Latest updates.

Please be sure to visit my new blog location for all the latest news and updates on books and other related items at Paul F. Aubin Consulting Services. Here is a recent Facebook page update.

Custom Revit Elevation Tags - Part 2

Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to this post. In a post a couple weeks ago, I shared the steps to create a custom elevation tag with a PDF excerpt from the soon to be published Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit Architecture 2011. (Sorry the book is slow to store shelves. I am assured by the publisher that it will be here soon...)

Meanwhile, here is the second part of the tutorial on creating and adding custom elevation tags in Revit Architecture 2011. This part of the tutorial is from Chapter 4 in the new book. The previously posted excerpt was from Chapter 10. (In the book, I show you first how to load a pre-built tag that I provide in Chapter 4, and then how to build it yourself later in Chapter 10).

You can find a PDF with the steps here.

If you did not build the tag, the previous post explaining how to do so, or you can simply download the completed Revit file here.

I hope you find this post helpful. Have fun creating your new elevation tags!

Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit Architecture 2011

The 2011 edition of Paul F. Aubin's Mastering Revit Architecture is almost here. The book is being re-branded this year as part of the Aubin Academy Master Series. As we do every year, the entire book has been revised, new material added for 2011, existing content enhanced to reflect current best-practices and techniques and where found, errors and omissions fixed. This year's edition will be a little larger than last years reflecting new features for 2011.

To give you an example, I would like to share an extract of the text with you here. An exciting new feature in 2011 is the long requested ability to customize elevation tags. The 2011 edition of the book includes two tutorials, one detailing how to load and apply a custom elevation tag (in Chapter 4) and another detailing how to build the custom tag from scratch in the Family Editor (this is in Chapter 10). I have extracted the text of the tutorial from Chapter 10 and posted it here. Enjoy! I will post the steps from Chapter 4 in a future post, so stay tuned.

Excerpt from Chapter 10 of Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit Architecture 2011:

Creating Custom Elevation Tags (download PDF).

More free Revit videos on lynda.com

Several samples of the Revit Architecture 2011 Essentials training that I authored on lynda.com are available for viewing on YouTube.

Here they are:

Revit Architecture 2011 Essential Training now on lynda.com

I am pleased to announce the availability of my first course for lynda.com. lynda.com has been providing high quality video training for creative software for many years. There are thousands of courses to choose from including Adobe products (Photoshop, Illustrator, Dream Weaver, Flash), Microsoft projects (Office 2007, Office 2010), portable devices (iPhone) and much more.

The list of Autodesk product training offerings has been increasing each year as well with courses currently available for AutoCAD, 3ds Max, Maya, Sketchbook Pro and now, just released, Revit Architecture 2011 by yours truly! I am thrilled to join such an expert team of authors as those assembled by lynda.com.

In this 8 1/2 hour course, I cover all the basics of Revit from modeling, adding annotation, creating basic Families, linking files, plotting and more. You can read the complete description of the course and view free sample movies here.

Autodesk University

I'll be speaking again at Autodesk University this year. I have quite a mix. I have a very exciting class on Revit Architecture planned called "Make a Strong Finish! - Revit, Interiors and Finishes". I'll be joining Matt Dillon and Matt Stachoni in a class called "Real Life Stories of the BIM Patrol". Should be fun and exciting.

 

I'll be teaching two classes on AutoCAD Architecture: One on creating the ultimate Door Schedule, and a reprise of my popular "Breaking free of the plan" class. Finally, I will be joined by my co-authors Martin Schmid, Darryl McClelland and Gregg Stanley for two panel discussion: one on AutoCAD MEP and the other on Revit MEP, both titled: "Ask the Experts."

I'll post more details when I have them, but if you haven't attended AU before, this is the premiere training and networking event of the year. If you have attended, then you know what I mean. Hope to see you all there!

Workset Crash Solved

Thanks to some folks who left comments here on my previous post, I have figured out the reason for my Revit Workset Crash! Thanks very much.

