San Francisco, CA, July 19, 2022 – Ideate Software, an Autodesk® AEC Industry Partner and Autodesk® Authorized Developer, is pleased to introduce the Revit community to Ideate Automation 2.0, its latest tool to increase efficiency by automating time-intensive tasks.

“The cost of paying staff to watch their computers churn through opening large Revit files or processing large volumes of data can be significant,” said Glynnis Patterson, Director of Software Development, Ideate Software. “Ideate Automation is a scripting tool that works with Ideate Software to run those time-intensive tasks in the background while staff works on other activities, or even during non-working hours.”

Ideate Automation runs silently, which means it can run unattended on a dedicated computer or on a person’s computer while they work on other things. And because the automation is scripted, the resulting data is standardized and free from end-user errors. 

On its own, Ideate Automation can be used to export PDF files. Below are examples of how it can work with Ideate Software solutions. Here is a short overview video.

• Ideate BIMLink, which enables users to export data from Revit software to Microsoft Excel for easy editing, can drive Ideate Automation to produce document issue records, export health check data, prepare COBie data drops, and generate quantity takeoff data.
   
• Ideate Explorer, which allows users to search for elements not found in the Revit browser, can drive Ideate Automation to export Revit model warnings data.
   
• Ideate StyleManager, which helps Revit users analyze, delete, or merge non-standard styles, can drive Ideate Automation to audit model information.
   
• Ideate Annotate, which ensures the legibility of tags, text, dimensions, and other annotative elements, can drive Ideate Automation to review annotation clashes.

Ideate Automation is free to customers with Enterprise subscriptions and available as a seperate subscription to others. Visit www.ideatesoftware.com for more details or to get a free trial.

About Ideate Software - Ideate Software, an Autodesk® AEC Industry Partner and Autodesk® Authorized Developer, empowers Revit users to gain unprecedented control over their data. We developed Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, IdeateApps, and Ideate StyleManager to solve persistent problems in architecture, engineering, and construction, and owner-operator (AECO) workflows. We developed Ideate Automation to boost the power of our Revit plugins by running time-intensive activities in the background. Ideate Software solutions enable Revit users to save time, increase accuracy, improve project deliverables, and elevate design.

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

Microsoft Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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San Francisco, CA, July 12, 2022 – Ideate Software, an Autodesk^® AEC Industry Partner and Autodesk^® Authorized Developer, announced enhancements to its Revit plugin applications. In addition to aligning its software with Revit 2023, Ideate Software made significant improvements that will help Revit users deliver high-quality models in less time.

Perform Time-Intensive Tasks in the Background with Ideate Automation 2.0

“One of the most significant changes made is the release of Ideate Automation 2.0, a scripting solution that links to all our Revit plugins to run time-intensive tasks in the background, including the much-requested .pdf export process,” said Glynnis Patterson, Director of Software Development, Ideate Software. “With Ideate Automation, users no longer need to wait for their computers to open Revit models and chug through all their data. Not only does task automation free staff for higher level engineering and design work, it also has the benefit of ensuring that task outcomes are highly predictable and standardized.”

Improve Revit Data Management with Several Enhancements

• Reviewing 2D annotations and clashes is now possible with Ideate Annotate, a new tool added to the IdeateApps collection that simplifies common tasks performed by daily Revit users.  
   
• Revit users can now use extended search capabilities to find Revit elements by their respective tag values, such as for door, structural framing, or mechanical equipment tags with Ideate Explorer, a powerful model auditing engine. 
   
• Maintaining model health is easier than ever with enhancements to Ideate BIMLink:
   
  • Health Check folder has two new library links: HC-Ideate Types and HC-Worksets
     
  • The ability to rename worksets and review number of Revit elements assigned has been added
     
  • Detail Groups and Attached Detail Groups are available within many link definitions
     
  • Excel macro template for creating spreadsheets of all sheet revisions on the sheet now includes numeric, alphanumeric, and custom revision numbering settings
     
  • Several new library link definitions added for Industry Foundation Class data exchange and support for newly built-in IFC parameters
     
  • New ability to report on shared, non-shared project, and global parameters  
     
• The addition of Parameters and Global Parameters to the main ribbon menu in Ideate StyleManager simplifies the complex process of managing Revit Parameters in Revit models; users can now understand exactly where and how these parameters are being used.

