Tag: revit 2013

PCG Point Clouds exported from Recap will not import into Revit 2013

Luke Johnson

The scenario: you receive raw point cloud data, and want to process it in Recap (part of 2014 suite), export to PCG, and import back into Revit 2013.

Or: you request a PCG from a surveyor for Revit 2013, and they give you a “newer” PCG from Recap that will not import.

The error received in Revit 2013 is:
“Unable to create a Point Cloud instance.  The file may be an incompatible format or corrupt.”

However, if you index the same raw point cloud data using Revit 2013 built-in indexing, the resulting PCG will work fine.

It would seem that there is some difference between the built-in Revit 2013 indexing of PCG point clouds, and the PCG point cloud exporter in Recap.

Workaround:

  1. Process the raw data in Recap (requires indexing time)
  2. Export to PTS file
  3. Import the PTS into Revit 2013 (requires indexing time — again)

Revit and Windows 8

Luke Johnson

Revit 2013 is not officially supported on Windows 8 – though maybe you have been able to get it to install and run correctly?  Have you tried updating Revit to the latest version?  Did you have to disable Hardware Acceleration?  Share your experience in the comments…

One support blog tells us of a “customer who reported that he was trying to install Revit Structure 2013 on his new computer with Windows 8 operating system and it would not open.  The customer then installed update 2 and their Revit Structure opened.”
via
Revit 2013: Cannot install Revit 2013 on Windows 8 – IMAGINiT Technologies Support Blog

A new level of weirdness

Luke Johnson

I copied some Planting / RPC from one project (in a Design Option) to another project (in the Main Model).  This is what I got:

Somehow the Planting instances appeared as a Type of an existing Profile family???

I closed the project and re-opened with Audit.  This did not fix the issue.  Create Similar is greyed out when selecting the RPC, and Create Instance is greyed out for that Type in the Project Browser (not surprising, given that it is on a subnode of Profiles).

This is one of the weirdest things I have ever seen in Revit, and I have seen quite a few…

I can copy and paste the elements with no issue.

And guess what, it even shows up as an option in the Sweep / Select profile list:

Not surprisingly, when I try to use this as the Sweep Profile, Revit ‘Can’t Create Sweep’.

I deleted the Type and the copy / pasted again but using Edit Design Option rather than unticking Exclude Options – I had the same result.

Apparently, Revit can put your Entourage families into one of the Types of Profile family!

Next try, copied the Type from Project Browser of source RVT:

Top Tips and Tricks PDF for Revit 2013 from AU2012

Luke Johnson

Top-11-Tips-Tricks-Revit-2013.pdf (application/pdf Object)

Here’s a taste:
3. Need a slope annotation on your ramp in a plan view? It can’t be done without this trick!
Why won’t it work? Okay, I’ll check with the Revit developers… but in the meantime, do this:
a. Open a 3D top-down view (click on the Top of the view cube) showing the ramp.
b. Use the Spot Slope tool to place a slope arrow on the ramp in the 3D view.
c. Select the spot slope annotation. Click Ctr-x (cut to clipboard).
d. Open the plan view. In Modify tab, click Paste drop-down and choose > Aligned to Current View.
e. The parametric slope arrow now exists on the ramp in the plan view!

Thanks to author Trey Klein.

Heads-up and link from betterREVIT:
Where’s my Chair? | betterREVIT

 

Detailed post on Working with Grids and Levels from a Structure perspective

Luke Johnson

Nice post over at  revitstructureblog.  A couple of highlights:
When working with Radial grids you will typically find a couple of problems. The first issue you will find is that the grids will not show on new levels. This is because the grids need to be elevated to cut through the levels and a grid is not shown unless a view is perpendicular to the grid as shown in the image below.

…
A new feature of Revit 2013 is the ability to create a continuous grid line with the same reference called a multi-segment grid. The grid is simply drawn with a series of lines and arcs and then when the sketch is finished the grid is created. It is worth noting that the grid cannot be controlled with a Scope Box (Covered Below).

Read more at:
Tutorial – Working with Grids and Levels | Autodesk Revit Structure

Component-based Stairs training resources

Luke Johnson

There is plenty of information available about Component Stairs in Revit 2013.  I thought I would collect some of the better resources and post them here.

This first link is a little bit outside-the-square, but it relates to teaching a class of people who don’t know how Revit 2013 stairs work.  Check it out:
Teaching the new Stair Assemblies in Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013 – ASCENT Blog

How do all the 2013 Stair families relate to each other?
Graphic Flowchart – new Stair Families in Revit 2013

How do the stair paths work?
Stair Path Annotations in Revit 2013

Now, some videos:


 via
Autodesk Revit Architecture 2013 — Component-based Stairs – YouTube

MasterGraphicsInc:

Case Inc:

Microdesk:

Index to AutodeskBuilding videos:
REVIT Structure Learning Curve: Revit 2013 Stair Video Tutorials

2013 Stairs and Railings – WikiHelp VIDEO INDEX

If you still can’t make a stair that you like, make one in-place 😉
In-place and Component families of Stair and Railing Category

Update 1 may cause contextual Finish buttons to disappear

Luke Johnson

I received an interesting email from fellow Revit professional, Kale Munster – see below:
Mate,
Something that you might like to add to your blog. I have done a pretty severe stress test on the sketch edit mode overnight with approximately 5000 edits and it was stable (Revit Structure). One unfortunate thing that is back to happening is that the contextual “finish sketch” buttons decide to disappear again. This is as a result of double clicking on a family. Once the family opens and you return to the main file, they disappear. Easiest work around I have found is in the blog post below:
http://do-u-revit.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/missing-panels-in-contextual-modify-tab.html
Kale Munster
www.rmaeng.com.au

The workaround from Do-U-Revit that Kale links to should help in the short term. Here’s a quote:
“The second method makes the panels reappear so you can continue editing the sketch or finish/discard; here’s how you do it:

  1. Start a new family, pick any one;
  2. Load it into your project;
  3. Once you get the error that it cannot be placed in this mode, hit Ctrl+z to undo.

For some reason the panels come back. Obviously, do not switch back to the open families or you’ll lose them again!”
Alternatively, you could use my method, which is to apply a Keyboard shortcut to all of the ‘Finish’ commands.  See link and image below:
Disappearing ‘Finish Sketch’ or ‘Finish Mass’ Ribbon Elements

Revit 2013 Web Update 1 – big sketch crashes fixed?

Luke Johnson

Web Update 1 was released a couple of days ago, and has been blogged, tweeted and reblogged.  Here are the key links:


For Revit Architecture:

Readme (select language version):
English (htm – 32Kb)
Enhancements Documentation (select language version):
English (pdf – 115Kb)

Main page:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=20121970&linkID=9273944

For BDS or Revit OneBox:

Revit 2013 UR1 (32-bit) (exe – 52419Kb)
Revit 2013 UR1 (64-bit) (exe – 70831Kb)
Readme (select language version):
English (htm – 32Kb)
Enhancements Documentation (select language version):
English (pdf – 190Kb)

Main page:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=20121968&linkID=16831210

Revit MEP

Revit MEP 2013 UR1 (32-bit) (exe – 52419Kb)
Revit MEP 2013 UR1 (64-bit) (exe – 70831Kb)
Readme (select language version):
English (htm – 32Kb)
Enhancements Documentation (select language version):
English (pdf – 121Kb)

Main page:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=20122070&linkID=12828318

Revit Structure

Readme (select language version):
English (htm – 34Kb)
Enhancements Documentation (select language version):
English (pdf – 183Kb)

Main page:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=20122015&linkID=9280927

Personally, I am most excited about the first item on the enhancements list:

  • Improves stability when closing a sketch editor, such as slab, site, etc., which create a large number of points. 

We have experienced many crashes running Revit 2013 and editing large sketches… hopefully this is fixed now.


How to create, use and share Autodesk Material Libraries in Revit 2013

Luke Johnson

Doug Bowers posted a very informative how-to recently about Autodesk Material Libraries.  He shows you how to create a material library, add materials to it, and then share it with other users.

A couple of points I found particularly interesting:

  • Depending on the security permissions on the library file or folder containing the file, users may be able to add additional materials to the company standard or only be able to utilize materials contained in the library.
  • Materials placed in the company folder are no longer linked to the original material and may be modified, resulting in a different definition of the material in the company library than the material in the folder from which it was originally copied.

Read more at:
Sharing Autodesk Materials Throughout An Organization | Applying Technology to Architecture

Along similar lines, check out:
Upgrading Revit 2012 Material Libraries in Revit 2013
and 
Materials in Revit 2013 – the saga continues

 

Upgrade tips when moving to Autodesk Revit 2013 on Wikihelp

Luke Johnson

Currently includes links to the following pages:

via
Upgrade Information for Autodesk Revit 2013 – WikiHelp

You may also be interested in the File Upgrader add-in on Autodesk Exchange.