We recently launched the ability to create the export of DWG files from Revit models via Ideate Automation. (We have supported the creation of PDFs since June 2022). Controlling the output of the files is done within the Ideate Automation set up wizard. We have improved upon the Revit DWG export settings and can control the naming of the DWGs better and add custom parameters where appropriate.

The default file naming for many of the scripts that export to DWG is controlled by the variable ${view_parameterValue}. This value is in turn controlled by either a sheet or view name parameter. The default value for the sheet elements is to use the parameter called “Sheet Number” while the default value for view elements is to use the parameter called “View Name.” 

To comply with ISO 19650 standards for example, many people are managing the required sheet number value with a custom parameter name. In the example shown below, the sheet number is combined on the title block to include two custom parameters called Project Code and Originator, both of which are stored under Project Information.


Example of title sheet using custom parameters to comply with the ISO 19650 UK standard

Both the AUT-Export_DWG and IBL-Export_DWG_Dynamic Ideate Automation scripts can be used to deliver unique DWG file names by adjusting the File Name variable to:

${Revit.CurrentFile.ProjectInfo.Project Code}-${Revit.CurrentFile.ProjectInfo.Originator}-${view_parameterValue}

You can add custom parameters from Project Information to the file name.

After the script has completed and the files have been created the file name is created by concatinating the Project Code, Originator and Sheet Number parameters.

DWGs created with names consistent with ISO 19650 UK standard.

Read more about automating your DWG exports from Revit in this How To guide.

If you’re a fan of ISO 19650, you may find these related blog posts useful:

• Evolve Consultancy Streamlines ISO 19650-2 Compliance with Ideate BIMLink
• I Didn’t Know I Could Renumber That

For additional training tips, check out our Training blog series

Browse our website to learn more about how Ideate Software add-on products help Revit users save time, increase model accuracy, improve deliverables and elevate design. You can give them a try by downloading trial versions or purchasing the bundle for access to the Revit plugin solutions Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, Ideate StyleManager, and IdeateApps for six months. 

About the Author

Steve Deadman - Customer Success Manager - EMEA
Steve provides support to customers and helps them get a strong return on their software investment. He has a B.Eng (Hons) degree in Mechanical Engineering and various certifications in engineering. Before joining Ideate Software, he worked at several top architectural firm in the United Kingdom where he specialized in the implementation and management of BIM processes and technology. Find Steve on LinkedIn.

Recently, a customer was using our Ideate Automation script: “AUT-Export-Combined_PDF” and ran into a timeout error during the export process. Our timeout for this workflow was set to two hours. As a result, we changed the timeout to four hours for the latest release. 

This also sparked a conversation around the factors that impact the export to PDF time. Here is a short list to help you troubleshoot your model before exporting to PDF:

1. Views Far Clipping and Depth Clipping Parameters Aren’t Managed
   Showing too much of what you don’t need in a view increases the time it renders it for the view, therefore impacting the time it takes to print, especially if the clipping setting is set to “No Clip,” which means that it’s infinite, and you are at risk of showing more than what you need.  
   
   Here are the settings you can manage to control this:

• Depth Clipping: Plan Views and Plan Callouts 
• Far Clipping: Elevations, Elevation Callouts, and Sections
  Note: Far Clip Settings for Elevation Callouts can either be independent or same as parent view, however, Sections and Elevations are inherently independent.  

To manage this, you can utilize Ideate BIMLink to audit your Views clipping options. Ideate BIMLink has a link definition named “Views” you can use as a starting point and add the necessary parameters. In this case we need “Depth Clipping” and “Far Clipping” 

You’ll notice that the clipping values are 0,1,2:

• 0 = No clip
• 1 = Clip with line
• 2 = Clip without Line

“Far Clip Settings” is another parameter we can investigate. There are two options as indicated above, Same as Parent View or Independent. 

• 0 = Independent
• 1 = Same as parent view

When managing Views, it’s important to also understand the differences between Detail and Floor Plan Callout. Here is a knowledge-based article from Autodesk for your review: Understanding the differences between details and floor plan callouts in Revit LT. 

