The Building Coder

Slow, Slower Still and Faster Filtering

Today I discuss (once again) an important performance aspect of Revit element filtering, a Python script for tagging JPEG images with EXIF data, prompted by a recent ski tour, and three other interesting topics that caught my eye – Slow, slower still and faster filtering – Python JPEG EXIT filename tagging – TED talks and population growth – Objective reality does not exist – Artificial intelligence judge... Read more →

Aborting Filtered Element Collection

I just discovered an interesting and not completely obvious aspect of using a filtered element collector in the Revit API discussion forum thread on aborting a long running filtered element collector. Question: I have really large models where I use an ElementIntersectsElementFilter that can take a long time to process, and sometimes I want to abort it in a graceful way. Is this possible? Read more →

pyRevit Keynote Manager and Becker Forge Blog

Today, I discuss a simple Revit API getting started question from StackOverflow, a new Forge blog and a request for feedback on the keynote manager beta – Retrieving a wall type for creating a wall – CAD Becker Forge blog – pyRevit keynote manager beta... Read more →

Fire Rating Zone Intersection

Let's tackle a 2D fire rating zone intersection task. Actually, it was originally raised a 3D intersection task. Reducing it to 2D makes it much more tractable – 3D solid extrusion creation and intersection task – 2D area intersection task – Jack's sample and description – Soffit subdivision sample code – Cleanup and GitHub repository... Read more →

Using an Intersection Filter for Linked Elements

Intersecting elements has always been a hot topic, cf. various previous discussions on 3D Booleans, cutting and joining elements; intersecting with elements in a linked file is even more challenging. Happily, the Revit API provides tools to support that as well – Intersecting linked elements with current project ones – Retrieving rebars intersecting a structural element... Read more →

Efficient and Elegant Code

I remain busy, mainly in the Revit API discussion forum. Here are three recent samples dealing with pretty generic questions – Efficiency and elegance in simple code – Pushing wall type to doors... Read more →

Reference Intersector and Deleting Reference Planes

We already looked at deleting unnamed non-hosting reference planes back in 2012 and 2014. Some things have changed since then, and the old code requires fixing and updating. Other interesting topics also want to be mentioned – Embodyment workshop – Bös Fulen mountain hike – Using ReferenceIntersector to place lighting fixture on ceiling face – Reformat stable representation string for dimensioning – Deleting unnamed non-hosting reference planes updated... Read more →

Forge Tutorials and Filtering for a Parameter Value

Today, let's revisit the topic of filtering for a parameter value, and mention the updated Forge tutorials – Learning Forge tutorials – Filtering for a specific parameter value – Filtered element collector optimisation... Read more →

FilterRule Use and Retrieving Exterior Walls

Today, we revisit the interesting and generic question on retrieving all exterior walls. That may be easy in a perfect and complete model. However, it raises some challenges in an incomplete BIM – Retrieving all exterior walls – Several possible approaches – Using a computational geometry approach – Manually adding the huge surrounding room – Encapsulate transactions and roll back instead of deleting – Determining model extents via wall bounding box – Implementing the huge surrounding room approach – Retrieving family instances satisfying a filter rule... Read more →

Getting All Parameter Values

How to export all the Revit data to an external database? It is very simple to extract all the parameter data. Let's implement a solution to do so – Existing sample implementations – Black box input – Choices for the output and its structure – Retrieve parameter values from an element – FilterCategoryRule versus category filters – Category description extension method – Retrieve parameter data for all elements of given categories – External command Execute mainline – Sample run results – Download... Read more →

Parameters, Walls and Driving Revit via WCF Service

Exciting news from Russia and some mundane updates on other repetitive topics – Driving Revit from a modeless context via a WCF service – Room walls' directions – Retrieving all exterior walls – Getting and setting a shared parameter value... Read more →

How to use FilterCategoryRule

@CaptainDan raised a very pertinent question in the discussion forum on using FilterCategoryRule in the Revit API that led to some discussion and clarification with the development team: I have three questions regarding the filter rule represented by this class... Read more →

Bounding Box Filter is Always Axis Aligned

This is pretty obvious, once you think about it, and apparently worth pointing out anyway: The outline defining a bounding box filter is always aligned with the cardinal axes – Rotating Min and Max distorts the box – Rotate target elements or use a solid filter... Read more →

Using Intersection Filter with Linked File

We recently discussed filtering for intersecting elements. Here is a closely related issue with an additional twist – Determining elements intersecting mass in a linked file – Coding suggestions and transformations – Solution by applying transformations... Read more →

Create 2D Arc and Filter for Intersecting Elements

Several questions on filtering for intersecting elements came up recently. It is pretty easy as long as a bounding box can be used. However, the bounding box is generally aligned with the cardinal X, Y and Z axes. If the containing volume of interest is not, too many elements may be selected – Family instances in a diagonal room – Conduits intersecting a junction box – Generate 2D arc from radius, start and end points... Read more →

Efficiently Retrieve Crop Box for Given View

Konrads Samulis shared a very nice solution to retrieve the crop box for a given view using a highly efficient parameter filter in his comment on rotating a plan view. In digging up this old thread, I found something quite curious in the API in 18.1, that I'm not sure was there before. The method of using a temporary transaction (with rollback) to find the element id of the crop box was taking a very long time on a large model, so I did a bit of digging to see how I could improve it. I noticed that in the built-in parameter ID_PARAM of the crop box contains the element id of the view it's in. E.g., the crop box 'points' to the id of the view it is in using ID_PARAM... Read more →

Automatic Wall Creation

Alexander Ignatovich shares an exceedingly elegant solution for automatic wall creation, illustrating a number of important concepts and implementing the following functionality very succinctly indeed – Retrieve all the cube family instances – Retrieve their height parameter value – Retrieve their solids making use of the .NET yield operator – Extract their horizontal outline contours using an ExtrusionAnalyzer – Create walls along each contour curve segment – Place a door family instance at the midpoint of each wall... Read more →

Purge and Detecting an Empty View

One topic that keeps cropping up is how to purge different kinds of Revit database elements – Purge – Detecting empty views – JavaScript debugging tips – Collection from the past... Read more →

Curtain Wall Panel Geometry with Basic Wall Panel

A quick geometrical question on retrieving geometry from a basic wall being used as a panel in a curtain wall. I am struggling to retrieve the geometry data from a curtain wall that contains a Basic wall in one of the curtain wall panels. My example curtain wall has two panels. With one of the panels, a basic wall type is associated. I need to get the geometry data (i.e., the faces) for the entire curtain wall. When I reach the second panel in my code, the SymbolGeometry contains zero objects, so my code cannot retrieve any geometry for it... Read more →

ExtentElem and Square Face Dimensioning References

Alexander Ignatovich answered several interesting questions in the Revit API discussion forum – The ExtentElem and duplicating legend components – Obtaining generic model square face references for dimensioning – Preparing family with reference planes for dimensioning – Creating a line perpendicular to another... Read more →

FindInserts Determines Void Instances Cutting Floor

Here is another brilliant and super succinct solution provided by Fair59, answering the Revit API discussion forum thread on how to get cutting void instances in the floor using the HostObject FindInserts method – Question: I have a floor on which a family instance is inserted on the face of the floor (the instance host is also the floor). I checked in the family the "Cut with Void When Loaded" parameter, so that the void is created in the floor. Now, I want to retrieve all the instances that create voids in the floor... Read more →

Retrieving Elements Visible in View

Minho re-opened the Revit API discussion forum thread on getting the ElementId of all visible entities in a viewport, providing a good opportunity to mention Colin Stark's answer to the StackOverflow thread on determining whether a FamilyInstance is visible in a View. Question: I am looking for code to get the ElementIds of all entities inside a viewport. A viewport is a region of a big view plan... Read more →

Forgify

I am officially taking time off right now, but still jumping in here and there anyway, e.g. in an urgent case to reduce the RVT model file size before passing it into the Forge translator – RvtForgify – Forge read-write – Forge in an Enterprise Service Bus... Read more →

ForgeFader, Lookup Builds, Purge & Room Instances

Blogging despite having already exceeded my work quota for the week, but there is so much to share – ForgeFader user interface – RevitLookup builds – Purging types, families and materials – Retrieving all family instances in a room... Read more →

RvtFader, AVF, Ray Tracing and Signal Attenuation

I implemented a neat new little sample add-in, RvtFader, that calculates and displays signal attenuation caused by distance and obstacles, specifically walls. It uses two very interesting pieces of Revit API functionality – AVF, the Analysis Visualisation Framework, for displaying graphical data in a transient manner directly in the BIM – The ReferenceIntersector ray tracing functionality to detect walls and other obstacles between two points. In the course of implementing the AVF part of things, I also resuscitated my trusty old RevitWebcam add-in – RevitWebcam – RvtFader – Task – Implementation – Further Reading... Read more →

Elasticsearch-Head, RevitLookup and Area Schemes

I ran the first query on the collection of tbc blog posts imported into Elasticsearch to experiment for the question answering system Q4R4 Question Answering for Revit API and installed the elasticsearch-head web front end to better explore and understand my local Elasticsearch cluster – Elasticsearch text field mapping – Elasticsearch-head web front end – More RevitLookup updates – Get area scheme from an area... Read more →

Events, UV Coordinates and Rooms on Level

A lot of interesting solutions were shared in the Revit API discussion forum and private email messages during my absence last week, and several exciting events are looming – Forge Accelerator in Gothenburg – AEC Hackathon in Munich – Autodesk University in London – Retrieve and map texture UV coordinates exporting geometry and material – Collect all rooms on a given level... Read more →

Dynamic Scripts, Model Elements, Vertical Alignment

Happy New Year of the Rooster! The Spring Festival is underway celebrating the Chinese New Year. Meanwhile, we continue our usual ongoing celebration of exciting Revit API news items – PyRevit dynamic cs script loader – Selecting all physical elements in model – Vertical TextNote alignment... Read more →

Determining Views Showing an Element

The topic of how to determine all views in which a given element is visible has been discussed several times on the past, and a couple of viable solutions have been suggested. However, for large projects, performance becomes an issue. This question was raised again by Abba Lustgarten and Erik Eriksson in the Revit API discussion forum thread on finding views in which an element is visible (by geometry or actual visibility), with Erik sharing a View extension method IntersectsBoundingBox that helps alleviate the performance impact... 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 →

Vacation End, Forge News and Bounding Boxes

I am back from a very relaxing vacation. I did next to nothing, and that felt fine. Meanwhile, obviously, lots of important and exciting Forge community and Revit API related happenings – PyRevit Blog – Forge DevCon 2016 material and 2017 dates – Forge forums closing in favour of StackOverflow – Forge Accelerator in Munich – Bounding Box ExpandToContain Extension Methods – Bounding Box and Lower Left Corner of Rooms – Bounding Box of Selected Elements or Entire Model – Setting 3D section box to selected elements' extents... Read more →

Filtering for View Specific Elements

While preparing for the Forge DevCon in SF and the Athens Forge meetup and web server workshop at The Cube Athens, I also happened to hear about the solution to the question raised by Chema in the Revit API discussion forum thread on deleting an area in a drafting view – I need to delete some elements (detail items) in a given area of my drafting view... Read more →

Named Guid Storage for Project Identification

I want to continue working on the TrackChangesCloud project asap. So far, it only consists of the Revit add-in to determine and list the changes made to the BIM. The interesting part will be to store the results in a cloud database for analysis and reporting. A prerequisite for that is a reliable way to identify Revit project documents. I already explored that topic when starting to implement the FireRatingCloud sample... Read more →

How to Distinguish Redundant Rooms

A couple of interesting Revit API issues were resolved during my recent absence. Let's start with this question raised by Miroslav Schonauer and resolved by Diane Christoforo: Using the terminology as shown in Schedules, I need to report all 'Not Placed', 'Redundant' and 'Not Enclosed' rooms... Read more →

API, SDK and View Section Box Element Intersection

Trying to keep track of the overwhelming information flow provided by the numerous discussions on the Revit API discussion forum is impossible. Here are two little titbits from the past few days – Basic Revit API and SDK Access, Online and Offline – Filtering for Elements Intersecting a View Section Box... Read more →

All Model Text, StringSearch 2016 and New Jobs

I migrated another one of my samples to Revit 2016: StringSearch. That was prompted by a question on extracting all visible text from the Revit model that I will take a closer look at below – ADN Internship and Other Jobs – Extracting all Visible Text from the Revit Model – StringSearch for Revit 2016... Read more →

Quick, Slow and LINQ Element Filtering

I arrived back safe and sound in Switzerland after the exciting week at Autodesk University. Another happy arrival is my first grandson: He was preceded by his big sister almost two years ago. Life goes on. I have been wanting to highlight the difference between quick and slow element filters for quite a while, and now a query came in that provides an ideal opportunity – Use of LINQ with filtered element collectors – Revit element filter classification – Filter types – Efficiency guidelines – Logical filters – Quick filters – Slow filters... Read more →

AU, IoC, Banks and Not To Delete While Iterating

Autodesk University is already nearing its end. It went by so fast! I attended a bunch of brilliant classes, took notes during Cyrille Fauvel's cloud and mobile expert panel, and successfully presented my own two, the Revit API expert panel and connecting desktop and cloud. That led to a completely different topic – SpatialElementGeometryCalculator bug fix – do not delete while iterating – SpatialElementGeometryCalculator migration to Revit 2016 – IoC, the Internet of Cows – Two nice Iain Banks Quarry quotes... Read more →

DevDay@AU and Using a Custom Exporter for 2D

Several developers recently asked how to export 2D shapes through a custom exporter. I recently discussed this issue with Arnošt Löbel and below present a summary and combination of several different conversation threads on the topic. First, let me mention that I arrived safe and sound at Autodesk University. I travelled on my birthday last week, so I was upgraded to fly in style – in a sledge – sleeping in the desert – DevDay@AU... Read more →

Filtering Samples and RAC 2016 Features

The issue of simple filtered element collector samples was raised in a private message. I do not like to receive private messages and avoid answering them in private. I always prefer to discuss everything I do in public and enable the entire community to contribute and share when possible. In this case, such a message led to the discussion below. I'll also point to an overview of Revit Architecture 2016 Features... Read more →

Change Type, Iterate Elements, Create Family

Let's wrap up this hectic week with a couple more recently answered issues and one non-Revit note – Changing element type – Iterating over elements – Creating an electrical family – La costola di Adamo... Read more →

Intersect Solid Filter, AVF vs DirectShape Debugging

We already discussed the important topics of the analysis visualisation framework AVF, DirectShape (mesh import, new functionality), and the ElementIntersectsSolidFilter. Today, let's look at a little-know restriction on the latter and how to work around it, raised and solved by Miroslav Schonauer, Solution Architect in Autodesk Consulting, and Scott Conover, Software Development Manager of the Revit API team: ElementIntersectsSolidFilter problem Resolution Rectangular prism solid construction DirectShape is easier than AVF for prototyping and visualisation ElementIntersectsSolidFilter Problem Question: I have a... Read more →

Using ReferenceIntersector in Linked Files

Quite a while ago, we had a Revit API discussion forum thread on the use of the ReferenceIntersector in linked files. Apparently, some restrictions on that have been removed in Revit 2016. Before getting to that, let me mention that I have been very busy in the past few days in the Revit API discussion forum, answering various cases, and on The 3D Web Coder, implementing a cloud-based enhancement for the FireRating Revit SDK sample. Steps Towards a Cloud-Based FireRating... Read more →

FindInserts Retrieves All Openings in All Wall Types

On Tuesday, I presented the new SpatialElementGeometryCalculator sample for calculating gross and net wall areas. It discusses a whole bunch of interesting aspects, e.g.: Use of the SpatialElementGeometryCalculator class. Porting a VB.NET Revit add-in to C#. Use of the temporary transaction trick. Use of filtered element collectors to determine all openings in a wall. Filtered element collector optimisation possibilities, e.g. integer instead of string comparison, use of a parameter filter instead of .NET post-processing. Vilo submitted a very relevant comment... Read more →

List Pipe Sizes and More Obsolete API Usage Removal

I was ill for a few days last week, with a fever and a virus. I also made a quick trip to Moscow, where we held the final event in this year's sequence of DevDays conferences. For the first time in my life, I gave my presentations in a woolly hat :-) I also rented my first airbnb flat ever, on Arbat street in the centre of town, and was pretty happy with that. I returned back to Switzerland on... Read more →

Isolating Elements of a Given System

I am very glad to present another post contributed by Victor Chekalin, or Виктор Чекалин, who already shared many valuable insights and in-depth Revit API research in the past: On the Russian developer forum, the user goblya asked an interesting question. He needs to hide all elements except those that belong to a specific given system. There are some interesting moments in the solution. The main idea is to create the filter, assign this filter to the active view and... Read more →

WebGL Goes Mobile and Sorted Level Retrieval

Today, let's look at a generic WebGL and a specialised Revit API issue: WebGL on all Apple platforms and sorted level retrieval. WebGL Goes Mobile Apple announced full support of WebGL for its desktop and mobile browsers, so WebGL goes truly cross platform, as pointed out by Paul Flanagan: Previous claims of cross-platform support for this HTML5 standard were largely worthless because they did not include the iPhone, iPad, or desktop Safari. That has changed, and this standard for 3D... Read more →

Futureproofing and Determining Intersecting Elements

I continued cleaning up the obsolete API usage in The Building Coder samples, an... Read more →

Selection Filters, Adjacency and the Good Universe

Today, let's look at: A generic selection filter implementation Determining adjacent rooms and spaces The good universe A Generic Selection Filter Implementation Yesterday, I presented my new JtPairPicker element pair selection utility class. It included a templated selection filter class. I later realised that I could make use of that in several other places as well, replacing the existing explicit Wall, CurveElement and Pipe selection filters by a generic JtElementsOfClassSelectionFilter one instead: ///

/// Allow selection of elements of... Read more →

New Text Note and Text Width Calculation

How can I determine the exact width of a Revit text note? This is the topic of the Revit API discussion thread on textnote width calculate minimum. We worked through a whole series of implementation attempts, mostly suggested by Scott Wilson, who also finally suggested the one that currently seems to be optimal and near perfect: Question: When creating a new TextNote I'm given the option to give the TextNote a LineWidth Property. I understand this is the 1:1 scale... Read more →