Novedge Pulse™ of Steve Stafford

I wrote about the enhancements to the existing View Reference feature in March when the software first was released.I didn't mention this other little goody, for people working inside Revit. If you double click on the view reference family Revit will open the view!  [more...]

Sibilance! I used to work for Syracuse Scenery & Stage Lighting, Co. in Syracuse, NY. It was fun when I had to introduce myself formally starting with, "Hi, I'm Steve Stafford with...". The title of this post reminded me of that, sorry! I was going to lead into it  [more...]

I don't recall when this first showed up but I noticed it first in Revit 2012. Here's what it looks like with a right-click in Revit 2013.My first reaction was cool! Then I wondered, "When or why would I use it?". Pondered it for a bit and decided that it might be  [more...]

It is now possible to create new view types for all views except for area plans and sheet. This means you can create your own versions of floor plans according to discipline or perhaps design phase. We've been able to do this with sections, elevations and detail views  [more...]

Originally posted here August 2009 and still true with Revit 2013When an architect uses the Basic Ceiling-Generic type they are creating a situation for the Revit MEP user they may not be aware of. Face based content does not orient themselves to the correct side or  [more...]

A recent question at Revitforum.org asked about hiding the connectors in family content for the sake of cleaner previews.To accomplish this:In the view you want to use as the previewSelect the connectorsClick Temporary Hide/IsolateChoose Hide ElementSave the fileClose  [more...]

Autodesk Labs posted an application that was developed by Autodesk Consulting. You can read more information HERE.It functions as a plug-in that is installed in both applications, Civil 3D and Revit. It allows a Civil 3D user to define the shared coordinate system  [more...]

It isn't a surprising question, it's asked often. I wrote a post before called "Yeah but". That's the kind of response that often comes after answering the question with, "Yeah, you should"."Yeah but... the architect isn't using Revit, the engineers aren't using Revit,  [more...]

Revit 2013 changes the means to reduce the overall size of the text displayed in a dimension string, particularly noticeable to people using imperial units. It was tied to the project units and you had to alter a dimension style to not use the project units settings  [more...]

If you are preparing for installing the 2013 Revit products via the Building Design Suites then you might want to start with the System Requirements PDF documents for each version.StandardPremiumUltimateYou'll also want to read the Installation Overview and FAQ [more...]

For people experimenting with these new concepts and feature... I picked this item up recently.If you are trying to make things work and running into problems make sure the Adaptive Component (AC) is hosted on nodes of a divided curve or divided surface. It can easily  [more...]

A post last week at the RTC Blog offered the chance to attend VisDay for free if you took the effort to submit your reason for attending. I mentioned it too, here.The winner has been announced this morning and the winner is:Andrew Ness with HASSELLAndrew wrote that  [more...]

This situation occurs when your Revit session can not find the central file. This could happen through no fault of your own. For example it could happen because the project's server is down, a router is malfunctioning, your network cable was unplugged by the cleaning  [more...]

I created a video to describe what happens when Revit contours don't quite match up with the underlying cad file contours that were used to generate a toposurface. The first part of the video explains that the Site Settings usually don't match the contour interval  [more...]

Rooms and areas can be deleted in model views like floor plans and ceiling plans. Revit warns us that they have been deleted from the model but they are still listed in schedules. To really delete them we have to open a schedule view and delete them there. That is  [more...]

I've seen a post at AUGI now and received a couple emails disparaging the new feature, "Double Click a Family to Edit Family". Cool right? In the example at AUGI it isn't much fun when you click too quickly on your sheet's title block to edit a parameter and you end  [more...]

This may be of interest to anyone already planning to attend RTC in Wollongong next month since you'll be in town already. RTC also hopes that if you are part of the visualization community you'll be interested too! RTC is running a competition to award a free pass  [more...]

This message appears when you import a DWG file that has geometry that makes the total extents of the file larger than 20 (33 km)miles horizontally or vertically.That message is different from this message.The second message occurs when all the geometry in the file  [more...]

There isn't an easy button to just eliminate shared coordinates in a project. You can move the Survey Point back to the same spot as the Project Base Point and then use Specify Coordinates at Point to reset the coordinates the file is using. Sounds like I just countered  [more...]

System families have a Function setting. That's true for Walls, Floor, Roofs and Ceilings. I've written about this in the past. Here's what they look like now.I think the wording of a couple of the functions ought to be revisited, to something like this instead.Finish  [more...]

I'll borrow a concept from "You May be a Redneck if..." comedian Jeff Foxworthy."You may have too many worksets if..."You have to scroll the Workset DialogYou have a regular Tuesday morning Workset meetingYou have a workset for Sheet A101, A102 and so onYou have a  [more...]

Dave writes: "Does it seem to your readers that it's often more efficient to create separate families than try to make one that "flexes" correctly to make all the possible types we need? It seems that way to me at times."So what do my readers think? Post a reply in  [more...]

Brian Mackey recently wrote on his blog about a subtle feature that seems to have crept into the product without much fanfare. You can read his account. I decided to capture it in video format to pass along to a client who was asking about the concept (having beams  [more...]

I've written about Worksets quite a bit over the last seven years. Here's a compiled list of those posts. The first group (22) is specifically about the feature and it's concepts. The second group (9) related to worksets but not necessarily the primary focus.Workset  [more...]

Open the floodgates. People trying to download 2013 products are overwhelming the resources at Autodesk. A visit to the subscription site now offers this apology.What's that over there? A bird? (clicking download while you are distracted...) no... I guess not. [more...]

...may not find "Contentment"...In the continuing disappointment that is Seek, please stop making it so easy to pick on you. This is the tale of a lowly pipe fitting, a vent cap. It was encouraging when I typed the criteria "Vent Cap" and it returned one result and  [more...]

The Revit Clinic mentioned today that these extensions have been posted for the latest version of Revit 2013.Globe Link for Autodesk Revit 2013Batch Print for Autodesk Revit 2013Worksharing Monitor for Autodesk Revit 2013Autodesk Revit Model Review 2013Autodesk Revit  [more...]

Revit Furniture is another venture focused on making Revit content. They recently wrote to me offering some tips to getting quality renderings. One of the tips involves using higher quality entourage and furniture...surprised? Nah, I didn't think so. Here's the tips:Camera  [more...]

The next 25 people that register for RTCUSA 2012 will be able to choose a registration prize from a selection of books and videos. Go HERE to learn more if getting a book or video is an added incentive to lock in your spot now? [more...]

When we have architecture and structure in separate Revit models we end up with somewhat clumsy graphics in wall sections. This is more pronounced if the structural slab is in the structure model only. It could look like this.The wall continues past the floor as if  [more...]

In the past Aaron Maller and I have had long conversations that oddly enough focus on Revit. He mentioned the inconsistency between the way some elements that are sketch based are finished and the way shape editing for floors and roofs finish. He recently reminded  [more...]

I included the following tips and advice (edited a little in this version) in a door tutorial I wrote for my Autodesk University 2005 lab called "Autodesk Revit Building Family Editor: From the Beginning". It wasn't necessarily a really better door as it was a chance  [more...]

This post reiterates concepts I wrote about many years ago, regarding the IsReference parameter assigned to Reference Planes. The last post was titled "Is you Is or Is You Ain't", paying homage to Louis Jordan's tune.IsReference settings break down like this:Not a  [more...]

A little off topic today. I'm developing a complex. I've been involved with two books that are no longer getting published. The first book is Mastering Autodesk Revit Structure 2010 (Wiley/Sybex). I did the technical editing for it. The following year (and version  [more...]