2. Views Far Clip Offset Isn’t Managed
   To manage this parameter in BIMLink, you need the “Far Clip Offset.” You can go ahead and add it to your Link Definition. When far clipping is set to clip with or without a line, you can control the Far Clip Offset. You can audit your model by reviewing and editing the distance so that it’s not showing too much information for that view. 
    
3. Depth Cueing is Enabled for the View
   This property can be managed with “Depth Cueing: Show Depth.” If this is enabled for a view, it will take longer to print and it rasterizes the image. 
    
4. Views with Shadows Turned on
   If shadows are turned on for a view, it takes longer to print as it rasterizes it, much like Depth Cueing. Unfortunately, there is API limitations to access this data, but it’s on our roadmap once Revit makes it accessible. 
    
5. Views Detail Level
   The rule of thumb for Views detail level is that the majority should be set to Coarse level of detail. Use Medium or fine level of details for detail only. To manage this, you can utilize the “Detail Level” parameter and add it to the “Views” BIMLink Link Definition. 
    
6. Number of Views on Sheet
   Using the BIMLink Link Definition “Views,” you can use the property “Sheet Number” to investigate how many views are on the Sheet. Sheets that contain a lot of views take longer to print. 
    
7. Views with CAD Links that aren’t clean
   A dense CAD file on a view increases printing time. Cleaning CAD links before linking them into the Revit model is a general rule, however, there comes times where you miss a few layers or want to do a quick merging or deleting layers. You can use Ideate Style Manager; Navigate to Object Styles and check Imported Styles. Scroll to the DWG file you’re looking to clean. You can analyze, merge, and delete certain layers.  
   
   You can also check if there are any CAD Links or imports in your project to begin with. You can utilize the Ideate BIMLink definition “HC-Imports” and go to the Filters tab and delete “Is Linked” filter to list all CAD Links and CAD Imports in the project.

As you see, there are many factors that impact the time it takes to export to PDF from Revit. With this short list and the proper tools, you can audit your model and find your Export to PDF from Revit culprit! 

For additional training tips, check out our Training blog series.

Browse our website to learn more about how Ideate Software add-on products help Revit users save time, increase model accuracy, improve deliverables and elevate design. You can give them a try by downloading trial versions or purchasing the bundle for access to the Revit plugin solutions Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, Ideate StyleManager, and IdeateApps for six months. 

About the Author

Nivin Nabeel, Customer Success Manager, Americas

Nivin has a background in architecture, visual arts, and computer science and has extensive experience in managing and manipulating BIM data, developing and implementing BIM standards and workflows, and applying BIM workflows to ancillary project components for improved efficiency. Before joining Ideate Software, Nivin worked at several architecture and design firms where she learned about Ideate Software products, used them, advocated for them, implemented them, and trained others on how to use them. She earned her Bachelor of Architectural Science degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. Follow Nivin on LinkedIn.

Trying to navigate your way around a Revit model can be a challenging and time-consuming exercise. Fortunately, Ideate Software tools are on hand to make this easier and more efficient. 

When you are searching for a particular value or element within the Ideate Software applications, how you specify the search term can affect the results produced.

In the example below, searching for Block A, the results are finding any level with either Block or A in the name.

 
The results are not filtered for just Block A

Adding quotation marks will return results that match exactly Block A.

Shown above, the exact search terms are returned.

Further examples are shown below.

To learn more about searching in Ideate Software visit our Help file, Introduction to Ideate Explorer Search. 

You can also review this additional blog article on Advanced Tag Text Property Search.

U2 can find what you’re looking for. Happy searching!

For additional training tips, check out our Training blog series

Browse our website to learn more about how Ideate Software add-on products help Revit users save time, increase model accuracy, improve deliverables and elevate design. You can give them a try by downloading trial versions or purchasing the bundle for access to the Revit plugin solutions Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, Ideate StyleManager, and IdeateApps for six months. 

