August

29

2023

Revit software enables some revision capabilities. Ideate BIMLink and Ideate Sticky take over where Revit leaves off.

  • Do you need revisions that aren’t in Revision Clouds to appear in the Titleblock?
    If yes, in Revit you must update the “Revision on Sheet” option within each sheet view.
  • Do you need a schedule of all revisions on each sheet?
    If yes, chances are that you have created a workaround, because Revit only lists the latest revision.

While the methods above can get the job done, they take a lot of time and they increase the chance of errors.

Watch our short video to see how you can use Ideate BIMLink to aggregate revision information in Microsoft Excel to edit the options in bulk and Ideate Sticky to bring the formatted Excel schedule back into Revit to place onto sheets.

 

You’ll see how the work that has taken you hours if not days can be reduced to just minutes by completing two simple steps.

For implementation services or to learn more about how Ideate BIMLink and Ideate Sticky can help your business, please contact [email protected]


 

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July

31

2023

With five Revit plugins and an additional desktop application, including one plugin—IdeateApps—that come with 10 tools, we are often asked which of our products people find most useful. The truth is that there isn’t just one. We know that all the tools on our Revit plugins list are useful because we only develop ones that meet needs expressed by Revit users. 

  1. Useful Revit PluginsWe talk with our customers. Whether they have been with us since we first launched Ideate Explorer in 2008, recently partnered with us when we launched Ideate Automation to boost the power of our plugins, or anywhere in between, we talk with customers.
    • We take the time to understand their needs before selling them a product, and we follow up with them after they have had it for a while to make sure it meets those needs.
    • At the conclusion of every webinar we deliver, we ask attendees to tell us about any challenges they are having in Revit and if there are any features they’d like to see added to our products.
    • We track all calls that come into our Support team and note any issues that our products don’t currently address. Our Software Development team reviews all the data to determine if new functionality or even a completely new product is needed.
    • We work closely with a large group of beta testers who review our updates or new products while they are in the development stage, provide candid feedback, and then verify that everything works as expected before we launch them publicly
       
  2. Useful Revit PluginsWe are part of the Autodesk Community, which offers several ways to connect, find answers, share knowledge, build networks, and more, including the Community Forums, which are product discussion boards:
    • Revit Architecture Forum - Share knowledge, ask questions, and explore popular Revit Architecture topics.
    • Revit MEP Forum – Post questions and answers about Revit ducts, piping, plumbing, fire protection, electrical, and more.
    • Revit Structure Forum – Hear from users about how to use this tool to improve collaborations on structural design and engineering tasks.
    • Revit API Forum – Learn about this collection of programs and libraries that helps in building and integrating software to Revit to extend its functionality.
    • Revit Ideas Forum - Share ideas for future product features directly with the Revit team and collaborate on existing suggestions with peers
       
  3. Useful Revit PluginsWe know Revit. Our Software Developers, Support team, Business Development managers, and Customer Success managers know Revit. We are architects, engineers, designers, and others who worked in industry before joining Ideate Software. 

    We joined Ideate Software because we know and love BIM and Revit, and we want to help develop, sell, and support products that make them even better. 

Reasons our Revit Plugins are Useful

Here’s a quick overview of how our customers benefit from our addons for Revit. Architecture, engineering, and construction companies as well as owner-operators use our Revit addons to streamline activities, improve model health, and enhance model design. 

Ideate Explorer LotoQuickly find and delete incorrect, obsolete, and hidden problem items—even imported or linked DWG’s. Find, refine, and revise elements, including those that aren’t in the Revit project browser. This functionality dramatically decreases the amount of time spent on model management and enhances model performance. Ideate Explorer comes with four additional features that will contribute to you models staying in top working order:

  • Warnings Manager – Audit and address Revit warnings ranked by importance. Fix problems using tools in Revit while the Warnings Manager dialog box is open.
  • Navigate – Navigate through view-based elements; find unused sheets and views; find and filter legends, schedules, sheets, or views by category and/or keyword; and customize working environments without altering the project browser.
  • Query – Search within set parameters for elements like in-place usage, structure usage/area scheme, revisions, unused annotations, and design options. 
  • Filters - A dynamic, customizable, and rule-based method to quickly filter Revit model elements based on your specified parametric conditions.

