Milwaukee Revit Users Group

New Facilitator

2009-01-12T14:14:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone,

I’ve been facilitating the group for the past 3 to 4 years and I’m ready for a break! Because of the limited offers of hosting & presenting, I’ve asked Kim Eicher of MasterGraphics if she would like to take over the group and she’s accepted. I will still be attending and helping her out as needed, but please direct any future correspondence to her.

Kim Eicher – Application Engineer
MasterGraphics, Inc.
Kimberly.Eicher@mastergraphics.com
(262) 717-2158

I’m not sure at this point if the blog will continue to be updated, but I’ll keep everyone in the loop if it is. Kim may use the MasterGraphics site to keep the group updated on what’s going on. Also, due to the change, there probably won’t be a January meeting. Kim will need some time to prepare, etc., so look for something in February.

I hope everyone stays involved in the group to keep the momentum and success going. Remember that the point of the group is not to have one person presenting at every meeting while the rest of the group sits and says nothing, but to have feedback and open discussions from EVERYONE.

Thanks for a fun 3-4 years and good luck Kim!

Tony Isenhoff

Metal Wood Framer for Revit

2008-12-29T08:46:00.000-08:00

Ran across this (Wood & Metal Framing tool for Revit). Thought it may be of interest to some of you since we talked about modeling trusses in a past meeting. I don't know much about this application though, so check it out!

http://www.strucsoftsolutions.com/mwf.asp

Meeting Follow up - Design Options

2008-12-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

This just a quick follow up with some of the Design Option tips discussed at the December's meeting...

"Primary"
When making options, the primary should be the option that you feel will ultimitely be chosen. Reason being - ALL views by default will show the primary option. Individual views can be changed later to show other options, but that can be time consuming.

"New" or "Duplicate"

If you've created options, worked on each for quite a while and now the client wants another... If you're going to start from scratch with some totally new design, select "New". If you want to leverage one of the existing options and tweak a few things, select "Duplicate". That way you don't have to start all over!

To show different options to the client (especially if you want to put them side-by-side on a sheet), it may make sense to create a view for each option. Depending on the number of views, this can take a while... Here are some tips to speed up the process.

First off - to setup a view to show a specific option, duplicate the view, then adjust the Visibility/Graphics. As mentioned earlier, the primary option will be displayed by default. So, in Visibility/Graphics, you'll see Automatic listed.

Select the drop down and select the option you would like to ALWAYS be displayed in this view.

This leads me to another tip...

When you set a view to always display a specific option; lets say Vertical layout, don't expect the view to update when you go and try to edit a different option, like Horizontal layout. Once you tell a view (in Visibility/Graphics) to show an option, that's what it's going to do... So, you may want to keep the original view set to automatic and duplicate for the other options. That way if you're working in the original view, when you go and edit any option, the view will update to show you that option, then when you're done, it will go back to displaying the primary option. Your other choice is to create a view for each option. When you want to edit a specific option, go to that view & edit... Clear as mud?

View Templates:

Creating a view for each option can be time consuming... plans, ceiling plans, elevations, etc.. To speed up this process, consider using View Templates. Setup a view for each option as discussed earlier. Then create a view template for each.

Name the View Template:

In this case, you only want the Visibility/Graphics of the Design Option settings to be shared, be sure to un-check all other choice.

You can now select multiple views within the Project Browser and apply the view template - Sweet!

Exclude Design Options:

Items that are within a Design Option are un-selectable by default unless you're editing the option. We'll not always...

You can un-check "Exclude Design Options" from the options bar to be able to select objects within a design option (even though you're not editing the option). I would recommend this only if you want to query an object, or something simple like that. If you're going to make more substantial changes, then edit the option...

Schedules:

Schedules can be setup to include objects only in a specific option. Go to the Properties of the schedule. You'll be taken to the Instance parameters. Select "Visibilty/Graphics", the select the option you wish to schedule.

Last but not least

The client has decided on an option, so you're ready to accept the primary. Everyone is always worried about this, "Well, if I accept the primary, then all the other options are gone and I won't be able to go back if the client changes their mind later"... He's my solution:

1. Make the non-primary option you wish to save active.

2. Select all the objects in the option.

3. Create a group.

4. Save the group in a safe location :)

5. Repeat for other non-primary options.

Now you can accept the primary option. If at a later date you need to come back to one of the old options, you have all the data safe & secure in a save group (which is its own .rvt). That data can be brought back into your project via. Load from Library, Load File as Group.

I prefer this method because I'm only saving a small amount of data, rather than the entire project out (which is the other solution). By saving the entire model out, you could have a lot of models floating around on the network (taking up space) and you have the potential of getting confused on which model is the "current' model, messed up user's local files, etc...

Hope these tips were helpful - enjoy!

