The Building Coder

Ten Years Anniversary, MVVM, WPF and WinForm

Today is The Building Coder's tenth birthday! The first post was a warm welcome on August 22, 2008. Very many thanks to the entire community for all your support, interest, comments and above all numerous contributions over the years! Today, let's pick up the recurring topic of accessing the Revit API from a modeless context... Read more →

Revit Unit Test Framework Improvements

The UpCodes AI team shared some significant Revit Test Framework improvements – Created a NuGet package – Added the ability to group tests by the model – Added ability to use wildcards for model filenames – Clear messaging and indication of failures... Read more →

Revit 2019.1, CEFSharp, Forge Accelerator in Rome

I am back from a multi-day hike of about 70 km along the Swedish Sörmlandsleden wilderness trail. In the meantime, lots of noteworthy things happened – Revit 2019.1 update and features – Revit Add-Ins using the CEFsharp library – BIM 360 Issues API – Forge Accelerator in Rome and elsewhere – Looking for a Forge development partner – New way to retrieve a parameter id... Read more →

Wall Profile Command Update

I returned from my time off in July. I dived in deep into the Revit API again to resolve an issue retrieving wall profile curves. Here are some other noteworthy items to keep company with my debugging report – CmdWallProfile update – Access to the IUpdater original value – Getting element dimensions from IFC files – Creative workaround to rotate elevation marker in chunks... Read more →

Mindful Living and Smiling to Myself

I am back from my July vacation. As planned, I visited the Buddhist monastery Plum Village near Bordeaux. Here are some personal notes from my experiences there, followed by a Revit API related issue that just cropped up – Plum Village and its visitors – Mindfulness and relaxation – My struggle with the smile – Mindful watering of seeds – Line intersection with topography surface... Read more →

Vacation and Multi-Version Revit Add-In Template

As I already mentioned, I am taking lots of time off in July. This is just a note to let you know I am alive, well and happy, currently in Brassac in Occitanie in southern France, on my way to practice awareness, care and attentiveness in the Buddhist monastery Plum Village near Bordeaux. On the road, I'll just share this quick note from a comment by Zhmayev Yaroslav on multi-targeting Revit versions using TargetFrameworks – Multi-Version Revit Add-In Template... Read more →

Add-In Registration – VendorId and Signature

I am taking lots of time off in July, so this may be my last post for a while. Before leaving, I will share my answers to a list of pertinent questions on add-in registration, especially how to populate the add-in manifest VendorId tag and handle the trusted digital DLL signature – Add-in registration – VendorId – Add-in registration – trusted digital add-in signature – Vacation in July... Read more →

Multi-Targeting Revit Versions, CAD Terms, Textures

Here comes another solution for efficiently compiling add-ins for multiple Revit version targets from one single code base, a note on resources for CAD term databases for consistent terminology translation, and a discussion on accessing custom texture maps in Forge and Revit – Multi-targeting Revit versions using TargetFrameworks – Further enhancement using the CSPROJ Import tag – CAD terminology resources for consistent translation – Showing a custom Revit texture map in the Forge Viewer... Read more →

BAM Digital Construction and Drawing a Model Line

I am attending the BAM Digital Construction Live event in the UK and presenting on Forge for that domain. Today, I'll share my slide deck from this event and welcome my colleague Xiaodong answering his first Revit API cases – Forge for Digital Construction – Welcome Xiaodong and invoking the Draw Model Line command... Read more →

BIM360 and Forge for AEC Message and Samples

I am participating in a Digital Construction Live event in the UK next week and presenting there on Forge for the BIM domain. Today, let's focus on the real message and some live samples putting it to use: – The real message – BIM collaboration roles and magnitudes – Forge for AEC Sample Live – Connecting Forge with BIM360 Sample... Read more →

REX SDK Templates for Revit Structure 2019

Apparently, the Revit SDK REX Visual Studio templates are obsolete. Let's fix that problem. Also, two little notes on a C# optimisation trick for math-heavy code, and the current status of the Forge Design Automation API for Revit – Revit Structure 2019 REX Extension SDK Visual Studio Templates – Improve C# Performance Using Struct Instead of Class – Update on the Forge Design Automation API for Revit... Read more →

Forge for AEC and BIM360 Overview

I am participating in a Digital Construction Live event in the UK next week and presenting there on Forge for the BIM domain. In preparation, I'll jot down some notes here on what I learned about this myself lately – Forge for AEC in Five Minutes – What do the Forge APIs do? – BIM360 – Connect the Docs – Overview – Packages – Platform and Subscriptions – Subscription Entitlements – Docs – Design – Glue – Build – Summary... Read more →

Simplifying Nested Family Instances

José Alberto Torres Jaraute implemented an add-in tool to protect the intellectual property built into a complex hierarchy of nested family instances by replacing them with a flatter and simpler hierarchy, yet retaining all the relevant non-confidential custom data. Basically, his tool also enables location of overlapping elements and duplicates elimination. In the course of this work, Alberto raised a number of questions in the Revit API discussion forum – Explode nested families – Insert a curve-based family instance associated to a face – Explode family instance to get all the components of a family in project – Change the host and work plane of a family... Read more →

