RobiNZ CAD Blog

Revit 2016 Performance comparisons

If you’re debating whether to migrate a project to 2016 these posts from ‘The Factory’ may help the decision. A look at how Revit 2016 uses multicore processing to improve model navigation.

Inside the Factory: Revit 2016 | Project Performance - Part 1

Often the Revit product team is asked how the Revit product line takes advantage of multiple processors and the workstation GPU, so we thought we'd provide a list for your reference, and a video that shows a new feature of Revit 2016 that uses multiple processors to accelerate model navigation to speeds comparable to the Navisworks 2016 model.

This post has some useful comparisons between 2014, 2015 and 2016 with the same file;

Inside the Factory: Revit 2016 | Project Performance - Part 2

Sasha Crotty, the Revit Platform Product Manager, read the "Part 1" post and made up a video to show the multiple processor utilization in view navigation.

After that, she worked with Scott Blouin in QA to come up with some simple speed comparison charts for multiple Revit versions from our internal testing. As always, your mileage may vary,

Revit Technology Conference Australasia 2013 — See you there?

RTC is coming to Auckland, New Zealand. I’ve just registered and look forward to meeting you there.

RTC Australasia 2013 – www.rtcevents.com/rtc2013au/

The ninth Australasian Revit Technology Conference will be held at the Langham Hotel Auckland on 16 – 18 May 2013.

• Learn from some of the world's top instructors and industry experts.
• Share ideas and insights with an international community of your peers.
• Explore the latest trends and technologies
• Network with your peers
• Cultivate important business and professional contacts that can benefit your company and your career.
• Come to learn from the experts and leave with a wealth of knowledge, practical methods, and new ideas.
• See how Revit and related applications drive ESD analysis and simulation.
• Unlock the potential of BIM to streamline the building procurement and construction process.
• Overview of new features
• Best Practice methods
• Tips and tricks from experts
• CPD formal and informal points

The Autodesk 2012 Launch Aquatic with Salesoft CAD Solutions

It takes something special to lure you into an underground bunker filled with sharks. After a photo at the door (easier to ID the remains?) it was quite a trek, stopping to observe the Penguin Colony, to the Antarctic Hut and an auditorium lined tanks of huge stingray & fish.

A welcoming drink & tasty finger food satisfied the appetite although you wondered if the seafood watching from the tanks realised some of what we were eating was seafood.

No chance of a quick exit as it was guarded by sharks and, anyway, we were here to see design software: Salesoft CAD Solutions Autodesk 2012 launch!

AutoCAD 2012

Gary launched his presentation with a tour of AutoCAD 2012’s Content Explorer. He showed the new command line autocomplete, multifunction grips & nudge. A good demo of associative array functions completed the 2D feature demo.

The 3D portion began with a demo of new viewport features (controls) & UCS manipulation. Gary even showed how AutoCAD can do limited parametric 3D models using 2D parametrics to control the sections of 3D extruded elements.

AutoCAD 2012’s improved file format import and Fusion for direct modelling showed how working with other model types has improved. The new model view features make creating 2D documentation easier, literally drag n drop, with semi-associative update.

3DS Max & Matchmover

Gary took his 3D AutoCAD file into 3DS Max to showcase its new features. Max has also had a viewport makeover in the form of the new Nitrous Graphics Core bringing near render quality to your working viewport (if the hardware is up to scratch). Stylistic rendering brings a natural media (like pencil) appearance to the viewport & render output.

Also new is the Iray render engine which makes rendering simpler. There are few settings other than deciding how long 3DS Max should spend rendering (great for meeting that deadline). As always the more time the better but at least the application, and feedback while rendering, make it easier to make the quality/speed compromise.

He also demonstrated Autodesk Matchmover, part of the 2008 REALVIZ acquisition. Apart from seeing a link in my Subscription Site I was unaware of it, or what it did. Matchmover enables 2D video & 3D cad models to be merged with image tracking & camera path creation tools. Gary had a sculpture, created in AutoCAD & Imported to Max, & iPhone shot video of an Auckland location. Matchmover enabled you to see the CAD model in place as if there when the video was shot. Another sample showed Matchmover placing a Revit model in a video street scene. Definitely something to investigate further.

