AEC DevBlog

Copy family between documents via API

By Joe Ye

Transferring standards and elements via API is hot API request before Revit 2014. Revit 2014 exposed the exciting API, copy element between documents. This give us the ability to do a lot of interesting jobs.

Here is an sample to transfer family between documents. This command copy family to another opened document in the same Revit session. It copies all the types of the picked family instance’s family.

 

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Text;

using System.Windows.Forms;

 

using  Autodesk.Revit .DB;

using Autodesk.Revit.UI;

using Autodesk.Revit .ApplicationServices;

using Autodesk.Revit.Attributes ;

using Autodesk.Revit.UI.Selection;

 

 

  [TransactionAttribute(TransactionMode.Manual)]

public class RevitCommand : IExternalCommand

{

    public Result Execute(ExternalCommandData commandData,

      ref string messages, ElementSet elements)

    {

 

      UIApplication app = commandData.Application;

      Document doc = app.ActiveUIDocument.Document;

 

      Selection sel = app.ActiveUIDocument.Selection;

 

      Reference ref1 = sel.PickObject(ObjectType.Element,

        "pick a family instance");

 

      FamilyInstance inst = doc.GetElement(ref1) as FamilyInstance;

      if(inst == null)

      {

        messages = "No family instance was picked";

        return Result.Failed;

      }

 

      FamilySymbol sym = inst.Symbol;     

      Document targetDoc = null;

      foreach (Document doc1 in app.Application.Documents)

      {

        if (doc.Title != doc1.Title)

        {

          targetDoc = doc1;

          break;

        }

      }

 

      IList<ElementId> ids = new List<ElementId>();

      foreach (FamilySymbol symbol in sym.Family.Symbols)

      {

        ids.Add(symbol.Id);

      }

 

      Transaction targetTrans = new Transaction(targetDoc);

      targetTrans.Start("copyFamily");

 

      ElementTransformUtils.CopyElements(doc, ids, targetDoc, null,

        new CopyPasteOptions());

      targetTrans.Commit();

 

      return Result.Succeeded ;

    }

}

Webinar announcement

By Stephen Preston

Register and mark your calendars now for this upcoming webcast on making the most of the Autodesk Exchange Apps store ...

"How developers can ride and profit from the adoption wave of Autodesk Exchange Apps"

The Autodesk Exchange Apps stores (currently there are 15 stores) are a huge opportunity for developers to gain direct access to the growing number of Autodesk customers using Exchange Apps.  In just one year there’s been over one million visits and over 250,000 downloads. With comments like “one of my most useful tools”, “love this app, saved me hours of work” there’s no doubt that Exchange Apps has become a resource that Autodesk customers rely on to find useful apps of all types.    

If you develop apps and want to reach more customers quickly, easily and inexpensively but haven’t yet put your toe in the water with Exchange Apps, the Autodesk Developer Network (ADN) team is ready to help you.  You’re invited to attend a webinar on June 13^th hosted by Jim Quanci and Stephen Preston to learn how you can catch the wave and accelerating growth of Exchange Apps.

You’ll learn the tricks of the trade when publishing on Exchange Apps, get ideas on how to be successful and learn about the ability to publish localized apps. Here’s what you need to know:

Webinar details:

Date: Thursday, June 13^th, 2013
Time: 8 a.m. PDT (4 p.m. BST; 5 p.m. CET; 11 a.m. EDT)
Duration: Approximately one hour

Open to anyone interested in publishing apps on Autodesk Exchange Apps (i.e. ADN membership is not required :-).

Registration: Reserve your place by June 11 by sending an email to [email protected] with Exchange Apps webinar as the subject. Please make sure you include your full name, company name and email address.

And visit www.autodesk.com/developapps now if you want a head start in learning how to publish apps.

 

 

Update June 24th 2013:

Here is the download link for the webinar recording. Its a WMV format - fast forward to 1 min 44 seconds for the start. 

API Wishlist Survey for Revit

Once again, the time for another round of API wishlist survey. This year's API wishlist survey is open for Revit from the link:

Revit API Wishlist Survey 2013

Please take a moment to participate and complete this survey and let us hear your feedback. It will take less than 5 minutes to complete. Revit engineering team will use the results to understand your needs and help prioritize the areas of API enhancements in future planning. If you leave your e-mail address, we will send you the final result after it is concluded. (e-mail address you leave will be used solely for this purpose. We do not share or use for any other purposes).  

