Spring Cleaning for Revit 2015

Now that Revit 2015 has been published, many of our customers are starting to do their early prep work in advance of their official migration to Autodesk Revit 2015. In light of this work, here are a few simple spring cleaning tips for your consideration.

Before You Migrate to Revit 2015...

Family Audits

1. Open your office standard family (.RFA) files created in the past one year.
2. Launch Ideate Explorer for Revit.
3. Review all contents and delete anything that surprises you.*
4. Purge and then repeat to ensure nested content has been removed.

Template Audits

5. Open your office standard template (.RTE) files.
6. Launch Ideate Explorer for Revit.
7. Review all contents and delete anything that surprises you.*
8. Purge and then repeat to ensure nested content has been removed.

If you don’t have time to review all your new content (hah!) then at least be sure to audit your templates and your Titleblock and Annotation families, as they often have non-standard lines and sometimes an import or unexpected raster image may sneak in.

*Use Ideate Explorer’s built-in audit filter to find the most common culprits.

A toilet and title block family as seen by Ideate Explorer within the Revit Family Editor

Upgrading a Revit Project to Version 2015

Important information from Autodesk about the upgrade process, new to 2015.

Autodesk’s best practices when upgrading your project.

About the Author

Glynnis Patterson, NCARB – Director of Software Development Glynnis is a Registered Architect and has worked with the BIM industry since 1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has worked as an architect, educator and construction site manager. Glynnis is currently the Director of Software Development Services at Ideate, Inc. and continues to work with AEC clients across the nation, developing, and implementing best practices solutions. In her spare time Glynnis does volunteer work and builds Lego projects. @GVPinNJ

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Getting Started with Roof Framing in Revit Structure

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Revit Import into 3dsMax Design

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Residential Construction in Revit Architecture

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

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AutoCAD Beyond the Basics

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Ideate, Inc. Publishes Spotlight Success Study Featuring Sparling and Ideate BIMLink

San Francisco, CA, 05/21/2014– Ideate, Inc., a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer and Autodesk solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry with a special focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM), today announced the publication of the latest Ideate Software customer success profile, “Ideate Software Presents Spotlight on Sparling: How Sparling is Solving Large Project Challenges with Ideate BIMLink.”

Sparling, a specialty consulting firm with offices in Washington, Oregon, and California, offers electrical engineering, technology design consulting, audio/visual consulting, and acoustical and lighting design services. The firm provides design excellence and market leadership to fuel smart decisions in a wide variety of markets, from healthcare to biotech, education to entertainment. With a 67-year legacy of leadership, the firm’s 130 seasoned professionals work collaboratively to deliver design excellence in their own backyard and on a national stage.

The firm is maximizing its BIM advantage with Ideate BIMLink – an Autodesk Revit tool that improves information flow, facilitates collaboration and makes managing BIM data faster and easier. R. Robert Bell, Design Technology Manager, Sparling, Lynnwood, Washington says of Ideate Software, “We are using Ideate BIMLink with great success to simplify several tedious tasks. Ideate BIMLink lets us provide a far higher level of service than we would be able to achieve without it.”

Large project challenges highlighted in the success profile include ways Sparling has been eliminating warnings in 10 minutes with Ideate BIMLink vs. “forever” without it. Also, see how the Sparling team is making asset tagging easy in a large datacenter project, and how they have been able to accommodate sudden and unexpected changes in mid-stream quickly, even for projects of enormous size and complexity.

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc., says, “We are delighted to see how our Ideate Software customer Sparling is creatively using our robust, resilient Revit data management tool, Ideate BIMLink. We celebrate their success as they gain a competitive edge and fulfill the sophisticated needs of clients on the cutting edge of BIM design technology.”

Ideate has published “Ideate Software Presents: Spotlight on Sparling” online. Read the Customer Spotlight Success Study.

