The Building Coder

Solid From Bounding Box and Forge Webinar 4

I submitted the handout for my presentation on connecting the desktop and cloud for the RTC Revit Technology Conference Europe in Porto next month. I still have to finish my work on the roomedit3dv3 sample to demonstrate connecting the desktop with the cloud by enabling a real-time round-trip modification of the BIM via the Forge viewer; yesterday I integrated the transform viewer extension; now I have to hook up the socket.io messaging back to the Revit add-in to update the BIM – Create solid from bounding box – Forge webinar series 4 – Viewer... Read more →

Warning Swallower, Roomedit3d Viewer Extension

I continue my work on the roomedit3dv3 sample connecting the desktop with the cloud by enabling a real-time round-trip modification of the BIM via the Forge viewer, mention a neat solution enabling a Revit add-in to swallowing warning messages, and point out the Forge webinar session on the Forge Viewer later today – Warning swallower – Roomedit3dv3 transform viewer extension – Forge webinar series... Read more →

Roomedit3d Broadcast, Teigha BIM, Forge Webinar 3

My discussion with Philippe on integrating roomedit3dv3 with the rest of his Forge node.js boilerplate samples continues, as does the Forge hackathon webinar series. Furthermore, the Open Design Alliance made an interesting Revit related announcement – REST vs WebSocket and Roomedit3dv3 broadcast architecture – Teigha BIM announcement – Forge webinar series... Read more →

Flipping a Section View and Forge Webinar 3

I already created a starting point for the new roomedit3d incarnation last week, in its own repository. This week, I agreed with Philippe to retain the new project in an own branch within the Forge boilerplate code sample collection. Hopefully, that will simplify keeping my BIM sample synchronised with any future updates make to that. Now I need to get started implementing and testing the actual viewer extension functionality itself. My main topic today is something different and purely Revit API oriented, besides the next Forge session – Flipping a section view – Forge webinar series... Read more →

The Birth of Roomedit3dv3 and Forge Webinar 2

I made my choice on the starting point for the new roomedit3d incarnation, and the second Forge webinar was successfully held – The birth of Roomedit3dv3 – Forge webinar session 2 on OAuth and the Data Management API... Read more →

Forge Webinar Series and Roomedit Starting Points

I am still in the initial steps of preparing for my upcoming presentations on connecting the desktop and the cloud and exploring more Forge sample starting points. At the same time, we are in the midst of the Forge and AppStore online hackathon webinars, with one down and nine more to come – More Roomedit3dv3 starting points – Forge webinar series... Read more →

Roomedit3d Update for Connecting Desktop and Forge

As I already pointed out, it is really high time now for me to get started preparing for the upcoming presentations on connecting the desktop and the cloud. Let's look at what I prepared for that in the past, in the recent almost-present for the Forge DevCon in June, and plans for the future – Past connecting desktop and cloud samples – DevCon Forge sample for Freeing Your BIM Data – Roomedit3dv3 starting point – Augusto's node.js sample guidelines and naming conventions – Forge Viewer access to Revit 2D views... Read more →

Avoid CAD Import in RFA, AAG16 and Endtrip

Some interesting topics of the day for this first cloudy one after a truly wonderful Indian summer – Avoid imported CAD content in RFA family definitions – Advances in Architectural Geometry 2016 – Endtrip full sound replacement... Read more →

MacroManager, Materials and Getting Started

I am answering Revit API discussion forum threads and developer cases like crazy. Instead, as usual at this time of the year, I should be focussing and putting higher priority on the exciting upcoming events. I keep promising myself to do so and stop answering cases. Then I address just one more... Here are some of the upcoming events and recent Revit API issues – Events – Forge Accelerators, DevDay, RTC and AU – Accessing the MacroManager to Delete Document Macros – Getting Started and Changing the Colour of a Wall – Getting Started and Using the Visual Studio Revit Add-In Wizard Auto-Installer... Read more →

HoloLens Escape Path Waypoint JSON Exporter

Last week, I worked with Kean Walmsley on his entry for the first global Autodesk Hackathon: a HoloLens-based tool for navigating low visibility environments, resulting in the new HoloGuide Autodesk Hackathon project. My modest contribution is the ExportWaypointsJson Revit add-in, an external application implementing the main command, exporting the waypoints, and a subsidiary option settings command, displaying a form, validating input and storing the user preferences. The main command simply prompts the user to pick a model line in the Revit project, traverses it, determines waypoints at predefined intervals and exports them to JSON for consumption by the HoloGuide visualisation... Read more →

Forge and AppStore Online Hackathon Webinars

For the fourth year in a row, we are hosting an online hackathon. In fact, it already started: the Autodesk App Store Forge and Fusion 360 Hackathon is running from September 1 until October 31. This time, the focus is on building apps using Forge APIs and Fusion 360 and extending the Forge ecosystem. Forge is a development platform – a set of cloud services that connects design, engineering, visualization, collaboration, production and operations workflows for all domains. At this early stage of Forge, many people may be interested in learning more about the Forge APIs with no obligation to publish an app; you are more than welcome to attend the free API webinars... Read more →

Stacked Ribbon Button Panel Options

Topic: a C# .NET Revit add-in demonstrating use of a split ribbon button to access a secondary command, e.g., option settings. In the Revit API discussion forum thread on using a StackButton as a PushButton with options, Allan 'aksaks' Seidel recently proposed a neat UI trick, saying: Perhaps this idea might be usable for others. The StackButton ribbon control is a stack of different PushButton instances where the last used PushButton remains visible to be used again. That visible button is reflected in the stack button's CurrentButton property. Imagine if the StackButton control always shows the first button in the stack, and the other button(s) are secondary to the first button's purpose... Read more →

Trusted Signature Motivation and Fishing

Topics for today – How does code signing of Revit add-ins increase security? – What happened to LoadCaseArray? – How and where to search for help on a Revit API question? – Dynamo 1.1 Update... Read more →