Thursday, May 11, 2017

What is FormIt and Why Do I Care?

There's no question we use a lot of tools in the design process. In addition to Reivit we use, Sketchup, Rhino, Navisworks, Enscape, C3D, and Dynamo, just to name a few. So this post is about yet another tool to go in your tool belt. But stay with me. I'm going to explain why you should be interested in using FormIt.

What is it?

FormIt is an Autodesk product that looks and feels a lot like Sketchup. Some of the modeling techniques are similar and it's really fluid like Sketchup. So you may be asking yourself... "If I have Sketchup, why do I need Formit?" Keep reading.

Conceptual Model with Revit

  • Conceptual mass families created in FormIt become Revit mass families
  • Lefel created in FormIt become levels in Revit
  • FormIt models with materials appplied

Conceptual Modeling with Revit Content in FormIt

  • Groups in FormIt can be categoriezed to become Revit families
  • Revit families can be exported as FormIt groups and then converted back into the original Revit family.

Why Do I Care?

Ask yourself one question. Do I car about becoming more efficient at what I do? If the answer is yes and you find yourself struggling with the Sketchup to Revit workflow, give FormIt a try. FormIt has a short learning curve that can be overcome in just a few days. 
Oh, I almost forgot. FormIt can be launced from the Chorme web browser and is also available on mobile devices. The FormIt team has always wanted you to be able to design anytime anywhere.
Of course FormIt isn't perfect. It's a fairly new product and is still maturing. However, if you want to explore the possibilities of becoming more efficient by using a tool more compatible with Revit, give FormIt a try. What do you have to lose?

Click here to learn more about designing in 3D anywhere and here to learn more about designing with intelligence. 






Monday, March 20, 2017

Visibility Checklist - 10 Ways to Find What You're Missing in Revit Views

No question about it, the number one reason people call me is to help them find something that’s gone missing in the view they’re working in. So I thought it would be helpful to create a checklist of where I look when something has gone missing.









Visibility Graphics Dialogue

This is the first place I start. Check to make sure the category of the element you're missing is on in the VG dialogue.
If the category is on, make sure the sub-category is on. This is often overlooked so be sure to expand the category to expose the sub-categories.
Sometimes, however it’s a nested family category that you have to watch out for. In the example below you’ll notice the door category and sub-categories are on in the VG dialogue. However there is part of the door family that is not displayed. That’s because the door contains a nested family from the Detail Item category. This is also true for any linked model. Each linked model has its own set of VG, so make sure you check them.


Worksets

Check to make sure all the worksets are visible. Even if set to visible or show, elements on a Closed workset will not be visible.

Make sure all the worksets are open. If any are closed you can open them in the Workset dialogue from the Manage Collaboration panel on the Collaboration tab on the ribbon.

Filters

To ensure a filter is not the culprit, make sure they're all visible. If a filter is the cause of the visibility issue you may have to edit it to avoid showing items that have been intentionally hidden with the filter. Check with your team members before editing or removing filters.



Design Options
Check the Design Options tab in the VG dialogue. The element you're looking for may be on a different DO than what's set in the view. You can temporarily change this setting to show any of the DO. Note: DO only work with 3D elements. 

View Range

Check to make sure the element you're looking for falls within the Primary View Range. If it's outside this range you won't be able to see it. If the element does fall outside the primary range, you may not want to change it right away. Discuss this with your team to make sure you're not affecting someone else's setting. 

Plan Region

Plan Regions control a separate view range in floor plan views. Check the VG dialogue for Plan Region visibility in the view. If Plan Regions are visible, check their view range settings. 

Hide at Scales Courser Than

If you're missing a callout, section, or elevation marker be sure to check the view properties setting "Hide at scales courser than" in the missing view. The scale of the view may be the reason why any one of these view markers are not showing up.

Detail Level

Any loadable family can have it's visibility set to Course, Medium, or Fine. If the visibility of the element is set to something other than what you have your view set to, it will not show up. This setting will also effect nested families so you may have to edit the family to get to the bottom of it.


Manually Hidden Elements

Don't forget to simply check for hidden elements by clicking the Reveal Hidden Elements button on the view control bar.


Phases

If your project has phases there's a good chance your missing element was created on the wrong phase and the phase filter in the view is causing the issue. Make sure to check both the view as well as the element phase settings. 


Ideate Revit Add-in to the Rescue!

X-Ray is an add-in tool the will help you find what you're missing. In addition to helping you find missing stuff it will explain why it's missing, which is always a good thing. 

When things go missing in Revit it's easy to blow your top. Just slow down and work through these 10 areas and you're sure to find what you're missing.









Welcome to revitED!

RevitED (Revit Education) and general BIM topics. I've been using Revit now for 11 years, and though I feel I've got a pretty good handle on the software it seems each day I learn something new. I want to share that with the readers of this blog and hope you learn something new as well.