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM).  As an Autodesk solutions provider, Ideate has offered quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in California, Oregon and Washington, Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization.

Ideate Software is a comprehensive set of far-reaching BIM data management tools. Ideate BIMLink powers the “I” in BIM, allowing users to pull data from an Autodesk Revit file into Microsoft Excel for fast and precise editing, and push the data back into Revit with equal ease. Ideate Explorer for Revit lets users search, filter, quantify and select to easily manage the 100,000+ elements in a Revit model. Both solutions help Autodesk Revit users solve problems in AEC workflows and help the Revit community leverage BIM to its fullest advantage.

Autodesk, Revit and ATC are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Microsoft Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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Lean Healthcare - A Recent Voyage

Healthcare is going through a transformation. Obamacare is one of the changes. Other healthcare organizations are promoting the notion of "lean healthcare." See this website to get the basics.

I had the chance to use a hospital touting lean healthcare. The hospital's goal was stated as "to provide a better user experience and reduce waste." Luckily, I was not the patient. 

Without going into all the aspects of the experience, here are my observations/concerns:

• Why ask all the patients to make sure they show up at the same time, only to not have enough administrative staff to check them in?
• If HIPPA has been around for a while now, why is the queuing process of patients so bad?
• This hospital used barcodes on the patient tags, but absolutely no one scanned the barcode. Instead, the process used was to ask me (I was the designated driver) the same set of questions over and over. I must say they had no sense of humor when I varied my answer slightly each time.
• Lastly, this was the question that drove me up a wall -  "why are we here every 5 minutes of the pre-operative process?" - does not seem very lean to me.

Okay, so what is my point? If healthcare, with all its revenue sources, and in general, a fairly consistent and repetitive pre-operative process has these issues, how can other businesses have any chance of being 'leaner'?

• First, nothing beats employee 'buy-in' to the process.  100% buy-in.
• Second, the existing process must change to become lean. You can not force the existing process to be lean, by simply calling it 'lean.'
• Have a plan and execute on it - get customer feedback (the healthcare organization did not want mine).
• Lastly, continuous improvement is required.

It is not an easy journey, but  the reward is worth the effort.

David Haynes, NCARB, PMP, LEED AP
Ideate Director of Consulting

David is a Registered Architect, Project Management Certified Professional, who previously had his own architectural practice and was President of a commercial design-build construction company for 15 years. A graduate of University of Arizona, he has worked as an Architect, contractor, developer and as a national construction manager for a national retailer. David currently provides business process analysis, virtualization and change management solutions for AEC clients across the United States involved in the design and building industry. Follow David on Twitter: @dhaynestech 

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This post was originally published on David’s blog Connecting the [Data]… 

eLearning - Upcoming Civil 3D, Revit, and Ideate BIMLink Classes

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5.22::Revit 201:
View Properties - Controlling Visibility 

5.23::Civil 3D Infrastructure 201:

Intersection Design Tool

5.27::Ideate Software: Ideate BIMLink

Revit Project Management with Ideate BIMLink

5.30::Revit 201:

Phasing A-Z

6.3::Revit 201:

Getting Started with Roof Framing in Revit Structure

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

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Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics

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AutoCAD Fundamentals

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Navisworks Fundamentals

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AutoCAD Beyond the Basics

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eLearning - Upcoming Civil 3D, Revit and Ideate Software Classes

Join the Ideate Tech Experts for eLearning – live online classes that provide your entire organization with easy access to premium education. 

5.13::Ideate Software: Ideate BIMLink

Ideate BIMLink for Revit MEP Projects

5.14::Revit 201:
Rapid Detailing 

5.15::Ideate Software: Ideate Explorer
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit

5.22::Revit 201:
View Properties - Controlling Visibility 

5.23::Civil 3D Infrastructure 201:

Intersection Design Tool

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

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AutoCAD Fundamentals

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Revit Architecture Beyond the Basics

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Revit MEP - Overview

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Revit MEP - Electrical

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Profile Editing Enhancements in Civil 3D 2015

We at Ideate are looking through the new features in the latest release of Autodesk software. In this post, I am going to discuss the new profile editing enhancements in Civil 3D 2015.