The survey will open for three weeks till June 15th, 2013. We look forward to receiving your feedback!

Navisworks 2014 API new feature - RenderPlugin

By Xiaodong Liang

I have frequently heard the voice that the developers want to draw some custom graphics in Naivsworks e.g. the custom red line. Now it came true. The new plugin type provides methods to render user-graphics. It can render in 3D model space or 2D screen space. The new class Graphics is used to create the 2D/3D primitives.

Firstly, create a class deriving from RenderPlugin. It is a kind of implicit plugin which has no interface. So the attribute DisplayName is useless.

[Plugin("RenderPluginTest",

            "ADSK")]

    public class RenderPluginTest : RenderPlugin

    {

    }

 

 

 

Next, override the methods you want to use.

• public virtual void OverlayRenderModel(View view,Graphics graphics)

This method renders the graphics in the overlay buffer.By default it’s set up for you to call graphics methods that take 3D model space coordinates. You can call graphics methods that take 2D model space coordinates from inside a BeginWindowContext-EndWindowContext block.

• public virtual void OverlayRenderWindow(View view,Graphics graphics)

This method renders the graphics in the overlay buffer. By default it’s set up for you to call graphics methods that take 2D window space coordinates. You can also call graphics methods that take 3D model space coordinates from inside a BeginModelContext-EndModelContext block

• public virtual void RenderModel(View view,Graphics graphics)

Similar to OverlayRenderModel, but renders in the main buffer.

• public virtual void RenderWindow(View view,Graphics graphics)

Similar to OverlayRenderWindow but renders in the main buffer.

Where possible, it is recommended that you should be using Overlay*** to do ‘overly graphics’ rather than using ‘Render***’.

The code below draws a triangle and two lines.

public override void OverlayRenderWindow(View view,

                                Graphics graphics)

{  

    // the color for the graphics

    Color colorRed = Color.FromByteRGB(255, 0, 0);

    // color and alpha value

    graphics.Color(colorRed, 0.7);

 

    //set line width

    graphics.LineWidth(5);

 

    Point2D p1 = new Point2D(20, 20);

    Point2D p2 = new Point2D(view.Width - 20, 20);

    Point2D p3 = new Point2D(view.Width /2.0, view.Height - 20);

 

    // draw triangle, fill in it

    graphics.Triangle(p1,p2,p3,true);

 

    // the color for the graphics

    Color colorGreen = Color.FromByteRGB(0, 255, 0);

    // color and alpha value

    graphics.Color(colorGreen, 0.7);

 

    Point2D p4 = new Point2D(20, 20);

    Point2D p5 = new Point2D(view.Width / 2.0, (view.Height - 20) / 2.0);

    Point2D p6 = new Point2D(view.Width - 20, 20);

 

    //draw two lines

    graphics.Line(p4, p5);

    graphics.Line(p5, p6);

}

 

Since the 2D is in window space coordinates, the graphics will update with the view size changing.

 

 

 

 

 

The code below draws a cylinder.

public override void OverlayRenderModel(View view, Graphics graphics)

{

    // the color for the graphics

    Color colorBlue = Color.FromByteRGB(0, 0, 255);

    // color and alpha value

    graphics.Color(colorBlue, 1);

 

    Point3D p1 = new Point3D(0, 0,0);

    Point3D p2 = new Point3D(0, 0,10);    

 

    // draw Cylinder

    graphics.Cylinder(p1,p2,10);

 

    // the color for the graphics

    Color colorGrey = Color.FromByteRGB(128, 128, 128);

    // color and alpha value

    graphics.Color(colorGrey, 1);

 

    Point3D p3 = new Point3D(20, 20,0);    

 

    // draw sphere

    graphics.Sphere(p3, 10);

}

Create stirrup rebar by given model curves via Revit API

By Joe Ye

As creating a stirrup rebar shape family is not so easy. Users would like to sketch up the shape of the stirrup within a column. This article introduce how to create a stirrup by several model curves within a column.