 

Don’t work inside of Revit to verify and/or edit data one element at a time. Instead, use Ideate BIMLink to export the data you need to review into Microsoft Excel where you can quickly view and accurately manipulate massive amounts of data in seconds. You can then use Ideate BIMLink to import the verified or updated data back into Revit, and the model will immediately update.  

 

Ideate Sticky LogoShare accurate and formatted non-BIM data with your Revit teams by live-linking Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PDF documents to the Revit file with Ideate Sticky. These “stickies” are easy to read, look nice, and can be easily updated within Revit when changes are made to the original files. Whether it’s building codes, consultant data, abbreviation lists, general notes, or any of the many other non-BIM data critical to a project’s success, you can be sure your team always has the current information. 

 

Ideate StyleManager LogoEliminate problems caused by copying/pasting data from one Revit file to another when styles associated with the original file get copied along with the data. This can clog up the model with incorrect information that can take a long time to remove if working in Revit. You have to remove it, because extraneous data can create model performance problems. With Ideate StyleManager, you can quickly analyze, merge, and delete non-standard Revit styles, and you can use it to see view filters applied to views and to clean object and line styles and patterns, text, fonts, parameters, and more. 

 

IdeateApps LotoStop spending so much time on tedious tasks in Revit that, when performed on large complex models, can contribute to mistakes, rework, and frustrations. Automate hundreds of common tasks with the 10 tools that come in the IdeateApps collection: Ideate SpellCheck, Ideate Align, Ideate Clone, Ideate ViewCreator, Ideate SheetManager, Ideate Annotate, Ideate XRay, Ideate ReNumber, Ideate SmartDelete, and Ideate QuickSelect

 

Ideate Automation LogoRun time-intensive BIM tasks silently in the background on this desktop application while you spend your time on more meaningful work with Ideate Automation. Start it manually or schedule it to run at a convenient time, even overnight. Ideate Automation can increase your productivity, eliminate the need to train staff on repetitive tasks, and ensure task outcomes are highly predictable, free of user errors, and standardized. Use Ideate Automation to: 

  • Export key Revit model health data
  • Create document issue records
  • Prepare COBie data drops
  • Generate quantity take-off data 
  • Generate regular, automated PDF exports
  • Deliver CSV reports on key Revit family and project metrics

Stay Connected

Learn more about our top Revit addons.

Check us out on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

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

 

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July

14

2023

Environmental Systems Design’s Digital Practice Leader Samir Abdelmawla delivered an engaging session called, “Arsenal of Revit Tools for the MEP Team” at the 2023 BILT North America Conference in Dallas, Texas. He featured several Revit add-on tools for the MEP team, and many of those tools were from Ideate Software!

“I am a strong believer of the tools developed by Ideate Software. A number of these tools are helping our engineers on their daily tasks. I am pleased to showcase how powerful they are for many MEP workflows and how easy they are to use,” said Samir.

Here is the information about Ideate Software tools that Samir featured in his presentation:

  1. Ideate Sticky 
    • Successfully get Excel spreadsheets to Revit
    • Starting with Revit 2020, Revit supported inserting PDFs to a model, however it only allows for one page at time. Ideate Sticky can place selected pages and maintain links to the source PDF.
      Environmental System Design - Ideate Sticky
       
  2. Ideate BIMLink – Edit various MEP data and schedules in Excel and then import the data back to Revit. Editing in Excel offers the speed of copy/paste, fill down/across, concatenate data, and easily search/replace.

    Environmental Systems Design - Ideate BIMLink

    Also, with Ideate BIMLink, users can create definitions from a wealth of provided Libraries by category or by schedule: Export the data to Excel, edit, then import it back to Revit. Ideate BIMLink highlights changes for review before making them in the Revit model.

    Environmental Systems Design - Ideate BIMLink
     
  3. IdeateApps
     
    • Environmental Systems Design - Ideate XRay
      Ideate XRay – Understand why a Revit element is not visible within a specific view.
      • Fix
      • Show how to fix
      • Get more information
         
    • Ideate XRay gives the options to:
       
    • Environmental Systems Design - Ideate ReNumber
      Ideate ReNumber – Use this tool to number Revit elements by:
       
      • Individual selection
      • Selecting a path
      • Numbering all elements within the active view
         
    • Ideate Align – Coordinate floor plans, legends, schedules, or any other view across multiple Sheets
       
  4. Ideate Explorer – Manage model warnings

    Environmental Systems Design - Ideate Explorer

Thank you, Samir! We are honored that you included our products in your presentation.

