The Building Coder

Lookup Foundation, RevitLookup and DA4R 2026

In immediately reaction to the release of Revit 2026, DA4R and RevitLookup follow suite – The Lookup Foundation – RevitLookup 2026 – Dashboard, Summary, Settings pages – Unit and Modules dialogues – LookupEngine – Design Automation API for Revit 2026 – Vibe programming Revit macros – Direwolf fast Revit data extraction – From floppies to a memory stick... Read more →

Docs, Local APS LLM and Parallel Task Orchestration

RvtDocs online Revit API docs, run free local open-source LLM queries on your BIM, and orchestrate add-in tasks in parallel on multiple servers – Revit parallel task orchestration on the server – Task queue controller – RevitRunner class overview – Creating the manifest – Updating the journal – Implementing the command – Setting up the development environment – Parallel execution on multiple Revit instances – Managing Revit instances – Moore's law for agent autonomy: 7 months – Conversational voice generation... Read more →

Stable Parameter Identifier and WebView2 Plans

Embedded browser plans are maturing further, and what to use for stable parameter identification – Move from CefSharp to WebView2 – Stable parameter identifier for use in formula – CrowdStrike outage – Ai models trained on AI-generated data collapse – Open source AI is the path forward... Read more →

Removing Docs Zip Files, Panels and Buttons

A call for feedback on a planned change downloading a RCM from Docs, a tricky solution to remove ribbon panels and buttons, and a bunch of news bites that I found interesting on sustainability, language and AI discoveries; new EU AEC energy ruling, ecological wooden buildings in Scandinavia, spoken human language speed and information density, AI uses as a hearing aid enhancement, weather forecasting, interface assistant, AI open-source and future directions... Read more →

.NET Core Preview and Open Source Add-In Projects

Open-source related discussions, interesting Revit API and AI related news – Revit preview release with C# 7 – RevitLookup 2024.0.9 is here – RevitPythonDocs for Dynamo and pyRevit – New Revit SDK sample browser and launcher – Purge add-in with rave reviews – SpeedCad tools OptionsBar and StatusBar – Managing multiple Revit API versions – DesignScript, Rhino, and other geometry libraries – Trading glass beads for AI IP... Read more →

DLL Paradise and a Fall

APS overview – DLL paradise for Revit add-ins via named pipe IPC – Interprocess communication strategies and best practices – Using named pipes to communicate between different .NET versions – Interactions between .NET 4.8 and .NET 7 – Server / client transmission protocol – Connection management – Two-way communication... Read more →

OptionsBar and Bye Bye to DA4R 2018

A great new open-source productivity enhancement tool making use of the built-in OptionsBar provides handy access to frequently used information, utilities, element selection options and more, and a reminder of the deprecated DA4R Revit 2018 engine... Read more →

Tag Extents and Lazy Detail Components

Today, we highlight two nice contributions from the Revit API discussion forum – Determining tag extents – One-click detail family generator... Read more →

Parameters, Snippets, Batch Mode and Self-Signing

Test run the Revit 2023 parameters service cloud – Roll your own verified publisher – Revit API code snippet repository – Batch processing and monitoring progress... Read more →

ACC Summit, Model Properties, Copy Relationships

We take a look at maintaining relationships between Revit elements when copying, at ACC, the Autodesk Construction Cloud, and its APIs – ACC Model Properties API – ACC integration partner summit – Maintain relationships copying elements – Unsplash with free images... Read more →

Kfpopeye Open Source, AVF and Other Cleanup

Open source projects that help clean up parameter values, the Revit model and other operations, an important AVF cleanup required to prevent crashing, and some youngsters cleaning up some cash – Kfpopeye open source projects – AVF result clean-up before design option switch – Young teen and kid sister crypto entrepreneurs... Read more →

Quo Vadis Revit

An exciting announcement was made today; I add pointers to two preceding recent news items that may or may not be related – Autodesk joins Open Design Alliance – Martyn Day on the past and future of Revit – Håvard Vasshaug on the open letter... Read more →

Automatically Open Correct RVT File Version

Today, let's address a couple of quick questions and share a useful utility – How to determine Revit export image coordinates – Problems compiling and installing the Revit SDK samples – RvtVerFileOpen utility opens correct RVT file version – Angular and react tutorials – Give and take... Read more →

Vacation and Open Source Code Licenses, Again

Let me take leave from you for a short vacation. I recently repeated the importance of a license when sharing source code for reuse by others and pointed to these previous discussions – A readme is a must – People cannot use the code unless you specify a license... Read more →

Revit Server API Lib, Truss Members and Layers

Today, we proudly present – NuGet Revit Server REST API Library – RevitLookup Updates – Truss Members and FamilyInstance Sub-Components – GeometryObject Layer Name... Read more →

Virtuous Reproduction, Research, Settings, Ontology

I have probably asked developers for reproducible cases a couple of thousand times by now. Let's discuss that and also return to the topic of how to research a Revit API problem in general. Finally, I'll point out a Revit 2017 API MEP electrical feature. Oh, and I continued my research into deep learning for a Revit API question answering system – Creating a reproducible case may well solve the issue at hand – How to research to find a Revit API solution – Access to cable tray and conduit settings – Getting started implementing a question answering system – First impression from IBM Bluemix – Open source QAS options – Building a Revit API ontology... Read more →

IFC Import and Open Source

Quite a few issues revolving around IFC came up lately in various ADN cases and in the Revit API discussion forum. Before getting to the technical stuff, some pictures from my latest mountaineering trip to climb Gross Spannort – Autodesk Forge Platform — Little machines – IFC import scaling issue – IFC open source C# library – Customising IFC import – IFC family support... Read more →

Exporting RVT BIM to JSON, WebGL and Forge

I am happy to say that I returned safe and sound to Switzerland from my travels for the Forge DevCon and Cloud Accelerator. Since then, I rounded off the hierarchical MEP system exporter to a JSON graph for interaction with it in the Forge viewer, worked on an update of the ADN JSON mesh exporter and helped my son Christopher getting started with C# scripting to drive audio effects for professional spatialized sound design for computer games – More TraverseAllSystems updates – CustomExporterAdnMeshJson updates – ADN JSON Exporter Alternatives to View RVT in WebGL – vA3C – The Forge Viewer – Getting started with Unity C# scripting – Opendesk at Autodesk Forge Accelerator Barcelona... Read more →

The pyRevit IronPython Script Library

Two weeks ago, Maltezc raised a question on the availability of a version of RevitLookup for Python. I am not aware of any Python version of RevitLookup, but you can certainly call into RevitLookup from RevitPythonShell. Maltezc pointed out the pyRevit IronPython script library. Ehsan Iran-Nejad, pyRevit creator and maintainer, now wrote a blog post describing this powerful and popular collection... Read more →

Forge DevCon, Spring, Impermanence, BIM Cloud

Spring is getting into swing, and new life is budding. I hope the same holds true for all your development efforts and visions of the future. Not everything is budding into new life, though... part of existence is passing away, as well. One of my dearest school classmates and closest friends of my youth, Prof. Dr. Lorenz Poellinger, unexpectedly passed on. The two of us travelled together for several of months, climbing and hitchhiking... Read more →

Entitlement API, Trial Period and Floating License

I had an exciting weekend with ski tours under challenging weather conditions around Oberalppass, Sedrun-Andermatt, skiing on Piz Maler on Friday, piste in a snow storm on Saturday, and climbing Piz Cavradi via the Maighelshuette Sunday morning in splendid conditions, with 50 cm of fresh powder snow for the descent. Here is today's Revit news for you – Trial period, floating license and the Entitlement API – SketchUp Plugin for Grevit – EMEA ADN team meeting in London... Read more →

tbc – The Building Coder Source and Index on GitHub

Developers frequently lament bad search functionality on Typepad-hosted blogs. Furthermore, it is always handy to have an offline local copy of any kind of important documentation you need to consult regularly. With a local copy of The Building Coder source text, you can use your standard system tools to search and index locally in any form you like. Finally, wouldn't it be nice to have a simple line-by-line index of all The Building Coder blog posts ever published? – Publishing The Building Coder source and index on GitHub – GitHub size limitations – Alternative blogging platforms – Fork and clone to create your own local installation – El Perro Semihundido by Goya... Read more →

