The Building Coder

Link Filter, Ceiling and Link Hatch Dim Voodoo

Fresh looks at dimensioning voodoo with stable representations, accessing and filtering elements in linked files, and transient graphics for jigs – Stable representation voodoo for hatch dimensions – Dimensioning hatch pattern on ceiling – Dimensioning hatch pattern in linked file – Filter elements in linked file – RubberBand jig... Read more →

Revit 2025 API Video and Hiding Linked Elements

The video recording on what's new in the Revit 2025 API has been released, and we discuss a nice example combining element pre-selection and PostCommand – Revit 2025 API video – Hiding linked elements... Read more →

RevitLookup Updates, Bounding Boxes and Podcast

New releases of RevitLookup vastly expand coverage to include numerous new classes and properties – BIMrras podcast interview – RevitLookup 2025.0.3 – RevitLookup 2025.0.4 – Outline versus BoundingBox – Linking Revit files in BIM360 Docs... Read more →

Lengthen Ducts and Highlight Links

Modifying duct length, highlighting linked elements using SetReferences and determining whether a form is currently displayed by implementing an IsMainWindowActive predicate... Read more →

Selection in Link, Cancel in Export, Multithreading

Cool topics to wrap up this hot and exciting week – Are you using the derived analytical model? – Pick room in current project or linked model – Determine whether custom export was cancelled – Multi-threading with the single-threaded Revit API – Beginner’s guide to abstraction... Read more →

Section to Crop, Linked Boundary and Intersection

Two beautiful Revit API solutions to – Set view crop to section box and – Access room boundaries and intersections in linked models... Read more →

Using ReferenceIntersector with a Linked File

Here are our topics for today – What is Forge in 90 seconds – Locally opening RVT file managed by BIM360 – Programming tools for Robobat – Using ReferenceIntersector in linked files... Read more →

Tagging a Linked Element

The linked file enhancements introduced in the Revit 2014 API obviously need more awareness – Link enhancements – Conversion of geometric references – Tagging a linked element – Using the stable representation to tag a linked element – List all untagged doors... Read more →

Forge DA4R IFC Support and Snoop Enhancements

Let's close this eventful week with two important enhancements added to the Forge Design Automation API for Revit and our beloved RevitLookup tool – IFC Support in the Design Automation for Revit API – RevitLookup Snoop Enhancements... Read more →

Link in and Analyse IFC File Zones and Spaces

I am working on extracting room and zone information from IFC files, both geometry and relationships, specifically room and zone boundaries and containment. My new IfcSpaceZoneBoundaries add-in project retrieves this information, exports it to CSV and demonstrates a host of other important aspects – What happens on linking in an IFC file? – Read user configuration input settings from a file – Log messages, warnings and errors to an output file – Read the IFC properties stored as shared parameters – Extract the horizontal boundary information from a DirectShape element – Export the relevant data to CSV – Programmatically link in an IFC file into a Revit RVT project – Retrieve all currently linked-in IFC files from the Revit application... Read more →

Retrieving Linked IfcZone Elements Using Python

Today, I present a little exploration of how to access zones defined in an IFC file in Revit. If you are following this blog closely, you might guess that this is related to the room boundary CSV exporter project that I recently discussed. For this exploration, I installed and used RevitPythonShell. Here are the detailed steps – Importing IFC zones into Revit – Installing and using RevitPythonShell – Programmatically accessing IFC zones in Revit... 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 →

DevDays, Keynote Manager and REX Extensions

Let's highlight a few recent threads from the Revit API discussion forum. Before getting to those, a quick pointer to the DevDays Online recording from last week – DevDays online presentations on Revit API updates – External command with ribbon button sample – RevitAddinKeyNoteSystem keynote manager – REX extensions versus Revit add-ins – Reloading Revit links from user selected folder – Converting all parameter values to metric... Read more →

Automatically Reload Links After Migration

Today, my colleagues Michael Brian Lee and Miroslav Schonauer share a solution for links that are not automatically reloaded after migrating the model to Revit 2016... Read more →

Geometry Basics and No Modifying Linked Files

Revit API discussion forum threads – Geometry basics: how to retrieve geometry without prompting the user? – No modifying linked files: you have to unlink... Read more →

Batch Processing, DWFx Links and Future-Proofing

The never-ending stream of Revit API topics continues. Today, let's look at: Unrestricted VendorId. Retrieving DWFx links. Batch processing Revit documents. Future-proofing The Building Coder samples. Recent Revit API AEC DevBlog posts: Delete custom family parameter. JoinGeometryUtils.JoinGeometry for walls and columns. Reading gross and rentable area elements. Unrestricted VendorId In the past, we recommended using an Autodesk registered developer symbol or RDS as your vendor id, stored in the add-in manifest VendorId tag (starting from the Revit 2012 extensible storage... 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 →

DevDays in Milano, Links, Textures, UR4 vs R2

Today we are holding the last Western European DevDays conference in Milano before the winter break. The Milano meetups last night met with great interest and enthusiasm, so I will probably be returning here next year to present and conduct workshops on the Autodesk View and Data API in more depth. Right now, we are in the middle of Jim's morning session: Independently of that, here are a few other miscellaneous topics that cropped up in the past few days:... Read more →

Debugging and Maintaining the Image Relationship

The Revit database contains a number of undocumented relationships, and it can be challenging and useful to discover them. Christian Tonn of kubit presents a powerful method to determine and maintain such a relationship using an officially supported approach instead: Question: Is it possible to get the ImageType object from an image you inserted in the Revit document with Document.Import? Answer: Not directly! I am using the Import method: bool Import( string file, ImageImportOptions options, View view, out Element element);... Read more →

CreateLinkReference Sample Code

The Revit 2014 API introduced a whole bunch of linked RVT document interaction enhancements: Identifying links Obtaining linked documents Link creation Link load and unload Link path type Conversion of geometric references Room tag creation from linked rooms Picking in links They all provide important and useful functionality. Let's take a look at one of them in particular as well as another issue that just cropped up: Conversion of a geometric reference in a linked RVT model Triggering a dynamic... Read more →

Technical Summit Day 1 and Removing RVT References

Yesterday was the first day of the Autodesk internal Technical Summit in Toronto, and pretty exciting. Also, I just had a note from Norway on how to remove references that looks worthwhile sharing. So here is a list of today's multifaceted topics: Recent rendering research JavaScript optimisation Spherical harmonics Web app packages Removing RVT links Technical Summit Day 1 This being an internal meeting, I cannot talk openly about all the topics covered. A couple of titbits that I found... Read more →

Determining Host Document Location of a Linked Element

It is getting rather cold and wet and dreary outside now, so I spent some time answering the following excellently documented developer query on relating the coordinates of a linked file with its host. Just as I was about to publish it, Kon raised the very same issue in a comment on the recent discussion on accessing individual elements in linked projects: "When I try to relate the 'internal' XYZ LocationPoint of the linked document to the main model, they... Read more →

Access to Individual Elements in Linked Projects

Access to individual elements in linked projects is a relatively simple matter, but can still cause some confusion, as we can see below. We looked at various aspects of linking files and accessing the linked element data and geometry in the past, e.g. Linked files Hiding linked files List linked elements Access to linked file geometry List linked files and TransmissionData Linked element geometry access Selecting a face in a linked file Arnošt Löbel's AU 2012 class CP3455 on managing... Read more →

Attributes, Relationships and Other Stuff

Before entering this wonderful new week, I have some unfinished business left over from the last one. Last week I returned from a short holiday and was inundated with developer cases, some of which I would still like to report on, or the results will presumably be lost forever, or at least until the next person runs into the same issue. I hope to prevent this here and now before starting with anything new. Let us therefore take a quick... Read more →

Solid Centroid and Volume Calculation

I have not posted anything since last Friday, being too caught up in the West European Developer days and travelling. Today and tomorrow we spend in Gothenburg on the last lap of our journey, after Paris, Milano, Farnborough and Munich. I had a nap in the taxis to and from the airport yesterday, both in Germany and Sweden, so I was able to burn some midnight oil to share the following exploration with you. One of the many interesting conversations... Read more →