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June

30

2023

Every year, Autodesk adds new features and functionalities to Revit software, and this year is no exception. This year’s enhancements include interface modernizations and upgrades that will help users:

  • Design more creatively
  • Document more efficiently
  • Manage projects more effectively in BIM

Here are 10 Examples

  1. Dark Theme – Interface enhancements that allow users to work more comfortably and intuitively
  2. “My Insights” Panel – Aggregates usage data and finds workflow trends to help users quantify common commands and keystrokes; offers ideas on how to streamline design tasks  
  3. Interdisciplinary Imperial and Metric Template – Replaces discipline-specific templates
  4. Sample Content – Provides a learning resource and a good examples of documentation best practices 
  5. Toposolids – Improves the quality of site designs
  6. Enhanced Visualizations – Enables architects and designers to tell a more compelling story
  7. Auto Sync with Twinmotion – Live links Revit and Twinmotion
  8. New Capabilities for Energy Analysis – Simplifies workflows when working in linked architectural models in Revit 
  9. Enhanced Electrical Load Analysis Capabilities – Supports the use of demand factors and manage load sets for non-coincident backup equipment loads
  10. Powerful Rebar Documentation Features – Allows detailers to create more complete shop drawings 

Ideate Software’s Top Revit Plugins

One reason Ideate Software tools are at the top of Revit Plugins lists is because every year, when Autodesk releases their new version of Revit, we quickly align our software to the new version and deliver meaningful enhancements. Most enhancements are based on user requests, and all are tested rigorously, so users can upgrade to the newest version of Revit with no issues and jump right into the new functionalities to streamline Revit workflows and improve the quality of their Revit models. 

Ideate Software Product Descriptions and Recent Enhancements

Below is information about our products and recent enhancements. For video demonstrations, check out our What’s New playlist on YouTube.

ABOUT IDEATE EXPLORER

Where Revit comes with a project browser, Ideate Explorer is a model browser that makes it easy for users to: 

  • Find and delete incorrect, obsolete, and hidden problem items, including DWGs
  • Find, refine, and revise elements, even those excluded from the project browser

Ideate Explorer includes these valuable features: 

  • A Warnings Manager that allows users to easily review and manage Revit warnings with ease. It:
    • Allows the user to rank warnings based on importance
    • Notifies users when high ranking warnings appear in the models
    • Enables users to fix problems using tools in Revit when the Warnings Manager dialog box is open 
  • A Navigate function that allows users to steer through the view-based elements in a Revit project and customize their browsing experience. It is used to find unused sheets and views and filter legends, schedules, sheets or views by category and/or keyword. It is also used to customize working environments without altering the project browser. 
  • A Query function that can be used to search within set parameters for elements such as unused annotations, design options, in-place usage, structure usage/area scheme, and revisions. These query functions can now be saved and used multiple times via our Dynamic Filters.

May 2023 Enhancements to Ideate Explorer

Ideate Explorer now includes the ability to create and save dynamic filters using expanded Revit properties exposed within Ideate Explorer that are not always available with the out-of-the-box Revit user interface. Users can search elements throughout a Revit model based on their parameter values, including parameter values in related data tables. Because this filtering system is dynamic, when parameter values in a model are updated, the list in Ideate Explorer will update as well. 

Learn more and watch a demonstration:

ABOUT IDEATE BIMLINK

Verifying or editing massive amounts of data in Revit can be incredibly time consuming. It’s easy with Ideate BIMLink. This powerful Revit plugin allows users to export the data they need to verify/update to Microsoft Excel, use its powerful editing capabilities, and then import verified or updated data back into the model. Whether you need to check to make sure naming conventions comply with customer standards or update a product manufacturer’s name, Ideate BIMLink is the tool. 