Richard Stallman for a Free Digital Society

I attended the presentation by Richard M. Stallman of the Free Software Foundation FSF for a free digital society in the University of Bern yesterday – Ground Rules – Threats to our Freedom in the Digital Society – DRM – Digital Management of Rights or Restrictions? – GNU and Linux – JavaScript – Software as a Service – Open Source versus Free Software – Free Software Evangelism – Surveillance – Censorship – Voting Systems – The War on Sharing – Sharing Art – Issues in Switzerland – Digital Freedom of Speech – Auction of an Adorable GNU – Recording of the Entire Presentation... Read more →

Kids@Work and AEC Technology Symposium Videos

I am busy preparing my presentations for Autodesk University. In spite of that, I spent the day yesterday taking my SON (significant other's nephew :-) to the Kids at Work event in the Autodesk Neuchâtel offices – AEC Technology Symposium Videos... Read more →

Sharing, Dynamo and a Chinese Book

I returned from the Autodesk Cloud Accelerator in Prague, where I finished off cleaning up the FireRating in the Cloud sample and made some good inroads into the new CompHound project. Some learning resources and sharing philosophy – Håvard Vasshaug on Learning Dynamo and Sharing Content – Open Source BIM, IFC and FreeCAD – Chinese Revit API Book... 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 →

From Hack to App – OBJ Mesh Import to DirectShape

I already took a couple of looks at the DirectShape element in the past: DirectShape Performance and Minimum Size DirectShape versus Families, Category and Texture A much deeper investigation was prompted by Eric Boehlke of truevis.com, knowledgeable in architecture and above all in photogrammetry. Eric visited the DevHack at Autodesk University in December 2014. Together, right there and then, we put together a prototype Revit add-in that reads an OBJ file and creates a DirectShape element from it. Eric continued... Read more →

Cloud Accelerator and More Revit Stuff

Last opportunity to make one more New Year's Resolution! Submit a proposal for the cloud accelerator: Cloud Accelerator Revit API Discussion Forum Activity C# Samples and Getting Started with the Revit API 2D Coordinates of Curve Endpoints in View3d Edit IFC Import to Write Extensible Storage Cloud Accelerator Talking about opportunities to dive deep and fast into cool web oriented technology, check out the Autodesk Cloud Accelerator, a two-week workshop in March 2015 in our San Francisco office for up... Read more →

.NET Open Source and Visual Studio Community

Steve Mycynek of the Revit Development team pointed out an important update on .NET and Visual Studio: As you may know, one frustration faced by Revit API developers is the lack of debugging support in the free Express versions of Visual Studio. They do not support debugging DLLs against an EXE host or attaching to a process, which is exactly what we require to debug a Revit add-in loaded into Revit.exe (except by resorting to tricks, used, e.g., for the... Read more →

DirectShape versus Families, Category and Texture

Let's begin this week with a discussion of several aspects of direct shapes: Direct shapes, part families and application porting DirectShape categories DirectShape texture assignment Direct Shapes, Part Families and Application Porting Question: I am looking for some guidance related to porting my application to Revit. I have a parametric part engine that lives outside of Revit with a large set of existing library content. It would be very costly to rebuild from scratch using the Revit Part Family editor... Read more →

Berlin Hackathon Results, 3D Viewer and Web News

We completed the Berlin hackathon last weekend, and many other noteworthy and exciting things are going on, concerning the Revit API, the 3D web viewers, web services and more: Berlin hackathon projects and winners Avoid unnecessary unit conversion 3D viewer news AutoCAD as a web service Collada STL ADVA export settings RvtVa3c update Berlin Hackathon Projects and Winners The Berlin hackathon completed and the winners were announced last weekend. I took notes of four teams' project presentations: US4, us four... Read more →

Autodesk Open Source All Over – Germany and Japan

Here are some notes on Autodesk Open Source involvement from AU Germany, the Japan hackathon, and two other nice topics for today: Autodesk University Germany Japanese View and Data API hackathon projects CAD Term Translation Cool presentation gimmick Autodesk University Germany In the keynote session, Carl Bass introduced Spark, Autodesk's new 3D printer and total commitment to open source: Connected – Spark connects digital information to 3D printers in a new and streamlined way, making it easier to visualize and... Read more →