We were proud to be a Gold Sponsor of the 2023 BIM Coordinators Summit, which took place virtually on September 6 and 7 and live in Dublin, Ireland on September 7. This event brought together BIM professionals to share knowledge and celebrate advances in digital innovation in the architecture, engineering, and construction industries.

Our President Bob Palioca, Director of Software Development Glynnis Patterson, UK/EMEA Territory Lead Nick Johns, and UK/EMEA Customer Success Manager Steve Deadman visited with customers and other BIM enthusiasts from a number of locations, including India, Morocco, Egypt, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. Our team enjoyed learning about challenges Revit users face and demonstrating how our add-ins can address those challenges. 

Nick Johns and Steve Deadman at the Ideate Software booth

In addition to meeting people at our booth, Steve led a 20-minute high-level discussion on Revit model health along with Neil Carter of Corstorphine and Wright, an award-winning architectural practice. The presentation, called, “Quality Control and Best Practices for Successful Project Delivery,” covered:

• The importance of addressing quality and health concerns in your models and adding periodic health checks as part of your BIM Execution Plans
• Key areas that should be included as part of a periodic quality and health checks
• The issues that can affect model health
• How Ideate Software for Revit products can be used as part of Quality control and Data checks

Check out our Events page for more opportunities to meet with our team online or in person.

Manufacturer’s details, general notes, specifications, and other types of non-BIM data are critical to project success, but those items don’t always have a direct relationship with an element in a Revit model. How can you easily disseminate them to the Revit project team members? 

With Ideate Sticky!

We introduced Ideate Sticky in 2015 to link Excel spreadsheets to Revit projects as simple Revit table schedules. Over the past eight years, we have added many new features, and now users can create and place “Stickies” within a Revit project that represent the contents of a Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF files. Ideate Sticky now also supports Absolute paths, Relative paths, and Autodesk Cloud locations for data locations.

Sticky Schedules vs. Sticky Images

Stickies created and placed into projects as native Revit Schedule elements offer several benefits and a few limitations. When you create a new Sticky schedule, you create a new Generic Model Schedule that has header text but no body text. Learn more 

We recommend Sticky images when the size of the Excel columns and rows is important, because they offer greater visual fidelity of documents that include long pieces of text or many images. Learn more

For details and examples, read this blog post. 

It’s Easy to Create Stickies

With our intuitive user interface, you’ll be a pro at creating Stickies in no time. Here are the steps:

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Select a Source File
    
   • Open the sheet or view where you want to place the Sticky
   • Launch Ideate Sticky
   • Stay on the default Excel (Schedules) tab to create a Sticky Schedule. If you want to create a Sticky image, click on the  Word, PDF, Excel (Images) tab
   • Click Create in the lower left-hand corner (Item 2 in the image above)
     • For Schedules, pick the “...” button by the Source box at the top (Item 3 in the image above) select a file to import by 
     • For Images, select the desired source file
        
2. Specify the Source Details
    
   • Schedules
     • Identify the worksheet the Excel file that contains the data to import (Item 4 in the image above)
     • Define the area to be imported in the worksheet by selecting the region (Item 5 in the image above)
     • The Sticky name will be displayed in the Project Browser under the Schedule folder (Item 6 in the image above). Review the name for accuracy
     • Select OK (Item 7 in the image above)
     • Review Auto-update options. Learn more by reading Update the Sticky in Revit Projects with Ideate Sticky
        
   • Images
     You can specify the Excel source documents by selecting the worksheet regions in any worksheet as well as the DPI value. The Name column represents the available regions that include saved Print Areas and named regions. View and edit the ranges in Excel from the Formulas>Name Manager dialog.
     
     
      
   • Color Overrides:
     
     Image Stickies can be created with a Color, Grayscale, or Black and White override. Black and white will take precedence over the drop-down selected when creating the Image Sticky. Learn more by reading this blog post. 
      
   • DPI Overrides and Transparency:
     
     NOTE: Higher dots per inch values will result in larger image files, which could affect the Revit model size.

Want to learn more about Ideate Sticky? Check out our Help files and our Video Library.

 

 

We add new features, and you just ask for more. (Thanks!)

In July of 2013 we created an easy way for Ideate BIMLink users to assign sheets to their respective revisions or issuances in: Ideate BIMLink for Revit 2014 Conquers Revisions!

The response was swift, "Thanks for saving me hours of time, but NOW I need help with this other Revit revision nonsense. I'm required to manage a complete list of all revisions for all sheets as a record, with the list of sheets as the rows, the list of revision dates as the columns, and, this is the kicker, the per sheet number of the revision within each corresponding cell, as shown."

Typical Document Issue Record with Revit Sheet and Revision Data.

We like it when you ask us to solve soul-sucking problems such as this. So here's your solution:

Ideate BIMLink and Document Issue and Revision Records

Existing Ideate BIMLink customers should contact [email protected] to request a copy of the Excel macro template used in this video.

