The Building Coder

API Context, Input State and DA4R Debugging

We present a long-awaited solution to check for a valid Revit API context and a whole bunch of short pointers to other mostly AI-related topics of interest – Determining Revit API context – Detect Revit user input state – Easy Revit API – Gemini with image and video input – LLM is not self-aware – Generative AI transformer – Design to reduce junk data – C and C++ are risky – Ultra-processed food is toxic... Read more →

Aligning Connectors

A C++ sample demonstrating how to align connectors, an impressive modern platform for implementing and streamlining online API processes, and my impressions of Harari's book on the history of mankind – Align connectors in C++ – Pipedream serverless API workflow – Harari: Sapiens Read more →

Line Subcategory Filter, Modification Tracker and NW

I played around a bit with the NavisWorks API and discovered a nice Revit project modification tracking tool in Dynamo – Filter for detail lines subcategory – Revit project modification tracking – Retrieving all NavisWorks model properties – Node.js best practices – Early history of programming and C... Read more →

High Performance Outline, Line-Plane Intersection

Today let's talk mainly about geometric analysis and performance – High-performance outline optimisation – Simple line-plane intersection – Set base and survey clipped and unclipped – Two German uni BIM360 construction cloud startups – AI-based face streaming hits mainstream... Read more →

Face Methods and Custom Command Line Arguments

Inundated with interesting topics, let's skim a few topmost ones off – Passing an add-in custom command line parameters – Useful methods help verify a Face is rectangular – Automate complex family creation – C++ code extracts 3D line segments from point cloud – Big data visualisation and storytelling... Read more →

Create Swept Blend DirectShape in C++

Question: I am trying to create a swept blend geometry and assign it to a DirectShape element. The initial code threw an exception when calling the GeometryCreationUtilities CreateSweptBlendGeometry method. How can I fix this? Answer: The path parameters assume that they should be normalised or that the curve has a range of parameterisation from 0 to 1... Read more →

AreaLoad Force Direction, CMake and SDK Access

Here are some of the topics I dealt with in the last couple of days – CMake and YoAudio – AutoCAD and Revit SDK Access and Content – Determining AreaLoad direction and value from its force vectors – ExportCncFab 2018... Read more →

Revit MEP Connector Number

I answered a question in the Revit MEP forum, prompted by Robert Klempau's direct mention in the thread on connector numbers of mechanical equipment. Since it is rather technical and even includes a snippet of Revit source code, let me reiterate it here for better readability and future reference – Question: I created a mechanical exhaust fan with four connectors... Read more →

Happy New Year, C++, Crypto and Content

Happy New Year to one and all! I had a great break over Christmas and New Year and hope you did as well. I continued checking into the Revit API discussion forum throughout and had several interesting discussions with the busy souls hanging out there – C++, audio, crypto and security – Prayer of the Mothers – Avoid remaking CAD content... Read more →

Viewport Bring to Front and C++ Revit Add-In

Two topics today, on reordering viewports to determine their respective occlusion, and setting up a C++ Revit add-in project – Bringing a viewport to the front – Change the draw order of a viewport (bring to front) for cases when you need to use simplified duplicate of the same view for background, e.g., ceiling grid for example – Code clean-up – Setting up a Visual Studio C++ Revit add-in project... Read more →

Revit Future and Saving User Configuration Settings

I encountered the need and implemented solutions to save user configuration data several times over in the past. Today, prompted by a recent query, I'll point out two of them, and some other exciting and interesting stuff as well: Anthony Hauck on Futures for Revit. The Most Popular Programming Languages 2015. Saving User Configuration Settings. Text Format Configuration File Storage and Parsing. .NET XML Configuration File Storage and Parsing. Anthony Hauck on Futures for Revit BIMThoughts is a podcast platform... Read more →

Grevit, FireRating in the Cloud Deployment, Vacation

I have been extremely busy the past few days implementing my FireRating in the Cloud sample, a migration of the standard Revit SDK FireRating sample to a cloud-based multi-project implementation – reflected in this week's GitHub contributions: Also, I heard from Max Thumfart about his very interesting Grevit project: FireRating in the cloud demo and deployment Grevit Vacation time soon FireRating in the Cloud Demo and Deployment I'm just about done with my FireRating in the Cloud project. I published... Read more →

The GEOM_VISIBILITY_PARAM Visibility Settings

Here is an nice, useful and interesting example of a Revit API forum discussion thread and cooperative research between Remy van den Bor of ICN Solutions, Rudolf Honke of Mensch und Maschine acadGraph, the Revit development team, Joe Ye and your humble scribe on retrieving an element's detail view visibility settings, before wishing you and us all the best for the year of the horse: Remy: Hello Reviteers, Does anybody know how to get to the visibility settings in the... Read more →

Using the Built-In Revit AcGe Functionality

Anyone who ever used the AutoCAD API for geometrical purposes must be enamoured with AcGe. On the other hand, the Revit geometry library is pretty meagre in comparison. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to use all that powerful AcGe functionality in Revit as well? Actually, if you take a look at the support DLLs included in the Revit main executable directory, AcGe is obviously present: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit 2014 > dir *acge* Directory of C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit 2014 02/05/2013 12:52... Read more →