Once you start to run more than 4 monitors, most computers start to struggle. So, then you need more computers to have more monitors 🙂 And then, you need to share one keyboard and mouse across multiple computers… so you need a mouse and keyboard sharing utility, that preferably also shares your clipboard.
I just added the 5th monitor to my office setup:
All you need is to install Mouse without Borders on both machines. The utility allows you to use keyboard, mouse and clipboard from one computer on another one.
Experienced Navisworks Coordinators typically have a very solid workflow in place for grouping clashes into clash groups. Some prefer to do that part manually (with selection and filters), so they can observe and determine which items should be grouped together. Others will use an auto-grouping tool, like bim42 Group Clashes, or iConstruct.
If you are using iConstruct and you wish to use the Navisworks clash group data downstream, you may wish to preserve existing clash groups at each subsequent clash run, and only group the ‘new ungrouped’ clashes. The bim42 Group Clashes tool has a tickbox for this, and iConstruct 2019 provides a filter. If you are using iConstruct 2018 or older, you may be wondering how to preserve existing clash groups and only “push” the grouping rules for clashes that are currently not grouped.
Here’s how:
Run the Clash Manager from iConstruct
Find the list entry without a name
Versions:
iConstruct 2019 has a filter for “Show Ungrouped Clashes”
iConstruct 2018 – select only the ‘unnamed’ Clash Group: ,
Then click “Create Clash Detective Group”
iConstruct will immediately create the relevant groups from only the ungrouped clashes
You can then go ahead and Sync to Revizto, or use the data downstream in some other workflow
Here’s a video from Robert Gadbaw that clearly demonstrates this workflow:
This workflow will allow you to use iConstruct to group your clashes, and preserve those groups when Syncing with Revizto. Revizto has a very solid and customisable connection to Navisworks that includes the ability to sync the clash results with Revizto Issues in both directions.
I’m sure you are aware that intellectually Revit shared coordinates take minutes to explain, but emotionally they take years to master 🙂
I’ve been looking for a way to check and validate coordinates using the Revit API. One method I implemented in VirtualBuiltApp is to gather Grid Intersection coordinates and compare those, but obviously you need a federated model with links to achieve that comparison.
One interesting fact to note is this:
two Revit models can Report functionally identical shared coordinates (same translation and true north rotation), and you can still receive “The host model and the link do not share the same coordinate system. Default center-to-center positioning will be used”.hashtag sadface, hashtag why-revit-why
If we put this another way:
if two models don’t have some related history (created from the same file), or
if Acquire or Publish Coordinates has not occurred between those models, then
the Shared Coordinate error will appear — even if they report identical Spot Coordinates and True North Rotation
If you are wondering what the Revit API actually does support in terms of Shared Coordinate setup and validation, here is the best bit of Revit API Shared Coordinates information I can share:
A GUID-based relationship is set up between the files. Setting up the same relationship has been possible via the API via Document.AcquireCoordinates() for a few releases.
With 2018’s SiteLocation.IsCompatibleWith() it is also possible to identify if two coordinate systems are the same.
Also, keep in mind that BIM 360 Design (Revit Cloud Worksharing) does not support Publish Coordinates. Only Acquire Coordinates can be used in that environment.
If you have Desktop Connector installed, you probably realise you can ‘upload’ Revit models and other files to BIM 360 Docs by dragging and dropping to the folder in Windows Explorer (using Desktop Connector). However, when you try and link this using the BIM 360 shortcut in Revit, you might not be able to see the file…
Here is a workaround that may allow you to link a non-initiated Revit model into your Revit file:
Ensure you have Autodesk Desktop Connector installed
Start Link Revit command from the ribbon
Update: Click on the Address drop down
Click on This PC
Browse to BIM 360 from the window below:
Select the file (non initiated) that you want to link
You should get the BIM 360 prefix in Manage Links:
Here is a video of this process (with audio, This PC – BIM 360 workflow):
Thanks to @BIM4GIB we have a script to automatically download the latest Uniclass 2015 tables from the NBS website. You basically download and unzip, then run the script and you get a Uniclass2015 dataset downloaded. Awesome stuff, nice work Rene Pellicer!