 

using System;

using System.Collections.Generic;

using System.Linq;

using System.Text;

 

using Autodesk.Revit.ApplicationServices;

using Autodesk.Revit.UI;

using Autodesk.Revit.DB.Structure;

using Autodesk.Revit.DB;

using Autodesk.Revit.UI.Selection;

 

namespace MyCreateRebar

{

  [Autodesk.Revit.Attributes.Transaction(Autodesk.Revit.Attributes.TransactionMode.Manual)]

  [Autodesk.Revit.Attributes.Regeneration(Autodesk.Revit.Attributes.RegenerationOption.Manual)]

  public class Command1 : IExternalCommand

  {

    public Result Execute(ExternalCommandData commandData, ref string message, ElementSet elements)

    {

      UIApplication uiApp = commandData.Application;

      Selection sel = uiApp.ActiveUIDocument.Selection;

      Application app = uiApp.Application;

      Document doc = uiApp.ActiveUIDocument.Document;

 

      RebarBarType barType = null;

      RebarHookType hookType = null;

 

      Transaction transaction = new Transaction(doc, "CreateRebar Tool");

      try

      {

        transaction.Start();

 

        IList<Curve> curves1 = new List<Curve>();

        ElementSet eleset = sel.Elements;

        foreach (Element e in eleset)

        {

          if (e is ModelLine)

          {

            Line l = (e as ModelLine).GeometryCurve as Line;

            Line line = app.Create.NewLineBound(l.get_EndPoint(0), l.get_EndPoint(1));

            curves1.Add(line);

          }

        }

 

        foreach (RebarBarType bt in doc.RebarBarTypes)

        {

          barType = bt;

          break;

        }

        foreach (RebarHookType ht in doc.RebarHookTypes)

        {

          hookType = ht;

        }

 

        {

 

          Reference hasPickOne = sel.PickObject(ObjectType.Element);

          FamilyInstance hostFi = doc.get_Element(hasPickOne.ElementId) as FamilyInstance;

          Rebar rebar = CreateRebar1(uidoc, curves1, hostFi, barType, hookType);

        }

      }

      catch (Exception ex)

      {

        message += ex.Message;

        return Autodesk.Revit.UI.Result.Failed;

      }

      finally

      {

        transaction.Commit();

      }

 

      return Result.Succeeded;

    }

 

    Rebar CreateRebar1(

        Autodesk.Revit.UI.UIDocument uidoc,

        IList<Curve> curves,

        FamilyInstance column,

        RebarBarType barType,

        RebarHookType hookType)

    {

 

      LocationPoint location = column.Location as LocationPoint;

      XYZ origin = location.Point;

 

      Rebar rebar = Rebar.CreateFromCurves(uidoc.Document,

        RebarStyle.StirrupTie, barType, hookType, hookType,

        column, new XYZ(0, 0, 1), curves,

        RebarHookOrientation.Left, RebarHookOrientation.Left, true, true);

 

      return rebar;

    }

  }

Navisworks 2014 API new feature – Dynamic Loading of Plugin

By Xiaodong Liang

In the past, Navisworks will load all valid plugins in the folder <Naivsworks>\Plugins. Of course, as indicated in Navisworks 2014 API new feature – One more path to load plugin, Navisworks will also load the plugins in the new folder automatically as well.

In some situations, we may need to demand loading the plugin when necessary. 2014 provides such mechanism.

ApplicationParts.ApplicationPlugins.AddPluginAssembly(absolute path name of the plugin)

Following is a small experiment. It self explains the usage which is very straightforward.

1. create a simple AddinPlugin and put the binary to any folder such as c:\temp

   [PluginAttribute("BasicPlugIn_LoadTest",
                    "ADSK",
                    DisplayName = "BasicPlugIn_LoadTest")]          

 

    public class BasicPlugIn_LoadTest :
                   AddInPlugin                     

   {

      public override int Execute(params string[] parameters)

      {

          MessageBox.Show("BasicPlugIn_LoadTest is executed!");

         return 0;

      }

   }

 

2. create a plugin which is put in the two folders where Navisworks will load the plugin automatically. e.g. <Naivsworks>\Plugins

 

