to not display properly in the Properties palette.
Fixed an issue that could cause the Analytical Construction parameter in window, door, and curtain panel types to be empty after upgrading the model.
Fixed an issue the caused the thermal properties for a curtain panel door’s analytical surface to report as Not Computed.
Energy – Simulation
Improved stability when generating an energy analysis for Insight while the active view in Revit is a non-geometric view (schedule, report, etc.).
Fabrication – MEP
Fixed an issue that could cause the Change Service feature to fail when used on the same selection multiple times.
Fixed an issue when cancelling out of a Change Service action that could lead to the user interface being left in a bad state.
Fixed an issue that resulted in missing journal data when double clicking to add and remove services from MEP Fabrication Settings.
Improved the Change Service/Size feature to better support back to back fitting scenarios.
Fixed an issue with model updates that were causing disconnects when using the reload configuration feature.
The quantity state is now properly set allowing quantities in print reports for fabrication parts to be properly quantified.
Fixed an issue with a sporadic warning message that was being displayed when cancelling a reload configuration action.
Fixed an issue that caused modeled parts to either disconnect or vanish after reloading a configuration.
Fixed an issue that caused internally lined parts to fail to place when using autofill features.
Fixed an issue that resulted in poor stability when using the Optimize Lengths feature on services containing couplings configured with invalid materials.
Fixed an issue that resulted in poor stability when editing the type properties for taps when self-dimensions are displayed.
Family Constraints
Fixed an issue causing reference lines to fail on rotation for angles between 180 and 360.
File Corruption
Improved Revit stability when working on a workshared model that contains an element in an invalid workset.
File Open/Save Internals
Improved Revit stability when opening a corrupt model from Revit Home.
Added a warning message when uploading a cloud model in Revit viewer mode.
Fixed the issue when OpenAndActivateDocument API open the file path with non-lowercase extension.
Graphics – Cloud Render
Corrected the glazing material transmissive color in cloud rendering.
Graphics – Image Import/Export
Improved stability when loading a PDF with a very large physical sheet size.
Improved stability in the Manage Images dialog for PDF files with a very large width to height ratio.
Fixed an issue with ImageType instances created through the API that made certain placement options of ImageInstances unavailable.
Graphics – Rendering
Improved stability when rendering with wood textures.
Graphics – Sun and Shadow
Fixed an issue where Sun Path and Shadows did not work at far north or south locations.
Groups
Fixed an issue where modifying a space would interact with group instances in the model causing the ‘Changes to groups are allowed only in group edit mode’ error.
Help
Fixed an issue with launching CHM help files using the Revit ContextualHelp API.
Link Topography
Fixed an issue where incorrect topography geometry was created when linking a Civil 3D published topography which had large coordinates.
Linked RVT Files
Fixed an issue where rooms and spaces could lose or no longer detect a linked model boundary after reload latest when using Revit Cloud Worksharing.
MEP Analytical Systems
Fixed an issue that could cause part of an exterior wall to not be included in the gbXML export.
MEP Duct/Pipe Display
Fixed an issue that could cause a single-line pipe drop to not display when it is hidden by another element if there is a transition in the vertical pipe.
Fixed an issue that caused single line ducts to display as broken over a drop symbol.
Fixed an issue that caused a gap to display between a pipe and p-trap while using single-line display.
MEP Duct/Pipe Pressure Loss Calculations
Fixed an issue that caused poor performance when adding a new pipe segment in a large network.
MEP Electrical Circuits
Fixed an issue that caused an electrical fixture to be added to 2 circuits and then could not be removed.
Improved stability when selecting a panel from the recent panel list with the Enable Feed Through Lug error dialog open.
Fixed an issue that could cause Revit to hang when creating a circuit in a model in which the maximum wire size defined in the wire type is smaller than the smallest size in wire material table.
MEP Electrical Other
Fixed an issue in which a model can’t be upgraded to Revit 2020 if a specific conduit fitting exists in the model.
MEP HVAC Zones
Improved performance of zone display in canvas.
MEP Insulation lining
Fixed an issue that pipes in group get disconnected after copy/paste or create similar in a specific model.
MEP Pipe
Fixed an issue that could cause duct and pipe rise symbols to not display when they extend to the level above and are hidden on that level.
Materials
Improved stability when working with the Materials Browser dialog.
Fixed the Visible Transmittance value of glazing materials calculated incorrectly in the Material Browser.
Fixed an issue that added materials used by analytical spaces and surfaces when upgrading a family.
Part Elements
Corrected an issue that would allow excluded parts to be merged with parts.
Corrected an issue that occurred when copying walls containing multiple parts hosting area reinforcement.