Profile Extending and Adding Entities Before Previously Drawn Entities

Civil 3D has a made a few enhancements to its profile editing options. The first is the extend entity tool which shows up on the profile layout tools toolbar. 

The Extend Entity tool on the profile layout toolbar

This tool extends an entity to the end or beginning of a profile. This does not mean the end or beginning of the horizontal alignment. The profile will be extended to the nearest major station, as can be seen in the following image. 

The Extend Entity tool on the profile layout toobar

Another important addition is the ability to add entities before previously-drawn entities. This is particularly useful if additional entities have been added at the beginning of your horizontal alignment.

Free Curve Editing

Multiple additions have been made to the free curve editing, with the most notable being the ability to add a free circular curve by selecting entities that the curve will be connected to. Refer to the following image to see where this is on the toolbar. This option allows you to create the curve by selecting the two entities the curve will be between, and then determining the curve geometry by selecting a pass-through point, or indicating a radius or length.

Free circular vertical curve tool location on toolbar

The parabolic curves can also be created using a pass-through point. This is new to this release. To ensure these pass-through point curves are compatible with previous versions of the software, you can convert the curve to be pvi based. This option is shown in the following image.  

Tool to convert the curve created by the free curve through point option to a pvi based curve.

In short, the new profile editing features include the ability:

• To create entities before previously drawn entities.
• To extend entities to the extents of the profile (nearest major station).
• To create circular free curves by selecting entities before and after the curve.
• To create curves by a pass-through point.
• To convert the pass-through point curves to pvi based curves for backward compatibility.

Check out the video Civil 3D 2015: Profile Editing Enhancements

Also, for information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2015 releases for Civil 3D, Navisworks, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2015

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Kate Ming, P.E.
Ideate AEC Application Specialist

Kate is an Application Specialist at Ideate, Inc. and is a Professional Engineer with 6 years of industry experience. At Ideate, Kate provides training, consulting and technical support services for our customers.

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Annotation Enhancements of AutoCAD 2015

With AutoCAD 2015, you have some great annotation enhancements. Most notably you can now use the match properties to match the properties of the text within text editor.

AutoCAD 2015 Text Editor Contextual Tab

Text Before Matching Properties

Another annotation enhancement worthy of being mentioning is case change. If you are like me and have the Caps Lock turned 'On' all the time for sheet annotation, chances are you forgot to turn it off before going into the text editor and before long you have already written the whole paragraph. Now, AutoCAD 2015 will turn the Caps Lock Off and reverse case the moment you hit the spacebar.

AutoCAD 2015 will also convert fractions like ½ to a stacked fraction automatically. This gives you the option to change properties in the Stack Properties dialog box.

Stack Properties Dialog box

If you create dimensions you know that every time you add a dimension, the tool tries to snap to the end of the extension line. With AutoCAD 2015 you no longer have to worry about this. 

Dimension Command Does Not Snap to Extension Line

One more thing I will add here is the text align command in the Ribbon tab Annotate. This now aligns multiple text objects similar to multileader align command.

Text Align Command in Ribbon Tab Annotate

So these are the select few annotation enhancements. They may seem like minor improvements but I believe they can help you produce construction documents faster. Happy Production!

Check out the video AutoCAD 2015: Annotation Enhancements

Also, for information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2015 releases for Civil 3D, Navisworks, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2015
 

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Gaurav Bagga
Ideate Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist

Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

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Navisworks 2015: 2D Sheet Takeoff

Several new tools have been added so that you can use 2D sheets to quantify objects. The tools let you draw over a DWF file's lines, or use the linework to extract perimeters and areas. The provided movie shows the tools in use. 