Here is a cross-post of the solution. This is my response to the AUGI thread that ultimately led to the solution.
If you want to read the entire AUGI thread, you can find it here.

--

I was having a similar issue. I placed a post about it on my blog and got some comments back, one of which directed me to this thread. Steve's reply about the factory post (and disabling addons) did the trick! (Isn't the Internet great? Blog post > Comment > Link to AUGI > Post > Link to Factory > Success! )

Anyhow, here is the summary: In Revit Arch and MEP 2011, I could create a Workshared project, but the next time I tried to open the Worksets dialog, I would crash Revit. STC worked, Save worked, just if you click Worksets, poof.

So, I dragged all Addins to my desktop, tried it, it worked fine. SOOO, I began adding them back to the folder one at a time.

Worksharing monitor - check
Batch Plot - check
MEP Space Naming - check
Revit DB Link - check
Model Review - check
Google Link - check
Avatech Utilities - check (so glad this wasn't it. I use these tools all the time - great stuff).
Revit Extensions - POOF - This is the one!

When I launch, I get the following error:

Revit cannot run the external application "ARECRevitStart" contact the provide of this external tool with the information below

System.IO.FileLoadException
System.IO.FileLoadException: Could not load file or assembly 'AREXManager,
Version=2011.0.0.1408, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies. The
parameter is incorrect. ﴾Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070057 ﴾E_INVALIDARG﴿﴿
File name: 'AREXManager, Version=2011.0.0.1408, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' ‐‐‐>
System.ArgumentException: The path is not of a legal form.
   at System.IO.Path.NormalizePathFast﴾String path, Boolean fullCheck﴿
   at System.IO.Path.GetFullPathInternal﴾String path﴿
   at System.IO.Directory.InternalGetFileDirectoryNames﴾String path, String userPathOriginal,
String searchPattern, Boolean includeFiles, Boolean includeDirs, SearchOption searchOption﴿
   at System.IO.Directory.GetDirectories﴾String path, String searchPattern, SearchOption
searchOption﴿
   at System.IO.Directory.GetDirectories﴾String path﴿
   at 16X1KUK4svrrlwHMOP.vhGAR3PPbtEL1aD7bU.7KsIl5cW4﴾Object , ResolveEventArgs , String ,
Assembly ﴿
   at System.AppDomain.OnAssemblyResolveEvent﴾String assemblyFullName﴿
   at REX.Common.Start.REXStartProxy.OnStartup﴾﴿
   at REX.AREXRevitStart.AREXRevitStart.OnStartup﴾UIControlledApplication application﴿
   at revitManagedAppStartup﴾MFCApp* pMFCApp, AString* assemblyName, AString* className,
AString* exceptionName, AString* exceptionMessage﴿


You can click CLose and continue. Now admitedly, this is not the first time I have seen this error. I just figured, well, until I need that addon, I won't worry about it. :-) Silly me. Well, I have uninstalled it, submitted the report to Autodesk and all systems seem to be a go now.

Thanks to the folks who posted on my blog and helped out here.

Workset Crash

Anyone else having this issue? In Revit 2011, anytime I try to access the Workset dialog, Revit crashes. Happens both when I click the Worksets button and when I try to use the Specify option during open.

What is most annoying is that I get this message about four times before it finishes crashing. Even worse than that, it happens in both Revit Architecture and Revit MEP 2011. I don't have Revit Structure installed, but i suspect it would happen there too.

Anyone have a potential solution? I have tried the repair and reinstall options. I have not tried to uninstall and reinstall yet, because I am not looking forward to having to do that and wait an hour or so for the process to complete, but that is coming next...

Update to Course|Notes for Revit

Who would have thought there would be so much to do updating Course|Notes reference cards for Revit 2011. I had to create 20 new images. There are only 37 images on the whole card, so that is over 50%!

Course|Notes Reference cards are six page fold out cards (8 1/2" x 11"). They cover many of the basic commands and techniques and serve as an ongoing reference to the most frequently used commands of the software. They are full color and packed with images. I have just sent the new version of Revit Architecture card into production. AutoCAD Arch, AutoCAD MEP will follow shortly. We will also be doing one for Revit MEP later this year. 

KnowledgeSmart

I often joke with my editors that I could pepper the final chapters of my books with profanity and we would never hear anything about it. This because the evidence points to their being high readership of the early chapters and a precipitous drop off from there. Of course whenever I make the above suggestion, the editor usually has a minor panic attack hoping that I am just kidding. (By now I think they know that I am... or am I... Have you read what's on page 716? hmmm? Well there is nothing terribly provocative on page 716 (but it made you look didn't it?).

Now, high-numbered pages may suffer from low readership, but they are not the lowest. No that honor would have to go to the pages of the preface. I think most of us are guilty of this one. You get a new book and after a quick leafing through (and after catching a whiff of that "new book smell") you just want to dive right in. So I am sure that most of would have to admit that Prefaces, Tables of Contents, and Introductions usually command a skim at best. Well, that brings me to the point of today's post. I got an email today indicating that evaluation results were available for one of my readers. Did you know that if you own a copy of Paul F. Aubin's Mastering Revit Architecture 2010 that you were entitled to not one, but TWO free KnowledgeSmart evaluations? Hmmm? Well, you might want to just flip to page xiii to learn more. (Yup, those are Roman numerals, I am pretty sure next to NO ONE reads those...)

Well, for those that have, you got yourself a little freebie. Enjoy.

A little about KnowledgeSmart
KnowledgeSmart (formally CADSmart) provides online knowledge assessment exams. From their home page: "Our web based testing tools help AEC businesses to capture and share knowledge. It is important for firms to know if skills gaps exist and where to focus learning to show significant productivity and efficiency improvements." Their latest assessment exam uses a combination of "knowledge based" and "skill based" questions to test your knowledge of the topic. You download a ZIP package and when instructed, open one of the included files, perform some task in the software and then answer the accompanying question(s). Other questions simply query your existing knowledge. The exam is scored automatically by the software and instant results are displayed and emailed to you. Some exams even include "coaching content" which will give you guidance on how to improve your skills. I have been working with the folks at KnowledgeSmart for a few years now. They are a very professional outfit and their tools are well designed and high quality. (Full disclosure: I was paid a consulting fee to create exam questions for the Revit Assessment).

They offer plans for firms wanting to test their employees or assess new hires. Exams can be used "off the shelf" or customized to include questions on office standards or procedures. If you are in need of such a tool, give them a try. I can guarantee that they will work hard to earn your business and continue to work with you over the long term to ensure that your needs are continually met.

Once again, if you have a copy of Paul F. Aubin's Mastering Revit Architecture 2010, you get two Revit Assessments for free! What better way to try their service out? 

Update to the Update

As an author, you never want to have to submit an update. This is like admitting you goofed the first time. But having to update the update... That's a little more than a goof... Well, looks like that is exactly what I have to do. Seems the update I posted a while back for Chapter 10 metric (in Paul F. Aubin's Mastering Revit Architecture) contained the wrong file. (Not a very useful update then was it?) I have corrected that and posted the correct file now. In fact, I added ALL the metric files to the ZIP file for Chapter 10. Enjoy.

Revit Curtain Walls and Demolition

I received an email from a client this week asking about how to demolish part of a Curtain Wall in Revit. They included the following image:

While the phasing tools in Revit are pretty useful, it is unfortunately not possible to demo part of a Curtain Wall. The phasing parameters can only apply to the overall Wall object, not the Mullions, or Panels or Grids.

So what to do? Well cheat of course!

What you need to do is create the Curtain Wall in pieces. Since you cannot add phasing to a portion of the overall Curtain Wall, make several smaller Curtain Walls based on what phase they need to be. It is more work admittedly, but it does do the trick.

The basic process is as follows. Look for where you can break up the Curtain Wall. Don't simply use the split tool in plan, because this will split the Curtain Wall along its full height. Rather, use the Add/Remove Grid segments command and the Empty System Panel to remove just the portions you need to remove. Then go back and draw new small Curtain Walls in the locations that you removed from the main ones. These smaller Curtain Walls can then be assigned any phase as needed.