Corrected an issue related to a part cover not being updated around newly added voids.
Added shortcut keys for the Modify Parts tools in the ribbon.
Corrected an issue related to copying the reinforcement hosted in parts from multi-layered walls when copying the original wall.
Precast – Reinforcement
Corrected an issue that occurred when copying walls with parts that host rebar.
Precast – Segmentation
Corrected an issue in which side lifters were not created when an opening occupied a large portion of the wall height.
Print
Fixed as issue where nested generic annotations in a legend component shift location when printed with vector processing.
Reinforcement – Constraints
Fixed an issue where the concrete cover would reset when editing a model-in-place concrete element.
Reinforcement – Fabrics
Improved stability when creating bent fabric sheet through the API.
Reinforcement – Path & Area
Fixed an issue that occurred when placing an area fabric reinforcement on parts from multi-layered walls that contain voids.
Reinforcement – Rebar
Improved the behavior of rebar to not follow a stirrup corner when already placed at the corner of another stirrup.
Improved the behavior when rebar is hosted in parts and is copied along with the wall host.
Fixed an issue where an incompatibility between the hooks specified by the rebar type and shape would prevent the placement of rebar in the model.
Fixed an issue where certain dimensions of a rebar coupler did not allow zero spacing between the connected bar ends.
Fixed an issue where toggle visibility would work only for one rebar in a selection of multiple bars.
Improved the behavior when directly editing the individual segment lengths of rebar.
Revit Cloud Worksharing
Improved stability while editing a spline in a model that was hosted on BIM 360.
Revit Home
Fixed the terminology inconsistency issue by replacing “Recent Files Page at Startup” with “Enable Recent Files List at Home”.
Improved Revit Home so that clicking Refresh button will check the customer entitlement.
Improved the behavior when displaying BIM 360 account information.
Removed an unnecessary error message that would appear when double clicking on a model from recent files page.
Improved the message in the Publish to Cloud dialog.
Fixed an issue where the project list still points to a 2019 project after the project has been upgraded to 2020.
Route Analysis
Fixed Path of Travel tags so that they automatically update their units when the Project Units are changed (and the labels in the tag are set to use project settings).
Fixed an issue causing floor slab edges to incorrectly block a Path of Travel line.
Fixed an issue causing file corruption when a warning is issued for a failed update to a Path of Travel line.
Fixed an issue that caused linework applied to wall openings to incorrectly block Path of Travel routes.
Fixed an issue to ensure split face boundary lines do not block the Path of Travel analysis.
Fixed an issue so that Path of Travel lines correctly display in plan views when the Path of Travel line is associated with a level below 0.
Improved stability when placing a Path of Travel line in a new session of Revit when the previous session had enabled Tag On Placement for Path of Travel lines.
Fixed an issue that caused Revit to be unresponsive when creating a Path of Travel in large models when the Reveal Obstacles command was added to the Quick Access Tool Bar.
Schedules
Improved the stability when open a model with a schedule view as the default view.
Steel Connections Propagation
Fixed an issue in which the Propagate Connection command didn’t work on certain languages (Chinese, Japanese, etc.).
Steel Fabrication Beam
Fixed an issue related to fabrication beam geometry disappearing after the model was reopened.
Corrected the calculation of weight and exact weight for steel beams with fabrication.
Steel Fabrication Elements
Fixed an issue in which the Hole Tolerance value was reset to the default value after the Bolt Pattern was modified.
Steel Modifiers
Improved the stability while placing steel modifiers inside the group.
Structural Connections – Detailed Connections
Fixed an issue that restricted the access to the edit connection type dialog when the Korean language is used for Revit.
Fixed an issue that caused the user cases created in Code Check forces dialog to not be kept.
Improved stability when tagging an anchor missing from the AstorBase.mdf.
Structural Connections – Platform
Fixed an update issue of the structural steel connections part of a linked model, if the linked file has more than one instance in the model.
Fixed an issue that caused a BIM 360 worksharing user file to become corrupt after simultaneous synchronization by 2 users bringing in steel changes.
Fixed an issue that prevented the values of project parameters and shared parameters from being changed when these parameters belonged to sub-elements of steel connections, steel plate/beam modifiers, or hole patterns created on steel plates/beams.
Fixed an issue where steel beams with fabrication data lost their section on copy/paste in a new model, visible after closing and reopening Revit.
User Interface
Fixed an issue where some edit controls in 3rd party Docked Views would not work properly with all input.
Improved the stability when open a project file.
Fixed an issue with tooltips for the Revit Home/Close/Minimize/Maximize buttons, which caused them to display using an incorrect font.