 

Two additional movies show the required setup. To create the DWF files view the DWF Files Video. To create a quantification workbook view the Quantification Workbook in Navisworks Video.

2D Quantification Tools

Also, for information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2015 releases for Civil 3D, Navisworks, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2015

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Jim Cowan
Ideate AEC Senior Application Specialist
Jim Cowan’s extensive AEC design industry experience, Autodesk design solutions expertise and status as an Autodesk Certified Instructor have made him a sought after university curriculum developer, instructor and presenter. Jim’s areas of expertise include eLearning, interoperability between solutions and overcoming barriers to the adoption of Building Information Modeling (BIM). Educated in Architecture at Edinburgh College of Art/Heriot–Watt University and in Landscape Architecture at University of Manitoba, Jim has special focus on sustainability issues: daylight analysis, sun studies, lighting analysis, modeling buildings and conceptual energy modeling (models with shading devices). YouTube Channel: MrJimCowan

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Images in Schedules Using Revit 2015

In this release of Revit, Autodesk introduces the new IMAGE parameter type. This new parameter is displayed by default as an Instance and Type parameter for most of the model system and component families. Views, Sheets, Datum, and View Specific families are excluded. The IMAGE parameter type is one of the displays as an available choice of parameter types when creating custom projects or shared parameters.

The new 'Image' Type

When an IMAGE parameter is built into a family, users can associate it with an image loaded in Revit or select from any path. The images are managed by the ‘Manage Image’ dialog box which was improved in this release with several new features. 

1. The ‘Add’ button will embed a new image.
2. The ‘Reload’ button to refresh or update the image file.
3. The ‘Reload From’ button will repath the image file from a different folder location.
4. The actual path of the images is displayed in the new ‘Path’ Column.

New enhancements in the "Manage Image' dialog

The images will be embedded into the Revit project, and like any other image, it will have some impact on the file size. To keep the file size under control, keep the images less than 300kb in size, with a maximum measure of 300 x 300 pixels, and a resolution lower than 96 DPI. Several common image editors like Windows Paint, Photoshop, or SnagIt Editor will enable you to fix or re-size the images in batches. 

This new functionality enables us to create legend-type schedules. For example: Furniture, Light Fixtures, Walls, Finish Materials, etc. This is also a great function for Room Data Sheets!

Images displayed in a sample Finish Material Schedule

See how you can build a Finish Material Schedule and a Wall Rating Legend using this new feature in the video discussion Revit 2015 Images in Schedules.

Images displayed in a sample Wall Schedule

Also, for information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2015 releases for Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2015

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Cesar Escalante, AIA, LEED AP, CCCA
AEC Solutions Application Specialist
Cesar has a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Central America in El Salvador, a Master of Architecture from the University of Texas, and is a CCCA (Certified Construction Contract Administrator). His experience includes roles as Project Manager and Project Captain at architecture firms in Oakland, California. As a member of the Ideate Tech Expert team, Cesar teaches Revit Architecture Fundamentals and provides client support and consulting. Cesar’s interest in the built environment includes his work as a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.

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Ideate, Inc. Publishes Study in Success on PYATOK Winning New Business with Revit

SAN FRANCISCO, California – 5/6/2014 - Autodesk Gold Value Added Reseller Ideate, Inc., a solutions provider offering quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry, today announced the publication of a new Study in Success, “Rapid Revit Implementation Fast-Tracks PYATOK to Winning New Business.”

Ideate customer PYATOK, an Oakland based architectural firm established by Michael Pyatok, FAIA in 1984, first began considering the advantages of Autodesk Revit and the full power of parametric modeling about a decade ago. The firm designs award-winning multi-family housing for families, students, and seniors with emphasis in affordable, college and university housing, and market-rate developments throughout the western US. PYATOK focuses on up-to-the-minute green building technologies, cutting-edge modeling processes, and participatory design methods. The firm’s principals decided that a trickle-in effect would not be effective, so they made the decision in 2007 to bring in Ideate, Inc. to facilitate the transition.

