San Francisco, CA, April 9, 2019 – Ideate Software, a veteran Autodesk Developer Network member, is offering any Revit user that completes a short survey by 30 April, 2019 a no-cost subscription to IdeateApps expiring on 15 December, 2019. IdeateApps simplifies the tasks that daily Revit users perform most often.

“We take great pride in developing tools that address persistent challenges faced by Revit users,” said Glynnis Patterson, director of software development. “This survey is one of the ways we are gathering information to determine user needs and decide which new features to build into our solutions.”

Another way Ideate Software determines user needs is by reviewing the Autodesk Revit Ideas and AUGI Wishlist Forums. Here are links to some notable ideas on these Forums that are already integrated into IdeateApps:

Autodesk User Group International Wishlist

• SpellCheck Data in Parameters
• Ideate Clone- Copy viewports from one sheet to another
• Ideate ReNumber — Door Tags with Room Numbers
• Ideate Align — Align Views on Sheets

Autodesk Revit Ideas

• SpellCheck
  • Auto spell check
  • Spell check in Schedules
     
• SmartDelete 
  • Safe way to delete levels
     
• Clone
  • Duplicate a Sheet
     
• QuickSelect
  • Detail Lines – “Select All Instances”
     
• XRay
  • Learn why an element is hidden
     
• ReNumber 
  • Auto numbering [in a schedule]
  • Space name/number on instance in space
  • Auto room re-numbering
     
• SheetManager 
  • Viewport settings
  • Drag View from Sheet to Sheet
  • Separate project browser for Sheets/Views
     
• ViewCreator 
  • Auto View naming
     
• Align 
  • Views on Sheet location

“Revit users know what they need,” said Bob Palioca, president, Ideate Software. “We ask for their input, and then focus our attention on developing solutions that will make a big impact.”

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About Ideate Software

Ideate Software empowers Revit users to gain unprecedented control over their data. Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, and IdeateApps were all developed to solve persistent problems in architecture, engineering, construction, and owner (AECO) workflows. Ideate Software solutions enable Revit users to save time, increase accuracy, improve project deliverables, and elevate design.

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, ATC, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries.

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In our November 2018 Ideate Software application updates, we made improvements to all our Ideate Software add-ins for Revit. The latest version of Ideate ReNumber was modified to support multi-category rules, and now, instead of needing one rule for Lighting Fixtures and another for Lighting Devices, you can use the new "MC-All" rule. The benefit is that you can sequentially number elements that are similar while using the same rule.
 
Well, Samuel James of McBains in London contacted us about the new multi-category rule. “I am currently finding the renumber tool very useful,” he said. However, he had an additional request. He wanted a multi-category rule for JUST Windows and Doors, and he didn’t see a way to limit or choose the specific categories within the Ideate ReNumber rules interface.
 
This was a great request, and it was a feature we didn’t expose within the user interface. However, you can easily edit the delivered “MC-All” rule within a text editor to specify the exact categories as shown below:
 
    <nested_categories>
      <category_name>OST_Doors</category_name>
      <category_name>OST_Windows</category_name>
    </nested_categories>
 
The rules are located here by default for US English: C:\Program Files\Ideate\Ideate Software XXXX\IdeateApps\en-US\ReNumber\Basic Rules
 
We felt Samuel’s suggestion was so great that we are planning to include a new Doors and Windows rule along with a few other new multi-category rules in our next software release.
 
Keep those suggestions coming! Thanks again to Samuel James and McBains.

Screen image of some of our planned Multi-Category Rules for our next release.
However, you can create your own today by editing the MC-All Rule.

Visit our website for more information on our applications. 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.

Your response to our IdeateApps “Share Your Ideas” campaign has been fantastic. It’s not too late to participate and earn your subscription to IdeateApps by sharing your great productivity ideas for improving Revit.

One surprise is that we’ve seen a lot of suggestions related to improving Revit Legends, so we made this short video to showcase how we’ve provided a method to keep your Revit Legends organized within IdeateApps, via both QuickSelect and SheetManager, as well as into Ideate Explorer.