Revit 2012 Family

Rich, fighting a horrible cold, demonstrated the new features in Revit 2012. He showed assemblies & parts used in building and structural detailing but I can see potential for this feature in our retail work detailing special fittings/layouts. Tweaks to the UI include the improved grips, more flexible Type Selector location (on the Ribbon). The new work plane viewer emulates my much missed AutoCAD Architecture Isolate > “Edit in View” but seems rather less elegant in operation.

The new 3D lock view will aid model annotation, especially combined with the new Ghost display option which gives a translucent look to all model surfaces. It was also good to see Revit Purge now includes Materials which have been painful to clean up until now. Add to that platform enhancements like CITRIX certification, Revit Server and Vault integration and there is plenty to explore in Revit 2012.

Marinescape – Aquarium Information Modelling?

Marinescape is a New Zealand Company which specialises aquarium design & development. They are amongst the world leaders in developing aquaria, using an acrylic tunnel with moving walkway concept.

The venue, Kelly Tarltons Underwater World, was their first project & opened in 1985. It is a walk through aquarium built in a former sewage storage/discharge tank* under Auckland’s waterfront drive. They also have an Antarctic Display complete with penguins housed in an artificial frozen landscape.

Marinescape shared how, after trying other 3D solutions, they settled on Revit as their primary design platform. The models they showed had an impressive mix of terrain (both above & below water!), building and mechanical model detail. Revit is used for modelling & scheduling all the components, even providing manufacturing data for the acrylic. They also mentioned using 3DS Max for presentation and AutoCAD for modelling organic forms (rocks & reefscapes) which are used in the Revit models.

It was a fascinating look at Revit being used for more than design, true BIM 360.

Building Design Suite

Shane wrapped up the evening with an introduction to the Building Design Suite upgrade offer. Back in 2008 I was happy to see AutoCAD Architecture & Revit Architecture bundled. Now Autodesk have now gone bundle mad with Building Design Suites incorporating AutoCAD, ACA/AMEP, Revit (Arch, MEP & Structure), 3DS Max, Navisworks & even Inventor!

The deals vary but migration is free (for qualifying products) and if you already have more than one Suite application on subscription the slightly increased Suite Subscription (including a slew of other applications) will probably be cheaper. My former Revit Suite + Max subscription drops about 10% after migration to the Premium Suite which includes those apps & more!

Another benefit is for the small office it gives access to the full Revit Arch/MEP/structure Platform (which may make life easier collaborating) and for larger offices it avoids the pain of balancing AutoCAD, Revit, Max license mixes.

Have a look at http://www.autodesk.com/buildingdesignsuite for details

Thanks to Salesoft, Marinescape & Kelly Tarltons staff for a great evening.

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PS: The post title is a rather weak pun of the film: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. If you haven’t seen this rather odd movie make the effort. It’s an experience not to be missed, possibly not to be repeated but certainly an experience

PPS: No sharks (not even Jaguar Sharks), penguins or stingray were harmed in the creation of this blog post and the Salesoft Team & Kelly Tarlton staff looked after the humans very well too

PPPS: I got this far without using the “sharks, as in fish not software resellers” line!

* The tanks date back to when Auckland’s “treatment system” for sewage was to store it and release into the harbour on the out going tide. Thankfully that ended back in the early 60s but the obsolete infrastructure remained.

Australian & New Zealand Revit Standards

I’m a bit slow posting this but the Australian & New Zealand Revit Standards have been published. Details & download at:

Australian & New Zealand Revit Standards | www.anzrs.org

Well, it’s been a long time in coming, but ANZRS is finally here.  It’s been a mammoth effort, and has been a collaborative effort with input from dozens of industry representatives from multiple disciplines and roles within the AECO/FM community.  In the 3 weeks since this year’s Australasian Revit Technology Conference (RTC), the ANZRS beta website had more than 2,000 unique visitors!

The first digital public release of the Australian & New Zealand Revit Standards focuses on Content Creation and Management – specifically, Revit families…

AEC Systems Auckland Technology Solutions Day

It’s more than a rumour that Autodesk Evangelist Lynn Allen is heading back down under for the Auckland AEC Systems Technology Solutions Day next month. She was recently in Australia so must just love those long haul flights in Seat 16C. More detail & registration for the event available at www.aecsystems.co.nz

Revit Subscription Advantage Pack – Coming Soon!