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About the Author

Glynnis Patterson, NCARB - Director of Software Development
Glynnis is a Registered Architect and has worked within 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 worldwide, developing, and consulting on solutions to Building Information Modeling challenges. In her spare time Glynnis does volunteer work for eclcofnj.org and growitgreenmorristown.org @GVPinNJ

 

Sept. 7, 2023 Update

Autodesk announced on 6 September 2023 a fix for the Schema Error, which we highly recommend everyone read carefully. The Autodesk blog post has two very important statements that we would like to emphasize:

“This is an important update for all Revit 2024 (all versions) users, and we recommend that everyone using a 2024 version update to this version as soon as possible. This update is especially important for worksharing users that all project team members are using this release of Revit or higher. Why? To avoid the possibility of older versions of Revit 2024 reintroducing this problem back to the project teams’ model.”   

We are grateful to the Autodesk team for escalating this so quickly. We feel that all customers who want to upgrade older models to Revit 2024 can proceed safely now, being sure to first deploy the new 2024.1.1 version to all Revit users – this should include not only staff but all other Revit collaborators. Outside consultants using 2024.0 or 2024.1 who open a 2024.1.1 file during the same session could trigger this schema error. Everyone must upgrade or no one should upgrade. If you have 2024.0 or 2024.1 files that experience the schema error, your action item is to contact Autodesk, per the details in their solution article.

 

August 8 Update

Today Autodesk ‘pinned’ the Revit Forum topic that relates to this important issue. Additionally, Kimberly Fuhrman, Revit Community Manager at Autodesk, has noted in that same post: “Yes, this is a critical issue and our teams are focused on getting a solution. We will keep you posted!”. We feel that both items indicate that Autodesk has now escalated this issue to the level it deserves. Thank you to everyone who weighed in on this issue. 

 

If you have the option, we are recommending that you delay your 2024 upgrade until Autodesk can deliver another update. If you need to move to Revit 2024, which does contain some nice improvements, then we strongly recommend that you carefully follow the workaround steps noted below. The bottom line is that Autodesk has broken our (and other 3^rd party) schemas during the 2024.1 upgrade process, so any fix will need to come from them. 

 

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July 31 Update

Since the blog post below was written last week, we’ve learned a little more about this issue.

First, in our support case with Autodesk they have acknowledged the problem and indicated that it would be addressed in the “upcoming releases of Revit. However, at this time, we do not have a timeframe as to when this fix would be available.”

Autodesk has published three articles that relate to this issue. Each article identifies a unique problem but includes the same workaround designed to prevent the problems from happening. The workaround is very labor intensive because it involves closing and re-opening Revit for each file that needs to be upgraded to 2024.1. It is also not yet clear whether linked files would need to be detached during this process. We have tested and confirmed the suggested steps work but feel strongly that preventing the problem from occurring in the first place should be a high priority for a code fix.

We also know that not all projects exhibit this problem and suspect it may relate to files that were started a long time ago. Until we can learn more about the conditions that cause the problem or when Autodesk fixes the problem, we will continue to recommend that our customers refrain from upgrading to 2024.1

You can read the three Autodesk articles at this Revit forum post. Please let Autodesk know that this fix is important to you by posting or liking this newer post. 

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The newly published Revit 2024.1 update, released on July 11, 2023, appears to introduce a new schema error when opening some files that previously contained Ideate Software and/or other 3rd party add-in data, which are stored as Schemas.

The error condition may look like this:

Picking “Continue loading the file” option does not appear to impact the functionality of either Ideate Explorer or Ideate Sticky. 

We are currently investigating this problem and will update here when we learn more. So far, what we know is that the 2024.1 update release notes do mention changes to the API that relate to Schemas.

 
We have also noticed that many others are starting to experience the same problem, independent of Ideate Software. We are hopeful that Autodesk will quickly identify the problem and provide a solution. 

We strongly recommend that you hold off on updating Revit 2024 to the 2024.1 update until we learn more. You can add your voice to this discussion by either liking Glynnis Patterson’s comment or by adding a reply to this existing Autodesk Revit Forum topic. This action will help Ideate Software and Autodesk better understand the scale of this problem. Thank you for your support. 

 
 

There are many free Revit plugins on the market. Based on our personal experience as well as conversations with hundreds of people who have tried free and inexpensive plugins, we strongly discourage people from using them. Although a plugin may have a low upfront cost, it may cost a fortune in terms of time spent trying to get it to perform as described. And often, it never does. Not only does this frustrate users, if they downloaded the software in hopes of solving a pressing issue, they may miss a deadline and frustrate customers as well.