May 2023 Enhancements to Ideate BIMLink

New features include the ability to:

  1. Create new shared project parameters
  2. Create shared and unshared family parameters
  3. Push parameter standards to multiple models
  4. Batch edit the material assignment and thickness value for compound walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, and slab assemblies

Learn more and watch a demonstration:

Watch our What’s New video for information on the other enhancements to Ideate BIMLink capabilities:

  • Support for MEP pipe and duct elevation properties
  • New support for sheet and view sets 
  • The ability to manage family type properties that may vary across family types
  • The ability to edit the bounding boxes of views
  • The ability to create new worksets 

ABOUT IDEATE STICKY

The limited text editing functionality in Revit makes it difficult for project managers to organize and format non-BIM data that their project teams need. Ideate Sticky overcomes this issue by combining the familiar flexibility of Adobe PDF documents, Microsoft Word documents, and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets with the convenience of a sticky note. This Revit plugin live-links non-BIM data into a Revit project, and when the source document is updated, the linked “sticky” automatically updates. 

Enhancements to Ideate Sticky

Recently, Autodesk updated its Desktop Connector from version 15 to version 16, which changed the location and path where non-Revit files are stored within the Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC). The latest version of Ideate Sticky is compatible with both versions. 

The improvements to the Autodesk Desktop Connector solve a long-standing problem with the non-Revit data stored on the ACC not being actively refreshed. The latest version allows you to choose which folders are actively updating, which ensures that files linked via Ideate Sticky and stored on the ACC will be the most current. Ideate Sticky has a new “Show” button on the main dialog that highlights the selected sticky within the active view. 

Another enhancement reduces the initial size of the Ideate Sticky dialog on start-up, reducing the time it takes for Ideate Sticky to open. 

ABOUT IDEATE STYLEMANAGER

Pasting data from one model to another can create issues when style information associated with that data automatically transfers as well. With Ideate StyleManager, users can easily analyze, merge, or delete non-standard Revit styles more reliably, quickly, and accurately than possible with the built-in Revit style management system. 

May 2023 Enhancements to Ideate StyleManager

Ideate StyleManager can now expose both Family parameters and Nested parameters within the Family Editor environment, making it much easier to standardize parameters within Revit content. We’ve also introduced Quick Analysis and In-Depth Analysis options to increase performance.  

ABOUT IDEATEAPPS

IdeateApps is a set of tools that enhances the functionality of Revit. With it, Autodesk Revit users can access and manipulate the data in their models with greater ease. Designed to take on common challenges identified by people who use Revit daily, these Autodesk Revit add-ins automate repetitive tasks and streamline workflows, freeing time for more interesting and valuable activities.  

May 2023 Enhancements to IdeateApps

  • Ideate ReNumber
    • Skip a number within a numbering sequence by just selecting the element again
  • Ideate SpellCheck
    • Support added for using SpellCheck within the Revit Family Editor environment
    • In the Project environment, you can now choose which views to spell check
  • Ideate ViewCreator
    • Enhanced existing ability to automatically copy plan-based views to multiple levels by adding support for copying schedules from one level to many
    • When using the Rooms View method:
      • You can now choose rooms located in a Revit linked model
      • You can clone 2D linework and annotations if selecting a sheet to clone
      • We’ve added support for using more than one plan or ceiling plan view
  • Ideate Annotate
    • New text align and distribute features
    • Additional issue reporting functionality
    • Watch these short videos for details:
       

Stay Connected

Learn more about our top Revit plugins.  Check us out on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

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

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April

28

2023

Although Revit is the leading BIM software in the world, it simply was not designed to enable users to edit large amounts of data quickly and easily. Because complex Revit models have massive amounts of data, using Revit to verify, manipulate, and update that data can be incredibly time consuming and error prone. It’s not uncommon for architects, engineers, designers, and contractors to spend hundreds of hours on data entry tasks, double handing data, and fixing work done incorrectly. Spending time on these tasks can frustrate the users, who generally prefer to spend their time on more innovative and creative activities. It can also lead to missed deadlines or incorrect deliverables, which can frustrate customers and can damage a business’s reputation. 

Ideate BIMLink eliminates the need for time to be spent on manual, repetitive tasks by enabling users to export Revit data to Excel, use the powerful tools in Excel to easily manage, manipulate, and edit the data, and then push the updated data back into the Revit model, saving hours of manual data editing. Excel doesn’t even need to be installed for Ideate BIMLink to read and write Excel files.

Ideate BIMLink supports the following file formats for both import and export for Revit projects:

  • Excel 2007 - 2013 Workbook (*.xlsx)
  • Excel 2007 - 2013 Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
  • Excel 97 - 2003 Workbook (*.xls)

Excel is the ideal choice for these workflows because it is the most popular spreadsheet software in the world. More than 750 million people around the world use it, and the vast majority of business use it for data entry, data management, accounting, financial analysis, charting and graphing, and more. Most people already know how to use the software, and those who aren’t familiar with it can gain a basic understanding of its interface and core functions in just a few hours, and most people can fully learn the application and master its more complex capabilities in just 18 – 20 hours.  

