What’s new in Navisworks 2014? Part 1

You may have noticed we've been pretty busy behind the scenes here at Autodesk, a few weeks ago at TED we launched a new logo which signals a change in direction from Autodesk as more than just a software company for engineers, with the transition to mobile and cloud the way everyone interacts with software is changing, and we hope to be leading the way with this transition. We know many of you over the last few months are using the BIM 360 Field and Glue products, but that doesn't mean we've forgotten about users of our flagship products like Autodesk Navisworks, with new and improved features and increased links to workflows in the cloud.

The key new features in Navisworks 2014 are

Quantification – Get accurate model based quantities from your BIM model, allowing you to track changes between model revisions, perform destructive and constructive take offs and assign material and labor resources to items in the model. Many more details are to follow in a series of blog posts explaining how to use the new tool and a recommended workflow getting you quickly up to speed with model based quantification.

Autodesk rendering – The same rendering engine found in our other flagship products is now available inside Navisworks, allowing you to use consistent Autodesk material libraries, and collate models from various disciplines and sources to create even more compelling visual

Measurement tools – Improvements to the measure tool allow you to more easily work out what you are measuring and snapping to, have the flexibility to lock to a particular axis or surface, and zoom quickly to an area to select a measurement point.

You'll hear lots about point clouds this year with 2013 being the year Point Clouds will be used by more than just those with very expensive equipment. The capabilities of the new 'Autodesk ReCap' engine will astound regular point cloud users as we'll be able to handle models much larger than you previously could. You'll be able to measure and snap more accurately against point clouds, and link your 3D virtual BIM model to a real life 'Reality Captured' point cloud, this will allow new design and construction workflows. AutoCAD^®, A

Clash detective* has improvements to the user interface to allow you to change the colors and display of clashed objects, better manage saved viewpoints and overrides, access to comments in the results tab, and better filtering and reporting on those filtered results, you'll also remember this blog post about Clash Rules, well we've now made it easier for you to reduce the number of false positive clash results, meaning you can work only on the clashes that matter.
*only available in Autodesk Navisworks Manage

Don't forget, you can also view your NWD models on the free Autodesk BIM 360 Glue mobile iPad app.

There's also EVEN MORE FEATURES on this second What else is new in Autodesk Navisworks 2014 blog post.

You'll be able to access the new 2014 products with subscription within the next couple of weeks, and look out on this blog for more detail on how to use these new features and unlock the power of the cloud with BIM 360 Glue and Field over the coming weeks.