Curtis Caton, Principal, PYATOK explains, “Ideate was a big part of our support getting started with Revit, and it still is. Using Revit allows our team to spend more time thinking and getting into creative problem solving. Fast track implementation started paying off right away.”

The Study in Success addresses an array of PYATOK projects from their earliest in the Revit implementation process to the most recent. The sampling reveals how PYATOK used Revit to overcome compressed schedules, respond to unforeseeable project demands related to programmatic changes, surmount neighborhood pressures, and resolve inconsistencies between 2D design engineering partners and PYATOK.

Bob Palioca, President, Ideate Inc. says, “The PYATOK transition to Revit delivered an advantage that continues to propel this firm forward with a competitive edge for winning new business. Helping PYATOK implement Revit quickly so the firm can succeed beyond expectation has been especially gratifying.”

Ideate has published “Rapid Revit Implementation Fast-Tracks PYATOK to Winning New Business” online. Download the Study in Success at www.ideateinc.com/ideas/case.html

About Ideate, Inc.
Ideate, Inc. is a leading Autodesk Authorized Developer with 25+ years’ experience in software development and specific focus on Building Information Modeling (BIM). As an Autodesk solutions provider, Ideate has offered quality software, training, support and custom consulting services to the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industries since 1992. Headquartered in San Francisco, California and operating Autodesk Authorized Training Centers (ATCs) in California, Oregon and Washington, Ideate is recognized as an Autodesk Gold Partner for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, one of Autodesk’s highest levels of authorization.

Autodesk, ATC and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. 

# # #

eLearning - Upcoming Revit and Ideate Software Classes

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5.9::Revit 201:
Shared Parameters and Schedules in Revit MEP

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Ideate BIMLink for Revit MEP Projects

5.14::Revit 201:
Rapid Detailing 

5.15::Ideate Software: Ideate Explorer
Revit Auditing with Ideate Explorer for Revit

5.22::Revit 201:
View Properties - Controlling Visibility 

Each class is designed to give you specific, improved results in a particular topic. You can interact with the instructor right from your own office, while eliminating travel time. Because the class schedule rotates, you can easily select your topics of interest and choose the day which best meets your schedule.

Click here for class descriptions, times and registration link. Questions? Contact education@ideateinc.com

Get It. Know It. Use It.

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Position yourself to land dream projects. Tap the full potential of your software solutions. Increase your facility, fluidity and capability to maximize the value of your precision software tools.

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Revit MEP - Mechanical

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Revit MEP - Documentation

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AutoCAD Fundamentals

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What’s New in Civil 3D 2015: Maintain Targets Even After Replacing Subassembly

In keeping you informed with ‘What’s New in my software’ series from Ideate; here is a snippet on one of the key benefits of Civil 3D 2015.

If you have always modeled corridors in Civil 3D and you have been dreading to change the subassembly because of the fear of losing targets. Read on… there is now a solution.

Enter Civil 3D 2015 – problem solved.

In Civil 3D 2015 you can now change a subassembly and yet maintain the corridor targets. In fact, when you add a subassembly from Tool Palette you are now prompted to insert, replace, or leave it detached at the command line.
 

New Command Line Options for Subassembly Insertion

If you chose to replace it then it will prompt you to maintain targets or not.

Similar Targets in Previous Subassembly Dialog Box

In this example I accidently choose the wrong subassembly for my left knuckle, as evidently seen below in the red highlight. Yes, I have exaggerated a bit.

Corridor With Old Subassembly in Assembly, Plan and Section View

I was able to replace it with minimal effort. All the while maintaining the left EOP knuckle target. Here is the screen shot after replacing the subassembly.
 

Corridor With New Subassembly

For these improvements and more, try out Civil 3D 2015 now. Also, remember to come back here to the Ideate Solutions blog for more details on the enhancements to Civil 3D 2015 from me and my team.