View – Dependent
Improved stability when using the copy or copy to clipboard command on a dependent view.
View – Other
Improved stability in API View.BoundingBox[].
View – Save/Insert
Improved stability that resulted from incorrectly allowing the File> Save As> Library> View command to be active in Revit’s view-only mode.
View Templates
Improved the performance of wall editing when a model contains many multi-category schedules.
Worksharing
Fixed an issue that caused upgrade to fail for models with steel connections.
Fixed the issue that worksets Opened status is changed unexpectedly when editing Manage Worksets in Manage Links dialogue.
Fixed an issue in the Sync With Central dialog when saving changes to a cloud model that links a foreign file.
Fix a bug in Revit that upgrade might fail when using the Revit cloud model upgrade tool.
Improve upgrade success rate when using the automated Revit cloud model upgrade tool.
Improved stability when copying or deleting a dimension.
Fixed an issue which caused upgrade failure when using the automated Revit Cloud Model upgrade tool.
Fixed an issue that resulted in duplicate global unique identifier (GUID) values when copying or mirroring parts.
The quantity state is now properly set allowing quantities in print reports for fabrication parts to be properly quantified.
Fixed an issue with a sporadic warning message that was being displayed when cancelling a reload configuration action.
Fixed an issue that caused modeled parts to either disconnect or vanish after reloading a configuration.
Improved Revit stability when working on a workshared model that contains an element in an invalid workset.
Fixed the issue when OpenAndActivateDocument API open the file path with non-lowercase extension.
Improved stability when working offline with file-based worksharing.
Corrected the glazing material transmissive color in cloud rendering.
Fixed an issue where modifying a space would interact with group instances in the model causing the ‘Changes to groups are allowed only in group edit mode’ error.
Fixed an issue where incorrect topography geometry was created when linking a Civil 3D published topography which had large coordinates.
Fixed an issue where rooms and spaces could lose or no longer detect a linked model boundary after reload latest when using Revit Cloud Worksharing.
Fixed the Visible Transmittance value of glazing materials calculated incorrectly in the Material Browser.
Fixed an issue that could cause a single-line pipe drop to not display when it is hidden by another element if there is a transition in the vertical pipe.
Fixed an issue that could cause extended lines to appear inside single line pipe rise and drop symbols when printing.
Fixed an issue that caused a single line pipe drop to not display a gap.
Improved performance of zone display in canvas.
Fixed an issue that could cause duct and pipe rise symbols to not display when they extend to the level above and are hidden on that level.
Fixed an issue where Background Room Color Fill with a non-solid fill pattern would incorrectly overlap cut walls when printing in vector mode.
Fixed an issue that caused a long delay when clicking the File Menu in the recent file list.
Fixed an issue that prevented particular worksharing cloud models containing steel connections from opening in Revit.
Fixed an issue with tooltips for the Revit Home/Close/Minimize/Maximize buttons, which caused them to display using an incorrect font.
Improved the stability when opening a project file.
Improved stability when using the copy or copy to clipboard command on a dependent view.
Improved stability in the API View.BoundingBox[].
Improve upgrade success rate when using the automated Revit cloud model upgrade tool.
Improved stability of Sync with Central when elements are included in background processes.
Fixed an issue where upgrade might fail when using the Revit cloud model upgrade tool.
Fixed the issue that worksets Opened status is changed unexpectedly when editing Manage Worksets in Manage Links dialogue.
Changing and updating Shared Coordinates in Revit can be quite a challenge. At Virtual Built Technology we often create a Revit Control File to manage and transfer project datums, shared coordinates and other compliance items for the project team.
This video describes the techniques and challenges involved in updating and instituting shared coordinates on a Revit project. It also includes the steps involved in adopting other Revit modelling standards and requirements into your file.
Here are some of the tips included in the video:
how to un-share coordinates for linked models
how to acquire new coordinates
checking that coordinates are correct for linked models
using Transfer Project Standards – Project Info as a method of fixing coordinates
other model compliance steps including: updating base point settings, transferring Phase Settings, loading a Start View for the project
copying locator elements
copying scope boxes
using Dynamo to automatically generate the required worksets for compliance
As software and standards mature and even become archaic, they inevitably attract baggage along the way. Years of technical debt amassed by well-intentioned developers and product managers will be paid for by us and our children.