Today started (at an early for me 05:30!) with an Autodesk web meeting to learn about a Subscription Advantage Pack debuting “soon” (i.e. days not weeks). It was a heads up on some new Revit Architecture (& Structure) tools that will be interesting to try when they arrive on the Subscription Site. The following is based on my notes and screenshots snagged during the presentation with the caveat that it was seen through the bleary early morning eyes of this night owl CAD blogger.

Revit Server Extension

This was mentioned as being the first step to a full Revit client/server solution. It extends the Local/Central file link a step further to coordinate multiple sites via a Network Central Server. Local Servers cache model data but the central server coordinates and manages permissions.

Although you can store other content on the Central Server the “Revit Server Extension” only manages Revit Models. Non-Revit & Revit data can be mixed but will not appear in the Revit Server interface dialogs. I don’t recall exact network requirements being quoted other than it needs to move a reasonable amount of data and latency is a consideration. This requires Windows Server 2008 and although server virtualisation was mentioned as a possibility it won’t initially be supported.

Conceptual Energy Analysis

This aims to aid rapid investigation of Energy performance early in the design process. It’s activated from within Revit but uses the Green Building Studio analysis cloud tools to process the model.

You create a conceptual model with the normal massing tools, creating mass floors and using design options to explore various forms. The next step is to create an Analytical Model.

Tools on a new Analyze Tab allow you to create energy Analytical  Model. It was interesting to see you could define openings, even sketch them on the mass model, to allow for entry glazing etc.Other settings allow a perimeter zones & core offset for atriums

Energy Settings include location, shade requirement, building type, operating schedule and wall construction types. The aim is a mass model detailed enough for comparative purposes without the modelling & analysis investment of a full detail model.

Analyze Mass Model sends the data to Green Building Studio for calculation while you can continue working. When complete you can view, email or print the results for each option independently or build a comparison report showing multiple options (seen below).

Revit Structure

I’m not a Structure user so all I can say about this is it adds tools inside Revit for:

• Floor Vibration Analysis
• Gravity column analysis

Also new is support for SDNF file format Import/Export to aid collaboration.

Look for the Advantage Pack to appear in your Autodesk Subscription Page “soon”.

Revit OpEd sorts Project Browser Sorting

Thanks to Steve for this tip! I have been mucking about with templates, with browser sorting using shared parameters, and had exactly the same problem.

Revit OpEd: Dept. of Subtle - Can't Get Rid of Parameter Value - Project Browser Sorting

”When I was asked about it my answer was, "A view is assigned/using it." The response was, "No we've fixed all the views already but it won't go away!". We checked again using a view list and sure enough the rogue value wasn't being used.

That's when it occurred to me…”

On the topic of Browser Views/Sorting here are some of my wishes;

• Schedules could be sorted/display in the same way as views?
• Database characteristics could be included in item names (where the [] terms were fields from the database) for things like;
  • [Option Set] [Option] View
  • [Option Set] [Option] Schedule Name
  • [Project No] Sheet No - Sheet Name
  • [Option Set] Sheet Name
• Consistent between Arch & MEP. Some things still differ in 2009/2010 view properties out of the box.
• Easier to change in 2010 (bring back the browser filter dropdown).
• Easier filtering, application and graphic indication of filters with item icons (per user too). MindManager is excellent at this (right) and it would be nice to see something like it’s power filters in the Revit browser.

These are just a few wishes, in fact I hope some of this is there already and I haven’t found it!

Revit Subscription Advantage Packs coming soon

UPDATE 2009-10-22: The Advantage Packs are available now via your Autodesk Subscription login

I just finished a web meeting previewing some upcoming Revit Advantage Packs for Revit Architecture, MEP and Structure Subscription Customers. There are a bunch of refinements and some significant new features;

Refinements:

• Keyboard Shortcut Management UI – Edit, export, import
• View Cube Functions Enhanced
• Conditional Format In Schedules (from MEP)
• DWG Import/Export Refinement
• Text Formatting Shortcuts - CTRL+B, CTRL+I, CTRL+U
• Text Find & Replace
• Model/Detail Lines Convert
• API Improvements

Some of the new functionality highlights include;

Architecture Timber Framing module:

Model Standards Review:

Validate and repair Revit Project Files and Families against external and your own modelling standards

Temporary Dimensions in MEP:

Revit Structure Beam Features ported to Architecture:

 

Use imported geometry for 3D snapping and component conversion:

If you’re in Auckland come along to tonight’s Revit User Group meeting to hear more. I’ll be posting more detail when I get my hands on the software and more time, as it’s time to go to work!

