Beyond Design: the Construction and BIM blog

Rendering for Construction, how to improve Health and Safety

You only need to do fancy renderings to win bids right? Show off to the client how their shiny new project is going to look?

A common misconception about rendering is that it's a way to get a computer generated model as close to the real thing as possible, and it takes a really long time, so therefore it's only for the most important people, the clients. Well it can do, I know several releases of Navisworks ago our standard advice for getting a high quality render out was set it up then go home for the night, and hope for the best that it would all be ready in the morning and you wouldn't run out of memory or find your hardware blue screened on you.

Now I know a few of you are nodding your head at this and many of you have probably already started to embrace A360 Cloud Rendering, a way to send your model to us, get on with other work, then receive a link to a nice shiny render in your email. Once you have done a render it's pretty easy to change settings and re-render it bigger or a different type of render such as a panorama, and even easier to download it or share it with your company or the wider world. You can also send up to cloud rendering directly from within AutoCAD, Revit, Navisworks, Fusion 360 and 3DS Max or upload AutoCAD and Fusion 360 files to the Rendering in A360 website.

So what has all this got to do with Health and Safety? Well one of the biggest challenges with implementing a health and safety policy is ensuring everyone understands what is being asked of them, this could be due to terminology, interpretation of documents, or simple language barriers as we see on projects around the world. Visual communication is essential to getting a point across, so using renderings, visualisations and anything to back up potential dangers or ensure that workers understand their restrictions before they go on site is something that should be embraced.

In the example below we have a model that includes a terrain and site plan from Infraworks exported as an FBX, alongside a bridge created with Civil 3D, Revit and Dynamo, all imported into Navisworks. Then I simply moved to the cabin of the crane and press Render in Cloud, you can then decide to export still images, panoramas or stereo panoramas (for use with Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard). This can be a much easier way to get the site team to understand what they need to do or what the site may look like than using 2D drawings or upskilling them in navigating 3D models.

Have a look at the Building and Infrastructure examples in the A360 Gallery

So give it a try today and let us know how you get on, why not share your construction projects in the comments?

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.

Keyboard Shortcuts (Hotkeys) for Autodesk Navisworks

One of the quickest ways to improve your productivity is to learn a few shortcuts, I don't know where I'd be without Alt tabbing through windows or Ctrl tabbing on my internet browser, hopefully some of these will leave you time for an extra coffee during your day!