Take advantage of this campaign and register your idea before April 30, 2019.
 

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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.

 

Dear Revit World, 

We love your ideas! Thank you for being part of the Revit community and sharing your Revit feedback.

In the spirit of sharing ideas, Ideate Software is offering a standalone subscription to IdeateApps expiring on 15 December 2019 to any Revit user who completes our short survey by 30 April 2019 and shares his/her favorite idea for enhancing Revit productivity.

IdeateApps is a 5-star solution that includes nine tools. Many of these tools respond to some of the most relevant ideas shared on the Autodesk Revit Ideas Forum.

"I use the gadgets in IdeateApps to cut down the time I spend troubleshooting."
~Ruth Parr, BIM Strategist, Prellwitz Chilinski Associates

Our products have been validated by sophisticated Revit users across the globe voting on each other’s best ideas. Here are the links to some of these notable ideas on the Autodesk Revit Ideas Forum that are integrated into IdeateApps: 

IdeateApps - SpellCheck

• Auto spell check
• Spell check in Schedules

IdeateApps - SmartDelete

• Safe way to delete levels

IdeateApps - Clone

• Duplicate a Sheet

IdeateApps - QuickSelect

• Detail Lines – “Select All Instances”

IdeateApps - XRay

• Quick way to find out why an element is hidden

IdeateApps - ReNumber

• Auto numbering [in a schedule]
• Space name/number on instance in space
• Automatic room re-numbering

IdeateApps – SheetManager

• Viewport settings
• Drag View from Sheet to Sheet
• Separate project browser for Sheets/Views

IdeateApps – ViewCreator

• Automated View naming

IdeateApps – Align

• Views on Sheet location

Thank you for completing our survey! Your input will help us develop tools that address persistent challenges faced by Revit users. 

 

Thank you to everyone who attended our webinar on IdeateApps last week. This is one of the webinars we host several times a year for new users and experienced users who would like a refresher. Unlike the past webinars, this one was only 30 minutes; we shortened it from 60 minutes after hearing that attendees prefer shorter sessions. Although we did it in half the time, we still covered a lot of good information about our Revit sheet and view management tools:

1. Sheet Manager – Access and control a number of sheets and views from a centralized location
2. Align – Keep view ports aligned in the correct location on the sheet
3. Clone – Duplicate a sheet and control the views on that sheet 
4. View Creator – Easily create views with a series of rules

Here’s a link to the recording. It’s available to everyone, so please view it and share it with others.

 

Questions and Answers

Here are some questions about the IdeateApps tools featured in the webinar that I have received recently:

Q. Will the align work if the view crop is different?

A. It will align, but if you have a large view crop, it will be based on the upper left crop region, so it may be larger. If it’s a plan view, it will be based on the X and Y coordinates.

Q. If we clone a view that is dependent to a parent, will the parent clone?

A. No. It only creates the dependent view; it doesn’t not duplicate the parent.

Q. Can you align with a scope box?

A.  The views are aligned with the X and Y model coordinates or the upper left crop region. It is not currently possible to align only by the scope box. Here is more detailed information on exactly how the views are aligned:

When Ideate Align is used to relocate Viewports on Sheets, the Views are relocated as described below.

• Floor, Ceiling, Area, or Structural Plan Views
  When the Alignment View is a Floor, Ceiling, Area, or Structural Plan View, and the selected View(s) to align are designated as "similar," those views will be relocated such that the X and Y model coordinates will maintain the same relationship to the title block as the Alignment View. This will ensure that any Plan-based View will be organized on the Sheets in a similar fashion. When non-similar Plan-based View(s) are selected to be aligned, those Views will have the same X and Y relationship between the upper-left corner of the Viewport and the title block.
• Non-Plan Views
  When the Alignment View is not a Plan-based View, the selected Views will have the same X and Y relationship between the upper-left corner of the Viewport and the title block.

Q. How do you create the view if you have one floor and different unit types?

A. It would depend on how those type units are created. Are they groups, linked files, or design options? You could easily setup the view properties needed and then choose the unit type needed based on the method you used to create the unit type.
 

Visit our website for more information on our applications. 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.