Getting the Inventory Advisor working

Luke Johnson

I had some problems with the Autodesk Inventory Advisor.  Basically, I couldn’t get it to access all of the PCs in my domain network.

Evidently, the main issue was DCOM / WMI access.  I tried using Group Policy on the server and I even installed a free Group Policy update utility to push the update through to Client PCs.  However, the server side GP method wasn’t really working for me.

The key thing that seemed to work was using this command on each PC individually:
netsh firewall set service type = remoteadmin mode = enable
(from Enable or Disable the Remote Administration Firewall Rule: Windows Firewall (WF) and Help: Enable or disable the remote administration exception: Windows Firewall (WF) )

In Windows 7, the above command will probably still work, but the proper one is:
netsh advfirewall firewall set rule group=”Windows Remote Management” new enable=yes 
here
and
Windows 7 Remote Administration Firewall group

After the above command was run on a PC, the Inventory Advisor could access it.

It is a pretty cool utility, because you can access hardware information from all PCs in the network (as well as the Autodesk related info).

Download the Autodesk Inventory Advisor.

For detailed instructions, refer to the Autodesk Inventory Advisor tool guide.


Autodesk Inventory Advisor Tool Guide (pdf – 1369Kb)

Note: Some products may not be located by the Autodesk Inventory Advisor.

via
Autodesk – License Compliance – Autodesk Inventory Advisor

Another blog post about this utility:
Adventures in the World of BIM: Complacent or Compliant? You Decide!

Another one of those rarely used tools – Show Hidden Lines

Luke Johnson

I have been using Revit for over 5 years now, and I don’t think I have ever used the Show Hidden Lines tool.  Am I the only one?  Basically, its a two pick tool, first pick for the ‘front’ element, second pick for the ‘back’ one – then, then lines from the back element will show through as Hidden Lines.

This tool is hiding on the View ribbon panel:

From the Wiki:
After you put detail components in the correct graphic draw order, you can use the Show Hidden Lines tool to obscure the lines behind a detail component.
via
Show Hidden Lines – WikiHelp

Revit Subscription Goodies – Roof Framing and Structure Generator

Luke Johnson

Greg beat me to these ones … new Subscription enhancements:

Download software enhancements and Autodesk 360 desktop clients.

Title Type Release Date
AWWA Pipe Content for Autodesk Revit MEP 2012 and Autodesk Revit MEP 2013 Extension 2012-07-31
Suite Workflows 2013 Extension 2012-07-30
Structure Generator Extension for Autodesk Revit 2013, Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013 and Autodesk Revit Structure 2013 software Application 2012-07-30
Timber Roof Framing Extensions for Revit 2013 Extension 2012-07-30

Download Free Online Course Materials from MIT OpenCourseWare

Luke Johnson

For example, there is this 2002 course on Computational Design for Housing, and you can download a ZIP file containing all of the Study Materials.

A few other courses of interest:
Computational Design I: Theory and Applications, Fall 2005

Inquiry into Computation and Design, Fall 2006

Drawings & Numbers: Five Centuries of Digital Design, Fall 2002

Just click on the Download Course Materials link in the left sidebar of any of the OpenCourseWare pages to access the ZIP package for that course:

Check out more architectural courses at:
Architecture | Courses | MIT OpenCourseWare

One Mask for many Faces

Luke Johnson

Masking can be a real pain in Revit.  Sometimes you just want to hide some bits of geometry on multiple views, but it is difficult to actually model what you want in 3D.  So you may resort to Masking Regions in Detail Groups, Copy-Paste Aligned – but all of that is suboptimal.

Today there was a great tip on Masking in multiple views over at Shades of Grey:
I could use a masking region, but this is like going back to CAD drafting … separate regions in each affected view.  What if I place the mask into a generic model family?  If this family has a vertical model line (use invisible lines) the masking region will show up in any plan where the cut plane intersects the model line.

Extending this idea into 3 dimensions I can create a family with 3 model lines (X,Y,Z) and 3 masking regions.  Give it instance parameters to control the size of this “virtual box” and it will mask out the finish layers for any view that cuts through the duct at right angles.

Read more:
Shades of Grey: MACAVITY UNMASKED

Increase your Windows and Office Productivity

Luke Johnson

I’m a big fan of Keyboard Shortcuts.  Revit, Windows, AutoCAD – I believe they are all faster when you use keys instead of the mouse alone.  I have previously posted about Revit keyboard shortcuts on various occasions.

However, this little utility is centred around teaching you the Windows and Microsoft Office keyboard shortcuts that will help you most …

Download and install Keyrocket
(direct link)

Run it by pressing Windows+K

You can easily search through keyboard shortcuts for various programs.

It will give you little tips from the tray when it thinks you could use a particular shortcut.

via
Learn Windows and Office Keyboard Shortcuts the Easy way • Raymond.CC

Heaps of Potential Blog Posts here! Calling all Revit bloggers …

Luke Johnson

There are a number of lists provided in a recent KnowledgeSmart post – these basically summarise the main problems people are currently having with Revit.  Things like:
• Resetting Shared Coordinates (when they go wrong – which they do!)
• Use of Copy Monitor & Limitations
• Use of Phasing & Limitations
• Managing Project / Shared Parameters
• Wall / Window / Door layer clean-ups
• Managing who draws / owns cross discipline elements such as Ceilings / Slabs / Stairs

So… all of you bored Revit bloggers out there, now is the time – pick something on one of these lists from this post and Wow us with your expertise and brilliance…

How to Transfer Stand-Alone Licenses Online (License Transfer Utility)

Luke Johnson

You need to move your Stand Alone Autodesk license to a new computer, either permanently or temporarily.

Solution

Most Autodesk products (including those available for Mac) include a tool called the License Transfer Utility (LTU) that enables online license transfer of stand-alone licenses from one machine to another over the Internet.
Note: The LTU is only available with our 2010 and later products. If you’re using a 2009 or earlier version, use the Portable License Utility instead.

Read more at:
How to Transfer Stand-Alone Licenses Online