It’s easy to search, analyze and delete imported object styles with Ideate StyleManager.

Object styles listed within the Imported Objects tab (shown below at right) reflect the style information that comes from:

• Linked CAD files
• Imported CAD files
• Imports that have been exploded within the project
• Imports that have been exploded within a family
• Imports in a family file 

 

Here are instructions on how to search, analyze, and delete these imported styles. 

Searching Imported Styles

The presence of an imported object style in a project doesn’t necessarily mean there are graphic elements within the project, but without Ideate StyleManager it’s difficult to tell. 

In the example above, the Green-Drain.dwg style is a remnant of an exploded import and is no longer in use, as indicated by Ideate StyleManager on the left. The Revit dialog on the right shows this style can’t be deleted, but Ideate StyleManager allows this deletion.

When reviewing imported object styles, we recommend you filter the list by unchecking the Object Styles checkbox and leaving the Imported Style checked. Within the filtered results, you will notice that some of the import styles are shown in bold; these indicate a parent style. Styles listed underneath are the children of that parent. In the example above, Green-Drain.dwg is the parent and Green-Drain.dwg: DIM is a child. 

Before you can delete any object style, you must first analyze it.

Analyzing Imported Styles

To analyze a style, select it from the Found in File pane, then select the Analyze button.

TIP: When analyzing imported object styles that include a .DWG or .DGN, it is expedient to first select and analyze the parent style (in bold). If the parent is not in use, there’s no value in analyzing the children, and deleting the parent will also delete the children.

If an imported style is used in the current file (family, template, or project), the details about how it is used are displayed at the right within the Usage pane. This information indicates if the style comes from a linked or imported CAD file or if it is embedded within a family file. It’s important to note the usages, as their related styles are treated differently within Ideate StyleManager.

Deleting Imported Styles

• Deleting Styles used by Linked CAD Files
  
  If an imported style is used by a linked CAD file, the Delete button will be disabled for the parent style only. Use the Manage Links dialog in Revit for that task. It will be possible to delete the children styles of a CAD link, but it is generally not recommended, because a reload of that link would simply reconstitute the styles. Instead we recommend the link be selected and then you use Revit’s delete layers tool if needed.
  
  Linked CAD files have two possible usage results:

1. CAD Link — used to indicate the presence of a referenced but unloaded link file
2. Link Instance — used to indicate the presence of a linked (CAD) file

• Deleting Styles used by Imported CAD Files
  
  Import Instances refer to an imported CAD file or the results of partially exploded CAD imports.
  
  Imported Styles used by imported CAD files have a unique behavior within Ideate StyleManager; we allow you to delete the parent and children styles, whether they are used or not. Deleting the parent that is “Used” will result in the deletion of the related parent and children object styles as well as the graphics associated with that import. A warning will precede this action. 

 

• Deleting “Import in Families”
  
  The Imports in Families object styles indicate that a family within the project (used or unpurged) has an import or exploded import within the family file. 
  
  In the example below, the style called A-DETL-DIMS is found within 23 families. Many people prefer these styles to be removed entirely from family content. If you agree, use StyleManager to edit each family and replace the content with native Revit elements (lines, regions, extrusions, etc.). To delete these styles, refer to Ideate StyleManager Basics.

More about Ideate StyleManager

Watch this recording of our webinar to learn more about how you can properly manage styles in your Revit models to reduce publishing errors and end-user confusion.

Visit our website for more information on our Revit productivity tools. Give them a try with a free trial version, or subscribe today.

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About the Author

Glynnis Patterson, NCARB – Director of Software Development
Glynnis is a registered architect and has worked within the building information modeling (BIM) industry since 1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has worked as an architect, educator and construction site manager. Glynnis is the Director of Software Development Services and continues to work with AECO clients worldwide, developing, and consulting on solutions to BIM challenges. In her spare time, Glynnis volunteers for the local high school and with growitgreenmorristown.org. Find Glynnis on LinkedIn.

 

Are you curious to see how companies use Ideate Software tools? Want to watch one of our customer-focused webinars again? Would you like a colleague to watch one? 

We make it easy with the Customer Webinars Playlist on our YouTube channel.
 
These customer-focused webinars are well-attended and often spark interesting discussions on how to use our Revit productivity solutions to streamline workflows, enhance productivity, save time and demonstrate ROI. 

We will continue to add recordings as they become available. Here’s what you will find there now:

CBT Architects – The ‘I’ in BIM – How to Transfer Data to and from Revit

Payette – BIM Managers Set the Stage for Increased Knowledge and Productivity

BD Mackey Consulting – Hitting a High Note: Tuning your Revit Template

Steinberg Hart – Developing Efficient Processes

If you are interested in showcasing your company, BIM management best practices and use of Ideate Software solutions in an upcoming webinar, please don’t hesitate contact us. We’d love to hear from you.

Recently, I had the thrill and honor of welcoming Steinberg Hart’s BIM-VDC Director Gautam Shenoy to a webinar to share his knowledge of product delivery. With more than 15 years of BIM experience and 10 years of experience working with Ideate Software tools, Gautam has developed a lot of best practices and successful workflow options. He presented some of them at our webinar, which covered some of the following topics:

• Questions to ask when trying to win a project or on the path to procurement
• How design technology connects with data 
• Project delivery methods
• Timelines
• How to effectively measure ROI 

Throughout the session, Gautam shared how he and his team use Ideate Software tools to streamline processes, keep their models clean, and enhance collaboration with all stakeholders, including non-Revit users. He also shared this spreadsheet he created to determine the return on investment of IdeateApps and convey that ROI to leadership (click on the image):

Here are some comments from people in attendance:

• “Definitely liked the ROI slide.”
• “Gautam's graphic representation of his team's workflow was fantastic!”
• “Gautam clearly explained how the Ideate Software solutions can be applied to many aspects of the AEC industry and for different project scenarios (design-bid, design-build, etc).”

