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

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.

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.

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

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:

I had a good time at RTC back in 2016, it was awesome to catch up with the usual BIM crew and see what they are all up to. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to post in more detail about a few things I learned this time around… but for now, here are my 2016 presentations for you to check out.

My keynote presentation slides (why BIM is broken and how to fix it…)

My Dynamo presentation slides:

And the Revizto session that I ran with Michael Clothier:

Presentation and handout resources (including Dynamo dataset) are available in the folder here:
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B1dGdRkpk2beZ3VRRUpiYVctakU&usp=sharing

Wow, Revit 2015 is setting some serious records for updates!

Here is the direct link to the Update Release 14 for Revit 2015 R2:
http://up.autodesk.com/2015/RVT/Autodesk_Revit_2015_R2-x64_Update14.exe

and non-R2:
http://up.autodesk.com/2015/RVT/Autodesk_Revit_2015-x64_Update14.exe

Readme:
Autodesk Revit 2015 R2 Update Release 14 Readme

2015%2Br2.png

Enhancements list (not live yet…)
https://wrw.is/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Enhancements_List_RVT_2015_UR14_forR2.pdf