Rule Management with Ideate ViewCreator for Revit

Ideate ViewCreator, part of IdeateApps for Revit, requires the presence of project-defined rules in order to work best. To learn more about rules, select from one of these related topics:

Default Rules 

Control the location from which new projects will automatically import view creation rules.

Manage Rules

Import and export rules between projects.

Creating Custom Rules

Learn how to create new rules to control the view naming and the new view properties.

Default Rules

When Ideate ViewCreator launches, it will check to see if there are any rules already loaded within the project. If there are not, it will load all rules located at the location specified within the Manage Rules dialog.  As long as at least one Rule applies, Ideate ViewCreator will not attempt to load any default rules.

Specify file path to import rules in Ideate ViewCreator for Revit

To edit the file path used to import the default rules, select Ideate ViewCreator > Settings> Manage Options. The default path value for the Rule Library Path will point to C:\Program Files\Ideate\Ideate Software [version]\IdeateApps\en-US\ViewCreator\Basic Rules folder. Ideate ViewCreator will load any rules found within the folder specified, including any rules within subfolders.  For example, if you change the default location to C:\Program Files\Ideate\Ideate Software [version]\IdeateApps\en-US\ (omitting the \Basic Rules) both the Basic Rules and Bonus Rules content will be automatically loaded into any new project. If the value for the Rule Library Path is empty, no rules will be imported into new projects.

TIP: The value for this location is also stored in C:\Users\[local user]\AppData\Local\Ideate\Ideate Software [version]\IdeateApps\Ideate ViewCreator.settings. This file can be distributed via Group Policy or other methods to standardize the default Rule location for Ideate ViewCreator.

Manage Rules

Once a rule is loaded into a project, it will be saved within the project for future use.  If that rule is modified within the project, the modified version is only saved within the project. Customized rules can be shared with other Revit projects through the process of Import, Export, Imbedding in a Template, or by forcing a Reload from the default location.

Exporting Rules

To share a new or modified rule from within a Revit project:

  1. Start Ideate ViewCreator
  2. From the main dialog, select the [...] button, as shown below to access the Manage Rules dialog.
  3. Select the rule to be shared then select the Export... button.
  4. If the rule is intended to be a company standard, then it should be saved the location specified by the Default Rules.

Access Manage Rules in Ideate ViewCreator

Import Rules

To import a rule:

  1. Start Ideate ViewCreator
  2. From the main dialog, select the [...] button, as shown above, to access the Manage Rules dialog.
  3. Select the Import... button and browse to the location of a saved rule. The newly imported rule will be saved as part of the project for future use.

Imbed Rules within a Template

It is not necessary to manage rules by imbedding them in the template, simply because they can be easily managed via the method described within the Default Rules topic. If, however, you prefer to imbed rules within a template, this can also be done. Be aware that using this method will ensure that new rules will never be loaded from the path specified under the Rule Library Path.

Force a Reload

If the standard rules have been updated on the network or a local drive you can force an automatic update of all rules by deleting all project rules and ensuring that the Default Path points to the desired file location. When Ideate ViewCreator is re-started, all the new rules will be automatically imported.

Related Topic: Creating Custom Rules

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