You may have experienced this error when upgrading a file to Revit 2018:
One or more required internal settings are missing from the model. What do you want to do?
Autodesk Support has stated that “In R 2018 we added a “feature” that catches issues like this and repair the model for you, instead of causing problem down the line.”
This particular dialog may not be handled by automatic upgrading tools. The resolution of the problem is to open the file manually, and simply press “Repair and open”. You should get a success message like below:
I assume there are other things that this Revit 2018 feature looks for and tries to fix. As Project Info includes a few different things in Revit, my guess for the above error is that it appears that it will set project Location to Default? Or perhaps it reinstates a deleted Project Base Point or Survey Point.
Either way, data and model validation is a good thing. Thanks Revit 2018 🙂
Update: RTV Xporter Pro can define rules for dismissing dialog boxes, in the Task Dialog Settings. See below:
I once built an auto-sizing Fire Pipe Fitting using a Formulaic method (where the various fitting sizes were driven by the Revit intersection variable), so I was interested to read about a similar strategy in a very good article in AUGIWorld January 2018 by Todd Shackelford. It is really good to evaluate these different options before going ahead on a detailed Family development and creation task.
Among other things, Todd describes how to create a Type Catalog, including a list of the various data types:
He also describes how to use multiple Lookup Tables in a single Revit Family:
Overall, it is a very informative article for advanced Revit family creators.
Revit gets a new version every year, and every year we theoretically have to upgrade our Revit files. If you are a pro-active BIM Manager, you also have to upgrade a bunch of families and other files. If you are working on certain large projects, maybe the updates are deferred for a year or two, and then you find that you have to upgrade about 800 Revit files from Revit 2015 to 2018. Obviously, they all have to upgraded at once to maintain the integrity of the data and the workflows. What is the best way to do it?
I investigated a few different options and my notes and links are list below. In my case, I decided to go with RTV Xporter Pro and its File Upgrader option. It is an extremely affordable addin (currently $49USD), considering the amount of batch processing functionality that it provides.
The very first thing to do is ensure you have a backup. In my case, I had a complete offline mirror of the Revit files, and I ran the upgrade against that mirror. Then, I could just overwrite the live network location once I confirm that everything works as expected.
I would say that another thing to do is to create some form of data snapshot of your Revit models prior to upgrade. I have a method of doing this which is pretty powerful, but its a secret (for now).
Here are the steps to upgrade a Revit dataset using RTV Xporter Pro 2018:
Set up a File Upgrader XML file (my settings shown below). As you can see, I chose to Detach and Audit and then Save the file over the top of the current file in the same location. This way, all of the Revit links should be maintained once the whole dataset is upgraded to the new version.
Open Xporter Pro link from Revit
Create Task Schedule
Import the Upgrade XML as a Batch Process
Set the Revit EXE location for the target version
After saving the task, open in Windows Task Scheduler and you can run it immediately.
The screenshots below show the important stuff from the above steps.
1) My RTV Xporter Pro Settings:
3) Creating the Scheduled Task:
4 and 5) Load Batch Process XML and Set Revit Application, like for 2018:
6) Running the Scheduled Task:
Tip: During a typical file upgrade, Revit will often come up with warnings. If you run the RTV File Upgrader task in Interactive mode, you will get the dialog box which requires user interaction (export warnings and proceed past the Revit warnings). However, if you run the upgrade from the Task Scheduler, it will automatically dismiss the warnings for you as it upgrades. Some examples are warning dialog including errors like ‘could not cut instance out of wall’. In the Scheduled Mode, this process will all happen unattended.
This is what it looks like as it upgrades (scheduled mode):
This is what it looks like as it upgrades (interactive mode):
Update 10/1/18: RTV Xporter Pro can define rules for dismissing dialog boxes, in the Task Dialog Settings. See below:
There are other addins and ways to upgrade. Here is a pretty comprehensive list:
Paid Revit Addins:
Harry Mattison has built a powerful Bulk File Upgrader addin that has a lot of good reviews on the App Store. You can find it here.
Current price: $99USD
BIMWERX Batch File Upgrader. Very simple UI and good reviews. You can get it here.
Current price: $10USD
NTI Tools have a File Upgrader. You can get a trial at this link. You have to register and then get an email with the download.
Previous posts:
These previous posts show some other pretty useful methods to keep in mind…
Autodesk recently announced the retirement of the Building Performance Analysis Certificate (BPAC). You have 3 days left if you want to complete, as per this note:
Until December 15th 2017, you can enrolled in the Building Performance Analysis Certificate Course, earn the certificate and report your credits to AIA. If you are currently enrolled in the course, you’ll have until December 15th, 2017 to finish it. Any non-completion after December 15th, 2017 will be de-activated.
Firefox 58 Quantum resulted in our old extensions not working anymore. But if you want to enable extensions and keep using them, here’s what you need to do:
Over the years I have posted a lot of workflows for PDF creation and management, including the use of CutePDF Writer and PDF Creator. I’m also a regular user of RTV Xporter Pro, as it is the quickest and easiest way to generate PDFs from Revit, and its pretty affordable too.
