I don’t usually receive presents for Halloween, but this year, under the twirling vines of the pumpkin patch we find little gifts from Autodesk. They arrived with much fan fare in the form of Autodesk Subscription Advantage Packs.

Much has been discussed regarding Autodesk Blogger Day. Here are some examples of early information regarding the Revit loot:

• All Things BIM
• bim(x)
• don’t think: Do Revit
• Revit – David Light
• Revit Structure Learning Curve

The Revit tools have lots to be excited about. I really am looking forward to trying out the framing tools, and using Image Modeler to capture context of a site. I will later add a review of some of these features, once I have had the time.

A new ribbon tab is available in the Renovation Extension for AutoCAD Architecture 2010 - (click to zoom)

AutoCAD Architecture users don’t fret… although the bloggers have been busy discussing what new toys Revit users on current subscription may download today, ACA has some pretty neat tools as well. If you’ve ever tried to document a renovation project using “AutoCAD for architects” you have probably been frustrated dealing with Layer Key Overrides. It is easy forgetting to disable them and accidentally placing objects on layers they were not intended. To the rescue: Renovation Extension 2010.

Much like phasing in Revit, this tool helps automate the ability to demolish (sans a sledge hammer tool), and add walls representing new construction easily. Once you enable the settings, it’s as simple as deleting a wall, door or window to enable a copy of that object to change “phase” to demolition. Drawing a new wall, automatically treats it as new construction and more importantly, moving a wall will demo the old wall and a portion of the connecting walls, and create infill accordingly. By having control over phase and the ability to lock down existing conditions preventing accidental edits is fascinating. It just may change your established workflow. This may all seem like magic, and I believe it might be.

Hmmm… Revit phasing isn’t quite as simple as this. Score one for the dedicated AutoCAD Architecture fans and users. The links to both sets of mid-year updates in the form of slick marketing videos follows:

Subscription Advantage Pack – Revit Architecture 2010

Subscription Advantage Pack – AutoCAD Architecture 2010

Believe it or not, this new Autodesk download manager tool not only seems to be speedy, but works in Safari, on a Mac no less. Wow, was that a pleasant surprise. Now that many of the new products are available for a free trial download, simply itchy waiting for my physical DVDs to arrive, and being the major geek that I am I thought – let’s give it a whirl. Low and behold, it worked.

OK, so the image points to the soon to be announced evidence that I am not solely dedicated to Revit. There are many customers out there, who still use and love AutoCAD Architecture. There’s a project in the works, which I’ll discuss when the time is right which involves ACA 2010, and training. Now, where was that line command again? Just kidding.

Exhibit A.

Earlier in the week, I also successfully logged into my Autodesk Subscription account through Safari, and there was no hint of the typical warnings of browser compatibility. Now, we just need to work on that pesky legacy Buzzsaw accessibility.

Kudos to the marketing and web teams at Autodesk for increasing support for browsers other than IE. Job well done.

One of the many sights that must be soaked in have you the opportunity, is the Badlands National Park of South Dakota. During the recent 8 day cross-country trip, we all stopped to take a slight detour through this amazing landscape. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the most pleasant day so the brilliant colors typically shown off by the sun are not evident in these photos. It was grand nonetheless. There’s a boardwalk that is partly ADA accessible, except in a few spots. Now that’s a lot of stairs.

Speaking of stairs, there’s a feature improvement that may have been  missed by many AutoCAD Architecture (ADT) users, beginning in the 2007 version. Stairs can now wrap over themselves in a single object. Yes, even spiral stairs can be more than 360 degrees around. So go ahead and experiment. Just don’t try to add railings in anything but a plan view, as the location is slightly unpredictable in a 3D view. See… it can be done. ->

So, I didn’t have much time or energy to make posts during my cross-country journey… But that won’t stop me from providing some highlights in future posts. We arrived at our new home on St. Patrick’s Day – Saturday, March 17th. It’s a bit funny, considering that one week earlier we stayed our second night in the city of South Bend, Indiana – home of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

It’ll probably be a long while before getting settled in, especially with all these new products about to be released.

Speaking of which… also arriving this week, was an updated look and feel to the Autodesk website (I must say again that I approve of the new color scheme) as well as some placeholders for the new 2008 versions of AutoCAD® Architecture, and Revit® Architecture, with a footnote clearly describing the name changes and Autodesk’s commitment to and realignment of industry-focused products.

I ran across a post that I missed a while back and thought it worth sharing in case I am not alone. If you’ve been struggling with how to make room tags in ADT more flexible, this is a very well done solution on BIMology. Well done Tomislav. It builds on a method that I have employed using formulas, but takes it a bit further. Enjoy.

A force for change, and developement of the tools you use everyday. Join a Customer Council. If you want your voice heard, join one of the customer councils for your product. You can participate in focus groups and surveys and help shape the future of your favorite tool.
The brand new Revit Customer Council has now launched: http://revitcc.com

Chris Yanchar announced on his blog the Architectural Desktop Customer Council as well, and you can find that here: http://adtcc.com This feedback tool was in place a year ago. If you were there previously, I highly recommend signing up again as it promises to be more active this time around.
Welcome to the inner circle. The power is yours. Use it wisely.

The tutorial product I co-authored has been reviewed in the latest issue of CADalyst.

The review: http://aec.cadalyst.com/aec/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=362948&ref=25

A sample lesson can be viewed online at cadlearning.com

No, not with curtains. That’s another profession. We’re talking trim. For years people have asked for ways to create simple trim boards around windows and doors in ADT. It hasn’t been easy.

It, in fact, still isn’t as simple as running ‘trim’ command. However, a pair of articles on ARCHIdigm spells out the process very clearly so that you can create trim, add it to a ‘Jig’ drawing, and apply to multiple styles in your library and project drawings. (more…)

The icons representing palette-based wall tools have left much to be desired in ADT. Sure the perspective view is helpful to show the outermost material but you need binoculars to see the other layers. The names of the wall tools also can often be tool long to wade through to find the one you need.

(more…)

Well, my office has received the latest AutoCAD, and ADT 2007 – in DVD format for a change. Time to start planning the next implementation.

Also as of 4/13, Revit 9 is now shipping. You can download the trial version or order a CD here: http://www.autodesk.com/revitbuilding

With a new Rooms object, detail library, & better IFC integration and import/export with SketchUP files, this release has a lot of things to get excited about. A more comprehensive review will follow in an upcoming post.