It is very important to use the System Panel: Empty panel type where you want to "delete" panels. Do not simply try to delete them. This does not work. Revit will keep adding a default panel back again after you delete. Use the Empty panel and it will appear like it has been removed.

I have prepared a short video of the steps. You can watch it here. Enjoy!

Minor Corrections for Mastering Revit Architecture

One of my readers emailed me with a few minor errors in the metric dimensions in Chapter 3 or Paul F. Aubin's Mastering Revit Architecture. David Philips writes:

"on page 147, step 38.  2'4" wide door would be 710mm not 762mm page 158, step 11.  9'-0" would be 2740mm not 1800mm."


I have verified both of these errors. If you are following the tutorials in Mastering Revit, please use the value of 710mm for step 38 on page 147. And also on page 158, please use the value of 2700mm for step 11, second bullet item. 


Thanks David for pointing these out to me. 

Master the Family Editor Series available on DVD

Upon my return from AU, I was very pleased to find the proofs for the Mastering the Family Editor Series DVDs sitting on my desk.

Earlier this summer I conducted this five-part course online using GoToMeeting and presenting to a live audience. I have since used the recordings of those sessions to produce a high-quality five DVD series. You can buy each individually if there are only certain topics you wish to see, or buy all five to view the entire course. A download link to a PDF course handout and a collection of Revit files is included with the purchase of the DVDs and includes complete step-by-step instructions accompanying the video lessons.

The videos are distributed via Amazon CreateSpace and will also be available on Amazon's Video On Demand service as well. Stay tuned for further details on availability. I have other courses in production and hope to have them ready soon. Please be sure to let me know how you like the Family Editor Series and post any questions or requests for future sessions.

You can learn more about the titles and find links to order here.

Errors and omissions

My least favorite part of the writing process. When someone sends me an email with an error they found and it turns out to be an actual error on my part... I hate those.

Got this email today:

Page 135: Toward the bottom of the page, there is a reference to Appendix X, but I can't find Appendix X in the book or on the DVD.
Page 136: I can\'t find the file "03 Residential - Walls.rvt" on the DVD.

That's because I goofed on both of those. Here was my reply to the email:

Thanks for the email. Boy do I hate when people find errors that were my fault... :-)


I am grateful when they alert me however. Thank you. I have posted the missing Chapter 3 files here:

As for the appendix, my apologies. That Appendix did not make the cut and the reference should have been eliminated. What I can offer you instead is this. I was planning to rework my paper from Autodesk University 2007 where I gave a class on Design Options and Phasing and make that the appendix. You can visit that class here:

You can download the paper that I wrote then. It is not up to date for 2010, but phasing has not changed at all, so the information should still be useful. Again, my apologies for the mistake in the book.

So, if anyone else reading this has found these errors, I hope that the above helps. As always thank you all for buying and reading my books and please keep the comments coming!

AU has arrived!

I leave today to fly to Vegas for Autodesk University 2009. Just a quick note before I go. All of the papers were uploaded to the respective class listings. You can go to your agenda, click on a class link and at the top right you will see a link for the class materials. Last night I added datasets to several of my classes. If you are signed up for one of my sessions and want to download, be sure to check these out. I also updated my papers (resaved the PDFs) apparently some folks were having trouble opening them.

If you are going to AU, please stop by one of my classes and say hello. If you are not signed up for any of my classes, you can read about my FIVE sessions here. I also blogged about them a few weeks ago here.

Hope to see you all there! Thanks.

Course|Notes X 3

Pick your flavor! Course|Notes for AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD MEP are now available! These are six page reference cards packed with tips and tricks for using each application. I now have them for Revit, AutoCAD Arch and MEP. Please contact me for details and if you would like to get a copy.

Badges!

While we are all gearing up for our two-and-half day week and too much turkey, those of us (like me) who have procrastinated till now are panicking at the prospect that AU is just days away! Do I really have five classes to prepare???

