The most rewarding aspect of software development for me is to make things appear simple, even when they are not. Recently, in the 2014.1 version of Ideate BIMLink we implemented a feature that seems like a small thing and often times gets overlooked. The problem was simple: in Autodesk Revit some parameters allow you to pick from a list of choices, but in the export that Ideate BIMLink created our customers were finding a number. Through some trial and error by the user the meaning of the numbers could be deduced, but that was hardly a simple or rewarding task. Some examples had more than one hundred choices and the value '95' did little to inform the user that the space type was 'Operating Room - Hospital/Healthcare'. We strove to do better.
Before BIMLink Update - Coded Space Types
The source of the problem is that Revit is available in several languages. The list of choices changes based on the language that Revit is using. As you can imagine, translation becomes an issue and there needs to be a universal meaning behind each name. To do this Revit uses numbers to store the choice, and that is how Revit shares the choice to us. It is that seemingly arbitrary number that we were then showing.
After BIMLink Update - Easily Identifiable Space Types
I took on the task of changing that number into the name that our users are more familiar with. It seemed like a simple enough task in English, but that wasn't enough. We needed it to work for all languages of Revit. It was a challenge that I took on with vigor and I am happy is included in the 2014 version of Ideate BIMLink. It may seem like a small thing, but it is the small things that make our more difficult tasks easier to bear. Let us show you how Ideate BIMLink can improve your workflow: download the trial version of Ideate BIMLink.
About the Author
Jesika DiGregorio - Software Team Lead Jesika received her Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Oregon in Eugene where she also spent time studying advanced math. Her work experience includes Junior Designer at an award-winning firm specializing in architecture and land planning, and Intern Architect at a firm that provides services in planning, design, construction documents and construction administration for projects of all sizes. After working in architecture design for several years, Jesika decided to pursue her interest in programming and her love of efficient systems. She now serves as a Software Team Lead for Ideate Software.