   [PluginAttribute("BasicPlugIn",                 

                    "ADSK",                                      

                    ToolTip = "BasicPlugIn tool tip",

                    DisplayName = "Hello World Plugin")]         

 

   public class ABasicPlugin : AddInPlugin                      

   {

      public override int Execute(params string[] parameters)

      { 

          //the name of the plugin which is to be loaded dynamically

          string plugin_name_to_load = "BasicPlugIn_LoadTest.ADSK";

 

          // plugin record

          PluginRecord dotest = null;

          try

          {

              dotest = Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.Plugins.
                                         FindPlugin(plugin_name_to_load);

              if (dotest != null)

              {

                  // the plugin has been loaded. exit.

                  MessageBox.Show("the plugin " +
                                  plugin_name_to_load +
                                  " has been loaded!");

                  return 0;

              }

              else

              {

                  // load the plugin assembly

                  Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.Plugins.AddPluginAssembly(
                                 @"C:\temp\BasicPlugIn_LoadTest.ADSK.dll");

 

                  // get the plugin record.

                  PluginRecord otherpluginrecord =

                      Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.Plugins.
                                       FindPlugin(plugin_name_to_load);

                  if (otherpluginrecord != null)

                  {

                      //loaded                     

                      if (!otherpluginrecord.IsLoaded)

                      {

                          //load the plugin

                          otherpluginrecord.LoadPlugin();

                          MessageBox.Show("the plugin " +

                                            plugin_name_to_load +

                                   " has been loaded by AddPluginAssembly!");

 

                          //get the plugin of the record

                          Plugin otherplugin =
                               otherpluginrecord.LoadedPlugin;

 

                          //call one method of the plugin

                          //since we do not know the type of the other plugin,

                          //use InvokeMember

                          string[] pa = { "dummy"};

                          otherplugin.GetType().InvokeMember("Execute",
                                    System.Reflection.BindingFlags.InvokeMethod,
                                     null, otherplugin,pa);                      

 

                      }

                  }

                  else

                  {

                      // any other problems

                      MessageBox.Show(
                          "Navisworks has tried to load the plugin " +

                           plugin_name_to_load +

                          " but it is still null. Please check the path name!");

                  }

              }

          }

          catch (Exception ex)

          {

              // any exception

              System.Diagnostics.Debug.Write(ex.ToString());

          }

         return 0;

      }

   }

When you click the button of BasicPlugIn, it will try to load the other plugin BasicPlugIn_LoadTest.ADSK and call its method Execute. From this experiment, you could also find the binary dll of other plugin could be within any folder.  It would be a convenience for you to deploy your application.

A New Glue, New Look, and 30-day Free Trial!

By Mikako Harada

We are excited to let you know that a major new release of Autodesk® BIM 360™ Glue® is available now:

    http://www.autodesk.com/bim360glue

BIM 360 Glue (the Glue) is a cloud-based, BIM Management solution that facilitates multidiscipline model coordination and collaboration. It provides all project members with access to the most up-to-date project models and data from anywhere anytime. You can upload models from Autodesk Navisworks®, Revit®, AutoCAD® and Civil 3D®, and literally “glue” them together up in the cloud. Now with the new UI, it will be more intuitive for you to use. For more detail, please refere to the BIM 360 Glue product page.  

If you haven’t had a chance to try it, now is the chance; there is 30-day free trial version available for you to try it. Please follow the link below, and simply sign up:

    www.autodesk.com/bim360gluetrial

I must also add; if you haven’t tried iPad app, please make sure you try “Immersive View”, too.  The walk through experience using iPad app is just a different user experience that you must know.

Note: Access to the Glue platform through the API, or a development environment, is not a part of this product trial environment at this stage. In order to use the API, you will first need to a member of ADN (ADN Professional or Standard) and need to be a part of a Glue API ADN pilot program. Autodesk is actively working on a way to widen the accessibility. In a mean time, if you are interested developing a cloud and mobile solution using the Glue API, please contact ADN: www.autodesk.com/joinadn

 

Navisworks 2014 API new feature – InputPlugin

By Xiaodong Liang

This new plugin allows you to handle the interaction events such as mouse and keyboard. By this plugin, you could also know the selected object.

