How to Filter Walls BY LEVEL in Revit

 

This "Community Quick Tip" talks about one approach to filtering walls by their levels.

File this one under, "why can't Revit just be able to do this?!".  In this tutorial we mix a little Revit and Dynamo to show you how you can filter a Revit wall by it's host/base level.  Something that is NOT possible out of the box...

I know, crazy... Right?  

Well, hopefully this tutorial will help!

Continue reading to see my approach to this out of the box Revit limitation...

The Dynamo and Grasshopper for Revit Reference Manual (Replay)

 

On this episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by a very special guest, Marcello Sgambelluri. Marcello was on the show a few months ago and mentioned a book he was writing... Well, that book is now available! "The Dynamo and Grasshopper for Revit Cheat Sheet/Reference Manual" is 272 pages of pure awesomeness. Marcello includes hundreds of working Dynamo scripts and their working counterpart in Grasshopper (for Revit). We talked about the book and how knowing BOTH of these tools expands the functionality of Revit for you.

We also had a little fun when I did an example of a practical use of one of Marcello's scripts in Dynamo followed by Marcello demonstrating how to do the exact same thing in Grasshopper/Rhino... Super cool!

Continue reading to view the replay and download the sample files from our demonstration (including the Rhino, Grasshopper, Revit, and Dynamo files...)

Calculating Occupancy in Revit, Automatically

 

On the latest episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by Dana De Filippi to talk about automatically calculating (and tagging) occupancy loads in Revit.  Dana is a co-host on the BIM Thoughts Podcast and a BIM technologist within the field of architecture and kicks all kinds of Dynamo butt.

Dana shared the workflow she developed that will automatically (and accurately) calculate your occupancy loads and place them into tags for you!  Something I know you all just love doing manually ... ;)

Topics Covered:

- Creating and using Area Schemes in Revit

- Constructing key values and using conditional formatting in Revit schedules.

- Use Dynamo to collect Revit and Excel Data

- Discover how to integrate user selection of different code requirements.

This is a DO NOT MISS for all of my fellow Architects out there (and FP engineers, too!)...

Continue reading to view the episode and download the sample files Dana was so gracious to share!

Tips for Deploying Dynamo Scripts w/John P (+ Datasets)

 

On yesterday's episode of BIM After Dark Live I was joined by the one and only SixySecondsRevit (aka John P). John is a Design Technologist at Parallax Team and is also the creator of one of my favorite Dynamo custom packages (Rhythm). John will be talking about his approaches to handing off and deploying Dynamo (for Revit) scripts. This is huge! Once you've created the greatest script ever, understanding how to share it and let other users actually use it is the next big step... Some things John and I discussed... - Drop down considerations (for Revit versions) - Grouping ideas

- Dynamo Templates!!!?!? - Showing View Extensions to Help - and more...

Continue reading to view the episode and download the datasets...!

3 Steps to Beginning Your Dynamo Journey, Today (+ Special Offer)

 

Well, that was fun!  It has been a while since I talked in depth about Dynamo. 

On the latest episode of BIM After Dark Live I walked through the 3 steps it takes to start learning Dynamo (click here to see all of my related posts about Dynamo).  These steps help you get into the right frame of mind and give you a starting point when entering the Dynamo world... 

There were also some great questions from the audience and even a cameo from some of the Dynamo superstars (like our good friend, John...).  

The Future of AEC Automation (Dynamo and Beyond) with Michael Kilkelly from ArchSmarter

Last night marked our 10th episode of weekly live Happy Hours!  I am humbled with the response this weekly show has been getting and I thank you all for tuning in (live or the replay)!

This week Michael Kilkelly from ArchSmarter joined me to talk about the future of automation with the AEC industry and show some of the great stuff he is working on (from Dynamo to Refinery, and computational design tools!).  There were some great questions and Michael introduced some thought provoking concepts...

Continue reading to view the replay and see the links mentioned...