New Zealand Autodesk Solutions Day 2009 (2010 Product Launch)

I'll be at the Auckland June 4th event, see you there! Here's the blurb:

The Autodesk Solutions Day 2009 is aimed at professionals' involved in the design, construction and management of government and commercial projects within the Building, Civil, Geospatial and Manufacturing market place. This all day event will showcase the latest products, services and technology.

They are happening in Christchurch late May, Auckland early June.

Contact your New Zealand Autodesk reseller for details and to register!

I LOVE "THE RIBBON", do you?

I'm going to be writing about some "recently ribboned" applications in the next few weeks, some better than others. Before that I have decided to set out how I feel about a variety of "already ribboned" applications and how I arrived at this conclusion: I love the ribbon!

There you go, I said it, but before you respond please read this:

These parameters will apply to my future discussions of "ribbon'ification". Hopefully they will also fend off some inevitable, but irrelevant, responses to any discussion of a graphic user experience:

• Keyboard shortcuts have no relevance; When you are talking about interaction with a Graphic User Interface other command access modes are not a factor. Yes keyboard shortcuts are faster and I use literally thousands.* If you only work in a few applications nothing will beat them. However like many users I use many applications in a day and only the basic keyboard shortcuts are common across them all.
• Loving the Ribbon doesn't mean loving all Ribbons: It's nothing more than a tabbed device to present tools and objects in a User Interface. Some applications do a better job than others but that's not a criticism of the concept, just it's implementation.
• It's not just the ribbon: The Fluent User interface includes: The Application Button, Status Bar Controls, Ribbon Components and Floating Cursor Toolbars. However, like most people, I'll mostly just refer to it all as "the ribbon".
• It's not the only User Interface, but it's the one that matters: It is the one most Windows users, lets face it most computer users, will face over the next few years especially as Windows 7 rolls out. For me Mac O/S option is not on the horizon so that debate is irrelevant too. For the majority of corporate computer users there is no choice even if you think it's better. That may change but I'm not holding my breath.

The Ribbon OR how Microsoft Office 2007 changed the [Windows] world:

The Ribbon, more accurately the "Fluent UI", arrived with Microsoft Office 2007. Ribbon shock ensued as the familiar File, Edit...Help array of menus and toolbars disappeared to be replaced with the Ribbon, Application Button and associated User Experience refinements. Most were lost at first when a familiar, if often illogical, layout of commands and tools was totally changed.

The first Fluent UI application I used was the one that started it all. Microsoft Office 2007 arrived and, yes, at times I got lost and cursed the new User Interface. It's strange but the disappearance of the File menu and replacement with the Application Button seemed to be more of a struggle than the ribbon. Yes, I spent some time getting used to a new work-flow based arrangement of tools but once over that hump I have found it becomes more natural.

MindManager, the best Ribbon so far:

Not long after Office MindManager 7 arrived. Another familiar UI was replaced by something totally new. Trigger another round of "ribbfusion" (confusion induced by a ribbon changes) while you abandon old habits and adapt to the new. I grew to like it and think Mindjet's MindManager Ribbon is the best I've encountered to date, even better than Microsoft's! I suspect this is because MindManager is a visual product and the ribbon presents visual controls far better than menu/toolbars ever could. Add to that MindManager's use of colour and nice tab layout and you have a dramatic improvement over it's toolbar'ed predecessors.

Snagit: Their Ribbon becomes Fluent:

Snagit 9 arrived with half of the Fluent UI. Snagit 9.0 was ribboned but the full experience arrived when 9.1 added context sensitive cursor toolbars and live preview for visual effects. It showed what a difference these, non-ribbon, items make to the Fluent UI.

AutoCAD 2009: Autodesk's first Ribbon rocks the AutoCAD world 

The AutoCAD Ribbon was as controversial as any but came with an out clause. Unlike Microsoft Office, MindManager and Snagit you had a choice between the old & new User Interface. Indeed many AutoCAD verticals imposed this choice by largely ignoring the ribbon and loading traditional toolbars. For those that chose to use it the AutoCAD Ribbon offered many features familiar from other Fluent Applications with one major addition: Customisation.