Well, I happened to be rummaging through my closet the other day looking for something when I stumbled across a collection of old AU badges! There seem to be a few missing here unfortunately, but I have most of the last several years. What fun!

Back in 2001, (I think this is the first year I taught) I was signed up for a "VBA Primer for Architectural Desktop" and a couple "VIZ" classes. (Never did much with either of those unfortunately. What about 2002? Seems that was the year Revit came on the scene, because I was signed up for: "Autodesk Revit - Implementing Building Information Modeling in your Firm." Based on the number of holes in my schedule that year, I assume I taught three classes that year. For 2003, the theme was "See what's out there"... Hmmm... I don't know about that one. OK, let's see what we had....  I was teaching four classes: Curtain Walls, Schedules, Scale-dependent annotation and Project Navigator - all in ADT. I was still working at CFA at that time (at least for a little longer), so a few other badges slipped in there like the Autodesk One-Team Conference.

In 2004 I don't have my agenda anymore, but from the little booklet in the badge, I can see we were still at the MGM. In 2005 we went to Disney World! Most people complained about this AU, but I loved it. Mainly because we took the whole family the week before and the kids had a blast at Disney. They were the perfect ages then. My oldest was 9 and the twins were 7. What a nice time. Sure the Swan and Dolphin hotels are not the best place for an AU, but having AU in a spot where the kids could come too and have a great time was a nice switch for me. I will always remember that one fondly. This was also the time I was striking out on my own (March 2004 actually, but AU 2005 would have been my first AU as an "independent") As such, I found a bunch of old business cards in my AU 2005 badge.

I think the business card my designer made for me and that I use now is much nicer. What do you think?

In 2006, we were "Agents of Change". We were back in Vegas at the Venetian. I liked the Venetian better than the MGM. The rooms are nicer, and the conference center much closer. I think this was the year we had Blue Man Group at the party. Pretty cool except I couldn't get a seat it was SOOO crouded. But great show anyhow. I was teaching both ADT and Revit at this point and from my agenda, I appear to have been taking many classes on both as well.

Well, I appear to have misplaced the 2007 and 2008 badges. Last year I taught five classes! 3 ACA and 2 Revit. Probably similar in 2007. This year I have five as well. I have a previous post here on what I am teaching this year.

This was a nice little trip down memory lane. While attendance is sure to be lower this year at AU, we are in a new venue at the Mandalay Bay so it is sure to be exciting as new places often are. I'll get another badge for my collection and hopefully we'll all come away a little smarter. Hope to see many of you there!

View Range

We could also call this post "me too..."

Seems like everyone is talking about View Range these days. Last week I was working on my AU class presentations and also had the need to prepare a video for a client. So, since I always like to "kill two birds with one stone" so to speak, I decided to record one of the portions of my Revit Tips and Tricks class. Wouldn't you know, it was on View Range!

Turns out the same day I was reading my daily blog posts and Steve Stafford posted on his blog about View Range and commented on how he was following up on another blog post (at Design ReForm) on View Range! So everyone has View Range on the mind it seems.

So, not to be outdone... and since I recorded this already anyhow... here is my View Range video. :-)


Paul F. Aubin's View Range Video

I hope you enjoy the video.

Turns out it came out WAY too long for both the client purpose and AU. It's 20 minutes! I have to get it down to about 10 for AU. So it is nice to have the video to send people to that still have questions after the session.

Revit Detailing

Got an hour tomorrow at lunchtime? Put it to good use… Join me for part one the Revit Detailing class. This is a two-part class on the detailing tools and features in Revit Architecture. (Although I see no reason why it wouldn’t apply to Structure and MEP as well). I know training budgets are in tatters and travel budgets are nearly non-existent. So I priced this very affordably and you can stay at your office, login to the session and learn what Revit can do for your detailing. Heck it’s only an hour of your time tomorrow and an hour next week. Grab a sandwich, pull up a chair and turn up the speakers. Let’s draw some details! (that’s about as exciting as I can make detailing sound… :-)

For complete details, visit the registration page.