The Building Coder

New Revit 2013 SDK Samples

Revit 2013 has been released, and I presented an overview of the Revit 2013 API two days ago. As always, the use of most of the API features is demonstrated by various SDK samples. For a better understanding of the use and contents of the Revit SDK in general, please refer to the getting started and self-preparation guides. Here is an overview of the new samples: ModelessForm_ExternalEvent and ModelessForm_IdlingEvent (ModelessDialog) ProgressNotifier (Events) RoutingPreferenceTools UIAPI WorkThread (MultiThreading) These samples are all... Read more →

On Creating a Mass from 3D Points

This post unfortunately does not provide a complete solution to an interesting task, just a couple of ideas. In his comment on the Revit 2013 API Ammar asks: Question: Is there a way to generate a mass from a list of X, Y, Z points? Answer: Unfortunately I do not see any way to achieve this through the Revit API directly. I can imagine using some external tool such as ACIS or AutoCAD, feed it the points, generate a SAT... Read more →

Revit 2013 and its API

As you probably know by now, Revit 2013 has been released, with legions of new features. Here they are for architecture, MEP and structural. Without further ado, let us take a look at its API. Overview Just like in previous years, the API in the upcoming version of Revit software sports truly impressive enhancements, both in quantity and quality. As always, a number of completely new features were added, and many features added in the 2012 timeframe were enhanced based... Read more →

Great Ocean Road and Creating Your Own Key

The post-DevLab evening I spent with Paul and Nick on Friday night turned into something of a pub crawl and one of the most pleasant post-training evenings for a long time. Delightful company of highly talented programmers with a wide range of non-programming interests. One of the many interesting topics that we discussed was on identifying a set of beams originating in different systems, and I suggested creating your own key. If you want to skip my weekend blather, please... Read more →

Melbourne DevLab

The last few days I started walking on foot from Flinder Station to Queen's Road. I can enjoy lush green grass, beautiful huge trees and strange birdsong in morning sunlight all the way past the Shrine of Remembrance. It takes just ten minutes longer than waiting for the overfilled noisy slow tram, in which I am forced to stand and therefore can't look out through the windows due to my height. The Melbourne Revit API training day one and day... Read more →

Melbourne Day Two

On the second day of the Revit API training here in Melbourne, we addressed a number of further interesting issues, both basic and beyond. Our sample code ended up demonstrating the following functionality: Revit MEP model creation: place a duct. Geometrical analysis: retrieving unique geometry vertices from a selected element. Besides that, we looked at extensible storage, and I compiled an updated version of the RstLink sample for Revit Structure 2012. I also received interesting comments on a previous post... Read more →

Melbourne Day One

These days right now represent a unique time in our life history. Venus and Jupiter are in a stunning conjunction, closer together right now than they will ever be again for the next two hundred years. If you have a chance, don't forget to look up at the sky in the evenings! In another unique and far-away event, at least from my normal habitat, we completed the first day of the Revit API Training here in Melbourne. Talking about being... Read more →

Determine Revit Demo Mode

Here is yet another interesting example of an apparent gap in the Revit API that can be easily filled using a little workaround. We have seen numerous examples of performing a certain operation within a temporary transaction that is then rolled back to cancel it, such as to determine gross material quantities for an element with openings, a host reference and, more generally, all object relationships. Here is an example of using a related but different approach: the trick consists... Read more →

Retrieve Geometry in Element Coordinate System

I am travelling rather further afield than usual today, and actually have been doing so all day yesterday as well. My normal paths remain inside of Europe, with occasional trips once or twice a year to the USA, for AEC DevCamp and Autodesk University. Now, exceptionally, I am on my way to Melbourne, Australia, to present a Revit API training and DevCamp next week. Meanwhile, here is an interesting little issue brought up by Olli Kattelus, software developer of MagiCAD... Read more →

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. Henrik Bengtsson of Lindab embraces this idea and created a little gateway to Navisworks: In Henrik's... Read more →

Split a Duct or Pipe

Here is another short and sweet answer to a question that keeps popping up regularly: Question: How can I change the length of a pipe using the Revit MEP API? I am actually interested in programmatically splitting the pipe, but I cannot see any support for this in the API. I tried to change the length of the pipe to indirectly cause a split, but the LocationCurve.Length property is read-only, so I cannot simply modify it. Answer: I touched briefly... Read more →

Mixed Mode C++ in Revit 2012

Here is a short note to start the week, on an issue that arose a couple of times using mixed mode C++ development in Revit 2012. This information was originally published on the members-only ADN web site as a technical solution on the development environment for mixed mode C++ for Revit 2012: Question: I have a mixed mode C++ application. When I run it on a machine where no version of Visual Studio was ever installed, I see the following... Read more →

Rotate True North

We have previously looked at how to handle the project location properties and more specifically how to handle the effect of a rotated Project North on an element azimuth. Here is a question on the 'opposite' topic, how to set up a project north rotation in the first place: Question: Is there any way to rotate the truth north using the Revit API? It can be done in the user interface using the Manage > Project Location > Position >... Read more →

A TXT File may be a Type List

Here is a short note on a little issue to be aware of by Chuck Dodson of SGA Design Group: Question: I am stuck trying to figure out the meaning of this error message: I am creating a family in code. I get the same problem if I create it manually. Do you have any idea what the message is saying? Looking online, I find comments about Shared Parameter file corruption, but I'm not using any. The odd thing is,... Read more →

Remove DWF Links

I spent this weekend in Chamonix with my brother Nick. We did one day of rock climbing in the valley at Les Gaillants and Servoz doing Surbac a' Bras, 6a+, and one day of skiing with Chris down the Vallee Blanche, Mer de Glace and Montenvers from the Telepherique de l'Aiguille du Midi. Our route from the telepherique actually joins the Vallee Blanche via the steep looking descent at the extreme right of this picture, with a sharp ridge crossing... Read more →

Updating the Wall Compound Layer Structure

We have a new Revit API supporter on the DevTech team! Balaji joined ADN DevTech a year or two ago and dived straight into supporting AutoCAD with great zest, setting new records in speed and efficiency. Now he addressed his first Revit API case, on how to update a wall compound layer structure. We touched on this topic in the past when discussing the new changes made to the CompoundStructure class in Revit 2012. An example is also given by... Read more →