Autodesk Revit 2015 Update -- R2

In September, 2015, Autodesk published their latest update release "R2". It is actually the fifth update release to Revit 2015. Its name, getting it, and installing it, are all rather confusing. When it's all installed, if you look at Revit's "About" dialog...

it should look like this:

Yes, they're calling it "Update Release 4" in that dialog.

You can get the update from the Autodesk's Subscription Center at
http://revit.downloads.autodesk.com/download/2015RVT_RTM/UR6/AutodeskRevit2015UR6andA360CollaborationforRevitv3downloadlinks.htm#Sub_Prod_Line

You need to have a valid log-in to get it.

The installer for full Revit is named "Autodesk_Revit_2015_R2.sfx.exe". Be particular about which one you download, and match the flavor of Revit you are updating. For example, if one has full Revit installed, the Architecture one won't do anything.

The update will only work on the initial release of Autodesk Revit 2015 (build: 20140223_1515) or Autodesk Revit 2015 Update Release 3 (build: 20140606_1530), according to its release notes (and my limited experience). If you have an update release installed besides 3, you can uninstall and install Revit 2015, then run the EXE.

Application Manager

If you have Autodesk's app, "Application Manager" installed but don't have admin rights in Windows, it may tell you it's already installed the update. However, it doesn't actually do anything (in my experience). Even if you have an administrator account, the notices of "Application Manager" may be wrong. You really have to check Revit's "About" dialog to see what version of 2015 you are actually running. "Application Manager" is a good idea but it installs without asking the user, runs on startup, and doesn't seem to work right. It can be uninstalled after the initial Suite install.

R2 Thoughts

Everyone knows that it's best for people working on the same Revit project all to run the same version (update release) of Revit. There is no sure way to know what the side effects of not doing that are.

Autodesk claims that a productivity enhancement of R2 is "Work in perspective views, making quick adjustments without having to change views with some modeling capabilities now available in perspective views." If anyone can find that enhancement in reality, please let me know. Update: Autodesk has documented the features, including a video at http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/Revit-DocumentPresent/files/GUID-32B9E3E8-75C3-466D-A0E7-A8F377A851ED-htm.html

An interesting feature of R2 is that it comes with Dynamo installed. That's a whole new world of programmatically controlling Revit. See http://dynamobim.org

Sketchy Lines In Revit 2015

This is an improvement, especially when one is trying to imply that one's design is still in the conceptual stage. People often see things produced on computers and take them for the literal outcome.

I have observed that sketchy lines do not affect arcs in views, which limits the usefulness of the feature. Text is also not affected, so fonts need to be changed appropriately to add to the sketchy effect

You can go from this:

To this:

First, "Enable Sketchy Lines" in the view's Graphics Display Options:

Set the parameters: 

You may like to set the Course Scale Fill Pattern to a solid grey color for your Course detail level for each wall type:

In all of your tags, you will want a sketchy font like "Buxton Sketch"

The only workaround for arcs not being sketchy that I know of is to replace them with straight line segments but that is not too practical. Making door swing lines thicker helps the appearance, somewhat.

Renting Revit Software

Whereas architectural projects and deadlines come and go, being able to add software licensing as needed seems like a really good thing. Autodesk has started to offer methods to rent Revit within their Building Design Suites.

Standard Building Design Suite
 Monthly
$360 Suggested Retail Price (SRP)
 Quarterly
$1085
 Annually
$2890

Premium Building Design Suite
 Monthly
$425
 Quarterly
$1280
 Annually
$3415

Ultimate Building Design Suite
 Monthly
$755
 Quarterly
$2265
 Annually
$6040

Monthly plans can be purchased only through the online store and quarterly/annual plans can be purchased only through a reseller.

I haven't found any mention of just the individual flavors of Revit (Architectural, Structural, MEP) being able to be rented, yet. There is AutoCAD Revit LT Suite at $95/month, but its Revit files are not compatible with the full version of Revit as far as I know. (Please correct me if I am wrong.)

Here is the chart of what software is included in the Building Design Suites: http://www.autodesk.com/suites/building-design-suite/included-software . Mainly, the Standard one does not have Max or Navisworks with it.

This is the Autodesk page with the rental prices: http://www.autodesk.com/suites/building-design-suite/buy . They use the term "PAY AS YOU GO" and don't write "RENT" on that page.

UPDATE: The latest page for renting and buying Autodesk software is at http://www.autodesk.com/store/suites . At Autodesk University 2014, they announced their plans to enable a "Subscribe to Autodesk" way of paying for everything at once.

I will be presenting about Revit Families Thursday, October 17, 2013 for Boston Revit Users Group at Autodesk, Waltham. http://www.meetup.com/Boston-Revit-Users-Group/events/142198972/

The event will also be webcast.

New Point Cloud Manipulation Videos Posted -- ReCap / Revit / AutoCAD

• ReCap demonstration with a mechanical room scan 
• Revit and point clouds demonstration 
• AutoCAD and point clouds demonstration 

See https://www.youtube.com/user/LTC3D

Revit 2013 Update Release 2

Recently, one my client's computers did not have the latest update of Revit and was experiencing crashes when using a workshared project. It is optimal that people use the same version of software when working on the same projects.

To check one’s Revit version, click the little down-arrow next to the question mark in the upper-right corner of Revit:

Click “About…”

The dialog should look say “Update Release 2” like this:

If you need to download the update for Revit MEP, its URL is http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=20679258&linkID=12828318 then select the appropriate download e.g., “Revit MEP 2013 UR2 (64-bit) (exe - 83079Kb)”

Revit Architecture:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=20679231&linkID=9273944

Revit Structure:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=20679170&linkID=9280927

Cleaning Up The Disks

Just found an open-source utility that maps out disk usage: WinDirStat <http://windirstat.info>

You let it run and it shows an overview of all of your disk usage. It also lets you delete selected files -- nice!

The largest rectangles in the drive map are the largest files, click on one and it shows you its info and lets you manipulate it.

I have been working with laser scan point clouds recently. We fill up disk space very quickly; I think this will come in handy.