This is particularly evident when we start talking about the Id of Revit elements, and the IFC GUID syntax. As most of you are aware, Revit carries a number of different identifying attributes for each and every element. Here is a basic list:
Element Id – the numerical form of a Revit Id, you can interact directly with this using the Select By Id command in Revit
UniqueId – “A stable unique identifier for an element within the document.” This is not a correctly formed UUID, but rather a concatenation of a standard UUID for the Revit EpisodeId (session based), along with the Revit element Id. From Jeremy’s post: similar to the standard GUID format, but has 8 additional characters at the end. These 8 additional hexadecimal characters are large enough to store 4 bytes or a 32 bit number, which is exactly the size of a Revit element id.
DwfGuid (Export Guid) – this is a correctly formed UUID in .NET / standard format
IfcGuid – identical to DwfGuid, but encoded differently according to IFC rules created in the mid-90s. At the time, it was deemed worthwhile to ‘compress’ the IFC Guid to the shorter form we still have to deal with today.
It would be nice if Revit and IFC shared a single common unique identifying syntax, but unfortunately this is not the case.
The above Ids do actually bear some predictable relationship to each other. The UniqueId is formed by Revit joining the EpisodeId and the encoded Element Id, the Dwf or Export Guid is created by an algorithm that has a number of conditional rules, and the Dwf Guid can be converted to the backwards-compatible IfcGuid format through a different algorithm, originally created in C. Those algorithms can be sourced in various places (see links in Further Reading below).
Also, some of these get exposed in different ways – if you create Element-bound BCF files, they will typically show the IFC Guid syntax. Further, if you export an IFC file from Revit and tick the option on the Exporter, it will write the IfcGuid to a parameter on the element.
You can query the Element Id directly in Revit (Modify ribbon, Inquiry panel, IDs of Selection):
However, for the purpose of this post, let’s assume you are using Dynamo with IronPython, and you want to query all 4 Ids from an element.
We at least need to import the Revit API and the Revit IFC API:
clr.AddReference("RevitAPI")
import Autodesk
from Autodesk.Revit.DB import *
clr.AddReference('RevitAPIIFC')
from Autodesk.Revit.DB.IFC import *
Following this, we can use the various Dynamo and Python commands to access the Ids:
elementIds, uniqueIds, DwfGuids, IfcGuids, successlist = [], [], [], [], []
for i in e:
try:
elementIds.append(i.Id)
uniqueIds.append(i.UniqueId)
DwfGuids.append(ExportUtils.GetExportId(doc, ElementId(i.Id)))
IfcGuids.append(ExporterIFCUtils.CreateSubElementGUID (UnwrapElement(i),0))
successlist.append("Success")
except:
successlist.append("Failure")
OUT = elementIds, uniqueIds, DwfGuids, IfcGuids, successlist
Notice the commands and properties used:
Element Id – query the Element.Id member
Unique Id – query the Element.UniqueId member
Dwf or Export Guid – use the ExportUtils.GetExportId method
IfcGuid – use the ExporterIFCUtils.CreateSubElementGUID method (index 0 refers to the main element itself)
From here, I create a Dynamo node that eats Revit elements and gives us back these Id values:
before node created
After “All The Ids” node created
This node will be published in the Bakery package on the package manager, and to Github.
Further, our VirtualBuiltApp platform has been developed to store and query multiple Ids for a single element.
Example output from the Dynamo / Python (initial test showed the Dwf Guid is still a .NET object, that probably should get converted to a string for consistency).
[2424]
['c98618bf-7112-4e90-8a71-8ab768f2b1c0-00000978']
[<System.Guid object at 0x0000000000000071 [c98618bf-7112-4e90-8a71-8ab768f2b8b8]>]
['39XXY$SH9Ea8fnYhTeyhYu']
I added str() to the Python:
Final test showing the 4 different Id values for a single object:
I love it when people take something I hacked together and make it even better! A while ago I posted a script to disable all Revit addins, and recently Thomas Vogt sent me some much improved versions.
Deactivate with Teilnehmer08_1_RevitAddonsDeaktivierenPowerShell.ps1
Activate with Teilnehmer08_2_RevitAddonsAktivierenPowerShell.ps1
You can download a ZIP file containing the Powershell scripts here:
Disclaimers (use at your own risk etc) and notes on how to use the scripts are as per previous post.
Here is the note from Thomas:
Hi Luke, I have used your script from https://wrw.is/script-to-disable-all-revit-addins/ and I have adjusted it a bit. I have local users without admin rights (training center computers), so I go to the users computer, open the file with rightclick > Powershell and the Admin login is shown. I got also some problems with the allusersprofile and the appdata path variable, because as soon as I login as admin, the appdata path is not anymore the user path. Thus I have changed it to the path itself. The last 2 lines help to see the errors.
Thanks for your script, it helped me a lot! My scripts are attached if you want to use it on your blog =)
Thanks to Thomas Vogt for sharing his work on this!