Current subscribers have access to the current Revit-compatible version plus three earlier versions as well as access to point release improvements made during the subscription period. Those who aren’t subscribers yet can download trial versions from the Ideate Software website or purchase our “get-to-know-us” bundle for access to Revit plugins Ideate Explorer, Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Sticky, Ideate StyleManager, and IdeateApps by Ideate Software. Free trials of Ideate Automation are also available.
 

About Ideate Software - Ideate Software, an Autodesk^® AEC Industry Partner and Autodesk^® Authorized Developer, empowers Revit users to gain unprecedented control over their data. We developed Ideate BIMLink, Ideate Explorer, Ideate Sticky, IdeateApps, and Ideate StyleManager to solve persistent problems in architecture, engineering, and construction, and owner-operator (AECO) workflows. We developed Ideate Automation to boost the power of our Revit plugins by running time-intensive activities in the background. Ideate Software solutions enable Revit users to save time, increase accuracy, improve project deliverables, and elevate design.

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

Microsoft Excel is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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We were thrilled to have the opportunity to connect with people who design, build, operate, and maintain our built environment at the BILT North Americas conference. The three-day event, which was held June 14 - 16 in Anaheim, California, featured many informative lectures, presentations, labs, and round-table discussions focused on the use of best-in-class tools, processes and workflows, behaviors, and leadership.

Craig H. Dodge, Director, Ideate Software Sales, and Richard Taylor, Technical Evangelist, met with BIM, Revit, and Ideate Software application users from around the world at our booth in the Exhibition Hall. In addition, Richard:

• Presented a lecture on Revit templates featuring Ideate StyleManager, which allows for a clean and lean Revit template or project
• Conducted a lab session on Revit datums featuring both Ideate StyleManager and Ideate XRay, one of the tools in the IdeateApps collection

Richard said, “It was especially nice to see many old colleagues and friends in person after an almost three-year absence. It was wonderful to catch up with so many influential people within the BIM and AECO industries, and we hope it’s a trend that continues throughout 2022 and beyond.”

Craig added, “We appreciated meeting new people at the Ideate Software booth and hearing about their software needs. We also heard from clients who provided continued feedback on how we can further enhance Ideate Software products to better meet their challenges with Revit.”

Learn about our upcoming online and in-person activities by visiting the Events page of our website. 

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.

We were delighted to host our first Revit Data Management Insights Group meeting in May. Attendees included BIM managers, heads of BIM, BIM coordinators, and Revit technicians from architectural and engineering firms in the London area. Steve Deadman, our UK/EMEA Customer Success Manager and Nick Johns, our UK/EMEA Territory Lead greeted both new and existing customers and shared insights on recent and upcoming product developments and industry feedback.
 
It was a pleasure to have James Gray, BIM Manager at Squire and Partners as a guest speaker.

A long-standing Ideate Software customer, James presented his best practices on Revit model management featuring the Ideate Software solutions he uses. He made the case for regular model reviews and the importance of managing and fixing warnings in Revit. The best practices he shared were very much appreciated by all the attendees.  
 
During this invitation-only event, we also covered topics such as: 

1. Wishes Granted - Top User Requests and Implemented Features. Steve presented Autodesk Forum ideas and Revit Roadmap wish list items that we translated into software features revolving around Revit model productivity, project auditing, model/data health and data management. He focused on the following Revit user requests:
    
   • Controlling view title alignments
      
   • Quickly reviewing and fixing Revit warnings
      
   • Live-linking Excel, PDF, and Word documents into Revit projects

     Read our Wishlist Granted blog post series for more examples.

2. New Features and Developments. During this section of the meeting, we announced and offered a flavour of the upcoming Ideate Software improvements for Revit versions 2020-2023. Watch our blogs for more news!

The discussions continued after the presentations around canapés and wine, and we’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our attendees for their presence, questions, and glowing feedback. We look forward to the next Revit Data Management Insights Group meeting. More details to follow in due course.

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.

Ideate Software is hiring!

We are seeking a Revit designer, engineer, or architect to join our team in the role of Customer Success Manager. The primary responsibility is to expand the Ideate Software business through the cultivation and management of strategic AEC companies. This position is full time and will require occasional travel for tradeshows and to customer locations.  

The ideal candidate will be based in the US Pacific Time Zone, but all US candidates are encouraged to apply. This position involves significant customer interaction as well as Building Information Model expertise. 

Interested parties can read the full job description.