RobiNZ CAD Blog

A Revit wish - More control over onscreen selection highlighting

It would be great if Revit offered more control over selection highlighting, especially for complex items. Part of our workflow involves referencing 3D store layouts as a linked (essentially AutoCAD solid model) linked file. This is to avoid creating hundreds of old fitting families for items that will be phased out with relay plans. Hit one of these, or a linked Revit site for instance, and the highlight can become annoying. The screenshot below shows AutoCAD’s ability to exclude Xrefs, Hatch and locked items from the onscreen highlight. The equivalent options in Revit for linked files, patterns & pinned objects... Read more →

Revit User Group Wellington — September Meeting Announcement

A chance to meet with fellow Reviteers in the Capital. When: from 5.30pm, Wednesday 26 September. Where: Productspec HQ, Ground Floor, 14 Holland St, Wellington Revit LT : Revit LT has been released..! Grant from Caduceus will take us through the differences and important information about this light-weight version of Revit. Standards: Michael Warwick from Stephenson & Turner explains why an in-house CAD standard won't work for BIM and why we have to learn to play nicely now that we have to share the sandpit. Hope to see you on Wednesday 26 August, 5.30pm, @Productspec HQ. 15 NZIA CPD points... Read more →

CAD notes productivity contest – Win AutoCAD training & more

Edwin has a contest running on his CAD Notes blog. Be in to win AutoCAD Training Guides, Productivity add-on software and more. CAD notes giveaway: Win these prizes and be more productive! | CAD Notes We always want to increase CAD notes readers productivity. That’s our articles focus. And we recommend products to achieve that. This time, you have opportunity to win these for free! We have best books and training videos. We have add-ons and software too. All you need to to choose your prize and tell us why we should pick you as the winner! (Note; Entries close... Read more →

Revit User Group Auckland – September Meeting Announcement

Join fellow Auckland Reviteers at this meet up: September Meeting - Documentation Techniques When: Wednesday, September 19, 2012 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM Where Jasmax, Parnell Auckland Please join us from 5.30pm: 6:00pm : Welcome and Introduction 6:05pm : Presentation: Documentation Techniques 7.00pm: Wrap up – Tips, Tricks & Open Forum Please RSVP attendance, for catering & facility purposes via: www.meetup.com/rugakl $5 donation (receipt available) for Drinks and Nibbles. A Meeting Register is taken for NZIA CPD Points. Read more →

Co.Design on Windows 8 Design (and Apple)

Although I have spent quite a bit of time with the consumer/release preview editions I haven’t written much about Windows 8. To date I’ve only run it in virtual machines on desktop hardware. Although useful to try some Windows 8 features, review technical aspects and build familiarity it hasn’t allowed fair evaluation of the operation, either touch or desktop, of the new User Interface which is the most visible, radical change. For that I’ll wait for the release version on real hardware but I have formed an opinion on the what Windows 8 represents for both Microsoft and personal computing.... Read more →

NZ Tech Podcast (TechEd Special) & Windows (Hobbits) Weekly

I usually hear Paul Thurrott on Windows Weekly podcast but this week he was in New Zealand for TechEd. This local podcast with Paul, & Aussie Microsoft MVP Alan Burchillis, is worth a listen for Aussie/Kiwis interested in the new wave of products & services from Microsoft. NZ Tech Podcast 87: TechEd Special with Paul Thurrott and Alan Burchill A special NZ Tech Podcast episode recorded following Microsoft’s Tech Ed 2012 event in Auckland, New Zealand. Featuring discussions with keynote speaker Paul Thurrott (USA) and Microsoft MVP Alan Burchill (Australia). A variety of Microsoft related topics were discussed including announcements... Read more →

AutoCAD 2013/AutoCAD LT 2013 SP1 has been reposted

AutoCAD 2013/AutoCAD LT 2013 SP1 has been reposted, with a further fix, as Service Pack 1.1 This Service Pack can be applied to AutoCAD 2013 installed as a standalone application as well as AutoCAD 2013 installed from the some Autodesk Design Suites (including Autodesk Building Design Suite 2013). See this post & links for details Read more →

Australian Architects “Across the Ditch” Conference – Napier, October 2012

I recently learnt of this event which may be of interest to my Au/Kiwi AEC readers. The event is open to both Australian and New Zealand architects and particularly topical given the rebuild work generated by recent natural disasters. I just love the poster obviously inspired by Napier's, post 1931 Earthquake, iconic Art Deco architecture and flight. Australian Architects “Cross Ditch” for Conference The NSW Country Division of the Australian Institute of Architects will hold its annual conference in Napier, New Zealand next month. Running from 1-6 October, Across The Ditch will bring together Australian and New Zealand architects to... Read more →

Autodesk announce Revit LT & AutoCAD Revit LT Suite

Today Autodesk announced a new addition to the Revit Platform: Revit LT. LT from a Spark? Remember Autodesk Labs Project Spark? An experimental simplified Revit aimed at individual users wanting to migrate from 2D drafting to Building Information Modelling. I tried Spark and found the feature set pretty complete for modelling and documentation. It didn’t offer conceptual massing, a bit of a pity, or the complication of work-sharing/worksets. That’s not a problem for the single user who doesn’t need to support multi-user, multi-discipline projects. Autodesk Revit LT, Building Information Modelling for everyone? Revit LT is a Windows desktop application with... Read more →

Cycling Directions now in Google Maps New Zealand

Yay, Google Maps now has cycling directions for New Zealand and Map Maker tools so we can add updates. Below you can see Google Maps suggested route from my suburb to the city. It routes cycles to the North Western Motorway (or freeway for US readers) in preference to a shorter suburban road route. Although cycles are not allowed on the motorway there is a cycle path beside it which is the safest way to town. The current route misses a short section of cycle path near Henderson and in the city. You can use the Map Maker tools to... Read more →