December Meeting

2008-12-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

Date: Thursday, December 18th
Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Location: Waukesha office of MasterGraphics (map)
20633 Watertown Court, Suite 100Waukesha, WI 53186
Phone: (800) 873.7238
http://www.masterg.com/

Topic: Design Options (bring samples and questions)
Presenter: Kim Eicher of MasterGraphics

Lunch: Provided by MasterGraphics

Please reply to tonyi@eua.com if you plan on attending so adequate lunch can be ordered.

Visa Lighting - Looking for Firms using their content

2008-10-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Georgia Jackson from Visa lighting is looking for firms using their content to help her with a marketing piece. If you're using Visa lighting content and are interested in helping her out (and getting some free PR), please contact her at: gjackson@visalighting.com

Here is a short clip of what she's looking for:

I’m looking for BIM projects that have used Visa Lighting families. I am developing a feature for the Visa Lighting website to show renderings along with the corresponding application shot. All work will be credited with live links directed to the submitter’s website.

Equally important, I am looking for feedback for a pitch regarding the importance of developing products in BIM formats and that providing manufacturer's content is a valuable asset to the specifying community.

October Meeting

2008-10-08T06:27:00.000-07:00

Date: Tuesday, October 28

Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM

Location: Milwaukee office of IMAGINiT Technologies (map)
10000 Innovation DriveSuite 160Milwaukee, WI 53226

Topic: Worksharing and Design Options (bring samples and questions)

Lunch: Provided by IMAGINiT Technologies

Please reply to tonyi@eua.com if you plan on attending so adequate lunch can be ordered.

2008-10-01T11:18:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to the site that had Revit tools for truss creation...

http://www.tools4revit.com/

Lunches for Sept Meeting

2008-09-30T13:43:00.001-07:00

I wanted to apologize for running out of box lunches at today's meeting. We had quite a bit more attend than RSVP'd... I think the attendance was great and I'm glad that everyone showed up, but next time please try to RSVP, or don't take a lunch until everyone has arrived.

Sorry to those that signed up and didn't get one.

Tony

Revit Architecture Webcast

2008-09-30T13:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to the Revit Architecture webcasts that were discussed at September's meeting.

http://offers.autodesk.com/8/76704/#botSection

Revit Architecture 64 bit

2008-09-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

We discussed today that the 64 bit version of Revit Architecture was released. It's avilable to subscription users only at this point.

Log onto the Subscription Center: (click here)

Then go to Product Downloads:

From there, sort by release date (you may need to click 2x to sort properly). You should see Revit Architecture 2009 64-bit:

Revit Architecture Customer Council

2008-09-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

We discussed the Revit Community Council today during our meeting. In case you haven't see this, check it out. It's a good way to get involved in beta testing, surveys, etc.

http://www.revitcc.com/

September '08 Meeting

2008-09-05T09:09:00.000-07:00

Date: September 30, 2008

Time: 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM (Lunch provided by EUA)

Topic: Curtain Walls (bring examples & questions!)

Location: Milwaukee office of Eppstein Uhen Architects (EUA) (map)

June Meeting

2008-05-20T13:17:00.001-07:00

Date: June 12, 2008

Time: 11:30 - 1:00

Topic: Autodesk NavisWorks Presentation
(More on Autodesk NavisWorks - Click here)

Presenter: Dan Bayer of Miron Construction

Location: Office of Plunkett Raysich Architects (map)

Lunch provided by Avatech Solutions

May Meeting - Follow up

2008-05-20T07:40:00.000-07:00

I would like to thanks MasterGraphics for hosting & presenting at our May meeting. Stephen did an excellent job of covering the new rendering features in Revit Architecture 2009. We had an excellent turnout - 20+ attended!

TIP:
After the meeting, Steve Jensen of Groth Design Group suggested this site for manufacturer content; USG. USG has online tools for selecting their products and using them in Revit. http://www.usgdesignstudio.com/
Through the design studio you can select USG systems and download their Revit families. One of the most handy is finding UL rated wall systems.

Thanks for the tip Steve!

May's 2008 Meeting

2008-04-17T10:26:00.000-07:00

Date: May 20, 2008 Time: 11:30 - 1:00
(Note the date change...)

Topic: Rendering in Revit Architecture 2009

Presenter: Stephen Gabriel of MasterGraphics

Location: MasterGraphics (Milwaukee/Waukesha) http://masterg.com/locations/waukesha-milwaukee-wi

Food & Drinks provided by MasterGraphics!

April's 2008 Meetings

2008-03-13T06:18:00.000-07:00

Date: April 15, 2008

Time: 11:30 - 1:00

Topic: New Features in Revit 2009

Presenter: John Bund (Architect/AE/Project Manager) of IMAGINiT

Location: IMAGINiT (Milwaukee) Click here for Google Map
10000 Innovation DriveSuite 160Milwaukee, WI 53226

Food & Drinks provided by IMAGINiT!

