I have been working on a small VB.net application in the evenings for a couple of weeks now. The goal of the project was to handle the business of creating a local file and opening that file in Revit. It may not seem like much work but it seems to cause headaches with each user doing things slightly different and to often not getting a fresh copy in the morning.

It is still a work-in-progress but I am posting it anyways. All the source code is included and it is covered under the GNU/GPL. As I make updates I will post them here and once it is in a semi-complete state I will do a full writeup on my programing wiki. If you use this and make improvements I ask only that you share them with me so that I can update my version.

Download

Revit_Launcher.zip

Basics

1. Reads a list of projects from a common XML file.
2. Creates backups of the existing local file if there is one.
3. Copies the selected file down to the local machine.
4. Launches the specified version / year of Revit and opens the file.

Features

• Inno Setup installer for easy installation and customization.
• XML based settings files allows for easy customization.
• Creates a log file for tracking the use and copy of central files.
• Support for MEP/Arch/Strut 2009 - 2011 Versions.
• 32 and 64 bit Compatible. Tested on XP & 7.
• Requires only .Net 3.5 Framework
• Semi documented code. Should be easy to pickup for any VB.net user.

Settings

There are two settings files one is Project.xml and Settings.xml.
Project.xml is intended to be kept on a server share and it's path is set in the local settings.xml file. It contains a list of projects that user will be shown to select from. Each project contains 4 settings.

• Logical name is what text will be presented to the user
• File name is the central file name and path that will be copied to the local machine
• Year is the year of Revit to launch, 2009 - 2011 supported. 2008 maybe soon.
• Version is the flavor of Revit to launch MEP, Arch, Strut.

Several other settings are in there as well such as a small browser window to display updates and news to the user and so on.

One of the short comings and strengths of Revit is that it is a design tool and not a fabrication tool. On the one hand it is very good at design but when a design makes it to fabrication often the Revit model is used only to trace geometry into a more productive fabrication software platform. This issue has been addressed within the structural world but has been a missing key piece in the Revit MEP space. It looks like were beginning to see signs of change.

About four months ago I was approached and asked "How do you bring point clouds into Revit?" I had some experience in Revit but not a lot. Since then I have come to understand the issue much more clearly. So here is the answer, you don’t and you shouldn’t want to.

In my past I have lead and worked on the modeling from clouds of millions of square feet from 15 or some major scanning projects. At my semi-new employer I have had the chance to work on the other side of the laser scanning coin.

We have now successfully scanned over 1,000,000 sq. ft., surveyed it, registered it and published it out into its workable formats. So as I near completion of my first major scanning project I thought it would be a good time to reflect on what I have learned.

One note before I start rambling, the project is considered somewhat sensitive so there are not many specifics of type of work and definitely no images. Hopefully in the future I will have some work that I can show off a little more. :)