You've upgraded Revit and Navisworks but all your files are 2012 version or earlier. Rather than loading each file individually and having to go for a coffee break whilst you wait for them to upgrade and see the message below, there is a plug available through Autodesk Exchange which will allow you to upgrade them all at once.
You can set this running overnight and come into work the next day to your newly upgraded files, it will also maintain you file structure if you have different disciplines in different folders.
It's a free application available from the link below. You need to load any file into Revit first then you will be able to access it through the Add-Ins tab.
With the release of the 2013 versions of the Autodesk products, there is also a new release of the Autodesk® Constructware® product. For those of you not familiar with Constructware®, it's a web-based project management software that enables construction firms and owners to standardize and optimize business processes in order to deliver projects more efficiently.
London Blackfriars station, courtesy of Network Rail and Jacobs®
Constructware connects people, information, and processes to help streamline operations, manage change, and optimize execution in the field. Greater project transparency and accountability improve insight across projects of all sizes.
Gain more accurate near time cost visibility with the ability to exchange project data with accounting systems. And the configurable web-based software as a service (SaaS) platform can help to reduce costs associated with implementing and managing an IT infrastructure.
This release contains the following exciting changes to Constructware:
Project Wizard – Ability to copy project level information: You can now copy project level information, such as Attributes or Routes, when creating a new project. With the 2013 release, a user creating a new project can copy the following information from an existing project in Step 2 of the Project Wizard: General Information, Attributes, Routing, View Options, Exhibits
Renaming Modules: With the 2013 release, the ability to rename modules has been added to the following modules.
Document Management
Architectural Supplemental Instructions (ASIs)
Design Review
Permits
Cost Management
Request for Change Order
Request for Quote
Risk Management
Safety Record
Issues Module – Creation of Issues via API: In a previous release, Constructware added the ability to exchange files within the File Director module via the WebDAV API (application programming interface) and an API for the RFI module. Continuing this theme of enabling integration between desktop, mobile, or other applications, the Issues module now has been enabled with an API.
Issues Module – Creation of Attached Files: As mentioned in the previous section, Constructware has added the ability to attach a file to an Issue via the API. The ability to quickly add an attached file has also been added to the standard user interface within Constructware. An attached file can only associated or attached to a singular document and cannot reside anywhere else within the application. Previously if a user wanted to add a file to an Issue they would have uploaded the file into File Director or the Documents modules as a supporting document.
Let us know if you want to hear more about Constructware, or what you think of the new updates by leaving a comment below.
One of the biggest features in the new release of Navisworks 2013, is that you can now directly load Revit .RVT files into Navisworks in addition to exporting .NWC files from Revit.
We will support the loading Revit files from three previous releases, so we will load files created in Revit 2010, 2011 and 2012 as well as the current release 2013.
Most of the time these will load correctly into Navisworks with no further work required; however there will be occasions where you receive the message "There were errors encountered while opening the Revit model. Please open the file in Revit and fix the errors".
This means you will need to fix the file in Revit 2013, this fixes parts of the model that cannot be converted inside of Navisworks. When you save the file in Revit 2013, Navisworks can then load those elements.
If you do not own a copy of Revit 2013 then you can still export NWC files from the version of Revit you have installed on the machine. Just install the Revit Exporters through 'Add or Remove programs' if they are not already installed then you can go to Add-Ins > External Tools to export a Navisworks 2013 NWC file.
I've been getting round to installing the Autodesk 2013 products on my main machine and I wanted to put up a quick post to remind you of a few things to check before going ahead with installation and reduce the likelihood of problems further down the line.
Get Administrator Permissions. If you don't have them then speak to your Systems Administrator.
Check the System Requirements, can your machine cope with the new software, do you need upgrades, do you need to clear some space. Suites provide lots of useful tools but will need quite a bit of memory. Look at Autodesk System Requirements for more information.
If you have beta versions of the software on your machine, UNINSTALL THEM. It's amazing how often problems revert back to this. Beta versions are never intended to be used on production machines; we'd hope that you completely clean your machine first to avoid unintended problems.
If you have an intermittent, slow or problematic network connection, don't install from a network location, install from a local drive.