To automatically create PDFs with automatic naming from RTV Xporter, you need a PDF print driver that supports automatic naming. Adobe PDF can do this with the correct settings, but you can also do it with the correct version of the free PDF Creator print driver. CutePDF does not support automatic naming. You need a PDFCreator version equal to or older than 2.5.3.
How to configure PDF Creator (thanks to Jason Howden at RTV for these slides)
Some basic settings of RTV Xporter for batch PDF printing
Installing PDF Creator:
Screenshots below show some suggested options to avoid getting things installed that you don’t want.
Accessing the Settings:
Launch PDF Creator
Skip any update prompts
Click Profile Settings
RTV Tools PDF Creator 2.2 Configuration/Profile Settings
Printing to PDF automatically from Autodesk Revit with RTV Tools (Xporter/Xporter PRO/Drawing Manager) and PDF Creator (versions 2.5.3 and prior) can be enabled with the below settings.
Document (Tab) Settings
No changes required (optional)
Save (Tab) Settings
Tick Show progress during conversion
Tick Skip print dialog (directly proceed to the save dialog)
Add Token <InputFilename>
Tick Set default output folder (else the last saved location will be opened)
Add Token <InputFilePath>
Auto-Save (Tab) Settings
Tick Enable automatic saving
Un-Tick Ensure unique filenames (Do not overwrite existing files)
The whole C4R thing with link files is a bit of a challenge at the moment. It will get better, but for now, there are at least two things that don’t match typical desired project delivery:
We essentially have a ‘high trust’ environment, which applies to everyone who is invited to a C4R project. High trust in this context means anyone can edit anything, if they have Editor permissions for the project.
Also, we don’t have folder structures for Revit files that have been initiated on C4R – they are all in the root folder. However, we can store Revit files in subfolders as a kind of dumb link file (not a collaborative model).
So, until it does get better… how do we use the Desktop Connector to link files from a non-C4R folder structure, into a C4R initiated file?
Basically, you take these steps:
Use Windows Explorer and the Autodesk Desktop Connector to manage your files and folder structure. Navigate to your BIM 360 Team project, add folders, and drag and drop Revit files into those folders.
Then, in Revit, in the Import / Link dialog, you can select the ‘BIM 360 Team’ link from the drop down list. You will notice some special things happening after you link one of these files.
Finally, you can observe the new ‘cloud’ pathed Revit models in the Manage Links dialog box. The saved path should start with Autodesk Drive:// and the Path Type is Cloud.
What does this all mean? Really, it just means the workarounds are getting slightly better. We don’t need to maintain a separate cloud storage repository for Revit models (like Box) just for the link files. And we shouldn’t need to go through too much pain to update the link models. Just drag-and-drop the new Revit link model into the correct folder in the Desktop Connector to update the link for everyone in the team.
This feature also works with things other than Revit files. So you can use the same process to store DWG files on BIM 360 Team and link them into your Revit model.
And the same process can be used for things like:
Keynoting Settings
Shared Parameter files
Assembly Code Settings
Material Libraries
Pretty much any project-linked resource can now be stored in the cloud, shared with a team, and linked into Revit.
The Preview Image Generator (PIG) is a new Revit addin produced by Parley Burnett, a guy that has been in and around Revit and BIM for a long time.
Out-of-the-box Revit has been producing family preview images of varying degrees of quality for some time now. I think you would agree that a good preview image can assist in selecting the right family, right? Also, the preview image shows up with ‘vanilla’ Revit right in the Load Family dialog, so it can be immediately useful for your team – if the image is good. This app aims to automate that process and give you better preview images everytime.
Through this new free app, you can not only save your family with a better image in a single click, but control the appearance settings automatically by category every time. You can get the free version here: Preview Image Generator (P.I.G.) Free Version
There is also a paid version called PIG Batch that allows you to batch process your entire library with a single click and it runs automatically every time you save a family. Preview Image Generator (P.I.G.) Batch
Here is a link to download the current version of P.I.G. Batch. You will need a purchased license key to activate.
You can create some custom rules for how you want each category to look:
And you can batch process using those rules:
Feature Overview and Comparison:
With one click, P.I.G. Free will create a consistent & clear preview image for your open Revit family. This free version offers limited functionality compared to the more fully featured app. See below for a comparison.
Free Version Features:
Choose your own default appearance settings & Revit category specific settings.
Options to hide connectors, host elements, reference planes and more!
Your settings are automatically synchronized with your cloud account. Activate on up to two computers.
**All users at your company can be set up to use the same settings.
**Automatically regenerates the preview image every time families are saved!
Batch process new preview images for thousands of families at a time!
Upgrade files from previous versions of Revit in the process.
If you would like P.I.G. to silently run on every workstation at your firm, virtually eliminating the future need to monitor or batch through files, a site license is available. You can contact info@thepig.io for more information.
Video:
Updates:
Here are some of the changes in a recent update:
Your settings will now be stored in the cloud and appear on any machine you have activated with your Batch account.
We can group users together by ‘Company’. Users of the same company share the same settings automatically.
Added a new license type called ‘Desktop’. Desktop users can’t change company settings (only Batch users can). These users can run pig on individual families – either by clicking the button, or automatically when saving the family if that is enabled.
Improved the ‘Folder Picker’ dialog for choosing which folders of families to run P.I.G. Batch on.