It's long been a strength, to some a curse, that AutoCAD allowed extensive customisation of it's User Interface. Unlike many other applications AutoCAD users often took advantage of this so the ribbon had to accommodate it. Unlike other ribbon applications AutoCAD 2009 also echoed the legacy menu structure within it's application button hosted Menu Browser. A mixture of old and new User Interface was probably a technical and commercial requirement for Autodesk but I suspect created more problems than it solved. A clean break does inflict more migration pain, but in the end it's an easier process.

 

What I like about the Ribbon:

I own Office 2007 but still use Office 2003 at work. This means, sadly, I have a direct daily comparison between old & new. As "ribbon shock" has abated I've grown to hate the old Menu/Toolbar UI as much as I love the Ribbon. Here are some of the reasons why:

It attempts to be task based and coordinated: Admittedly there is endless potential for debate in that line. I do find some applications do a better job of arranging the tools to suit work-flow,or maybe my work-flow just happens to match them better?

Before you howl about the old applications being better consider the task not the tools. Say you are In Word and want to change the page orientation. In the old Office it seems logical that it might be on the Format menu, but it's not there. You'll actually find it on File > Page Set-up which seems odd when page orientation is per section/page, not per file. In 2007 it's on the Page Layout" tab along with other page set-up controls which makes more sense. In that case the work-flow is better as the ribbon allows access to different controls for the task at hand. In other cases tool relationships could make the ribbon less efficient but that's down to tab arrangement and tool placement.

Cursor Tools: The hover toolbars in Office, and Snagit, place context sensitive tools at the work-face. This removes the need to trek to the ribbon for minor changes. It becomes the tool-box for major tasks with the cursor toolbars acting as your tool-belt, bringing the essentials to the work but not getting in the way.

Right Click > for comfort. If the hover annoys a right click brings up the same object toolbar options along with the traditional task oriented menu. The Fluent UI doesn't abandon these menu/toolbar elements but does relegate them to short task specific applications. That 20 item menu, 15 with flyout sub-menus is history!

Live Preview: This is one part of Fluent that is often not even thought of as a User Interface function. However it does significantly enhance the User Experience. Applying changes only to undo them when the implications are realised is eliminated. This could be done pre-ribbon but the integration of style galleries and tools along with preview is a significant advantage of the ribbon.

It's constrained but at least it behaves: Most ribbons are constrained into the top section of the application window. Their stable nature avoids weird start-up conditions like the toolbar scramble. The example shows PowerPoint but I have several applications from multple vendors which occasionally don't retain previous layout settings. With the Ribbon, and no toolbars, at least there is no random scramble.

In summary:

• Not all ribbons are created equal, some do a better job than others
• Often it's not about the ribbon, it's the choices made in the placement and design of tools
• The combinations of tools, galleries and other controls allow much more flexiblity in design.
• Task based UI have the potential to be more engaging if done well, more enraging if they are wrong.

Overall I think the Fluent UI represents a significant step forward in User Experience design. To sum it up in a line:

I love a good ribbon!

Also See:

ChiefTech: Office Suite lock-in: The same today as it was yesterday
I've always thought the interface changes for Office 2007 was a stroke of genius by Microsoft...

The Microsoft Office Fluent user interface overview - Microsoft Office Online
Taking into account extensive usability data and recent advancements in hardware and software, the team has delivered the most significant update to the Microsoft Office user interface in more than a decade...

The blue monster - gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards"
As a marketing blogger, I get asked a lot, "What is the future of marketing?"
I always answer the same: "The Blue Monster".
What's The Blue Monster?
A Blue Monster is a Social Object that articulates a Purpose-Idea.
What's a Social Object? What's a Purpose-Idea?
Sit yourself down, pour yourself another glass of whisky. This might take a while to explain...

* From 5/24/2005 to 2/19/2009 (1367 days) keyboard shortcuts were responsible for manupulating/creating about 1/2 the content typed on this machine!

Total user Keystrokes typed including ActiveWords: 409,825
Total Keystrokes substituted by ActiveWords less ActiveWords typed: 404,019  
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Total Content Entered: 813,844  
Percent of Total Content saved by ActiveWords that substitute and transform text: 49.64%