About the Author

Steve Deadman - Customer Success Manager - EMEA
Steve provides support to customers and helps them get a strong return on their software investment. He has a B.Eng (Hons) degree in Mechanical Engineering and various certifications in engineering. Before joining Ideate Software, he worked at several top architectural firm in the United Kingdom where he specialized in the implementation and management of BIM processes and technology. Find Steve on LinkedIn.

Ideate ReNumber, one of the tools in our IdeateApps collection, is a great tool for renumbering virtually any element in your Revit model. Whether its rooms, doors, windows, areas, you’ve probably used the tool when in a plan view.

But did you know you can also use Ideate Renumber in schedule views?

Example

In this example, I’m renumbering sheets to match the ISO 19650 UK standards.

I’ve built a custom rule using custom shared parameters for each of the different containers of the ISO 19650 UK document naming standard. The parameters are concatenated and then pushed into the Sheet number parameter to renumber the sheets. 

With the schedule view open, run the Ideate ReNumber tool. The sorting order of the schedule drives the order in which the elements are numbered, meaning the order in which the increment part is applied.

 
After the renumbering, the sheet numbers have been changed.

Bonus! 

There is also a rule to renumber details views on sheets. This rule can be loaded from our standard as delivered content.

Load the rule by clicking on Import. 

Once loaded, customize the rule to suit your company standard, then start renumbering!

Just click on the viewport to renumber them.
 

For additional training tips, check out our Training blog series

Browse our website to learn more about how Ideate Software add-on products help Revit users save time, increase model accuracy, improve deliverables and elevate design. You can give them a try by downloading trial versions or purchasing the bundle for access to the Revit plugin solutions Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, Ideate StyleManager, and IdeateApps for six months. 

About the Author

Steve Deadman - Customer Success Manager - EMEA
Steve provides support to customers and helps them get a strong return on their software investment. He has a B.Eng (Hons) degree in Mechanical Engineering and various certifications in engineering. Before joining Ideate Software, he worked at several top architectural firm in the United Kingdom where he specialized in the implementation and management of BIM processes and technology. Find Steve on LinkedIn.

Finding a bad level in your Revit model should strike fear in your heart. There are a wide variety of model conditions that might be at risk when this happens. Virtually all content placed in a Revit model has a level association. The good news is that you can follow the basic steps documented in our Ideate Explorer – How To topic to learn how to manage this type of challenge.

The basic steps are useful when you have a good level and a bad level on top of each other or when the model has not been fully developed. As the model becomes more complex, we must be more cautious when selecting and moving elements. For example, before moving any element, make sure that the base constraints with their offsets make sense and check for proper modelling. Fix that first then attempt moving the elements. E.g., Element placed at Level 1 with offset 10.’ This means that this element needs to be on Level 2 with offset 1’ given that the height of Level 1 is 9.’

If you are trying to work through the challenges of moving a complex model from one level to another, here are some detailed workflow tips on how to handle different elements categories and the order of operation:

In summary, fixing an incorrect level within a well-developed Revit model is very challenging! Hopefully these tips will provide a roadmap to help you move forward. 

Here’s a link to a related blog post, Ideate Explorer and IdeateApps: Safely Moving Revit Content to Another Level

For additional training tips, check out our Training blog series.

Browse our website to learn more about how Ideate Software add-on products help Revit users save time, increase model accuracy, improve deliverables and elevate design. You can give them a try by downloading trial versions or purchasing the bundle for access to the Revit plugin solutions Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, Ideate StyleManager, and IdeateApps for six months. 

About the Author

Nivin Nabeel, Customer Success Manager, Americas

Nivin has a background in architecture, visual arts, and computer science and has extensive experience in managing and manipulating BIM data, developing and implementing BIM standards and workflows, and applying BIM workflows to ancillary project components for improved efficiency. Before joining Ideate Software, Nivin worked at several architecture and design firms where she learned about Ideate Software products, used them, advocated for them, implemented them, and trained others on how to use them. She earned her Bachelor of Architectural Science degree from Toronto Metropolitan University. Follow Nivin on LinkedIn.