Check out the video Civil 3D 2015: Maintain Targets Even After Replacing Subassembly

Also, for information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2015 releases for Civil 3D, Navisworks, Revit Architecture, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2015

---

Gaurav Bagga
Ideate Infrastructure Solutions Application Specialist

Gaurav is a well rounded Application Engineer and Project Manager for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 15 years experience in construction industry and has been helping numerous small, medium and ENR 500 firms maximize their CAD investment for the last ten years. Gaurav is an Autodesk Certified Instructor and Autodesk Civil 3D Implementation Certified Expert. He has taught at several conferences, CAD Camps and Autodesk University. He has taught AutoCAD, Civil 3D, Land Desktop and Map 3D to thousands of students and helps Ideate develop the Infrastructure Services curriculum and courses. With his extensive CAD technology background he helps Bay Area engineering and surveying firms analyze and improve their design and drawing production process thereby improving productivity and the bottom line. Follow Gaurav on Twitter: @BeGeez

Get it. Know it. Use it.

Use the Windows Event Viewer to Help Troubleshoot Software Crashes

Here’s a quick tip to help troubleshoot software crashes. 

1. Use Windows’ Event Viewer to shed light on the crash in Control Panel> System and Security> Administrative Tools.   
2. Click Event Viewer.  
3. On the left pane expand Windows Logs and select Application.  
4. In the top middle pane scroll down to the date and time of the event. 

In this case I found a Revit crash pertaining to a .NET error.

I hope this helps.  Enjoy!

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Derek Wielkopolski
Ideate Technical Support Manager/Application Specialist
Derek holds a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Roger Williams University, Rhode Island. He is experienced working within the AEC industry from concept design through construction administration for both small and large scale projects. As Ideate’s Support Manager he ensures a timely and quality response to support requests and questions. Follow Derek on Twitter: @dwielk

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Caltrans Sets July 1, 2014 Date for Civil 3D Projects

As an Autodesk Gold Partner and ENI Services provider, Ideate has been directly involved with Caltrans’s Civil 3D Implementation training for the past few years. We have helped deliver training to a number of district offices on Civil 3D for Surveying, Road Design, and Structures. 

In a recent announcement, Caltrans has set the date for July 1, 2014 for all new projects to be designed using Civil 3D. You can read the Autodesk Caltrans Memo Here. The announcement memo also notes that any project that is not yet at the 30% stage should be converted to Civil 3D for completion. To help with the transition, Caltrans has also made a number of their custom Civil 3D resources available through a downloadable ZIP file. 

Included in the ZIP file are Caltrans specific templates for Survey, Photogrammetry, and Design; Borders, Sheet Sets, Fonts, Report Style Sheets, Color Book settings, Blocks, additional resources for Survey Databases, and importing TSS file data. Once downloaded, these can be used with Civil 3D to help generate project files that meet Caltrans’s Civil 3D requirement. Although no version is mentioned in the announcement, Caltrans is currently using AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 for their training and installations. 

Here are a few additional things to note:

1. Civil 3D is only relplacing CAiCE as Caltrans’s primary road design software.
2. Microstation is still currently the official drafting software for Caltrans.
3. AutoCAD Civil 3D 2012 is a different file type from the three latest (2013-2015) releases.

Keep up to date on the latest developments by checking back regularly. 

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Matt Miyamoto, P.E.
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Matt is a licensed Civil Engineer in the state of Hawaii. Matt obtained a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and has 7 years of private sector design experience which he applies in his role as an application specialist with Ideate, Inc. His project experience includes residential and commercial site development, private and public sewer, water and drainage systems, harbors improvements, and roadway improvements. While in Hawaii, Matt was involved in multidisciplinary projects for City and County agencies, State Departments, the Army COE and private developers. @MattM_PE

Get it. Know it. Use it.