Keyboard Shortcut	Description
PgUp	Zooms to view all objects in the Scene View.
PgDn	Zooms to magnify all selected objects in the Scene View.
HOME	Takes you to Home view. This keyboard shortcut only applies to the Scene View windows. This means it will only work when this window has focus.
ESC	Deselects everything.
SHIFT	Used to modify the middle mouse button actions.
CTRL	Used to modify the middle mouse button actions.
ALT	Turns the keytips on or off.
ALT + F4	Closes the currently active dockable window when it is undocked, or exits the application if the main application window is active.
CTRL + 0	Turns on Turntable mode.
CTRL + 1	Turns on Select mode.
CTRL + 2	Turns on Walk mode.
CTRL + 3	Turns on Look Around mode.
CTRL + 4	Turns on Zoom mode.
CTRL + 5	Turns on Zoom Window mode.
CTRL + 6	Turns on Pan mode.
CTRL + 7	Turns on Orbit mode.
CTRL + 8	Turns on Free Orbit mode.
CTRL + 9	Turns on Fly mode.
CTRL + A	Displays the Append dialog box.
CTRL + D	Toggles Collision mode. You must be in appropriate navigation mode (that is, Walk or Fly) for this keyboard shortcut to work.
CTRL + F	Displays the Quick Find dialog box.
CTRL + G	Toggles Gravity mode.
CTRL + H	Toggles Hidden mode for selected items.
CTRL + I	Displays the Insert File dialog box.
CTRL + M	Displays the Merge dialog box.
CTRL + N	Resets the program, closes the currently open Autodesk Navisworks file, and creates a new file.
CTRL + O	Displays the Open dialog box.
CTRL + P	Displays the Print dialog box.
CTRL + R	Toggles Require mode for selected items.
CTRL + S	Saves the currently open Autodesk Navisworks file.
CTRL + T	Toggles Third Person mode.
CTRL + Y	Reverses the last operation performed by the Undo command.
CTRL + Z	Reverses the last performed operation.
CTRL + PgUp	Displays the previous sheet.
CTRL + PgDn	Displays the next sheet.
CTRL + F1	Opens the Help system.
CTRL + F2	Opens the Clash Detective window.
CTRL + F3	Toggles the TimeLiner window.
CTRL + F4	Toggles the Rendering window (Autodesk Rendering or Presenter depending on graphics system).
CTRL + F5	Toggles the Animator window.
CTRL + F6	Toggles the Scripter window.
CTRL + F7	Toggles the Tilt window.
CTRL + F8	Toggles the Quantification window.
CTRL + F9	Toggles the Plan View window.
CTRL + F10	Toggles the Section View window.
CTRL + F11	Toggles the Saved Viewpoints window.
CTRL + F12	Toggles the Selection Tree window.
CTRL + HOME	Dollies and pans the camera so that the entire model is in view.
CTRL + Right Arrow	Play selected animation.
CTRL + Left Arrow	Reverse Play selected animation.
CTRL + Up Arrow	Record viewpoint animation.
CTRL + Down Arrow	Stop playing animation.
CTRL + Space	Pause playing animation.
CTRL + SHIFT + A	Opens the Animation Export dialog box.
CTRL + SHIFT + C	Opens the Export dialog box and enables you to export current search.
CTRL + SHIFT + I	Opens the Image Export dialog box.
CTRL + SHIFT + R	Opens the Export Rendered Image dialog box.
CTRL + SHIFT + S	Opens the Export dialog box and enables you to export search sets.
CTRL + SHIFT + T	Opens the Export dialog box and enables you to export the current TimeLiner schedule.
CTRL + SHIFT + V	Opens the Export dialog box and enables you to export viewpoints.
CTRL + SHIFT + W	Opens the Export dialog box and enables you to export viewpoint report.
CTRL + SHIFT + HOME	Sets current view as Home.
CTRL + SHIFT + END	Sets current view as Front.
CTRL + SHIFT + Left Arrow	Takes you to the previous redline tag.
CTRL + SHIFT + Right Arrow	Takes you to the next redline tag.
CTRL + SHIFT + Up Arrow	Takes you to the first redline tag.
CTRL + SHIFT + Down Arrow	Takes you to the last redline tag.
F1	Opens the Help system.
F2	Renames the selected item, when appropriate.
F3	Repeats the previously run Quick Find search.
F5	Refreshes your scene with the latest versions of currently loaded model files.
F11	Toggles Full Screen mode.
F12	Opens the Options Editor.
SHIFT + W	Opens the last used SteeringWheel.
SHIFT + F1	Enables you to get context-sensitive help.
SHIFT + F2	Toggles the Sets window.
SHIFT + F3	Toggles the Find Items window.
SHIFT + F4	Toggles the Find Comments window.
SHIFT + F6	Toggles the Comments window.
SHIFT + F7	Toggles the Properties window.
SHIFT + F10	Opens a context menu.
SHIFT + F11	Opens the File Options dialog box.
With the Measurement tool selected.
X	Lock to the X axis
Y	Lock to the Y axis
Z	Lock to the Z axis
P	Lock to a point perpendicular to a surface
L	Lock to a point parallel to a surface
ENTER	Quick zoom to measured area
+	Use with Enter key to zoom in to measured area
-	Use with Enter key to zoom out of measured area
With the Timeliner tool selected.
ESC	Cancels the current edits.
F2	Starts editing the selected field.
ANY CHARACTER	Starts editing the selected field.
RIGHT ARROW	Moves the selection to the next right field, unless the current field is in a tree column that can be expanded. In this case, it expands the row.
LEFT ARROW	Moves the selection to the next left field, unless the current field is in a tree column that can be expanded. In this case, it expands the row.
UP/DOWN ARROW	Selects the row above/below the current row
SHIFT+UP/DOWN ARROW	Extends the selection to the row above/below the current row.
CTRL+UP/DOWN ARROW	Moves the current row up/down without changing selection.
HOME	Selects the first row.
SHIFT+HOME	Extends the selection from the selection anchor to the first row.
CTRL+HOME	Moves the current row to the first row without changing selection.
CTRL+SHIFT+HOME	Adds the rows from the current row to the first row to the selection.
END	Selects the last row.
SHIFT+END	Extends the selection from the selection anchor to the end.
CTRL+END	Moves the current row to the last row without changing selection.
CTRL+SHIFT+END	Adds the rows from the current row to the last row to the selection.
PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN	Selects the row one page above/below the current row.
SHIFT+PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN	Extends the selection one page up/down.
CTRL+PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN	Moves the current row one page up/down without changing the selection.
CTRL+SHIFT+PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN	Adds one page up/down from the current row to the selection.
*	Expands the entire subtree, starting from the current cell.

Which ones do you use most in a day? Or have you learnt any new ones? Or do you want to tell us what you're doing with your extra few minutes in the day? Leave a comment below and tell us.

Navisworks Help now also available online

There's a lot of information out there on the internet and sometimes it can be difficult to know where to find the answers you're looking for. With this in mind we recently published our product help online, meaning that you can quickly find all the answers that you're looking for.

You can access the product help using the following links:

Navisworks Manage

Navisworks Simulate

Navisworks Freedom

This online help contains comprehensive information on how to use all aspects of Navisworks, and gives you an understanding of both the features that you use regularly, and those that you may be less aware of.

You can use the Table of Contents to navigate your way through the topics, and find information about the features that you're interested in. Alternatively you can use the help books as tutorials, and work your way through them all to learn about the full functionality of Navisworks – why not teach yourself to be a super-user!

You can also use the Index and the Search tabs to find specific information that you're looking for.

The content is structured in a logical manner that fits in with your workflows. Overviews of concepts are detailed under the Concept tab. Click the Procedure tab and you'll be taken to a list of related procedures. The Quick Reference tab gives you information on items in a specific window, such as buttons, icons or context (right-click) menus.

Using the buttons in the top right of the online help as displayed in this image, you can show the topic you are currently viewing in the contents, save the topic to your favorites which can be invaluable if you use topics regularly, go back to the home tab, or email a link to a colleague.

Let us know what you think about the new online help by adding a comment below.

Auditing a Navisworks model for very distant items

I'd like you all to try something, open a large Navisworks project you are working on, if you press 'Page Up' to zoom out to the entire model, and you can no longer see the model or it looks tiny then you should audit it for very distant items.

This is something we recommend you do as a simple check whenever creating an NWD, large or small, but there are symptoms of models which desperately need this, I've listed a few below: -

• When you render your model through Presenter, only the background shows, or you seem to get holes or triangles missing from a render
• When you navigate the model it looks like you have a section plane in front of you, as described here
• Jerky performance when navigating
• Model disappears when rotating around the model
• When you zoom out the model disappears
• Two faces seem to occupy the same space giving a jagged looking surface

When focused in on the model select an item (not the whole model) and save this as a Selection Set. You will use this in a minute to identify the location of the model in the view, or return to the model at any time.

Press Page Up to Zoom out to the extents of the model. If the model is not zoomed out then the distant objects may be behind the model, rotate the model 90° and press Page Up again to Zoom back out.

Go to the Item Tools toolbar

Select the Move tool, a gizmo should now appear where the model is in the viewpoint.

Use the Selection Box tool to select the areas away from the gizmo and the model, in the image below I made four selection boxes, in the third selection box I found a single item, with the move tool still selected the gizmo shows where this item is. When items are selected, either follow the steps below for each item, or add them to a new selection set(s) for further investigation.

Use Page Down to Zoom in to the selected items.

There is a quicker route to do this by using the selection box to select the main model then inverting the selection, however this may miss multiple instances of the same item and will not give you as much control when looking for the distant items.

Once you have identified any very distant items there are several possible routes to improve the model quality.

1. The easiest method is simply to Hide those items, once they are hidden then the bounding box of the model will be vastly reduced, improving the symptoms listed above, the items however will still be in the model.
2. If this is a whole CAD file in a distant location you may need to apply a transform to place it correctly in the model or change the origin or coordinates in the CAD file so it comes into the correct location.
3. Go back to the native CAD model, use the properties to identify the object
   1. If it is distant from the model or at the origin coordinates in the CAD package then it should be placed correctly or deleted dependent on your model and practices. Save the model and refresh the Navisworks scene.
   2. If it is correctly placed in the model then you need to look more closely into why this part of the model has been translated incorrectly, check the options for reading the file in or look at alternate routes to bring the model into Navisworks. If you cannot find an obvious problem, log a support case with the model data and details of the very distant item (either on the Navisworks Forums or through the Subscription Center), we may also be able to use this to improve Navisworks file handling.
4. Check if the object has any transformation overrides placing it in the wrong place with Right Click > Reset Item > Reset Transforms.

Please let us know if this helps you out by leaving a comment below.

Free Excerpt from new "Mastering Autodesk Navisworks 2012" book

We know you love freebies; we saw how many of you downloaded the free ground planes we offered a few weeks ago. Well here's another one, a few pages from the newly released 'Mastering Autodesk Navisworks 2012' book by Jason Dodds and Scott Johnson. Both these guys have years of experience working with Navisworks in the field with you guys, implementing workflows, pushing the limits of the product and doing things we didn't even realize Navisworks could do!

We've saved an important part of the book for you. Lots of people ask how they should work with NWC, NWD and NWF files for their workflow, these pages explain a little more about what each file format is, how it is used and a more detailed typical workflow, something many people would pay thousands of dollars for a consultant to do for them! Download these pages here

Now if you think that's a valuable bit of information then you should get yourself a copy of the book from here: -

Mastering Autodesk Navisworks 2012

I've got a copy sat here next to me and just picked up a couple of handy things about Timeliner I never knew, I'd tell you what they are but you'll have to get the book to find them out yourself!

Free Download - Navisworks Ground Planes

Don't like your model floating in space? Do you find your avatar falling off the side of the model when you have gravity on? You probably need a ground plane. You may want to bring in an accurate terrain map from Civil 3D but for many of you, you're only dealing with the building itself, in which case a simple flat ground plane will do the job.

The link below will let you download a zip file with 9 ground planes, there's 3 sizes, 10m x 10m, 100m x 100m and 1000m x 1000m, and 3 materials, Grass, Concrete and Asphalt.

Simply Append one to your model and move it underneath the building model, and like magic you'll have a surrounding area to walk around, a better area for visualisations and you'll be able to get a better idea of scale.

For the more advanced users, you can modify the material in Presenter and replace it with a aerial image (e.g. from Google Maps) or a more suitable texture.

Download Ground_Planes.zip (10.8MB)