Switch off anti-virus whilst installing. This might seem like an odd step but many antivirus packages are constantly monitoring changes to the machine, these can prevent registry keys being registered or files being placed in the correct directory.
Make sure your Operating System is up to date, any updates have been applied and the machine restarted.
Last but not least, read the documentation. We hope the installation process is easy and intuitive for you, but it's always worth checking the documentation to familiarize yourself with the process and the readme files for issues that may affect you, this is available in the installer and on the relevant product support site.
To coincide with the new 2013 releases there's going to be a series of free events in the coming weeks starting with these dates in the UK and Ireland. I should be at the Leeds date on the 18th April, hopefully I'll get to meet some of you there.
Autodesk AEC Live Tour
Myself and the Autodesk AEC techies are going on a road trip to bring to you the latest and greatest with the new 2013 releases.
The first leg of the tour is in the UK and Ireland, with more to follow throughout Northern Europe that we cover.
The events are free, so please come and join us.
Dublin 12th April - Guinness Storehouse, St James Gate, Dublin 8 Dublin (Ireland)
This can be a frustrating problem that tends to happen when Revit has been installed after Navisworks, it leaves you without the Navisworks exporters or ability to use Navisworks Switchback with Revit.
This process shows you what to do with Navisworks 2013, the process is the same in earlier releases and with the standalone NWC exporters.
Firstly make sure the Navisworks Exporters are installed in Add Remove Programs, ensure these are the correct 32 or 64 bit exporters for your machine, if they are not there then you will need to install them.
Double click "Autodesk Navisworks 2013 32 or 64 bit Exporter Plug-ins", not the Language Packs.
Then select Add or Remove Features
Ensure Revit 2013 is checked, if it is not then check it but you may need to browse to the Revit folder.
Follow the Update process agreeing to any further dialogues.
Restart Revit, if exporters not available then restart machine.
You should now find the exporters available in the Add-Ins menu.
And in Revit 2013 you will also find the exporters under the Export menu.
If you still have problems please use the Navisworks forums to request more help.
Late last summer in Sheffield in the UK, a number of us huddled around a computer screen for an early prototype of the ability to import Revit Grids and Levels into Navisworks. We knew then that this was going to be one of those enhancements that will save you Navisworks users, valuable minutes and hours trying to get to a certain location in the model, or plain just trying to understand where you are! This is the sort of thing we get excited by, the things that smooth out your workflows, allowing you to get on with the tasks that matter to you, without wasting time getting lost in a complex model, or painstakingly creating AutoCAD grids and overlaying them in your Navisworks scene.
The video below provides an overview of this feature:
For those of you that can't access YouTube here's some more detail about the feature…
Navisworks reads the Grids from your Revit models – either via opening the RVT in Navisworks, or NWC Export from Revit – and display the grid at each reference Level (also defined in Revit). We can bring them in from multiple Revit models, so if you're working with multiple disciplines, for example, and they happen to have a differing grid system, then you can select which grid system you want to work with in the View toolbar.
Here you can also choose whether to show the grid, or not, and define the way in which you view them. Using the Mode, you can view a single grid on the level above or below, both above and below, display at all levels, or have the grid fixed at a specified level – this is particularly effective when used in conjunction with a section plane (creating a horizontal slice through the building), as the grid can remain on the floor slab when you're orbiting above the services, for example.
You can modify how these grids are displayed through the Options on the main menu or by selecting the small arrow in the bottom right of the panel.
Here you can select the color of the level above and the level below which changes as your camera changes position, and the other levels if you have them displayed. You can also change the label font size and whether you want levels hidden behind other geometry to display by using X-Ray Mode.
Let's have a closer look at the grids and levels themselves, here we have 3 main things to look at: - A – The line references are displayed at the edge of the window meaning you will always know where you are. B – Hovering over a grid intersection will bring up the Grid Reference and the Level allowing you to quickly check the location of an item. C - The Head Up Display when switched on will now display the closest grid intersection and the closest level below the current camera position allowing you to quickly see where you are in the model.
These will only work in Perspective mode; in Orthographic you will only be able to see grids and levels when viewing the model in plan or elevation (i.e. selecting a face on the ViewCube).
As useful as it will be to know where you are in a model, I think the biggest value of this functionality is when going through Clash Results and grouping issues, as we now also bring the data of the level and grid reference for each Clash Result, allowing you to sort the results by level and grid reference - this will also come through to your reports.