The Monetary Cost of Ideate Software Plugins for Revit

Developing, marketing, and supporting Revit plugins is complicated, and Ideate Software does it extremely well. While we like to focus on the value of our software, we understand that the monetary cost is important for budgeting, plus it creates a basis from which to determine the cost savings achieved.

Please visit our Bundles page for current pricing on our standard one-year subscriptions for single users, multiple users, and enterprise licensing, as well as our special promotions, which at the time of this post, include six-month get-to-know-us bundles for single and multiple users as well as the option to add Ideate Automation. Subscriptions to individual products are also available. For pricing information, go to our online store and click on each product’s name.

The Reasons Ideate Software Products are Top Revit Plugins

The whole reason Ideate Software is in business is to help companies in the architecture, engineering, construction, and owner-operator industries get the most out of their Revit software. It’s not an add-on to our business. It’s not a secondary or tertiary area of focus. It’s what we do! We are an Autodesk Authorized Developer and a member of the Autodesk Developer Network, meaning that we adhere to strict guidelines established by Autodesk and that they trust us to deliver products and services that strengthen their products and their reputation.

Here are some factors that contribute to our designation as a top Revit plugin developer:

1. We create an atmosphere that attracts top talent. A people-first philosophy in which every person is treated with respect, encouraged to share their ideas, and recognized for their successes has led to several people staying with the company for decades as well as new people with outstanding skills joining us. For examples, read this press release about Rahul Verma, who celebrated his 20-year anniversary with Ideate in 2021, and this press release that announces three new hires who brought their talents to Ideate Software within the past year. 
    
2. We develop plugins that Revit users want. We don’t ever think we know what functionality to work on next. We know what to do because we listen to Revit users. Because we have been in business for so long, we have a solid base of customers who tell us what they are working on, describe limitations in Revit that they’d like addressed, and provide candid thoughts on our product development ideas before we get to software development. As a business, our goal of course is to attract new customers, so we don’t just rely on our existing customers for direction. We tune into Autodesk Revit forums, we attend industry events across the world, and we ask for thoughts on product development after each of our webinars, which are open to the public and free of charge. 
    
3. We put all our products and enhancements through rigorous testing. Our software development team takes great pride in their work. They test their work extensively before releasing new products or enhancements to existing products by providing them to the large group of people in our Beta Test Group who test them in real-world situations. We take their feedback to heart, making adjustments as needed to ensure each product works as described and performs a valuable function.
    
4. We provide meaningful updates at least once a year. We are not a one-and-done company. Every year, we align our software with the new version of Revit, and we make customer-requested and process-improvement enhancements that bring additional value to subscribers. We highlight the enhancements in press releases, lead webinars on the updates, post videos on our YouTube channel, and put step-by-step workflow instructions in our online help files. Of course our top support staff are always available to offer assistance. Here is a video highlighting the enhancements in our May 2023 release:
   
   

Ideate Software’s Revit Plugins – An Overview

Here are highlights of our BIM plugins for Revit. Click on the links for more information.

• Ideate BIMLink – Easily edit vast amounts of Revit data by using Ideate BIMLink to import/export Revit data to Microsoft Excel for editing. In addition to robust editing, you can create many Revit elements as well as manage workflows that just aren’t easy or even possible within standard Revit. A small sampling of these varied workflows includes the ability to swap Revit elements, easily manage Revit parameters, rename Revit elements, and flexibly manage Revit sheet revision workflows and sheet/view sets. Ideate BIMLink includes powerful filtering and sorting options to manage and extract the exact Revit data to modify. 
   
• Ideate Explorer – Decrease the time spent on model management by using Ideate Explorer to find and delete incorrect, obsolete, and hidden problem items, including DWGs. Ideate Explorer comes with four additional tools that allow you to manage warnings, navigate through view-based elements, search on parameters, and filter model elements based on specific parametric conditions. 
   
• Ideate Sticky – Easily link, import, integrate, and format non-BIM data into your Revit projects with Ideate Sticky. It combines the ease and flexibility of Excel, Word, and PDF editing with the convenience of a sticky note. Because the documents are live-linked, the Revit files automatically update when the original document is changed. 
   
• Ideate StyleManager - Address the challenges that arise when Revit users load or import content into the model and the corresponding styles automatically come with the content. While management of styles in Revit can be time consuming and risky, it’s easy with Ideate StyleManager, which allows users to analyze, merge, or delete non-standard styles. 
   
• IdeateApps – Streamline time-consuming repetitive tasks with the 10 tools that come with IdeateApps. Developed for both daily Revit users and BIM managers, IdeateApps will put hours back in your day while improving the quality of your Revit models.

In addition to developing the five plugins above to solve persistent problems in architecture, engineering, and construction, and owner-operator workflows, we developed Ideate Automation to boost the power of our Revit plugins by running time-intensive activities in the background. Learn more here. 

 

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If you have any questions, reach out to us. We are here to help you understand and use our Revit plugin solutions.