Multiple Match Type

This little feature has escaped me for who knows how long, and I confess to finding it in 2009, and not 2010 (though I grabbed my screen shots from there). 2010's Ribbon also makes it far more obvious then in the old UI. But here it is. When you use Match Type (MA on the keyboard) in the options bar is a little check box option appears "Multiple". Check it, and you're dropped into a selection mode where it is very easy to select multiple objects whose Type you want to change to your "base" type. Click on the "Finish Selection" button and all the types change at once!

Subscription Advantage Pack available

Sometime in the last 24 hours Autodesk posted the new Build, Revit Extensions, Model Review (aka BIM Review) and DB connect on the subscription website. Enjoy!

Follow-up from Revit Blogger Day

First, no, I'm not getting paid (though I keep hearing "the check is in the mail"....) ;-)

To dive into a little more detail Autodesk will be releasing the "Subscription Advantage Pack" essentially this wraps up things like "Revit Extensions" or the brand new "Wood Framing Utility" as well as including a special Revit build that includes new features for subscribers only. This new build and any new features will of course be compatible with non-subscribers, however those of us who work for companies that do subscribe will now get tools such as what was listed previously.

So what's coming, I think my previous list of new "features" was pretty self explanatory. What else is coming...

For Revit Arch & Structure there will be a new extension for wood framing. What this does, is it allows you to select you walls (yes walls only) and generate wood framing following various rules, you can adjust the framing in an editor. When you're done, push the magic button and you get wood 2x's modeled all over your model... pretty sweet (almost makes me want to do plain old residential construction).

The Revit DB link (which had previously been posted on Autodesk Labs (with a built in timebomb) will now be available.

"Model Review" this looks like Avatech's BIM Review, but more tightly integrated with Revit, I know there is a very close relationship there, so to say "I'm not suprsised" is not to much of an overstatement. Part of Autodesk's plug with the new Model Review extension is that it will allow you to validate a model is ready for energy anaylsis, and help to identify what needs to be fixed in order to get valid results.

There is a bunch of feature ports in the custom build. For instance; architects will be able to:

• Create Sloped Columns
• Create Curved Beams
• Create complex Trusses
• Cope beams
• Create slabs with integrated metal decking profiles and slab direction

The "split wall with gap" tool has moved out of the realm of an INI mod, into a real feature. Autodesk can't say much about overall performance of this tool, other then that is has been in use for awhile. What is nice is that when used, it maintains the wall as a single object, even though it has been split. It seems like this tool has some useful possibilities, but I'm not totally sold, yet....

Structure is getting some improvements to the bridge tool. MEP is getting all new content particularly for electrical stuff besides Power & Lighting. MEP is also going to get tempory dimensions when in layout mode (which should prove useful).

You'll find other folks blogging about this new stuff, so be sure to see what I missed, or get their take.

More from ADSK blogger day...

Autodesk is releasing a "Subscription Advantage Pack" which will basically wrap a bunch of things that were released by themselves for subscription members, plus add new things like New Features.

Coming in a few days for all Revit products:

• Shortcuts for draw commands
• Keyboard shortcut manager
• Conditional formatting
• Text format shortcuts (cntrl+b, i & u)
  
• Text Find & Replace
• Convert lines (model/drafting)
• Linked file performance improvements

Autodesk Revit blogger day!

On the Webex now, more "pre-release" info to come!

I'll take a double please....

A double skin that is!

I took a little more then a week, but I finally managed to build a working double skin panel. It still needs some refinements, but it at least works! While this may not be perfect for full on Consrtruction Documents (yet) I think this holds a lot of promise for some of the more practical things you can do with the new tools that showed up in Revit 2010.

Things I've learned (mostly from Zach):

• Points - its all about locating points! Then creating geometry.
• Workplanes!
  
• Build everything off the corner points.
• If not the corner points, then driving points on the default reference lines.
• Did I mention workplanes? "Set" workplane should be your next favorite tool.
• Dimensions need to be set to specific workplanes too.
• Did I mention points are important? Make the reference planes of the points visible (properties).
• Use the reference planes defined by reference lines.
• The "host point by intersection" is a handy tool.
• Did I mention points?
• Workplanes.....