Align Pipes at bottom

This is an old Revit macro I've created to align pipes to the bottom (BOP or BOI).
It asks for a pipe to be used as reference and the pipes to be aligned.

You need to create a new macro and paste the code below replacing all the content of the file. After this you will se a module named Align_Pipe

The module should look like this

AU 2016 Part 1 - Import Geometry from Rhino to Revit

The guys from Perkins+Will show us a few workflows to import geometry to Revit from different platforms.

The one l'd liked more was converting Rhino models into Revit families allowing the user to change the geometry. This can be done using Dynamo to import a SAT file exported from Rhino to create Forms inside a template family.

Image copyright belongs to Perkins+Will or the autors of the talk

Accessing ModelItems from SelectionSets in Navisworks

The client needs a Synchro 4D animation of his building do to detect possible issues in constructions and also a video to show to the rest of the stakeholders.

Synchro4D is a software for 4D visualization and construction coordination.It allows you to animate and program any 3D object exported from Autodad, Revit, Infraworks, sketchup, etc.

Not related with post but not less true...

The only input I have right now is a federated navisworks model and a mpp - Ms Project - file with tasks and a Gantt diagram.

Synchro (as Navisworks) has the ability of read any parameter on the Revit model and relate it to the right task from the project.*

In order to save time while waiting for Revit models I had the idea of creating a Selection Set per task containing Model items related to each one. This Selection Sets will be named after the task's name.

Category's Scheme to work with.

The only thing left  to do is export a csv file with the sets' content, displaying set's name, source of the file (revit's file name where were exported) and element's Id .
The file should look like this:

SelectionSet,SourceName,ElementId

This can be achieved using the Navisworks API to access all the sets, and then all elements on each one.

Here is the code I've used. You may want to test it using the add-in CodeRun include with Naviswork's API.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.ComponentModel;
using System.Drawing;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using Autodesk.Navisworks.Api;
using Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.DocumentParts;
using System.IO;

namespace CScript
{
    public class CScript
    {
        static public void Main()
        {
            var csv = new StringBuilder();
            var output = new List<String>();
            Document oDoc = Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.ActiveDocument;
            //All selection sets in model
            Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.DocumentParts.DocumentSelectionSets oCurSets = oDoc.SelectionSets;
            //Convert to SavedItemCollectin
            SavedItemCollection coll = oCurSets.ToSavedItemCollection();

            //Path of the current file to save our csv later
            var path = (oDoc.CurrentFileName).Replace(oDoc.Title, "");

            //Iterate over all selections sets to create a current selection
            foreach (SavedItem i in coll)
            {
                //Create a selection source with all objects in selection
                SelectionSource oS = Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.ActiveDocument.SelectionSets.CreateSelectionSource(i);
                //Get a list of ModelItems in Selection Set
                ModelItemCollection list = oS.TryGetSelectedItems(oDoc);

                Selection a = new Selection(list);
                var set = i.DisplayName;

                Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.ActiveDocument.CurrentSelection.AddRange(list);
                foreach (ModelItem m in oDoc.CurrentSelection.SelectedItems)

                {
                    var Name = m.DisplayName;
                    var FC = m.PropertyCategories.FindPropertyByDisplayName("Item", "Source File").Value.ToDisplayString();
                    var SC = m.PropertyCategories.FindPropertyByDisplayName("Element ID", "Value").Value.ToDisplayString();

                    var newLine = string.Format("{0},{1},{2},{3}", set, Name, FC, SC);
                    output.Add(newLine);
                    csv.AppendLine(newLine);
                }
                Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.ActiveDocument.CurrentSelection.Clear();
            }
            //Check if document is saved and use its path to save the csv
            if (oDoc.FileName != null)
            {
                File.WriteAllText(path + oDoc.Title + ".csv", csv.ToString());
            }
            else

            {
                //if file is not saved (untitled) use MyDocuments path instade 
                path = System.Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.MyDocuments);
                File.WriteAllText(path + oDoc.Title + ".csv", csv.ToString());
            }
            //test

            foreach (string s in output)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(s);
            }
        }
    }
}

Notice it will export the csv file to the same folder of the NWD or NWF, if the file was not saved it will be saved in MyDocuments.

Later we will input this information to each Revit model using Dynamo and then export it to Synchro4D.

Hope you find it useful! Let me know if you have any ideas to share or a different workflow to work with.

*We don't use Navisworks for this work because Synchro4D has a better platform to animate the actions on each thask - Demo, Temporary, New construction - and the final outcome needs to show how it actually has to be built.

Coincident Points on X and Y

In honor of the past "Dia de los muertos" here in Mexico I'm bringing you today's problem.