From the readme:
1. Copy the folder “Uniclass2015-GetLatest” from the ZIP file to your C:\ (This is critical or the script will fail)
2. Double-click on the “Uniclass2015-GetLatest” shortcut. A PowerShell icon will appear in your taskbar. Click ‘Open’ on the dialog box.
You might have to type “Y” (without the quotes) in PowerShell to confirm you want to run the script, depending on your security settings.
3. Wait approx. 50 seconds. Excel will open and close several times. That is a feature.
4. After the script has run, a dialog box will appear. Click OK
5. You should now see a new spreadsheet called “Uniclass2015-AllTables.xlsx” in C:\Uniclass2015-GetLatest\
6. Classification Manager…
I have developed a working BIM360 to on-premises backup mechanism. There were a few different ways to go…
I initially considered:
Hacking Windows Explorer to touch the files in the BIM 360 node and try and trigger the BIM360 Docs download and copy to local PC or network location
Developing a Forge app that essentially pulls the desired models out of the BIM 360 cloud to desired location?
In the end, I decided to use the Revit API (Dynamo and Python), along with VirtualBuiltApp, to essentially reverse engineer a folder structure from the local CollaborationCache folder. These ideas are hinted at here.
In simple terms, the BIM 360 Docs on-premises backup workflow is:
Create a super federated BIM 360 model (with all other BIM 360 models linked into it)
A Dynamo script reloads all links in order to cache them locally
The same script interrogates, then determines the target file name and folder from VirtualBuiltApp
Dynamo then copies the files into their ‘backup’ location on the local network
Some more detail is presented below:
A) Cache Cleaner CMD Script (may not really be necessary, as the ‘reload’ should overwrite superseded cache anyway):
Kill Revit if Open… be careful of below steps, particularly if Revit has crashed recently. You might need these local copies 🙂
cd "%LOCALAPPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit 2018"
cd CollaborationCache
rmdir oldCache
mkdir oldCache
for /d %i in (*) do move "%~i" oldCache
B) Manual steps to setup Revit model environment to run the script:
Open Revit
Open Federated BIM 360 file (worksets closed)
Unload all links
Open all Worksets
C) Dynamo Script:
Run Dynamo (Python) script that reloads and unloads all links (this collects .rvt into cache). Key Python commands to use are: RevitLinkType.Load() and RevitLinkType.Unload(None).
Potential Problems:
Coordination Monitor alert, no longer exists
Instance of link needs Coordination Review
“Some numerical data within the imported file was out of range. This numerical data has been truncated.”
“Geometry in the file … has extents greater than 20 miles (33km).”
Update: It was pointed out to me by someone on the inside that the workflow I describe below essentially amounts to a back-channel unsupported and in fact inappropriate use of BIM 360 Docs. I was surprised at this, as I had essentially obtained this information from the Autodesk forums. What is wrong with the steps below? The answer is apparently this: A paying BIM 360 Docs customer is not supposed to invite a free user into their projects. This is apparently part of the terms of use for BIM 360 Docs customers. I was not aware of this, and in fact I’m unsure where to find it in the documentation.
Just to be clear, while the steps below *work* at this time, it apparently is an unsupported and inappropriate workaround and there could be risks (financial or otherwise) for BIM 360 Docs customers who invite free users into their projects. You should only invite:
BIM 360 Docs users for which you have paid for and applied an entitlement
BIM 360 Design (C4R) users who have purchased their own entitlement
I expect this workaround may eventually be disabled by Autodesk? You can view if you have exceeded your purchased package of BIM 360 Docs entitlements in the relevant Autodesk Manage pages. For example, it might show 16 of 10 licenses used in red? This is where I think there is potential for Autodesk to back charge users who abuse this current state of affairs.
My advice: check directly with Autodesk about who you can and cannot share your BIM 360 projects with…and proceed accordingly.
Situation:
You are a paying BIM 360 Docs user and would like to invite a non-paying user to collaborate inside a BIM 360 Docs workspace. Perhaps you just want them to be able to upload and download files, but not Collaborate in Revit…
Solution:
They need to create a free BIM 360 Docs account, and then get invited to your workspace.
For single-user subscriptions, Autodesk 2018 products can experience an intermittent crash. A fatal error message may be shown, such as the following examples:
AutoCAD Error Aborting FATAL ERROR: Unhandled e06d7363h Exception at ee563c58h FATAL ERROR: Unhandled e06d7363h Exception at 8d6b3fb8h
The system displays an error dialog window to submit an error report.
Solution:
Download and install the Autodesk License Service 5.1.5 Hotfix 1.
To download updates and hotfixes, use the Autodesk Desktop App (see Where to get Product Updates, Add-ons, and Enhancements) or access the direct links below. Before installation, ensure the internet connection is working and repaired if needed.
The first point release of Revit 2019 is now available… Let the deployments begin. Your projects are now running out of excuses as to why they shouldn’t upgrade 🙂
Here are some direct links to the Revit and Navisworks update files.
In the new homepage for #Revit 2019.1 when you hover over a recent project, you get the path of the central, your local, and the file size! If it’s not workshared, then you get the filepath and size. Pretty sweet.
Previously, this was all working with the old Desktop Connector and b360provider.exe (I think?) but the new versions of Desktop Connector seem to have broken the ability to ‘browse’ C4R Revit models on BIM 360… and guess what? There is no Solution. This functionality is in fact ‘by design’. You can copy and paste a non-C4R Revit model to BIM 360 Docs via the connector, and that RVT will be visible in Windows Explorer. But if you have C4R initialised Revit models on BIM 360 Docs, they will not be visible under the BIM 360 (Preview) node in Windows Explorer. You can only view those C4R Revit files in their folder structure by navigating through Revit 2018.3 or newer.
This is the feedback from Autodesk:
Revit cloud models (C4R models) are not supported in Desktop connector. They won’t be showing up in Desktop Connector. Published C4R models are only available in Revit and Docs.
You can also save copies of the model locally to put in your backup system. Also from each user’s machine, C4R cache will be another source of backups.Â
I went looking for another answer, but there really isn’t one. Below is a list of steps I took to play around with the Desktop Connector installation. In the end, the only way I can foresee being able to ‘automate’ onsite BIM 360 Docs backups will be to leverage the CollaborationCache folder. You will need some Revit API know-how to forcibly populate this through some BIM 360 Reload methods (refer here). Unfortunately this will be a flat list of files without descriptive names, so there will have to be some workarounds and cleanup scripts in place (we already have a system of BIM 360 file management in VirtualBuiltApp). I intend to post some more about these workarounds in future.
Keep reading for excessive detail on my Desktop Connector journey …
Uninstalled this old version. Interestingly, there were 3 different uninstall processors triggered? Like I had three different versions installed?
Also tried removing this folder and reinstalling:
I found a pile of errors in the diagnostic logs:
CDX pipleline builder output
Output=Warnings received from AddInStore.Rebuild
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Could not connect up a part in a pipeline to its neighbors: AddInAdapter Name: "ISecureSettingsProviderViewToContractAddInAdapter" Location: "AddInSideAdapters\Comet.AddInFramework.DataSourceProviders.ProviderAdapters.dll".
and a few of these
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Could not connect 2 valid add-in model parts.
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While inspecting an assembly, caught a BadImageFormatException: The file is not a valid binary: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Desktop Connector\AddIns\ADriveConnector\AdWebServices.dll This occurred while inspecting assembly C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Desktop Connector\AddIns\ADriveConnector\AdWebServices.dll.
========================
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While inspecting an assembly, caught a BadImageFormatException: The file is not a valid binary: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Desktop Connector\AddIns\ADriveConnector\AdWebServicesUI.dll This occurred while inspecting assembly C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Desktop Connector\AddIns\ADriveConnector\AdWebServicesUI.dll.
========================
I scanned through the Registry and deleted old references to Desktop Connector.
Found this link with the command line switches: here
Tried an install from elevated command prompt:
C:\Temp>DesktopConnector-x64.exe /install /quiet
Note: you do not actually need the Desktop Connector to collaborate on BIM 360 Revit projects in the cloud. You only need Revit 2018.3 or newer, and the relevant license for Revit Cloud Collaboration (too hard to keep track of the names but I think ‘BIM 360 Design’ is the current terminology).
You will be able to see this link in Revit 2018.3 or newer:
When ‘linking’ Revit models, CAD files, and other resources, you will see this option when working in a cloud workshared model:
These models will be temporarily stored in the CollaborationCache folder:
