Revit MEP 2009 Web Update 3 Service Pack

Important Note:

• Web Update #3 is not a full install; rather it is using Service Pack technology similar to AutoCAD® based products. Prior to installing the Web Update #3 Service pack, please verify that you have already installed the First Customer Ship build or Web Update #1 build of Revit MEP 2009. The Web Update #1 full install is available below.

Before You Download

• Please read before downloading and installing:Service Pack Readme (pdf).

Get Started

• Read all instructions above, then click one of the following links to download.
• Revit MEP 2009 Web Update #3 Service Pack (32-bit)(exe – 431 MB)
• Revit MEP 2009 Web Update #3 Service Pack (64-bit)(exe - 54 MB)

Notes:

• The service pack contains changes from all previous service packs.
  The service pack can be applied to both the standalone and suite versions of Revit MEP 2009.

Files Patched by This Update

Imperial Content Files

• Rectangular to Round Duct Tee with Transition - Conical Tap.rfa
  Modular Motor Control Centers - Power Monitoring Section.rfa
  Sprinkler - Dry - Horizontal Sidewall - Fully Recessed - Hosted.rfa
  Pressure Regulator - Hand Knob Operated - 0.25-1 Inch.rfa
  WSHP - Downflow - High Efficiency - 2-5 Tons - Right Return - Bottom Discharge.rfa
  Structural Framing - Complex and Trusses.rft
  Electrical Equipment Tag.rft
  Mechanical-Default.rte

Metric Content Files

• Rectangular to Round Duct Tee with Transition - Conical Tap.rfa
  M_Modular Motor Control Centers - Power Monitoring Section.rfa
  M_Sprinkler - Dry - Horizontal Sidewall - Fully Recessed - Hosted.rfa
  M_Pressure Regulator - Hand Knob Operated - 6-25 mm.rfa
  M_WSHP - Downflow - High Efficiency - 7-18 kW - Left Return - Bottom Discharge.rfa
  Metric Structural Framing - Complex and Trusses.rft
  Mechanical-Default_Metric.rte
  Electrical-Default_Metric.rte

UK Content Files

• RevitKeynotes_Metric.txt
  Metric Structural Framing - Complex and Trusses.rft

Revit® MEP 2009 Enhancements

• Corrects issue where gaps in link file cannot be controlled by mechanical settings.
• Corrects issue when routing duct from rotated equipment where it caused risers to end up at odd orthogonal angles.
• Pipe runs are now always visible in section view.
• No gap existed when printed when a round duct or pipe with fittings crosses duct. The hidden gaps will now be present from within Revit and when the user prints.
• Side outlet pipe fittings with different connectors are now able replace each other.
• Corrects issue where routing duct from equipment as a riser connects from the wrong side.
• Improves stability when clicking on “Settings” button in “Layout” mode.
• Improves stability when selecting the drag end control after splitting 3D duct in the middle.
• Deleting an air terminal in a space now updates the actual flow and load values.
• Non-alphanumeric characters in a Revit MEP HVAC Zone are now properly translated to gbXML.
• The graphical representation of the flexible duct as seen in two different floor plan scaled views is now correct. The tick mark representation on flex duct has been changed to correctly reflect the view scale. This may cause existing projects to display flex duct differently, both on screen and when printing.
• Duct elbows no longer disappear and then reappear when hidden, both on screen and when printed. Instead, they will be displayed as hidden lines.

Revit® Platform Enhancements

• Slab Edges when joined to their hosting Floor will now be able to cut the floor when the user manually remakes the join.
• Improves visibility of Color Fills for certain interior wall conditions.
• Improves IFC Export for Walls and MEP elements.
• Improves stability when using the Split tool.
• Improves stability when using Temporary Hide/Isolate functionality in 3D view.
• Improves stability when binding a linked Revit file into a project.
• Improves stability when switching between views.
• Improves stability when selecting any of the column headers on the CAD Formats tab of the Manage Links dialog.