Additional Training Resources

2008-02-19T06:45:00.000-08:00

We talked about some of the different resources for training last month. Here is another one I ran across:

http://www.augi.com/education/elearning.asp

You have to be an AUGI member (which is free)...

January - In Review...

2008-02-06T11:42:00.000-08:00

Just a quick recap of what we covered at our January 08 meeting. We had 15 in attendance...

Future topics: (let me know if you have others)

Site/Topo
Massing/Sketchup/Revit/Google Earth
Sharing models/Coordination (NavisWorks)
Design Options
Shared Coordinates
Revit 2009 – March/April
Worksharing
Rendering
Family Creation (editor)
Schedules (different types)
3rd party apps (e-spec, US Cost, ….)

Autodesk's has (2) Add-on tools now available for Revit Architecture 2008.

Both are available for download for subscription users by clicking here:

Worksharing Monitor
Batch Plotting

Where do you get technical support? Below is a list of responses from the group.

Revit City
Augi
Help system in Revit
Resellers: MasterGraphics, ImaginIt
Newgroups
Autodesk (logging issues ensure that Autodesk knows there is an issue so it can be addressed in future releases)

Avatech offers Revit Architecture Plug-ins: They can be found here:
http://www.avat.com/products/software/avatech/revitutilities/

Phasing in Revit... Resources can be found here:

Revit's tutorials
Autodesk subscription site (elearning)

http://pointa.autodesk.com/local/enu/portal/signinSubAware.jsp

January Meeting - Phasing Using Revit

2007-11-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

Topic: Phasing using Revit Architecture

Presenter: Tony Isenhoff of Eppstein Uhen Architects http://www.eua.com/

Location: Milwaukee Office of Eppstein Uhen Architects
http://www.eppsteinuhen.com/contact/index.cfm

Date: Monday, January 28th

Time: 5:00 pm

Food/drinks provided.

Please contact Tony Isenhoff if you plan on attending so adequate food & drinks can be ordered.

October Meeting

2007-10-03T08:15:00.001-07:00

Date: Monday, October 29th

Time: 5:00 pm

Host: MasterGraphics, Inc. (Waukesha, WI) http://www.masterg.com/map-wauk.html
Food and drinks provided by MasterGraphics

Presenter: e-SPECS

InterSpec will present a Technology Briefing on how to increase the investment in your Autodesk Revit BIM products to automatically create and coordinate your constructions specifications using e-SPECS.

Automatically Create Specs from BIM Models:

Supports Revit and AutoCAD Based Products
View and Mark-up Your Specs Inside Revit-based Applications
Use AIA MASTERSPEC® or Your Custom Office Masters
Collaborate and Coordinate with all Project Team Members
Research Products and Materials Directly from e-SPECS
Integrated Powerful Spec Writing Editor
Automated Submittal and Outline Reports
Save 35-50% of your Spec Writing Costs
Outsourced Expert Spec Writing Services too!

For additional info including On-line Demos:

http://www.e-specs.com/

email: info@e-SPECS.com
Phone: 1-888-50-SPECS

September's Meeting in Review

2007-09-25T07:20:00.000-07:00

Below is a brief overview of what was covered at the September meeting:

We had around 10-12 in attendance.
We discussed the direction of group. We will continue to meet on the last Monday of the month at 5:00 pm. The location will vary each month.
There were some miscellaneous questions about Revit and strategies. One was how to dimension angled and arc'd walls.
There was a short discussion on if users are utilizing "Keynotes" provided in Revit. EUA was the only one using them... Steve Jensen of Groth Design Group demonstrated how they use generic annotation and Note Block schedule to so something similar.
Dan Klancnik of CG Schmidt gave a presentation on BIM and its benefits.

Topic for October's Meeting??

2007-09-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

Interspec contacted me and has offered to demonstrate their software "e-SPECS" in-person to our group.

e-SPECS is a software that integrates with different CAD software (Revit in particular) to assist in the creation of Specifications. For more details, you can check out their site...

http://www.e-specs.com/

Please add a comment to this blog post (Yes or No) if you would like a live demo of this software at our next meeting (October 29th). I need to let them know ASAP...

To add a comment, click "Comment" at the bottom of this post.

September Meeting

2007-09-19T05:55:00.000-07:00

Here are the details for the upcoming meeting:

Date: Monday, September 24th

Time: 5:00 pm

Host Location: Milwaukee Office of CG Schmidt http://www.cgschmidt.com/contact_us/contact_us.html

Topic:
Re-group/open discussion after the summer break and bring a question/issue to share.

Food & drinks are provided courtesy of CG Schmidt. Please reply to me if you haven't already if you plan on attending so adequate food is ordered.

See you all there!