Did you miss the webinar? Want to see it again? Here’s a link to the recording.

 
 

Visit our website for more information on our Revit productivity tools. Give them a try with a free trial version, or subscribe today. 

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About the Author

Richard W. Taylor, Associate AIA – Technical Evangelist 
Richard has more than 30 years of experience working for companies that develop architectural and engineering software solutions, such as Intergraph, Bentley, and Autodesk. He has over 18 years of Revit experience, and he was part of the original development of Revit while at Revit Technology Corporation. He worked for 12 years at Autodesk, where he presented, taught, and worked to improve features in Revit. Richard holds both a Bachelor of Science in Architectural Studies and Master of Architecture from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. As Technical Evangelist, Richard works with AECO clients worldwide, developing and consulting on BIM solutions. Find Richard on Twitter.

Thank you to everyone that attended the recent 30-minute Ideate Software webinar about our latest application that enhances Revit software, Ideate StyleManager. 

During the session, I gave an overview of the Ideate StyleManager user-interface and demonstrated how to: 

• Assess the risk of Revit line style deletion
• Fix and standardize Revit material
• Manage duplicate styles
• Delete unused object styles, including CAD imports

If you missed the session, would like to see it again, or would like to share it with  colleagues, here’s a link to the recording. 

Here are a couple of comments from people who attended the webinar:

• “Maintaining standards and keeping projects healthy requires constant cleanup. StyleManager should help make this easier.”
• “We have staff that explode CAD files in drawing. This tool will make cleaning easy, even for beginner staff.” 

Visit our website for more information on Ideate StyleManager. Give it a try with a free trial version, or subscribe today.
 

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About the Author

Glynnis Patterson, NCARB – Director of Software Development
Glynnis is a registered architect and has worked within the building information modeling (BIM) industry since 1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has worked as an architect, educator and construction site manager. Glynnis is the Director of Software Development Services and continues to work with AECO clients worldwide, developing, and consulting on solutions to BIM challenges. In her spare time, Glynnis volunteers for the local high school and with growitgreenmorristown.org. Find Glynnis on LinkedIn.

 

Software. It is a huge part of how we get through our days, and its usage continues to grow at an exponential rate. Processes that now take minutes or hours once took days or weeks. The future of software continues to be big, and it continues to radically change our landscape.

Third-Party Software Defined

Third-party software is a major industry within the software development market. It typically runs inside or side-by-side software from the first party (the OEM software developer). In many cases, the first party opens its Application Programming Interface (API) up to third-party developers, so they can develop additional software that enhances the original.

Ideate Software’s Third-Party Software

Ideate Software focuses on improvements and workflow enhancements to Autodesk Revit software. We currently offer five Revit plug-in products that helps users simplify their Revit data challenges. As we like to say, we focus on the “I” in BIM, since we do a deep dive into the Revit API to expose important features and new workflows for customers to use on their Revit-based projects.

Charting a Business Case for Third-Party Software

Deciding to procure software such as ours requires thoughtful analysis, both from a usability perspective and an acquisition perspective. For example, when analyzing your current software, you need to understand:

• Your current needs
• The tasks you perform to meet current needs
• How you complete those tasks
• The amount of daily and weekly effort (hours and cost) it takes to complete those tasks
• The time and cost savings will result if you acquire third-party tools
• Who will use the third-party software 

One of the best ways to complete this analysis is by charting a business case in a format that is easy for everyone to understand, from end users to the decision makers. With everything laid out in this form, proposing solutions for buy-in will be easy, because the ROI on cost and time will be apparent. 

Getting Buy-in from End Users and Decision Makers – An Example

One great example comes from Gautam Shenoy at Steinberg-Hart. After the Ideate Software team demonstrated IdeateApps to him and his Revit users, Gautam went to work putting together a needs analysis of each of the nine tools that come with IdeateApps. Once completed, the results were compelling, and the ROI potential was immediately apparent.

Gautam presented his analysis to the decision-makers in his firm and got instant approval to add IdeateApps to their Ideate Software collection. Here is an example of the business case analysis that Gautam created for IdeateApps (click on the image):

Although a cost for manual time vs. app-driven time was not identified in his analysis, the difference in effort between the two was drastic enough that anyone reading the chart would understand that the ROI is huge. Also, information in the Notes column explained the issues in more detail, making the case for the procurement of IdeateApps even stronger.

If you are looking for solutions to workflow challenges and are in the market to purchase third-party software such as Ideate Software solutions, leveraging a chart like this will help you understand the value and validate your claims, as you will easily be able to identify the cost and time savings.

Contact Us

If you have any ideas to share, such as how your office goes about procuring software solutions, we would love to hear from you. We always welcome comments, suggestions, and feedback.

Related Topics

Surveyed Ideate BIMLink users report an average of 20 hours per project in saved time. Learn more.


Visit our website for more information on our Revit productivity tools. Give them a try with a free trial version, or subscribe today. 

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About the Author

Sash Kazeminejad - AIA, LEED AP, BCI, BCC - Customer Success Manager
Sash earned his Master of Architecture from Montana State University and is a California registered architect, LEED Accredited Professional, and a Bluebeam Certified Instructor. He has extensive experience in project management; BIM management; design for architectural firms in California, Montana, and Oregon; and leading classroom and online BIM training. He provides consulting, sales, support, and training solutions to AECO customers around the globe. Find Sash on LinkedIn.