Revit MEP 2009 Content Extension for Subscription Customers

Release Date: 2008-11-24

Autodesk Subscription Website Login

The US Content Extension for Revit® MEP 2009 software provides MEP professionals with access to imperial and metric duct and pipe fittings designed specifically to meet US standards.

To meet the standards required by US-based projects, the duct fittings adhere to SMACNA standards and the pipe fittings adhere to ASME standards for Class 150 and 300 Malleable Threaded Iron and Flanged Cast Iron.

This extension provides additional building systems modeling capabilities for MEP engineers working on US-based projects.

Content is currently available in English only.

The content contained in the RME 2009 Content Extension will not overwrite any of the default content that was originally installed by Revit MEP 2009. All of the Extension content is new and have names different from any of the original content names. When you install the Extension to the same location as your existing content, many of the new content families will install in folders that already exist. A notable exception is that all of the new pipe fittings have been re-organized to be grouped by material type rather than by category. The end result is that your original pipe fittings will remain as is (organized by category folders) and the new pipe fitting folders will be adjacent to those folders and organized by material type.

IMPORTANT:
The fittings that are included in the RME 2009 Content Extension will not function properly if their associated lookup tables are not installed in the correct location. These lookup tables (.csv files) need to be installed in the same location as your current lookup tables. The default installed location for the "LookupTables" folder is:

Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\RME 2009
Windows Vista: C:\Program Data\Autodesk\RME 2009

If you are unsure where your "LookupTables" folder is located, you can find this information in the "Revit.ini" file. This file is located in the same folder where Revit MEP 2009 is installed. In this file, search for "LookupTableLocation". This will indicate where your lookup tables are installed. For example:

LookupTableLocation=C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\RME 2009\LookupTables

When you run the self-extracting ".exe" file to install the RME 2009 Content Extension, you will be prompted to choose a location to extract the content files. You should browse to the path indicated in your "Revit.ini" file, and stop one level above the "LookupTables" folder. In the example listed above, you should browse to and select the following folder:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\RME 2009

This will ensure that the new lookup tables contained in the RME 2009 Content Extension will be installed to the correct location.

Alternatively, you could extract the new content to any location that you desire, and then manually move the contents of the newly extracted "LookupTables" folder to the correct "LookupTableLocation" location, as specified in the "Revit.ini" file.

Revit Extensions for Revit MEP 2009

Release Date: 2008-10-10


Revit® Extensions are a series of easy-to-use applications that extend the capabilities of Revit® MEP 2009 software in key areas, including modeling, coordination, and documentation. Specifically, the extensions provided in this executable file are: Freeze Drawings, Compare Models, Text Generator, and Elements Positioning. The file installs the Revit Extensions for Revit MEP 2009. It also includes the Extensions Engine, a platform that hosts each Extension within Revit MEP 2009.Please note that the multi-language executable file contains content in English and Simplified Chinese. Revit Extensions for Revit MEP 2009 are now compatible with the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Revit MEP 2009 software.


This new content can be downloaded for free from your Autodesk subscription login.

Revit Analogy to Reverse Notation Calculators

Reverse notation calculator is a mathematical notation where every operator follows all of its operands. It is also known as Postfix notation and is parenthesis-free.

The Reverse notation scheme was proposed in the early 1960s to reduce computer memory access and utilize the stack to evaluate expressions. The notation and algorithms for this scheme were enriched by Australian philosopher and computer scientist Charles Hamblin in the mid-1960s.

In Reverse notation, the operators follow their operands; for instance, to add three and four, you would write "3 4 +" rather than "3 + 4". If there are multiple operations, the operator is given immediately after its second operand; so the expression written "3 − 4 + 5" in conventional infix notation would be written "3 4 − 5 +" in Reverse notation: first subtract 4 from 3, then add 5 to that. An advantage of Reverse notation is that it obviates the need for parentheses that are required by infix. While "3 − 4 * 5" can also be written "3 − (4 * 5)", that means something quite different from "(3 − 4) * 5", and only the parentheses disambiguate the two meanings. In postfix, the former would be written "3 4 5 * −", which unambiguously means "3 (4 5 *) −".

Interpreters of Reverse notation are often stack-based; that is, operands are pushed onto a stack, and when an operation is performed, its operands are popped from a stack and its result pushed back on. Therefore, Stacks (or Reverse notation), have the advantage of being easy to implement and very fast.

Back in college, I forgot my calculator for a calculus exam. My professor said I could borrow his. He warned me that it was a reverse notation calculator. I didn't know what that meant, and thought a calculator is a calculator. Well, it didn't take long for me to find out that I was dealing with a whole other animal. I couldn't add 1 + 1 with this thing, much less the complex equations I needed it for this exam. Panicing, and embarrased that I didn't know how to use his "calculator", I had to get up again and ask him some questions on how to use it. I already felt I was being needy for using his calculator, and having to ask him how to use it made me feel even more needy. He was very generous, and gave me a quick 5 minute lesson on how it worked. I went back to my desk, and slowly got through my exam. I ended up running out of time because of the learning curve of using the new calculator. But at the end, I was realizing the potential of what this type of calculator had over my conventional calculator. I ran to the bookstore, and bought this new "Reverse Notation" calculator by HP. I became faster at using it, and I was eventually able to do my homework a lot faster, and my grades in calculus got a lot better. Then the day came, when a friend of mine asked if he could borrow my calculator. I smiled, and said sure, but warned him it was reverse notation. He just say ya, ya, it's a calculator... I know how to use a calculator. So I handed it to him, and watched with a smile as he attemped to add and subtract like he did on his calculator. He shortly gave up, and gave it back to me, frustrated that he couldn't use it, and told me it was broke. I tried to explain how it worked, and the benifits he would get out of it, but he just turned around and asked the guy on the other side if he could borrow his "normal" calculator. These are the same struggles people today are having using a Revit technology software package. Some people are willing to make the change and see the benefits. It's difficult to describe the benefits of a reverse notation calculator, but once you use it, it becomes apparent. It's the same with Revit.

Comparing Revit to AutoCAD is similar to comparing Reverse Notation calculator to a traditional calculator. They both can get you similar results, but getting there is totally different. Revit is purposed based to be advantageous for model building, and has tools in it built to make modeling faster and easier than traditional AutoCAD.

When handed a Reverse notation calculator (Revit), you might say that you know how to use a "calculator" (CAD). But when you try to add 3 + 4 like you did in your traditional calculator (AutoCAD), you won't get the same results, and it can be frustrating.

You might also say that on the surface, they both look the same, and can do similar things, so why would I want to use this other calculator (Revit software)? Because its when you get to the more complex stacked based operands that you really see the advantages of the reverse notation. It's the same with Revit, where you really see the advantages of the parametric relationships of the model.

People who learn how to use a Reverse notation calculator can enter more complex calculations, and can enter those calculations in faster. People who learn how to use this type of calculator never go back to using a traditional calculator. The same can be said about Revit. Those who learn how to use Revit, never go ack to using traditional AutoCAD.

An example of this is my friend Todd Shackelford, writer of the Lazy Drafter Blog, just recently shut down his AutoCAD blog because he doesn't use AutoCAD anymore. A trend that is becoming more familiar. He is concentrating on his other blog, CAD Shack which is dedicated to Revit and BIM processes. Another trend that is becoming more familiar.

So when you do start using a Revit based program, and it seems complicated, don't say, "well, this is stupid. I can do this in AutoCAD." Because in short, you are probably right, you can. But once you learn how to do it correctly in Revit, you will be able to do it faster and easier than you could in AutoCAD.

Revit 64-Bit Benchmark Results by Jason Grant

Jason Grant has a blog of his Benchmark results comparing 32-bit vs. 64-bit Revit software.

"Before the 64-Bit was even released I was just finishing up a benchmark
program that was very difficult and taxing on RAM and processor. We were trying
to figure out what laptop would be best for our Revit users. Since the 64-Bit
has been released I have now run it and was shocked at the improvement. On
another note, I was let down that the SP2 for 2009 was actually slower then the
WU1 but that quickly disappeared when I heard about the 64-Bit version. "

Click here to see his results: