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:

Revit MEP 2009 64bit Release

Go login to your subscription site and all of the Revit Platforms have been released in 64-bit.

When you go there, you will also notice that there are updated 64 bit extensions for Globe Link, Worksharing Monitor, and Batch Print Utility.

See comments and press release here.

"In every single test I threw at the Revit Structure for the 64-bit system it beat the 32-bit system," said Ken Murphy, BIM manager, Thornton Tomasetti. "On average, we observed approximately a 20 percent performance gain on operations such as saving files and exporting models to other formats for outside consultants. And when it comes to rendering images of large project models, such as an American football stadium with thousands of members, we saw up to a 50 percent performance improvement over the 32-bit platform."

"With 64-bit Revit Architecture we can completely load a very large project into a session and work on it at one time; and that is something that represents a significant efficiency improvement over the 32-bit environment," said Lonnie Cumpton, Revit task force manager for the Friedmutter Group. "For example, we have a large project that consists of 2.9 gigabytes of Revit data contained in 22 individual files. With 64-bit Revit Architecture we can link all the pieces together into one big model and cut an entire building section to gain an understanding from a section elevation standpoint of the entire project at one time. Using 32-bit Revit Architecture we'd have to cut individual pieces of sections in each model and then piece them back together. It took us a day to do that. Now we can do it in less than an hour."

"We've been beta testing the 64-bit Revit Structure software and the increases in efficiency and productivity are impressive," said Jamie Richardson, Associate & CAD manager, Ericksen Roed & Associates. "Cutting sections and switching between views is much faster. Moving within the views and rotating the model in a 3D view is also noticeably faster and smoother. With what we have seen in our beta testing, and what we're hearing from users testing the beta on their current projects, we see no reason not to go to the 64-bit version of Revit Structure."

Welcome to the 64‐bit edition of Revit® 2009 platform products. This release takes advantage of the additional memory available to applications in a 64‐bit operating system environment. 32‐bit Microsoft® Windows® operating systems, when properly configured, are limited to providing between 3GB and 4GB of memory to applications. From a software standpoint, there is no practical technical limit to the amount of memory available to compatible applications under 64‐bit Microsoft Windows operating systems, although the hardware platform may impose some technical restrictions on the amount of RAM that may be installed in a given workstation.

Performance
Revit 2009 platform 64‐bit product performance is expected to be similar to an identical Revit model edited with Revit 2009 platform 32‐bit products. However, due to the potential for the Revit platform to access greater quantities of memory made available by the Windows operating system running with more installed RAM, the Revit platform may exhibit increased stability.

Model Size
With hardware configured in the manner listed in the System Recommendations section, it may be possible to edit Revit models of greater size than is practical within the 32‐bit version of the Revit 2009 platform. It should be noted that Revit models whose memory requirements exceed the RAM available in a 32‐bit operating environment may not open in the 32‐bit version of Revit 2009 platform.

AddIns
Non‐Autodesk external commands and applications designed to access the Revit platform may not be compatible with Revit 2009 64‐bit platform.

Limitations
As of this Revit release, Microsoft has not made available ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) drivers for its 64‐bit operating systems. Consequently, the Revit 64‐bit platform cannot export a Microsoft® Excel®‐ or Microsoft Access®‐compatible ODBC file.

REVIT MEP 2009 Update #2 Just Released

Web Update #2 is not a full install; rather it is using Service Pack technology similar to AutoCAD based products. Prior to installing the Web Update #2 Service pack, please verify that you have already installed the First Customer Ship build or Web Update #1 build of Revit MEP 2009.

Revit MEP 2009 Web Update #1 Full Install – June 2008 (exe - 711 Mb)

Revit MEP 2009 Web Update #2 Service Pack (exe -– 114 Mb)

Web Update #2 Enhancement List

Improvements made in the current Web Update 2 build (20080915_2100):
Revit MEP 2009 Enhancements

• Improves performance when modifying customer visibility settings for linked files, when many volumes exist that are bound by the linked file.
• Improves stability when modifying Panel Schedule Columns on Sheets.
• Improves stability when using the Convert to Flex tool.
• Space Elements with a Condition Type defined are now updated after Heating and Cooling Loads are calculated.
• Roof Elements that exist below the defined Ground Level now export to gbXML as UndergroundCeiling Surface Types.
• Improved performance when placing a Space that already exists within the Revit project.
• Improved stability when exporting to gbXML.
• Improved stability when modeling Ductwork in a Section or Elevation View.
• The version of the gbXML schema utilized when exporting is now included in the gbXML output.
• Heating and Cooling Loads results imported via gbXML now report accurate Calculated Heating Load and Calculated Cooling Load values on HVAC Zones.

Revit® Platform Enhancements

• Improves the ability to link markups made in a DWFx file.
• Improves the ability to view thumbnail previews in Microsoft® Windows® XP x64.
• Decal bump image map will now import at correct scale for cut-out.
• Floors containing multiple slopes and walls will now export to IFC correctly.
• Improves the display of colors in shaded views to be more consistent with the Revit® 2008 product line.
• Export to DXF/DWG will now export the Material's color_map texture.
• Mass Floors no longer disappear when adding text to Mass Element comments.
• Improves stability of worksharing when saving to central.
• Improves visibility of common edges when joining in-place family.
• Improves stability when accessing Pantone dialog.
• Improves stability when upgrading project or family from the 2008 version of a Revit product line.
• Improves stability when selecting elements in a 3D view.
• Moving a model pattern with a face-based family constrained to it no longer causes a constraint error.
• Improves stability when switching between views.
• Improves stability when importing DWG files.
• Improves performance when adding or editing walls in models with rooms.
• Improves stability when creating a section.
• When exporting to DWG, the ceiling pattern will now export correctly.
• After a project is upgraded to the 2009 version of a Revit product, the linework will now display as set in previous version.

API Enhancements

• By following a modified install procedure, VSTA can now run with non-administrative user permissions. Please see the Revit VSTA User Manual in the Revit SDK package for complete details.
• MEP Elements now properly return the Space they are located in via the API.

Improvements made in Web Update 1 build (20080602_1900)

During installation you will be prompted for the original installation media, source or a network image. If you installed the original Revit product from the DVD, you will be asked to insert the disk during installation of the service pack. Please have the disk available before starting. If you downloaded and installed Revit from the web and later deleted the extracted files (Installed by default to C:\Program Files\AutoCAD Revit MEP Suite 2009\Download) the service pack will not be able to continue. In that case, you should follow the below procedure:

1. Obtain the Web download file and save it to your computer.
2. Double click the download file and allow it to extract its files, noting where they are being saved.
3. When the Revit Installer screen appears, click "Cancel".
4. Continue with Service Pack installation as described in the Installation Instructions.