Creating a Warning Using the Failure API

The Failure API enables both failure definition and handling capabilities – The ability to define and post failures from within API code when a user-visible problem has occurred – The ability to respond to failures posted by Revit and by API code through code in your application This also enables the creation of a modeless warning message to the user... Read more →

Extensible Storage and Renaming Family in Project

An interesting question was raised on renaming a family after it has been loaded into a project, which throws some light on the underlying relationship between the family name and the RFA filename. Before that, we revisit the eternal topic of getting started with the Revit API, and what to do to prepare for it before actually touching Revit at all. Afterwards, and similarly, we pick up a good suggestion or two on planning and preparing your extensible storage schema for future version handling – Before getting started – Renaming a family in a project – Extensible storage – versioning best practices... Read more →

Revit 2019 SDK and My First Plugin Update

Slowly but surely and one by one, the Revit 2019 updates are percolating through to the Revit Developer Centre – Revit 2019 SDK published – My First Revit Plugin update... 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 →

Exported File Path and Revit Structural Analysis SDK

I am busy in the Revit API discussion forum. However, you can check the discussions there yourself. Here and now, I'll mention some different topics – oops, one of them is from there after all – RST and the Structural Analysis SDK – Determining the path of a recently exported file – Driving NavisWorks programmatically via ExecuteCommand – The Autodesk assistant Ava and the uncanny valley... Read more →

Multi-Target Add-Ins, AI, Markdown and Job Offer

Let's finish this week with a blog post completely free of source code – but not of Revit API topics – Compiling add-ins for multiple Revit versions – Generative design for office planning – Handy Markdown tutorial – Job offer for senior software engineer in Tel Aviv... 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 →

Installing the Revit 2019 SDK April Update

After the significant struggle I had to compile the initial release of the Revit 2019 SDK samples and set up RvtSamples 2019, I am happy to report that installing and compiling the Revit 2019 SDK April 27 update is a lot easier – Downloading the April 27 SDK update – Initial compilation – 41 warnings – Processor architecture mismatch suppressed – 5 warnings – Update reference to RevitAPISteel.dll – 3 warnings – Setting up RvtSamples – Updated RvtSamples download... 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 →

Foreground Image Import and Visible DWG Geometry

Today, we explore how to retrieve visible DWG geometry, i.e., geometry elements contained in a CAD import instance on a layer that is visible in the currently active view, and how to import an image to the foreground instead of the default background setting – Retrieve CAD import geometry on visible layer – Import image using foreground option... 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 →

Scaling a Bitmap for the Large and Small Image Icons

Every time I created a ribbon button, I was faced with the task of creating appropriately scaled icons for it to populate the PushButton large and small image icon properties LargeImage and Image. They seem to expect a 32 x 32 and 16 x 16 icon, respectively. I finally solved that once and for all by implementing a couple of methods to perform automatic bitmap scaling – BitmapImageToBitmap – convert a BitmapImage to Bitmap – BitmapToBitmapSource – convert a Bitmap to a BitmapSource – ResizeImage – resize an image to the specified width and height – ScaledIcon – scale down large icon to desired size for Revit ribbon button – Usage sample – putting them together... Read more →

New Opportunities in the Forge Evangelist Team

I am excited to announce a number of new opportunities to come and join me and my closest colleagues in our work supporting external developers in their use of the Forge web programming technologies. Also, before closing for the week, I'll mention two interesting reads for the weekend, by Sasha Crotty on moving from Collaboration for Revit to BIM 360 Design, and by the World Economic Forum WEF on an action plan to accelerate BIM adoption – Would you like to come and work with us? – From Collaboration for Revit to BIM 360 Design – An action plan to accelerate BIM adoption... Read more →

What’s New Webinar and Forge vs. A360

Following up on yesterday's discussion of What's New in the Revit 2019 API, here is a webinar invitation to walk through the results live from the product point of view. I also share a high-level comparison of some aspects of Forge versus A360 for a total newbie thinking about building a solution for a client to manage 3D models and collaborate on them with sub-contractors – Webinar on What’s New in Revit 2019 – Forge versus A360... Read more →

What's New in the Revit 2019 API

The Revit 2019 API includes numerous exciting enhancements for add-in developers. Many relate directly to explicit developer wishes and requests – Information sources – Installation and migration from previous versions – What's new in previous versions – What's new in the Revit 2019 API – API Changes – API Additions... Read more →

RvtSamples 2019

I set up RvtSamples for the Revit 2019 SDK samples. Just like the migration to previous versions, this is not a trivial undertaking. To cut a long story short and simply share my current working RvtSamples source code for the Revit 2019 SDK, here is RvtSamples_2019.zip containing my modified files... Read more →

Forge RVT to IFC, ADN Xtra, TBC, AdnRme Updates

I already described how I installed Revit 2019, compiled the Revit 2019 SDK samples and migrated RevitLookup to the new version. I now migrated some of the other basic samples and utilities and have some Forge news to share – The Building Coder samples for Revit 2019 – The AdnRme MEP HVAC and electrical samples for Revit 2019 – AdnRevitApiLabsXtra for Revit 2019 – Convert RVT to IFC via Forge – Forge accelerators – Forge webinars – Open position for an infrastructure BIM implementation consultant... Read more →