Rhino, Grasshopper, & Revit (w/Marcello Sgambelluri)

The great Marcello Sgambelluri joined me again during last night's happy hour and it was one to remember.  First, YouTube decided to go down 10 minutes before we went live!  Luckily, everything was up and running we were only a few minutes late.

By the way, if you have missed any of the Happy Hours live, you can get notified by either subscribing to my email list or subscribing to my YouTube channel... And, if you have missed the last 7 episodes you can see them all here...

As for last night, well, Marcello demonstrated how "Rhino Inside Revit" works and we discussed some of the ways we believe this technology will benefit the AEC industry...  Yes, we are talking about running Rhino (and Grasshopper) inside of Revit... Super cool... Of course, Marcello also made a few 3D animals as well...

Continue reading to view the replay and see all the links mentioned in the episode...

Dynamo "Happy Hour" Replay with John and Aaron from Parallax Team

Last week John and Aaron of Parallax team got online and chatted with my about Dynamo.  I just realized now I sent out an email with the replay link but did not post it here on the blog!  If you missed the conversation check it out here (or click the video above)...

We had a ton of awesome questions and the Parallax team dropped some solid knowledge bombs (as usual).

What is Dynamo?

Yesterday, I asked those of you on my email list a simple question: “Why have you not learned Dynamo yet?”
I was not surprised by many of the responses. As I expected, many of you stated that you either did not have the time to learn something new or that you did not know where to begin.

But, there were some responses that I did not expect.

I assumed everyone heard of Dynamo... Which seemed to be true enough. I also assumed that everyone knew what Dynamo was.

Well, you know what they say when you assume things...Turns out quite a few of you weren't really sure of what Dynamo actually is.

The conversations I had with you all led me to make the following video. In it, I answer the simple question, "What is Dynamo?".

Dynamo & Revit: Beams that Follow Complex Roofs

Today's tutorial is a simple but powerful Dynamo script.  This is a great introduction to the use of geometry within Dynamo itself.

I was recently tasked with modeling a Unitarian Church here in Connecticut designed by Victor Lundy.  The church has two big modeling challenges: the roof and the beams that follow the roof.

Tutorial - Filtering Revit Rooms by Phase in Dynamo

Last week I walked through how to create 3D room tags in Revit and place them using Dynamo (click here to check it out).  Some of you guessed where I would go next with this tutorial... "What about phases?!"  Well, this week is a follow-up tutorial that will walk through the process of filtering out rooms by their respective phase.

Don't forget to download my FREE printable "Desktop Cheat Sheet" to follow along...

Tutorial - Creating 3D Room Tags in Revit and Dynamo

Placing 3D Room tags in Revit has proven to be an extremely useful technique for me these days.  It gives me the ability to make quick 3D images with Room Names and Numbers.  Additionally, it has helped tremendously in the 3D coordination process when loading our Revit files into Navisworks or BIM 360 Glue and in model based quantity takeoff when loading our models into Assemble.

In the tutorial below I run through how to create the 3D Room Tag family and how to write the Dynamo script to place it from scratch... Oh, and there may be a bit of information on the upcoming semester of DIY Dynamo... ;)

DIY Dynamo - Spring 2019 Opening Soon...

Over the last couple of weeks I have received quite a few emails asking about when the next enrollment of DIY Dynamo would be.  Due to the demand, I'm going to put the Residential Revit series on hold for a week or two and we will have the DIY Dynamo Spring 2019 Enrollment next week!

Make sure you sign-up for the DIY Dynamo mailing list to get information on how to enroll and enrollment week discounts, content, etc...

"The Revit Dad" + FREE Dynamo Workshop

Over the last nine years, I’ve always made it a point to not only share Revit tips and tricks with you but to also share things about my personal life. For example, I shared when I became a licensed architect and when I got married.

Why do I share my personal life with you? 

First, so you get a chance to know the person behind the “avatar” that is “The Revit Kid”. Second, because the events that take place in my personal life help give context to the content I create here on the blog.

For example, when I made the tough decision to leave my full-time job at a large architecture firm and took on a role at a construction management firm it was not a surprise that some of my content had a construction focus.

DIY Dynamo Class of 2017 Reviews + Live Happy Hour (and Giveaway)!

In the midst of enrollment for DIY Dynamo's Spring 2018 session I thought it would be fun to ask the first ever "graduating" class of DIY Dynamo their thoughts on the course, and, of course, share them with you!

Additionally, if you are interested in hanging out with myself and a few special guests online this week keep reading for more information about the next free and live BIM After Dark Happy Hour (I know, it's been a while!).

Continue reading to see what the DIY Dynamo Class of 2017 has to say and to learn more about the BIM After Dark Happy Hour this week....

DIY Dynamo - Enroll Today

It took me a while to decide what kind of Dynamo class to create when I sat down early last year and began planning the course.  After much deliberation and our first successful session last October with 74 students I am glad I chose to start right at the beginning.

I published some posts recently that discussed some of the challenges I recall from a few years back when I began learning Dynamo.  The first had to do the challenge of where to begin.  The second was a "Q&A" session to analyze those first attempts at learning Dynamo... 

Finally, last week I posted a video tutorial (extracted directly from DIY Dynamo) to demonstrate how and where to begin and how easy it can be to get started!

Now, are you ready to start your Dynamo journey?  Enrollment is officially open for DIY Dynamo - A Beginners Course on Dynamo for Revit. 

Continue reading to learn more about the course, what's inside, and a special launch day discount...

Have You Tried to Learn Dynamo?

In my last post, I discussed the two major challenges that beginners will face when learning Dynamo for Revit.  The first challenge to overcome is being able to relate Dynamo to a real-world problem as a solution.  The second challenge is figuring out where and how to begin.

Because getting started is such a huge obstacle to overcome at the beginning of your Dynamo journey, I wanted to expand a bit on how I began and talk to those of you who may have attempted to learn Dynamo already.... (Oh, and there may be a FREE giveaway inside, too...)

So You Want to Learn Dynamo but You Don’t Know Where to Begin?

I’ll go out on a limb here and assume you have heard of Dynamo by now. Additionally, you’re probably familiar with what Dynamo is and how it is rapidly changing the way we use Revit.

If not, I touch on what Dynamo is here and check out the first chapter of the Dynamo Primer here.

Assuming you have heard of Dynamo and you know what it is, I'll bet you have been saying to yourself, "maybe I should learn how to use this Dynamo thing?".

Then, your immediate next question is "but, how and where do I begin?".

Continue reading if you have been pondering where and how to begin learning this Dynamo thing...

DIY Dynamo - Spring 2018 Enrollment Coming Soon...

I launched my first ever Dynamo course called "DIY Dynamo" last October.  The goal of the course is to get every student started using Dynamo for Revit and build the proper foundation to consider Dynamo just another tool in the bag (as opposed to the "mysterious creature" it is to many Revit users).

In total, there were 74 students that signed up last "semester".  All 74 students worked through the modules and successfully completed the course and many sent me some example "scripts" they created themselves from scratch to solve every day Revit problems or automate every day Revit tasks.  I will be sharing some of their feedback and thoughts on the course over the next few weeks.

Due to the success of the course I've decided to hold a "Spring Semester" session.

Registration for the Spring Semester of DIY Dynamo will open on the week of April 9th, 2018.

If you are interested, want to stay up to date on registration, and recieve email-only discounts click here to sign up to get in-line today...

Another Dynamo Journey Story... (60secondrevit)

When I published a post a few weeks ago describing my Dynamo journey there were a lot of great comments and feedback.  It seems as though many of you were interested in hearing how others got into Dynamo, how they use it, and how they learned.

Because we are in the midst of the DIY Dynamo enrollment week I decided to do something a little different.  One of the people who helped (and continues to help) me continue growing my Dynamo skills is John Pierson of SixtySecondRevit. John is a well known member of the Dynamo community and created some of the most useful packages out there (like Rhythm).

I thought it would be great to hear his Dynamo story and where he started his journey (and why).  Instead of simple interviewing John through twitter or text I thought I would record a Skype call...

Continue reading to hear my "interview" with John...