Moving to Revit 2016?
Bulk File Upgrader will save you lots of time and tedium. It has a 5-star rating at the Autodesk store and has been used by many happy Revit users. Autodesk has selected is as a Featured App because of its increasing popularity as more people with 100s or 1000s of files are looking to get them all saved in the new version.
‘
A question came up at RTC about why a certain parameter could not be set with the API. Turns out that it was a parameter that stored an ElementId. In this case, trying to set the parameter with a string for the name of the desired element does not work. And to make it confusing, it fails silently with no warning, error, or exception.
When the parameter was set with an ElementId, all was well. See the example below where we need to use the ID of the Phase named “Existing” instead of just setting the parameter to the string “Existing”.
public void setPhase()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
Parameter phaseParam = doc.ActiveView.get_Parameter(BuiltInParameter.VIEW_PHASE);
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "Set Phase"))
{
t.Start();
// doesn't work, because phaseParam stores an ElementId, not a string
// see the Parameter.StorageType Property for more info
// phaseParam.Set("Existing");
phaseParam.Set(new FilteredElementCollector(doc).OfClass(typeof(Phase)).FirstOrDefault(q => q.Name == "Existing").Id);
t.Commit();
}
}Amy asked if the API can be used to find and replace materials
This implementation does that for wall types and could be extended for other objects where the material is stored in a different manner.
BEFORE
AFTER
public void replaceMaterials()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
List<Tuple<string,string>> replacements = new List<Tuple<string, string>>();
// old materal listed first, then new material that will replace it
replacements.Add(new Tuple<string, string>("Brick, Common", "Brick, Orange"));
replacements.Add(new Tuple<string, string>("Concrete Masonry Units", "Cherry"));
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "Replace Materials"))
{
t.Start();
foreach (WallType wt in new FilteredElementCollector(doc).OfClass(typeof(WallType)).Cast<WallType>())
{
CompoundStructure cs = wt.GetCompoundStructure();
if (cs == null)
continue;
int idx = 0;
foreach (CompoundStructureLayer layer in cs.GetLayers())
{
foreach (Tuple<string, string> tup in replacements)
{
Element oldMaterial = new FilteredElementCollector(doc).OfClass(typeof(Material))
.FirstOrDefault(q => q.Name == tup.Item1);
Element newMaterial = new FilteredElementCollector(doc).OfClass(typeof(Material))
.FirstOrDefault(q => q.Name == tup.Item2);
if (layer.MaterialId == oldMaterial.Id)
cs.SetMaterialId(idx, newMaterial.Id);
}
idx++;
}
wt.SetCompoundStructure(cs);
}
t.Commit();
}
}Jason asked if the API can be used to “select a bunch of families from a folder and automatically place them in an .rvt”
NOTE: For this code to run, you will need to add a reference to the SharpDevelop project as follows: Project – Add Reference – select System.Windows.Forms
public void placeMultipleFamilies()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
if (!(doc.ActiveView is ViewPlan))
{
TaskDialog.Show("Error","Command must be run from a plan view");
return;
}
// use standard Windows File Open dialog to select files
System.Windows.Forms.OpenFileDialog opendialog = new System.Windows.Forms.OpenFileDialog();
// let user select multiple files
opendialog.Multiselect = true;
// set default directory
opendialog.InitialDirectory = doc.Application.GetLibraryPaths().Values.First();
opendialog.Filter = "Revit Families|*.rfa";
System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult result = opendialog.ShowDialog();
if (result == System.Windows.Forms.DialogResult.Cancel)
return;
Level level = doc.ActiveView.GenLevel;
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "Place families"))
{
t.Start();
double x = 0;
double y = 0;
foreach (string file in opendialog.FileNames)
{
// load the family
Family f = null;
doc.LoadFamily(file, out f);
if (f == null)
continue;
// get a family symbol (aka family type) from the family
FamilySymbol fs = f.Symbols.Cast<FamilySymbol>().FirstOrDefault();
doc.Create.NewFamilyInstance(new XYZ(x, y, 0), fs, level, StructuralType.NonStructural);
// increment coordinates for placing next instance
x = x + 10;
if (x > 50)
{
x = 0;
y = 10;
}
}
t.Commit();
}
}Want to get rid of these?
public void deleteUnusedElevations()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "Delete unused elevations"))
{
t.Start();
doc.Delete(new FilteredElementCollector(doc)
.OfClass(typeof(ElevationMarker))
.Cast<ElevationMarker>()
.Where(q => !q.HasElevations())
.Select(q => q.Id).ToList());
t.Commit();
}
}Create a 3d view for each workset, and in that view isolate the display of the elements in that workset.
Note that to find worksets we use a FilteredWorksetCollector (not a FilteredElementCollector) and a WorksetKindFilter to get only the user worksets (don’t want view, family, project standard worksets).
public void ViewWorksetIso()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
if (!doc.IsWorkshared)
return;
// get the 3d view type which is needed when creating 3d views
ViewFamilyType vft = new FilteredElementCollector(doc)
.OfClass(typeof(ViewFamilyType))
.Cast<ViewFamilyType>()
.FirstOrDefault(q => q.ViewFamily == ViewFamily.ThreeDimensional);
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "workset view isolation"))
{
t.Start();
// loop through all worksets (but only User worksets)
foreach (Workset wset in new FilteredWorksetCollector(doc).WherePasses(new WorksetKindFilter(WorksetKind.UserWorkset)))
{
// create a 3d view
View3D view = View3D.CreateIsometric(doc, vft.Id);
// set the name of the view to match the name of the workset
view.Name = "WORKSET - " + wset.Name;
// isolate elements in the view, using a filter to find elements only in this workset
view.IsolateElementsTemporary(new FilteredElementCollector(doc).WherePasses(new ElementWorksetFilter(wset.Id)).Select(q => q.Id).ToList());
}
t.Commit();
}
}Here is how to create an assembly and assembly views from a group
public void assemblyFromGroup()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
UIDocument uidoc = this.ActiveUIDocument;
// prompt the user to select a group
Group group = doc.GetElement(uidoc.Selection.PickObject(ObjectType.Element)) as Group;
View v3d = null;
View partlist = null;
View section = null;
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc,"Create Assembly From Group"))
{
t.Start();
// ungroup the group, getting the list of elements in the group
List<ElementId> ids = group.UngroupMembers().ToList();
// get the category of the first element in the group
// a category needs to be specified when creating the assembly
Category cat = doc.GetElement(ids.First()).Category;
// create the assembly
AssemblyInstance ai = AssemblyInstance.Create(doc, ids, cat.Id);
// create the assembly views
v3d = AssemblyViewUtils.Create3DOrthographic(doc, ai.Id);
partlist = AssemblyViewUtils.CreatePartList(doc, ai.Id);
section = AssemblyViewUtils.CreateDetailSection(doc, ai.Id, AssemblyDetailViewOrientation.DetailSectionA);
t.Commit();
}
// activate the new views so they are visible when the command ends
// The active view can only be changed when there is no open transaction
uidoc.ActiveView = v3d;
uidoc.ActiveView = partlist;
uidoc.ActiveView = section;
}
Ken asked “Can an api help to use Sokkia survey data collection files (.sdr) directly into Revit topo’s without 3rd party conversions?”
There may be some tweaks needed to how the XYZ values are read from the SDR file, but this seems to come close
RESULTS FROM SAMPLE FILE
POINTS EXTRACTED FROM SDR FILE
(168.400000000, 88.900000000, 270.000000000) (274.500000000, 91.300000000, 120.000000000) (3101.000000000, 91.000000000, 93.300000000) (471.300000000, 89.100000000, 272.000000000) (591.100000000, 89.100000000, 246.000000000) (6101.000000000, 89.200000000, 246.000000000) (777.300000000, 89.400000000, 246.000000000) (841.800000000, 90.300000000, 16.700000000) (936.100000000, 89.600000000, 241.000000000) (121.000000000, 90.100000000, 317.000000000) (136.400000000, 88.700000000, 308.000000000)
public void topoFromSdrFile()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
List<XYZ> points = new List<XYZ>();
using (StreamReader sr = new StreamReader(@"C:\Users\harry_000\Desktop\USPS-Eville.sdr"))
{
string line = "";
while ((line = sr.ReadLine()) != null)
{
if (line.Contains("-") || line.Contains(":"))
continue;
if (line.Length < 40)
continue;
line = line.Substring(11);
double x = 0;
Double.TryParse(line.Substring(0, 5), out x);
double y = 0;
Double.TryParse(line.Substring(11, 4), out y);
double z = 0;
Double.TryParse(line.Substring(21,4), out z);
if (x != 0 && y != 0 && z != 0)
points.Add(new XYZ(x, y, z));
}
}
// write to a file the results of parsing the input file for testing/validation
string output = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(),"points.txt");
using (StreamWriter sw = new StreamWriter(output, false))
{
foreach (XYZ xyz in points)
{
sw.WriteLine(xyz.ToString());
}
}
Process.Start(output);
// create the toposurface
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "create topo"))
{
t.Start();
TopographySurface.Create(doc, points);
t.Commit();
}
}Its great when a tiny bit of code can do something useful!
FilteredElementCollector(doc, doc.ActiveView.Id)Where(q => q.TagText == "").Select(q => q.Id).ToList()BEFORE
AFTER
public void deleteEmptyTags()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "Delete empty tags"))
{
t.Start();
doc.Delete(new FilteredElementCollector(doc, doc.ActiveView.Id)
.OfClass(typeof(IndependentTag))
.Cast<IndependentTag>()
.Where(q => q.TagText == "")
.Select(q => q.Id).ToList());
t.Commit();
}
}A request was made to “Turn off revision in a revision schedule in project. If I am working on RFI 2 when RFI 1 has not been submitted, i don’t want to confuse the Contractor, so would be nice if I can turn it off”
Because I think there is value is seeing how to figure out if something can or can’t be done, here is how I checked the CanFilter value of a titleblock revision schedule. Because it returned ‘false’ I don’t think this wish is grantable 😦
public void filterRevisionSchedule()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
foreach (ViewSchedule vs in new FilteredElementCollector(doc)
.OfClass(typeof(ViewSchedule))
.Cast<ViewSchedule>().Where(q => q.IsTitleblockRevisionSchedule))
{
TaskDialog.Show("Can filter?", vs.Definition.CanFilter().ToString());
}
}Here’s how to find all wall/floor intersections and join their geometry. The first, simpler macro prompts the user to select to elements and then joins them. The 2nd one looks at each wall in the model and joins it to all intersecting floors.
BEFORE
AFTER
public void joinGeometryUserPick()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
UIDocument uidoc = this.ActiveUIDocument;
// prompt user to select two elements
Element e1 = doc.GetElement(uidoc.Selection.PickObject(ObjectType.Element));
Element e2 = doc.GetElement(uidoc.Selection.PickObject(ObjectType.Element));
// join the selected elements
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "Join"))
{
t.Start();
JoinGeometryUtils.JoinGeometry(doc, e1, e2);
t.Commit();
}
}
public void joinAllWallsFloors()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "Join All Walls/Floors"))
{
t.Start();
foreach (Element wall in new FilteredElementCollector(doc)
.OfClass(typeof(Wall)))
{
// get the bounding box of this wall
BoundingBoxXYZ bbox = wall.get_BoundingBox(null);
// create an outline from the min and max points of the bounding box
Outline outline = new Outline(bbox.Min, bbox.Max);
// find all floors that intersect the wall
foreach (Element floor in new FilteredElementCollector(doc)
.OfClass(typeof(Floor))
.WherePasses(new BoundingBoxIntersectsFilter(outline)))
{
JoinGeometryUtils.JoinGeometry(doc, wall, floor);
}
}
t.Commit();
}
}Jason gets another wish granted, this time to “Create a view for every level for every view type in your project file”
public void createViewsForViewTypes()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
using (Transaction t = new Transaction(doc, "Create Views"))
{
t.Start();
foreach (ViewFamilyType vft in new FilteredElementCollector(doc)
.OfClass(typeof(ViewFamilyType))
.Cast<ViewFamilyType>()
.Where(q => q.ViewFamily == ViewFamily.FloorPlan))
{
foreach (Level level in new FilteredElementCollector(doc)
.OfClass(typeof(Level)))
{
ViewPlan newview = ViewPlan.Create(doc, vft.Id, level.Id);
newview.Name = level.Name + "-" + vft.Name;
}
}
t.Commit();
}
}Jason wished that the API could be used to “create a data dump of wall types to show the different layers and assigned materials”
Two things to consider: Curtain and stacked walls don’t have layers, and <By Category> has no material element ID
public void exportWallTypeStructure()
{
Document doc = this.ActiveUIDocument.Document;
// set name of output file
string output = Path.Combine(Path.GetTempPath(), Path.GetFileNameWithoutExtension(doc.PathName) + "-walls.txt");
// create file for writing, overwriting an existing file with the same name if it exists
using (StreamWriter sw = new StreamWriter(output, false))
{
// look at all basic wall types (not stacked & curtain walls)
foreach (WallType wt in new FilteredElementCollector(doc).OfClass(typeof(WallType)).Cast<WallType>().Where(q => q.Kind == WallKind.Basic))
{
sw.Write(wt.Name + ","); // write the name of the wall type
// iterate through every layer in the wall
foreach (CompoundStructureLayer layer in wt.GetCompoundStructure().GetLayers())
{
Element material = doc.GetElement(layer.MaterialId);
// handle case when ID is -1 because layer does not have a material assigned
string mname = "<By Category>";
if (material != null)
mname = material.Name;
sw.Write(mname + " = " + layer.Width + ",");
}
sw.Write(Environment.NewLine);
}
}
Process.Start(output); //open the output file
}
Sample Output:
Generic - 6",<By Category> = 0.5,
Interior - 5" Partition (2-hr),Gypsum Wall Board = 0.0520833333333333,Gypsum Wall Board = 0.0520833333333333,Metal Stud Layer = 0.208333333333333,Gypsum Wall Board = 0.0520833333333333,Gypsum Wall Board = 0.0520833333333333,
Exterior - Brick on Mtl. Stud,Brick, Common = 0.302083333333333,Air = 0.25,Air Infiltration Barrier = 0,Plywood, Sheathing = 0.0625,Metal Stud Layer = 0.5,Vapor Retarder = 0,Gypsum Wall Board = 0.0416666666666667,
Generic - 8",<By Category> = 0.666666666666667,
Exterior - Brick on CMU,Brick, Common = 0.302083333333333,Air = 0.25,Rigid insulation = 0.25,Damp-proofing = 0,Concrete Masonry Units = 0.635416666666667,Metal Furring = 0.135416666666667,Gypsum Wall Board = 0.0520833333333333,
Generic - 12",<By Category> = 1,
Generic - 5",<By Category> = 0.416666666666667,
Generic - 12" Masonry,Concrete Masonry Units = 0.96875,
Generic - 8" Masonry,Concrete Masonry Units = 0.635416666666667,
Generic - 6" Masonry,Concrete Masonry Units = 0.46875,
Like in past years, while I am here at RTC I’ll be posting solutions API wishes that you send in during the conference. Here’s some examples from past years:
Please leave a comment here and I’ll try to make your API dreams come true!
Boost Your BIM 