We'd love to know what you think and any other questions you have about this release, please leave a comment or contact us using the buttons on the left.
I've been working with Navisworks products for 7 years, Paul even longer, and I'll be honest, this is the most excited I've been for a product release in that time. I think the features we've added to this year's Autodesk Navisworks 2013 release are the biggest leap forward we have had in all that time.
Here's a quick overview of the main highlights and we'll be covering all of these in more depth in the coming days and weeks with more blogs, tips, videos and more!
Improved Revit® Interoperability
Native RVT file support
Hierarchy representation
Category, family, type, instance
Improved level association
Subparts named by material
Grids & Levels Support
Display of Revit grids & levels in scene view
Hover-over intersection for grid reference
Head-up-display (HUD) position readout
4D / Scheduling Improvements
Drag-and-drop sets/selections/objects to tasks
Auto-add tasks from sets, respecting folder hierarchy
Export task hierarchy to Microsoft® Project XML
Editable task hierarchy
Improved user interface
5D / Cost Simulation
Associate costs with schedule tasks
Clash Detection Enhancements
Clash result locations by level and grid reference
Sort results by grid reference, level, proximity, etc.
Quick filter results by status, level, assigned to, etc.
Undo support
Improved user interface
Comprehensive API
Improved Selection Tools
New Selection Inspector Tool
Improvements to Sets window
Support for drag-and-drop
Additional File Format Support
Siemens NX
Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks
Dassault Systèmes CATIA®
Microsoft Project 2010
Primavera® P6 v8
Graphisoft® ArchiCAD 14 & 15
Faro 4.8
Vault Integration Enhancements
Open & append all supported file formats via the vault
Join us for the Autodesk Virtual Event on March 29, 2012. See how Autodesk BIM solutions are transforming the building and construction industries.
With tight budgets, project complexity, and short timelines, the building and construction industry is under pressure. It’s time to move forward or risk falling behind. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and new technologies are changing what’s possible. With our latest software releases, Autodesk® helps you lead the way in transforming your business now and into the future.
This year’s event features sessions from Autodesk executives, as well as building and construction experts, including:
Review of Strategic Initiatives for Autodesk by Carl Bass, Amar Hanspal, and Lynn Allen
Building a Better Architecture Business with BIM, by Joy Stark
BIM for Building Engineering, by Sarah Hodges
Implementing BIM in Construction, by Anthony Governanti
There's alot of ways to use the API to increase productivity, one of them is to increase or change the information available between applications. I'll let Jeremy Tammik explain.
Connecting Pieces, Like Navisworks
The motto of last year's world tour of DevDays developer conferences was Connecting the Pieces, as in Autodesk suites, as in getting bits and pieces to work together seamlessly, as in the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
This has also been reflected very clearly in the past few years of Revit product and API enhancements. So much is about integration.
We implemented a plugin for Navisworks that shows all extended data that is created in Revit using our LindabRevitTools add-in. The plugin is a way of reaching out to everyone working on site, since they use Navisworks a lot.
All information that I want to share in Navisworks is written to a set of Revit parameters. These are shared ones in this case, since I don't want to mix anything up with anyone else.
These parameter values are read and displayed in Navisworks. I use two different Navisworks plugin types, one to create the window and one that handles the events. Most of the parameters are usually shown using the ordinary properties window, as long as they have a value. On the other hand, I want the users to get the right amount of data (no more, no less) and formatted in a way that is easily to read. That isn't achieved in any other way than this.
I decided to do all the hard work inside Revit instead of Navisworks, such as creating a class with the information that is about to be exchanged between Revit and Navisworks.
Half of the information that I show in Navisworks must be created inside Revit anyway, since it is plugin-specific information like quantities of material etc., so I didn't really have much choice anyway.
The first comments have been really good, since a lot of people on the construction site have purchased Navisworks licenses and are comfortable with the environment.
They can do a walk-through and simply click on any wall to see the exact amount of steel profiles, insulation, and board material needed to build it. Are we talking BIM or what?
No idea, but some people might think so... ;-)
Cross-platform work like this feels like a good way to go...
I will definitely do more stuff available for Navisworks.
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