Using Ideate BIMLink

Like all Ideate Software products, Ideate BIMLink is easy to learn and use. Below are a few examples of how to export/import data from Revit to Excel. You can get step-by-step workflow instructions, information on troubleshooting, and details on  customizations from our website in the Ideate BIMLink Help files.  

Example One: Excel Naming Conventions: Associate an Excel Spreadsheet with a Link Saved in a Revit Project 

  1. The Excel worksheet tab and the link must be named the exact same thing
     
  2. The Excel column headings must match the corresponding link property name
     
  3. In most examples, the first column in the Excel sheet has to contain a valid Revit element id assigned by Revit. It will be used to identify an element within the Revit model

NOTE:  If any of the above information changes, Ideate BIMLink won’t be able to associate the Excel spreadsheet with the link used to create that spreadsheet. Learn more here: Import Messages when importing Revit to Excel

Tip: The name of the Excel file is arbitrary; it can be changed to identify different spreadsheet tabs created by the same link.

Excel to Revit with Ideate BIMLink 
Example Two: Export from Revit to Excel

To export elements from Revit to Excel, open Ideate BIMLink and:

  • Excel to Revit with Ideate BIMLinkPublish the data specified within the selected link definition to Excel, by clicking “Export…” 
     
  • Select an Excel spreadsheet file (new or existing) to receive the exported Revit properties.
     
    • New File: Ideate BIMLink will create a new Excel file with one new worksheet that will have the same name as the link
       
    • Existing File: You can insert a new worksheet or overwrite an existing worksheet.  Learn more here: Exporting to an Existing File

Example Three: Editing Revit Property and Cell Units in Microsoft Excel

  • Default Units - Ideate BIMLink will export numeric property values from Revit to Excel by using the default units defined in Revit.
     
    • If the default unit is set to feet and fractional inches, Ideate BIMLink will export the values as decimal values with three places 
       
    • Numerical values imported from Excel to Revit are interpreted as having the default units defined in Revit

      NOTE:  The Properties palette in Revit does not use the unit format specified within Project Units; it has its own, hard-wired format
       
  • Imperial Units - Fractional Inches - Microsoft Excel doesn’t support imperial format for length values in the same way as Revit with both the feet and inches syntax. Instead, when working with imperial length units:
     
    • Feet and fractional inches are displayed as decimal feet
       
    • Fraction inches are displayed as decimal inches

      Even though the values are exported using numerical values, these number formats are acceptable for importing purposes:  6'1 or 73" or 6'-1"
       
  • Formatting Dates – Microsoft Excel will convert certain types of text string data into a Date format when an edit is made. E.g., “3-03-12” will change the cell format from "General" to "Date," and it will change the underlying cell value. This also alters how the information is imported back into Revit via Ideate BIMLink. If you don’t want this to happen, we have two workaround options:  
  1. Type this character ' in front of the date to force the cell to retain its "General" text string format and read exactly as written. E.g., Type:  '31-05-22 to signify May 31, 2022, and the value will read into Revit as expected
     
  2. Use the dd/mm/yy, mm/dd/yy syntax and Excel won’t convert it to a text string.

Example Four: Automating Document Issue and Revision Records using Ideate BIMLink and Ideate Sticky

Using Ideate BIMLink along with Ideate Sticky, our application that enables users to place non-BIM data within Revit files, you can easily automate document issue and revision records. This workflow addresses the challenge of dealing with revision information in the Revit model when there is a need to schedule all of the sheets and all the revisions that exist on that sheet. Revit only displays the current revision in a sheet list, and it does not have a built-in solution to schedule every revision on each sheet. Here’s a recording of a webinar in which we ran through the entire process. 


 

Learn About all Ideate Software Solutions for Revit Users 

Visit our website to learn more about Ideate BIMLink for Revit as well as our other Revit data management tools. When you’re ready to take the next step, contact us, get 30-day trial versions, or choose the subscription option that best meets your needs. 

Stay Connected

Check us out on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube.

If you have any questions, reach out to us. We are here to help you understand and use our add-ins for Revit

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