To rebuild a Shared Parameter file, use the Export option from Family or Project

Luke Johnson

In the Parameter Properties dialog, click Export.

Note:  The Export option is not enabled if the selected parameter is already in the current shared parameter file.

A message displays informing you that the shared parameter will be exported to the shared parameter file you set up in Step 1.

Here is the rest of the how-to:
Exporting Shared Parameters to a Shared Parameter File – WikiHelp
Edit:

You can export from the Family or Project environment. If you already have a SP with the same name in your current SP file, you will need to switch to a blank SP file, export the parameter, and then possibly you can “hack” it into your current file by text editing the SP files (maybe).

Revit and VEO, finally together again …

Luke Johnson

Surely Revit integration with VEO will be a high priority, now that Autodesk are buying into VEO so heavily?

Some of you may recall that VEO-LUX was once a Revit add-in application , and that Revit Architecture 2009 beta was codenamed VEO … what a long path back to Revit it has taken!  Up to the clouds and back again … but bringing all its collaborative goodness to the Revit world.

via
VEO News: Autodesk and M-SIX have partnered! Revit and VEO, finally together again …

SHX font mapping for linked DWG files in Revit

Luke Johnson

“In Revit, the default font is Arial, for example, is therefore the DWG file represent fonts in Arial.
The “shxfontmap.txt” is located at:
C: Users AppData Roaming Autodesk Revit Autodesk Revit 2013
First you should make a backup copy of “shxfontmap.txt” are created, they can then be opened with Notepad.
Note: Please do not use software to edit the file, which could change the formatting of text, such as Word.

At the end of the file is then added to “txt.shx Arial” or “Arial italic8.shx” added.

After the names of the SHX once is “Tab” and then use the new font specified.”

via
Google Translate
of
Autodesk BIM Blog – Darstellung von SHX Schriften f�r DWG Dateien anpassen – Revit Architecture/MEP/Structure 2013

A very quick trademark post

Luke Johnson

There has been lots of verbiage flying around the interwebs lately regarding the use of Autodesk trademarks in domain names.  I recently surrendered www.revitprofessionals.com (quite happily), in order to comply with Autodesk’s Trademark Guidelines for Use.

Additionally, David Light and I have been in discussion with Autodesk about blogs containing the Revit trademark at .blogspot.com

Happily, Autodesk has allowed these .blogspot blogs to remain, provided we add a simple disclaimer:

Again, I was quite happy to do this.

Working in an architectural firm, I understand the need to protect intellectual property, and in Autodesk’s case, its trademarks.

I was a little saddened by the decision surrounding OpenRevitStandards (even this link will die soon).  However, I believe that David Fano will be able to re-host the site on some Autodesk-approved domain.  So I believe the OpenRevitStandards will live on, somehow and somewhere (perhaps rising from the ashes like AUGI).

In any case, I would like to again take this opportunity to thank you all for continuing to support this blog, along with other awesome Revit blogs authored by the likes of David Light and Steve Stafford.

EDIT: I think I said ‘happy’ and ‘happily’ too many times …

BIM's band booms! (image)

Luke Johnson
from “Fox in Socks” by Dr. Seuss

Seems like a few recent tweets agree:

The real question is, who is Ben, and what exactly is he up to?

Piping for Revit MEP Dummies (like Me)

Luke Johnson
  1. Add two components with similar system connections (like Hydronic Supply)
  2. Select one of the components, and click the Piping button
  3. Ok to dialog, Edit System, use Add to add the other component.  Finish.
  4. Select one of the components, use the Generate Layout tool.  Click Edit Layout if you want to drag the lines around.
  5. Start adjust heights and paths of piping.

Don’t forget, you can set the View Discipline to Mechanical to get some in-built filtering to show something like this:

Quick video from Wikihelp:

    (embedded JWPlayer)

    Read more at:
    Pipe – WikiHelp

    Plan ahead when making a family

    Luke Johnson

    Sometimes, putting a bit of thought and planning into your family design well lead to far better results than simply ‘diving in there’.  The following post shows a list of such requirements.  Essentially, you write a ‘brief’ for your family, and then seek to meet the requirements of that brief.

    Example at this link

    However, at times I do things the complete wrong way about – like modelling them inplace, then converting them to component families and trying to figure out the origin and constraints later on – very messy and definitely not best_practice 🙂