Library Management - Achieving Library Nirvana

1. Library Management – Heading towards Library Nirvana Carla Edwards Senior Technical Specialist

2. Carla Edwards • … is a Senior Technical Specialist with US CAD with 21 years in the AE Industry. Her project experience has afforded her a strong understanding for best practices in developing Construction Documents for architectural projects through all phases of development and design. This experience along with advanced Revit skills position her to make a big impact contributing to the knowledge base in Revit best practices, training and content development. • Carla was the Revit User Group President in Nebraska for 6 years prior to US CAD and founded Revit Workshops that is now branded BIM Workshops. • Carla is also a co-host on the podcast BIM Thoughts. • Carla.Edwards@uscad.com • CarlaDEdwards62 BIM-Workshops on twitter • CarlaDEdwardswww.bim-workshops.com • www.BIMThoughts.com • ,Founder

3. Content in our Revit projects is important, it is the foundation for the creation of useable Building Information Models.

4. Goal > > > Learning Objectives • Understanding WHY is Library Management Important • Understand usage of Parameters and importance of consistency • Learn what Guidelines or Rules to establish for Content Creation • Learn HOW to plan and organize Family Content • HOW to move content between multiple office locations?

5. WHYis Library Management Important? • CONSISTENCYin content development! • Visibility • Scheduling/ Tagging • Ease of Use • Ease of Locating > > > >ONE United Library • Library Organization

6. Consistency in Content Creation > > WHAT needs to be considered? PARAMETERS What are parameters and why should I care? They are the underlying information of all objects. They are how we communicate with Revit. They are the height of a wall, the width of a door, the thickness of a counter, the material of a floor, the elevation of a level and the scale of a view. Every piece of information you might wish to supply, change, schedule, calculate or study is a parameter. Credit: In a Revit OpEd post from 2005 Steve Stafford explains Revit Parameters this way.

7. Parameters What |Who | Where | Why Credit: PaulAubin.com/blog/revit-parameters/ If you think there is any chance that a custom parameter will want to be scheduled or tagged, you should make it a shared parameter. So on your titleblock, you need to make those custom parameters at LEAST a project parameter. This will tell Revit what to do with them. But consider making them Shared for additional flexibility down the road.

8. WHATsteps can you take to insure everyone is using the same Shared Parameters? • Single Shared Parameter File • An Excel file to document Content being developed internally. What sub-categories, parameters, line weights and materials are used or assigned? What type of Parameter: • Family, Project or Shared Parameter • Parameter Group • (for Shared Parameters) • Naming • Discipline • Type/ Instance

9. WHATsteps can you take to insure everyone is using the same Shared Parameters? Project or Shared Parameters > > assign to specific Categories

10. WHATsteps can you take to insure everyone is using the same Shared Parameters? • Standard Office Family Templates • In Windows Explorer navigate to the Autodesk Revit family templates. • Duplicate the family you want to add custom parameters. • Make sure File name extensions is checked and displaying. • Name accordingly and change the extension from rft to rfa. • Select Yes for the Rename warning. • If it's telling you that the file is read-only, click ok, and then change the file attributes to be editable before you go any farther. • Add and modify to the family files as needed. • Save your family and close out. • Return to the family folder and change the extension back to rft. • Select Yes for the Rename warning. • You now have custom family template ready for use.

11. Content Creation Rules > > > Guidelines Categories: • Template selection… is it face-based, stand-alone or hosted? • Element Subcategories: • Assign elements to sub-categories to provide additional visibility control. Project or Cut • Assign lines to the appropriate representation style of their sub-category: • Project or cut

12. Model Elements • View Specific Display • Detail Level • Symbolic Elements • Symbolic Lines • Content Creation Rules > > > Guidelines Masking Regions • Element Visibility Settings: • Model Elements • View Specific Display • Detail Level • Symbolic Elements • Symbolic Lines • Masking Regions

13. Content Creation Rules > > > Guidelines • Complexity: • Keep 3D content as simplified as possible and avoid the temptation to build all detail in 3D. Provide plan or elevation representations symbolically. • Reference Planes and Reference Lines: • All major edges, tops, bottoms, and meaningful centerlines should be references • Name the major references to make understanding the family easier • Provide Strong references where you expect someone to dimension to in a project • Use “Not a Reference” for references that are only meaningful in the Family Editor

14. Content Creation Rules > > > Guidelines • Material Assignments: • Materials should only use textures present in the Revit libraries without modification unless a special material library is provided with families. • Do not modify existing materials in Templates! • Use materials from standard material table whenever possible. • Maintain consistent material names between families unless independent materials are required

15. Content Creation Rules > > > Guidelines • Test Families: • Families should be tested to ensure that they perform as expected. At the very least, load them into a test project and inspect the following: • Plan, Elevation and Section representation at Fine, Medium and Coarse detail level • 3D representation at Fine, Medium and Coarse detail level checking visibility and Material • Test each Type to ensure proper flexing • Scheduling (if applicable) – does the Family schedule properly – check all fields in schedule • MEP connectors (if applicable) – check that the Family contains the appropriate Systems

16. Content Creation Rules > > > Guidelines • Resources: • Autodesk Seek • Manufacturers • Revit City • Pros and Cons: • Excessive LOD • Corrupt • Does not schedule with other content

17. WHERE to store System Family Content • Housing Content in Project Files: There will be System Families, Standard Details and Schedules not included in template file: • Insert View from File • Transfer Project Standards • Cut/Paste

18. Folder Structure Organization 00_Startup Files contained folders for: • Project Templates Files • Family Template Files • Shared Parameter Files • Annotation – families for sections, callouts and tags for either 1/8” or 3/32” standard text sizes, or any Client Specific annotation requirements. 01_Support Files • Shared Parameters Files - Company and any Client Specific 02_Modeling Content • 2D_ Detailing Components • 3D_Modeling Components • Versions for 3 years was typically maintained.

19. Folder Structure Organization • 03_Documentation Content contained files that housed • Sheet Specifications, Abbreviations, Symbols and Notes • Schedules for various Code requirements • Standard Details

20. Family File Naming Convention • Format: • [12 34 56]_[Use or Description]_[Modifier]_[Author or Creator]_[Sequence Option]_[2D if necessary] • Format Descriptions: • 12 34 56 6-digit CSI Numbering • Use or Description A word(s) that describes the object. Crash Cart, Table, Chair. • Modifier A word(s) that further describe the family. Remember to keep the overall Family name as short as possible. Examples: Fixed Shelves, Boat Shaped, Overhead, Base, etc. • Author or Creator <Company>, Autodesk, Manufacturer, Reed, Sweets • Sequence Option Sometimes it is difficult to give every family a distinctive modifier; therefore, a sequence number may be used. Use 2 digit format, starting with 01. This option should only be used when it is impractical to clearly distinguish one family from another using the Modifier. • 2D If this is a 2D family, include the “2D” designation. Otherwise it will be assumed that the family is a 3D version. • Examples: • 10 28 00_Grab Bar_L-Bobrick_01.rfa • 10 28 00_Grab Bar_L-Bobrick_02.rfa • 10 28 00_Grab Bar_L-Bobrick_LAD_01.rfa • 10 28 00_Grab Bar_L-Bobrick_LAD_01_2D.rfa

21. Family Type Naming • Format: • [Model]_[Size or Dimensions]_[Modifier]_[Finish and/or Options] • Format Descriptions: • Model (if applicable) Use the manufacturer’s model number if this family represents a particular product, otherwise omit. • Size or Dimensions (W)idth, (H)eight, and (D)epth if applicable for dimensions. • Modifier A word(s) that further describe the type. This modifier may describe some kind of configuration – like 3Lites for a Window with 3 lites. Remember to keep the overall type name as short as possible. • Finish and/or Options When the Type is defined by Finish or Material (instead of size) • Examples: • 36” x 48” • B262 • 10’-0” x 8’-0” • When the Type is defined by Finish or Material (instead of size) • If only one Type is appropriate (as in a family that represents a single model number), use the term “Generic, Default, Standard”for the Type name.

22. Content Managers https://www.discoverunifi.com/unifi.html http://spectrumbim.com/

23. HOW to move content between multiple office locations? • Sync Files Using RoboCopy – Free • RoboCopy or "Robust File Copy", is a command-line directory and/or file replication command - Wikipedia • https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145.aspx • PeerSyncby Peer Software • http://www.peersoftware.com • DFS Replicate (Distributed File System) is a set of client and server services that allow an organization using Microsoft Windows servers to organize many distributed SMB file shares into a distributed file system. DFS provides location transparency and redundancy to improve data availability in the face of failure or heavy load by allowing shares in multiple different locations to be logically grouped under one folder, or DFS root. • https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc771058.aspx • Drop Boxhttps://www.dropbox.com/business/buy

24. HOW to move content between multiple office locations? Vault data management software helps organize, manage, and track data creation, simulation, and documentation processes for design, engineering, and construction teams. You can organize all your files and keep them in one location for easy access. All file versions are retained, so you never misplace or replace past versions. The vault stores each version of a file, along with all file dependencies, giving you a living history of the project as you work on it. The vault also stores file properties for rapid searching and retrieving.

25. Carla Edwards Senior Technical Specialist Questions . . . Discussion… Session 2.1 – Library Management – Heading towards Library Nirvana Carla.Edwards@USCAD.com CarlaDEdwards62 carladedwards