Resetting the User Interface in Revit 2011

If you have ever had a user stuff around with the ribbon in 2010 or 2011 you may have already worked out a way to reset the User Interface (UI) or you may have just manually put everything back where you found it

But Revit keeps these settings in the UIState.dat file which is stored in a secret hidden place where windows doesnt want you to find it.

If you couldnt find it here is the location;

Windows XP
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit {Product Name} 2011 
Windows Vista

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit {Product Name} 2011

Once you find the file all you need to do is delete/rename/move the file and Revit will recreate it from the default settings when it opens Revit again

There must have been a number of people asking how to reset the UI because Autodesk has now released a script which will basically do the above for you, you can find the script here

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=14880949&linkID=9243099

Another tip is you can copy a UIState.dat file into the location of each user which will setup that user with quick access toolbars, any ribbon customization etc. If you combine this with a copy of the office Revit.ini file you can setup workstations pretty quickly without even opening Revit!

Certainly one to be careful with, and be particularly careful of build numbers, as I have seen UIstate.dat files causing problems if the build isn't consistent

Structural Families - Categories & Parameters - Beam cutback in plan

I recently gave a talk at REVIC (Revit Users Group of Victoria) on Structural families, where I talked quite broadly about structural families and the settings available which affect their display in the project. It required a quick refresh for myself when preparing in some areas for settings which are not commonly used.

In the next couple of posts I will investigate in more detail or explain a few of the settings less commonly used and known

One of the settings specific to the the Structural Column Family is the checkbox "Beam Cutback in Plan"

Sounds quite straightforward, but it actually only applies to the symbolic line for the beam in plan

The two options we have are;

• From Geometry
• From Bounding Box

Symbolic linework with the two options

So checking the option "From Geometry will only take the Symbolic line through to the column and it will leave the model geometry unchanged

Regardless of the cutback option you choose, your 3D geometry wont change

In most cases this is fine, you dont need the beam geometry to continue through to the column web

But if you do need to model the beams accurately with a set distance straight from the column web, you will need to start playing around with the beam family and the start and end extensions

More Family settings soon...

Weird Revit - Projection lines non-bearing walls

So I get a curveball late last week that has me thinking, and turns out to be one of those weird Revit things.

Concrete GA plan, with plenty of hidden lines for slab folds and beams etc. So we are set to Structural discipline. But this particular job has a lot of structural walls which are to be concrete, and then a lot of facade brickwork walls.

Our clever Revit worker, puts the non-structural walls onto a structural usage of non-bearing. And models away, but after a few days he models some more walls and they don't show up in the same plan.

After some quick investigation I am stumped, why are some walls showing and not others. They have almost identical properties, and they are in the view range. If I change the plan view properties to Co-Ordination they show up but then I loose my beam and slab hidden lines.

So I look into the view range again, the walls showing up happen to be in that dead zone between the bottom primary range, and the view depth.

Defiantly one to keep in mind!

Project Bluestreak - How do you turn it off??

So I saw the release of the new LABS application Project Bluestreak last week.

Autodesk Project Bluestreak LINK

I already use an open source IM program that works pretty well, but I thought I would at least test out this new add-on

The first problem is noticeable straight away, SETUP

Bluestreak is not integrated into Revit like the worksharing monitor already is. You physically have to setup a project group for each project you want to use it on. You also need each user to create an account which isnt too lengthy of a process but is a bit of a pain to be honest.

I see exactly where this is going, and it is a really useful looking tool for large projects using the new Revit Server tool

But for the average office, we really only want something like the worksharing tool with a IM facility for relinquishing and granting requests

So I spend 30 mins playing around with it, then I try to turn it off

I cant! And there is no entry in the INI file either. I logged a question at the aptly named GetSatisfaction website setup for bluestreak. And it seems the only way to turn it off is to completely uninstall it. Otherwise for each STC you get 3 warnings (which seems to stop the sync process until you acknowledge them) that say "Failed to share activity with Bluestreak"

 So I worked all day Friday with this annoying message each time I saved, first thing Monday morning I am uninstalling. Promising idea, but defiantly needs a bit of work