How To Edit Navisworks Clash Report Export Image Size

Luke Johnson

Have you ever wondered how to increase the image resolution exported by Navisworks during a Clash Report?

You can set this in the Registry, look in bottom left corner of image for the location of this key:

nwclimg

Also note, Navisworks 2016 is 13.0 in the Registry.

More Navis tips:
What Revit Wants: Thirteen Navisworks Tips to Boost your Productivity for 2014

Creating an Additional Site Location for IFC Export with Neutral Project Coordinates

Luke Johnson

When Revit exports to IFC, it typically uses the current Location (Survey Point) Shared Coordinates as Origin. You can observe this in the IFC file:

2%2Bifc.png

But what if you want to Export to IFC with Project coordinates (Revit origin), not Shared?

We want to do this because we have set up the import process from Tekla using this same Revit origin, here and particularly this:

tekla.png

1) Firstly, make a container RVT file with one Site Location, no shared coordinates. In other words, Project Base Point, Survey Point, and Revit Origin are all in one place.

1%2Bproject.png

2) Then, open the project you want to export, and link this ‘container’ file Origin-to-Origin

3) Transfer Project Standards:

3.png

4) Choose the Link you made, and Project Info (only):

4.png

5) Choose New Only (this will just bring in the uniquely named project location from the link):

5.png

6) Open Location dialog in Revit, under Site you will notice a new “Site“. Set it current with the Make Current button:

6.png

7) Now that the Project Origin (neutral coordinates) are set, you can export to IFC:

7.png

8) After Exporting, reset the coordinates back to what it was before with Make Current:

8.png

9) Optional: delete the IFC Export site definition if you don’t need it anymore…

I previously posted about a similar method, but it was a bit ‘destructive’, whereas the above process can be implemented into a live project more easily:
What Revit Wants: When and how to neutralize Survey coordinates for IFC export from Revit

Further reading:

Using a DXF to Locate a Point Cloud in Revit with Very Large Coordinates

Luke Johnson

I thought that most of this was ‘easy’ and solved now, but it was more of a challenge than I expected. I received a ASC file from a survey in XYZRGB format, which looks like this:

asc.png

Those XYZ values are Metres (or Meters if you are in US) in the MGA 94 coordinate system. I also received a DXF file with the same World coordinates, and project related gridlines so I could relate the point cloud to our Revit models.

I tried getting the MGA Shared Coordinates right in Revit, and then linking an RCP or RCS from Recap ‘by Shared Coordinates‘, but I didn’t have much joy.

Here is the workflow that worked for me…

Getting the right Shared Coordinates in Revit

  1. Start a new, blank Revit model
  2. Link the DXF Centre-to-Centre (this is best way to deal with huge coordinates)
  3. Acquire Coordinates from it
  4. Save your Revit file. You now have the right World coordinates, and a project grid relationship.

Importing the Point Cloud by Shared Coordinates 

  1. Open Recap and import the data. For the ASC data above, on the import settings I used ‘Advanced’, and chose the text columns XYZRGB. I also set the coordinate system.
  2. Export to PCG. Sounds weird, I know. But PCG is a nice reliable container that supports colours.
  3. In Revit, Link Point Cloud, by Shared Coordinates, and choose the unIndexed raw PCG:
     
  4. Revit will now open another dialog, and you can index the PCG file (again) to an RCP+RCS
  5. Link this RCP file by Shared Coordinates
  6. It should be in the right location and related to the DXF coordinate system.

Star Wars in Dynamo

Luke Johnson

So, you are modelling this awesome conceptual design with Dynamo and Revit, and you realise “hey, what we need is access to the Star Wars API in here…”

Yes? Well, thanks to Jostein Berger Olsen, you can just open up your Package Manager and install SWAPI package:

swapi.png

And do stuff like this:
starwars.png

Nice work @jos_ols 🙂

Check out the original post:
Revit Dynamite and Ammo: Star Wars API and Dynamo

Here’s A Very Quick Way to Determine the Cost and Profitability of Your Proposed Development

Luke Johnson

In Revit, we often get access to a lot of useful information early in the design stages. To start with, you might have an Area Plan or perhaps a Room layout with defined area allowances for specific space types (Occupancy). Later, you may have some basic element quantities like Floor Areas or Wall linear length totals. However, we sometimes let that information ‘drift’, and don’t really grab it and use it nice and early.

Xinaps have put together a clean, effective Revit addin that basically puts you in touch with all of that data you already have in your model, and allows you to quickly assign costs. You can do it in different ways based on Cost Templates, so you can customise it to suit the current design stage of the building or development. For example, you may do a quick cost analysis based on the different occupancy types, cost per unit/area for that construction type, and the current floor areas in your building.

However, the Financial Simulator gives you a bit more… it gives you the ability to test the actual validity of the building long-term. How much money will this building produce, based on its lettable tenancy areas? How long is the building lifespan? What might it be worth when it is finished? Once you configure some of these values, the Xinaps Financial Simulator essentially gives you a net value of your building…

Is it worth proceeding with this design, or do we need to make some fundamental changes in order to maintain profitability?

Check out the brief training video that I put together for Xinaps below… and let me know what you think in the comments.

Xinaps

How To Extract an IFC file from a Tekla TBP Package File

Luke Johnson

TBP is a Tekla container format, and part of what it typically contains is the model data in IFC format. Just open the TBP in an archive viewer like 7-zip:

ifc1.png

Now you can see the folder structure inside the TBP. If you open up the files subfolder, you should find some IFC data:

ifc2.png

You can copy or extract the IFC to a folder on your computer, and then open it or link it to Revit as usual.

How Hide Parts when Parts Visibility is set to Show Parts

Luke Johnson

Ok, Parts are pretty cool, particularly when working with Linked Files. But there is a strange behaviour in Revit that exists between the Parts Visibility setting of a View, and the Parts category Visibility / Graphics.

Here’s what I’m talking about:

  1. In a 3D view, with a Linked Revit file, make some Parts from the linked elements. You could use something like this in Dynamo.
  2. Now, switch the Parts Visibility of the view to Show Parts. Revit is now hiding the linked elements you made the parts from originally, and showing you the parts in the host model.
  3. Let’s say you want to verify that the linked elements are really hidden… ok, let’s go into V/G and turn off Parts… drumroll please…
  4. Revit decides that this means you want the Parts Visibility setting of the view to be turned back to Show Original, and so it goes ahead and does that. Um, thanks, I guess? In essence, the Parts V/G is linked to the Parts Visibility switch for the view.

So, what is the workaround?

Just make a filter for the Parts category, and turn that off:

parts.png

Using this Filter, Revit does not switch the autopilot on, meaning you can have Show Parts turned on for the view, with the actual Part elements switched off.

Run Android in a VirtualBox on your PC

Luke Johnson
Download a suitable image such as Android-x86 5.1 rc1.vdi from:
Android x86 VM images for VMware and VirtualBox

Attach it to a Linux image in VirtualBox, my settings below:

Depending on your host hardware, you might want to Disable Mouse Integration (little icon at the bottom of the screen), and install an app like Rotation Locker from the Play Store so that you can force the screen rotation to portrait or landscape.

Once installed you should be able to access the Play Store from your Windows PC and install apps into the Android VM:

apps.png

Remember to use the Autodesk Uninstall Tool

Luke Johnson

When it comes time to install a new suite, you may feel like removing an older version. In my case, I wanted to remove an entire 2015 suite from my Surface Pro 3. What is the quickest way to do this?

Well, you can do it almost completely unattended with the Autodesk Uninstall Tool, which should already be installed on your system. Its in the Start Menu under Autodesk…

finding%2Bit.png

 

tool.png

Just tick the boxes and click Uninstall. It will tick away and let you know how many products have been uninstalled. Nice and easy…

The tool is located at:
C:Program Files (x86)Common FilesAutodesk SharedUninstall ToolR1UninstallTool.exe

For clean uninstall tips, also check out: