Destination Desktop May 31st - June 2nd, 2007

Destination Desktop : Spring Training for CAD Professionals Destination Desktop is a unique conference where you can learn more about CAD than you ever thought possible in an action-packed, super-charged environment. CAD professionals and industry experts will enhance your skills during three days of intense hands-on courses in the fields of Architecture, Manufacturing, Civil/GIS & Mapping, General Design and Programming. Read all about it here > http://www.destinationdesktop.ca/default.htm

* Click HERE to read about 100's of REVIT jobs *

Revit Building 10 = REVIT Architecture 2008

As no big secret REVIT Building 10 is being released as REVIT Architecture 2008.

It has a tentive release date of 04/05/2007 .

Here's the official Q & A Document.

REVIT Architecture 2008 Q & A

Keynotes Rock !

Thanks to for posting this CADclip on their site.

I recently spent a little time digging into the Keynotes aspect of REVIT and I have to say.

Wow ! That was far too easy. Why is everyone not using these?

Here's a basic sample image of what can be done.

With Keynotes you can link all materials and elements to an external 'keynotes' file and then tag the objects or materials with great ease.

There is a small investment of time to get your objects and or materials linked to a line item in the 'keynotes' file but the speed gain and consistancy in standards is fantastic.

All REVIT componenets and materials can use keynotes. You can have keynotes display the text (1/2" plywood), the 'key' value (80210.A1) or sequential numbering (1,2,3...).

Once you get these relationships linked up and saved to a template file you are off to the races.

You can also create bi-directional 'Keynote Legends' that do some amazing things.

Below is a 16 min. video CADclip demonstarting how keynotes can be used. Enjoy !

REVIT 9 Keynotes Placement Demonstration - Video Tutorial

click the link above to play the video or right click and 'save target as..' to download

* Click HERE to read about 100's of REVIT jobs *

I need a Shadow Study Report !

Since posting the Animated Shadow Study training below I have been asked a couple times if I can do a Shadow Study or Sun Study for someone. The answer is of course YES ! I'll need some information and the level of detail require but by all means get in touch. Shadow Study Info

REVIT Animated Shadow Study CADclip

Thanks to for posting this CADclip on their site.

Do you need a shadow study done ? Please get in touch. Shadow Study Info

Below are two CADclips demonstrating REVIT's new Shadow Study features.

And Guess what..........it's fast and it's really easy !

The first CADclip is the finished product and the second CADclip explains how to setup and create the Shadow Study. Shadow Studies provide an accurate animated 3 dimensional depiction of the Sun's effect on a set of objects in the real world. You can set the time, date, place and duration of the Shadow Study.

1. First we setup our true north / project north. (bonus lesson) 2. Then we pick a location (Melbourne AU, becasue I like Aussies). 3. Then we set a date in time and ask for a Sunrise to Sunset animation. That's it you're DONE ! 4. Lastly we export the animation to an AVI file.

Click a link below to play the video or right click and 'Save Target As..' to download. Here's the animation I made. (30 sec) (note the date and time) Melbourne Australia Shadow Study Here's how to do it. (13 min.) REVIT 9 Shadow Study

As soon as Humanly Possible Please ?

This posting is more of a rant than anything else so I'll keep it short and cute. More and more these days I am being approached by small companies that are in a panic situation to complete a project in REVIT and then learn REVIT at the same time. This because for what ever reason they are not trained or prepared to do the work. The key word here is 'Panic'. The answer is in the training as you would know, and the time is not on the door step of a project. Companies need to look down the road, plan ahead and get properly trained before the 'panic' sets in. I see the days slipping away when you could count on 'parachuting' in last minute 'cleanup' help. The world is'a changing and good REVIT users are in high demand. Plus REVITeers are cooler than most and have busy lives. Just a wee rant and perhaps plant a few training seeds out there somewhere.

REVIT Element Classifications

Play Audio CADclip file below for this posting !

REVIT BEGINNERS BLOG - Thank you David Duarte

Here is a direct link to some awesome lessons on creating REVIT key plans and much more. Very well done ! Be sure to bookmark this blog below. REVIT BEGINNERS

5 - REVIT 9 Video Tutorials released

There are 5 great new REVIT 9 Video Tutorials available at: http://www.dgcad.com/Revit9.htm Within each lesson there are many nested lessons. In particular an awesome lesson on a way to provide 2d framing plans by building your own 2d parametric framing member. These videos combine REVIT 9 new features with day to day modelling experience. Lesson 1: Import Sketchup Files Lesson 2: Detail Familes First Look Lesson 3: Detailing - Edit Cut Profile Lesson 4: Detailing - Framing Plans Lesson 5: Detailing - Repeat Detail (click and hold play to start video below)

Sketchup with your REVIT ?

Sketchup is awesome and now it talks to REVIT ! Well now that you can import SketchUp into REVIT, it's got my attention ! I downloaded SketchUp for free, installed it, watched the video tutorials, created my first cool building and then imported / linked it into REVIT easily in under 40 minutes. Talk about slick. I then proceeded to play with sketchup and the wheels started turning.... . . . I am not sure as to the limitations but I sure can see some huge potential on linking in various SKP models for really easy massing. The SKP files also appear to be small which has it's advantages. I downloaded the free version. There is also the Pro version. The free version is Beta but I encountered no problems so far. Here is a 10 minute Video Tutorial on what I learned. Click the link above or right click the link and 'Saves Target As.." to download.

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I have since created a new blog SKETCHUP ROCKS ! SketchUp with a REVIT Twist.

Autodesk Revit Building Customer Council

Steve Stafford has posted a link where you can get involved in the development of REVIT. Read more here > http://revitoped.blogspot.com/2006/08/autodesk-revit-building-customer.html

Dedicated CAD Job Search Engine !

http://www.cadtalent.com

I have found a great new, much required website

completely dedicated to CAD Job search for both Staff and Employers !

They have asked me to critique the site and aside from some of the minor mis-placed Autodesk terminologies, I have tried it out and it works great.

We need a site like this and I'm sure it will grow. And yes there are REVIT jobs and resumes.

Give it a look see. It's free and you can go ahead and post your information or browse the current jobs and talent available.

It appears to be US oriented but I am hoping it goes global scale or at least up here to Canada.

They are out of San Fran. and I'm sure they welcome your comments.

Importing Topo points into REVIT

Thanks to for posting these tutorials. 

 Importing Survey points into REVIT 8.1 /9 to create a Topo is easy. 

The hard part is getting a nice clean points file ready. Below is a sample surface and coorisponding *.csv points file that works. 

You can also have negative numbers in the data.

Surveyors can give you a 'Points' file. This file needs to be *.xls, *.csv or *.txt . I prefer *.csv. If you can actually specify the catagory of points you want, even better. 

A general points file can have alot of different shots taken. Perhaps all you want is top of grade and not all the rest. All we want in our points file is 3 columns with data only. No column headers, no point descriptions and no point numbers. 
All we want is the X Y Z points in 3 neat little columns. I should point out that REVIT help says any columns after the third column will be ignored but I find the process works best WITHOUT the 4th 'Description' column. 

 A surveyors point file will usually have two extra columns that we need to delete (once we figure out which is what that is). One extra column for the point number and one for the point description or catagory. However you cleanup or cut and paste the data together you can use an EXCEL *.cvs file or you can use a comma delimited *.txt file. 

Go to the Site Plan view. Then on the Site design tab, click Toposurface > Use Imported > Points file > Check the file type in the dialog box and specify *.csv or comma delimited *.txt > browse to your applicable file > specify the units type > finish sketch. 

 Then click the new surface, click Edit and then click a point and note the 'Z' elevation value. 

Sample comma delimited *.txt file

CADclips REVIT Videos Here

Lots of REVIT information

Well as many of you may already know Taylor Technologies and Imaginit Technologies have merged in the reseller market. Taylor has always had a great site for resources. I was looking for a little info. and thought there may be others interested in their REVIT 9 page. http://taylor-tech.com/software/getSoftwareByID/16/view.html

Subbed out

Well I've had to sub out and have been busy with moving into a new house, teaching a couple AUGI ATP classes and just lately a brand new baby girl. Hopefully I'll get back to regular postings. Say Hi to Little Ivy!

Request a Live 'Brown Bag Lunch and Learn' session

For a limited time, you can Email me mailto:daryl@dgcad.com to request a free Live 'Brown Bag - Lunch and Learn' Training session. This is live and completely interactive. It can be a demo or topic specific training. We will pipe in a class to your office via the internet during your lunch time. The training topic is open for discussion. For more information on the new CADILOT (CAD Integrated Live Online Training) system see this link below. http://revitrocks.blogspot.com/2006/05/future-of-revit-training-has-arrived.html

REVIT Rendering Survey from Autodesk

Steve Stafford has posted another Autodesk Survey link on REVIT Rendering. Place your input here. http://revitoped.blogspot.com/2006/05/survey-saysgot-rendering.html

FREE CAD Integrated Live Online Training - Test Drive

We are scheduling a FREE Test Drive of the exciting new CADILOT (CAD Integrated Live Online Training) System. See this posting for more information > http://revitrocks.blogspot.com/2006/05/future-of-revit-training-has-arrived.html This CADILOT class will be held on Thursday, May 18, at 3:00 pm MDT. The topic will be 'A REVIT Demo'. The objective of this class will be an exercise of how the new CADILOT system works and maybe learn some REVIT along the way as well. Only room for 10 people, so the first 10 people to email me at mailto:daryl@dgcad.com and title the message "CADILOT Thursday" will get in. * If you cannot make this scheduled time, fear not just email me with the message title "CADILOT - RAIN CHECK PLEASE" and I will put you on the list for the next Freebee. You will receive an email invitation that looks like this. (You have to accept a security certificate and away we go.) Please join my meeting at https://www.gotomeeting.com/join/xxxxxxxxx Conference Call: Dial (xxx) xxx-xxxx, then enter access code xxx-xxx-xxx Meeting ID: xxx-xxx-xxx GoToMeeting(TM) Online Meetings Made Easy

The future of REVIT Training has arrived - Thank you !

C A D I L O T - CAD Inegrated Live Online Training (www.cadilot.com) coming soon ! New Online 'Fully Interactive' REVIT Training now Available. The future is here and we are ON IT ! That's right, sit back at your desk, in board room, in a coffee shop, on a boat, in a hotel, in a park or on a bus for that matter and watch how it's done . > LIVE and FULLY Interactive ! One on One training or in a Group. Ask questions and get your answers right then and there. We can record the session so no need to panic. How about scheduling the sessions to suit your availability. Through the magic of CITRIX thin client technology anyone in the meeting can be given control of the mouse and control of the SOFTWARE. This means we can pass the mouse back and forth ! I think the future is here and it's awesome. DG CAD is all setup to provide you with live 'Online Conference Style' training. It's instant, it's easy, it's fully interactive and it's very effective ! We do this in the same way people have been doing live conference meetings for some time now but with better technology and faster internet. We are setup through http://www.gotomeeting.com and it's so simple it's funny. You instantly see our screen on your screen and we talk over the speaker phones. Then if you want the mouse control can you have it ! Email us to setup your training sessions ! > mailto:daryl@dgcad.com

'Level Name' vs 'View Name' vs 'Title on Sheet' vs 'Sheet Name'

Thanks to CADDIGEST for posting this tutorial ! Here's something useful that we all need to know about getting the right names and titles from your levels to your sheets. Most of us start by creating Levels, naming them and making a Plan View of that level. No problem. Then we accept the level name as the view name. Again no problem. This works just fine for me because I like my plan views to be representative of the associiated level it is on. However when we place this view on a sheet we may want a less technical or more friendly name. So what we can then do is change the properties of the view and set the 'Title on Sheet' to be different. For axample we have a level named T/FTG and the plan view is named T/FTG which is ok but when we place this on a sheet we want the title bubble to say Foundation Plan. See below the view properties dialog box and resulting title bubble when placed on a sheet. Right click on the view in the project browser to get to the view properties. The Sheet name is simply applied to the properties of the Sheet itself. You can right click a Sheet name in the 'project browser' and 'rename' it or you can go into the 'properties' and set it there. So in summary we have the following property variables: 1. The Level Name property ie: Top of Joist 2. The View Name property ie: Top of Joist or Main Floor 3. The view Title on Sheet property ie: Existing Main Floor Plan 4. The Sheet Name property ie: First and Second Floor Plans

Jogged Section Lines

Thanks to CADDIGEST for posting this tutorial !

Most of us use the REVIT section marks all the time. I use them constantly for design purposes as well as for the final construction drawings. 

We are usually satisfied to use a straight line segment for the section line. But you can 'Jog' or offset a section line.

Sometimes a Jogged Section line comes in very handi. The way you Jog a section line / mark in REVIT is not really obvious.

Start the Section tool and click the two end points of a single straight segment.

Then click on the section line and note the Split Segment button on the options bar at the top.

Click the Split Segment button. Then click the section line once where you want the break to occur. Then click again to drag the displacement. 

Slide your mouse around during this process to get the feel for it.

Click the Section Line again and drag to add a second Jog.

* Also note the new blue triangular grips to control the newly created Jogged segments.

That's is ! Have fun.

CADclips REVIT Videos Here

My Arm Hurts

I do alot of drafting and mousing as most CAD operators do and my right arm, elbow and shoulder are killing me after many years of abuse. So after some experimenting I have currently settled on a Logitech tracker ball type mouse. It's definitely weird at first and takes some time to get used to but I really like it and I can sleep on my right side again. It's been a couple months and I expected my thumb to get tired but it doesn't. So there you go. Maybe give one a try.

Autodesk Revit survey about 'Unit Plans'

How do you approach the task of creating Unit Plans ? We do this for Condo / Apartment / Hotel layouts. Most architectural drafters have been faced with it. It's a pain to manage and annotate. Unit 'A'... Unit 'Ax'(mirrored) Unit 'B'... Unit 'Bx'(mirrored)... It's been a challenge for anyone trying to get it right and save time....or do you save time : ) It's nice to see Autodesk surveying the people on this topic. Here's the link below. Make sure you add your comments at the end. My comment was 'There's how I do it and how I'd like to do it" Link to Autodesk 'Unit Plans Survey' This post scooped from Steve Stafford's blog. REVIT OpEd

Why do all my Wall Heights default to 20'-0" ?

Thanks to CADDIGEST for posting this tutorial ! Wall heights actually don't always default to 20'-0" but they do default to the last height used if the Top of the wall was unconstrained. Always check the options fields at the top of the screen before you draw the wall. Note the Height fields. Here you can constrain the wall height (top) to a Level - or you can make the wall unconnnected (unconstrained) and set an unconnected height. The default is 20'-0". Once you set this, it will default to that height until you change it. It will also remember the last height you used even if you save the file and re-open it later. If you constrain the top of the wall to a Level, the field that says 20'-0" will be greyed out. After you start the wall tool but before you draw the wall, click the 'Properties' button and have a look. You have a wall 'Base Constraint' and wall 'Top Constraint'. The Base Constraint must be to a level and defaults to the level of the plan you are currently in. The Top Constraint can be to a Level or Unconnected. (check the pick list) If you set it to Unconnected (which is the default) it uses the last wall unconstrained height that you used. ie: 20'-0". Both constraining methods for Base and Top have the option to have an Offest from that Level. This can be a Positive number (above) or a Negative number (below). For example, this comes in very handy when you want to draw a wall that goes from 1'-2" below the level to 2'-6" above a certain level. The Unconnected Height shown in the wall Properties dialog box (13'-8" greyed out) is the total distance from Top to Bottom including offsets . I hope this helps clarify what determins the wall heights.

Making you First Wall Type !

This post should be titled - Making Your First Wall Type Thanks to CADDIGEST for posting this tutorial ! Making compound walls is one small step for REVIT, one BIG step on your way to Building Information Modelling (BIM). Ahhhhh, it's been a while but I do remember learning how to make my first wall type. It is the first significant step where you say, 'This is pretty cool' and not hard to learn either. Then the escalator starts to move......and the creative thinking kicks in. Even better news is once you learn how to make a wall type, (and you will) floors and roofs follow the same basic rules ! Here's a CADCLIP to get you going. Making your First Wall Type Right click the link above and 'save target as..' to download the CADCLIP. * I should also point out the 'Sample Height' field at the upper right of the Edit Assembly dialog box is for the wall 'Preview' within this dialog box. Feedback and suggestions are always welcome.