Boost Your BIM and Dance with an Elephant

Advent, advent! Yet another Revit API focused blog is born! Harry Mattison, ex Revit API development team, has initiated Boost Your BIM and kicked it off with a series on using the built-in SharpDevelop development environment Revit macros to resolve duplicate tags: Finding elements Finding only family instances Get & set parameter values Transactions and wrapping up Thank you, Harry, and the best of luck to you and your new blog! Dances with Elephants Also, for a more high-level strategic... Read more →

AU Classes on the View, MEP and Link APIs

Wednesday was my first normal and full AU day, after completing the developer conference and DevLab activities. I was able to attend two interesting classes held by Revit API developers Steven Mycynek and Arnošt Löbel, and present my own Revit MEP API one. Here they are in chronological order: CP3133 Using the Revit Schedule and View APIs by Steven Mycynek CP4108 Revit MEP Programming: All Systems Go by Jeremy Tammik CP3455 Managing Revit Links with the Revit API by Arnošt... Read more →

Ensure WPF Add-in Remains in Foreground

Autumn arrived and passed in a flash. The woods are beautifully coloured, and, unusually, the first snow is already lying on the surrounding hills. Here are some items of interest from cases we looked at last week: Ensure WPF add-in remains in foreground Retrieve all model lines Set linked file visibility Access linked file elements and data Visual Studio 2012 Model Editor Supports OBJ and FBX Sie Mögen Sich Ensure WPF Add-in Remains in Foreground Here is an issue concerning... Read more →

Selecting a Face in a Linked File

Here is a chance to look at an interesting method that we never discussed yet, ConvertToStableRepresentation, and the hidden information that it provides access to. It does what it says, converting a Reference to a stable string representation. Reference and Stable Representation A reference provides a possibility to identify a piece of geometry, even though geometry is transient, not persistent, memory only, generated on the fly. Still, we sometimes need to identify a piece of it and remember which piece... 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 →

Curved Analytical Model Approximation and Etabs Link

Here is a note on how to retrieve approximate straight line segments for the analytical model of curved structural elements, and on a free Revit Structural link tool to the Computers and Structures, Inc. (CSI) ETABS building analysis and design environment. A couple of weeks ago Nasser emailed me about a method he was trying to use for his Revit Structure link add-in. He was trying to export floor elements with curved edges to the structural analysis software ETABS. Like... Read more →

Using the WriteTransmissionData Method

I presented a sample to using the TransmissionData class to list linked files, and Mike Caruso submitted a comment asking how to use it to set a new path on a RVT file. Furthermore, Guming recently asked how to make use of the ExternalFileReference class. Here is a sample answering both of these questions: Question: Can you demonstrate how I would load, unload and make changes to the path of linked Revit files? Answer: Loading, unloading and editing path to... Read more →

Spiderinnet

Have you ever looked at the Spiderinnet? Neither had I, until now, but the intro sounds really promising, and the list of articles is very impressive: This blog focuses on Revit Addin Wizards, Coders, and API Widgets. Coding languages exercised in the various Wizards/Coders/Widgets include but are not limited to C#, VB.NET and C++/Managed C++/CLI. Different Revit versions, flavors (Revit Architecture, Revit Structure and Revit MEP) and bitnesses (x86 or x64), different Visual Studio versions such as 2008 and 2010... Read more →

Transfer Project Standards

Developers occasionally ask about programmatic access to the 'Transfer Project Standards' user interface functionality. Unfortunately, that is currently not provided by the Revit API. However, it is possible to implement a workaround, although it would require quite a bit of work and testing to ensure that it fulfils your needs, as the following sample by Joe Ye shows: Question: Is it possible through the 2012 Revit API to transfer project standards and or system families between Revit projects? For example,... Read more →

Polylines in Imported DWG Files

I still keep discovering functionality in Revit 2012 API that I have not yet discussed here, such as the following important enhancement: Previous versions of the Revit API failed to retrieve polyline data from imported DWG files. The polylines were represented by an internal Revit class which was not exposed through the API, so the geometry retrieval simply ignored these objects. Happily, that changed in the Revit 2012 API with the introduction of the PolyLine class. As stated by the... Read more →