RevitLookup 2019 and New SDK Samples

I migrated RevitLookup to Revit 2019, which was very easy. Next, I compared the directory contents to discover the new SDK samples – RevitLookup 2019 – New Revit 2019 SDK samples... Read more →

Compiling the Revit 2019 SDK Samples

I installed Revit 2019 and compiled the Revit 2019 SDK. That was quite a struggle – Installing Revit 2019 – Installing the Revit 2019 SDK – Installing the .NET Framework 4.7 – Compiling the Revit 2019 SDK samples – Processor architecture mismatch warnings – DimensionLeaderEnd OutputPath missing – Numerous Revit API assembly reference conflicts – SampleCommandsSteelElements lacks components – AppearanceAssetEditing using deprecated API... 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 →

Revit 2018.3, SetValueString and External Events

I installed the latest Revit update, and want to highlight two of the numerous interesting ongoing Revit API forum discussions – Revit 2018.3 update – Avoid SetValueString – Passing Data via ExternalEvent.Raise... Read more →

Standalone BasicFileInfo and ExtractPartAtom

A discussion with Håvard Dagsvik on the use of TransmissionData, standalone access to the BasicFileInfo without the need for a valid Revit API context, and a Revit-independent method replacing Family ExtractPartAtom – No document required for TransmissionData access – TransmissionData requires a valid Revit API context – Standalone GetFamilyXmlData method replacing ExtractPartAtom – Windows explorer BasicFileInfo right click utility... 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 →

Dynamo on the Web?

Do you Dynamo? Do you have a potential application for Autodesk Dynamo on the Cloud? If yes, we want to talk to you... Read more →

Boston Forge Accelerator and Aligning Plan Views

Here is a suggestion made by Arkady Gilman to align plan views. Before we get to that, I'd like to point out the imminent Forge accelerator in Boston – Boston Forge accelerator – Question on aligning plan views – Answer, view origin and outline – Suggestion for aligning views... Read more →

Connector, Neighbour, Conduit, Transition

Here are a couple of threads from the Revit API discussion forum related to MEP and connectors from the past few weeks that seem worth taking note of – Traversing an MEP system and retrieving connected elements – Reproducing the MEP electrical system browser hierarchy – Creating a conduit between two connectors – Dealing with the read-only transition diameter... Read more →

Contextual Help Best Practice

Dragos Turmac of the Revit development team solved the Revit API discussion forum questions on contextual help not working from within a command and on F1 help for add-in only by explaining the current best practice to implement online help – Question: I'm trying to add contextual help for all commands (press F1 to go to a location). It's working fine when the tooltip is shown for my commands, but, when the add-in form is open, pressing F1 opens the Autodesk knowledge site for Revit instead... Read more →

RevitLookup Search by Element and Unique Id

Александр Пекшев aka Modis @Pekshev implemented another useful RevitLookup enhancement to search and snoop elements by element id or unique id – Search and snoop by element id or unique id – File changes – The built-in Select by Id command, Zoom To and StringSearch – RevitLookup update... Read more →

Switch View or Document by Showing Elements

A recent discussion on using the ShowElements method to toggle between documents and views brought up a few interesting points – Open and active an unsaved document – Zoom to selected elements – Toggle between documents and views... 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 →

Export Geometry and Snoop Stable Representation

Александр Пекшев aka Modis @Pekshev submitted a very succinct and useful pull request for RevitLookup that I integrated right away, and provides many other valuable inputs as well – Snoop stable representation of References – Project point on plane correction – Revit export geometry to AutoCAD via XML – RevitExportGeometryToAutocad – Description – Versions – Using – Example... Read more →

Updated ADN Web Site, Revit API Labs, Tag Creation

Here are a couple of Revit API related updates to take note of – Autodesk Developer Network ADN web site update – Revit Developer Centre update – ADN Revit API Training Labs update – Revit API Training Labs Xtra update – New top solution author record score... Read more →

Changing Text Colour

Here are some notes on changing text colour and a nice node.js web scraping tutorial – Changing text colour via the text note type – Web scraping using node.js... Read more →

Retrieving Newly Created Element Ids

An add-in will often need to retrieve the elements that it just created for further processing. Frequently, the Revit API method used to create them will return their element ids. Sometimes, that is not the case. Now this topic arose again in a couple of cases and brought some other aspects to mind – Using the element lister – Consecutive element ids – Retrieving recently added elements – AEC job openings in Munich and elsewhere... 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 →

NewFamilySymbolProfile Sample Add-In

Questions on how to use NewFamilySymbolProfile have come up a couple of times in the Revit API discussion forum. The short answer is: retrieve the family symbol from the profile family, then call the creation application NewFamilySymbolProfile method. I implemented a new sample add-in for you to demonstrate the steps using the Profiles_L-Angles.rfa profile family... Read more →