The continuous struggle of bringing back to life the dead projects that fall on my desk

I've placed a series of points using Autodesk Point layout on all walls in my Revit model.
The client wants one point on each corner of the wall and  - this is the tricky part - the location of the point regarding the wall as a description -Bottom Of Wall or Top Of Wall.

Proposed workflow

Using list of tuples we start filling the description parameters 

The python code will look like this

def coincident(x,y,z):
    el = []
    li = x
    int=1
    #Here start the first part of the workflow

    while int < li.Count:
        i = li[0]
        li.Remove(i)
        for e in li:

        #Round the number to avoid comparing floats
            
            if round(i.Location.Point.X,4) == round(e.Location.Point.X,4) and round(i.Location.Point.Y,4) == round(e.Location.Point.Y,4):
                

                #Here start the second part of the workflow, filling the parameters

                TransactionManager.Instance.EnsureInTransaction(doc)
                if e.Location.Point.Z < i.Location.Point.Z:
                #a= the name of the parameter
                #b = to the code you need to add (BOW, or TOW)
                    e.LookupParameter(a).Set(b)
                    el.append(e)
                else: 
                    i.LookupParameter(a).Set(b)
                    el.append(i)
                TransactionManager.Instance.TransactionTaskDone()
        int+1
    return el

Note that you need to "feed" the function with a list of elements that are point based.


Plot twist:
We could change the code to  set the lower point as 0 and the upper point as the difference between the lower and the upper and then we have the wall actual height as data.

if e.Location.Point.Z < i.Location.Point.Z:
    #a= the name of the parameter
        e.LookupParameter(a).Set("0")
  i.LookupParameter(a).Set(str(i.Location.Point.Z - e.Location.Point.Z))

    else: 
        i.LookupParameter(a).Set("0")
  e.LookupParameter(a).Set(str(e.Location.Point.Z - i.Location.Point.Z))

Hope you find this useful and let me know any comments you have.

General Quick Tip: Copy folder path & Copy folder content's names

Two situations,

1-You've saved a file on a folder really deep into your drive and need to save something else there.
You could use the path but the "Save As" window don't allow you to access the path directions.

For this we'll edit window's register regedit.exe (carefully) looking for the folder
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\background\shell\.
Here we create a new key and name it as  "Copy Path", inside we create a new key named "command". Once you have the last key, create a string value and set the Value Data as below.

cmd.exe /s /k "chdir  |clip & exit" 

The command promps a cmd window at the location of the folder, copies the address to the clipboard and exits the cmd window.

Your register should look like this. Note the complete address in the lower left corner of the image.

2-The second situation, you need to send the name of a batch of +50 files inside a folder by email to show which files you have edited.

For this we use the same logic but instead of asking the path of the current folder, we'll call the command "dir * /B" - dir = show content of directory, * is to show all elements in the directory and /B uses bare format (no heading information or summary).

The result will be a text list on the clipboard like this.

M-001-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 1.pdf
M-002-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 2.pdf
M-003-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 3.pdf
M-004-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 4.pdf
M-005-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 5.pdf
M-006-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 6.pdf
M-007-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 7.pdf
M-008-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 8.pdf
M-009-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 9.pdf
M-010-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 10.pdf
M-011-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 11.pdf
M-012-A - COLES BUILDING HVAC LAYOUT GROUND FLOOR - SHEET 12.pdf

We follow the same instructions as before but creating a main key named "Content"
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\background\shell\Content\command\

The script will look like below.

cmd.exe /s /k "dir * /B |clip & exit"  

The result will be two commands on the context menu (right click) of any folder in windows.

If you think you may broke something or you are too lazy to do it all, you could use my copy of this register entries here. If you doubt of what is included open it with notepad or any text read before adding it.

Hope you find it useful.

General Quick Tip: Bulk Renamer Utility

The client wants to change the name of +100 sheets I've recently printed to reflect a temporary change in the naming convention.

For this task we could use Bulk Rename Utility, a simple program that allows you to change hundred of files simultaneously following some rules.

It supports changes over sub-folders, regular expressions, prefixes and suffixes and even touching metadata.

Bulk Rename Utility

It's free and it could be open at an specific location of the disk by right clicking on a folder.

Link: http://www.bulkrenameutility.co.uk/Main_Intro.php

Revit Quick Tip: All materials are Grey

It may happen to you that you start working with phases you notice something strange. If your phase filter is in "Show All" or "Show New" all existing materials are in grey!

To solve this just create a new filter - is not a good idea to change default filters - to be used as New and All showing everything in color.

I know, this is quite a rookie mistake but you probably - as myself - forget about this simple thing from time to time...