Firstly, create a class deriving from InputPlugin. It is a kind of implicit plugin which has no interface. So the attribute DisplayName is useless.

 // The InputPlugin example.

    [Plugin("MyInputPlugin", "ADSK")]

    public class InputPluginExample : InputPlugin

    {

    }

 

Next, override the events you want to use. The plugin provides various events. It is not difficult to know what they fire for from their names.

KeyDown
KeyDrag  
KeyUp 
ModifierKeyDown
ModifierKeyUp 
MouseDown 
MouseDrag 
MouseLeave
MouseMove 
MouseUp 
WheelDrag

I’d introduce MouseDown and KeyDown. The last argument timeOffset is not clear to me. I will update this post when I figure it out.

    public override bool MouseDown(

            //the current view when mouse down

            View view, 

            //Enumerates key modifiers used in input:

            //None, Ctrl,Alt,Shift

            KeyModifiers modifiers,

            //left mouse button:1,

            //middle mouse button:2,

            //right mouse button:3

            ushort button,

            //screen coordinate x

            int x,

            //screen coordinate y

            int y, 

            // not clear to me :-( 

            double timeOffset)

      public override bool KeyDown(

            //the current view when mouse down

            View view,

            //Enumerates key modifiers used in input:

            //None, Ctrl,Alt,Shift

            KeyModifiers modifier,

            //the key pressed

            ushort key,

            // not clear to me :-( 

            double timeOffset)

 

View.PickItemFromPoint(x,y) returns the information about selecting: selected objects and selected point in WCS. where x,y is the coordinates in screen.

    // The InputPlugin example.

    [Plugin("MyInputPlugin", "ADSK")]

    public class InputPluginExample : InputPlugin

    {  

        public override bool MouseDown(

            //the current view when mouse down

            View view, 

            //Enumerates key modifiers used in input:

            //None, Ctrl,Alt,Shift

            KeyModifiers modifiers,

            //left mouse button:1,

            //middle mouse button:2,

            //right mouse button:3

            ushort button,

            //screen coordinate x

            int x,

            //screen coordinate y

            int y, 

            // not clear to me :-( 

            double timeOffset)

        {

            // key modifiers used in input

            Debug.Print(modifiers.ToString());

            //left/middle mouse

            Debug.Print(button.ToString());

            //timeOffset

            Debug.Print(timeOffset.ToString());

 

            // get info of selecting

            PickItemResult itemResult =
                         view.PickItemFromPoint(x, y);

 

            if (itemResult != null)

            { 

                //selected point in WCS

               string oStr = string.Format(
                "{0},{1},{2}", itemResult.Point.X,

                              itemResult.Point.Y,

                              itemResult.Point.Z);

               Debug.Print(oStr);

 

                //selected object

                ModelItem modelItem = itemResult.ModelItem;

                System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show (
                              modelItem.ClassDisplayName);

            }

 

            return false;

        }

 

        public override bool KeyDown(

            //the current view when mouse down

            View view,

            //Enumerates key modifiers used in input:

            //None, Ctrl,Alt,Shift

            KeyModifiers modifier,

            //the key pressed

            ushort key,

            // not clear to me :-( 

            double timeOffset)

        {

            //  key modifiers + pressed key

            Debug.Print(modifier.ToString() + ", " + key);

            return false;

        }

    }

Navisworks 2014 API new feature – One more path to load plugin

By Xiaodong Liang

In the past, we can only put the plugin assembly under <Navisworks Installation Path>\Plugins. In 2014, you have one more option to deploy the assembly in

"%APPDATA%\Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2014\Plugins

In the DevDays’s PPT, it says the new path is “%USERPROFILE%“. It is wrong. Sorry for this.

For programming, the script of post-build event could be:

xcopy /Y "$(TargetDir)*.*" "%APPDATA%\Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2014\Plugins\$(TargetName)\"

Navisworks 2014 API new feature - Override Transformation

By Xiaodong Liang

In the past, we have to use COM interop to override the transformation of the objects by the method State.OverrideTransform. Here is a blog on how to transform the whole model. It is similar if you transform an object.
http://adndevblog.typepad.com/aec/2012/08/transform-nodes-of-a-loaded-model.html

2014 .NET API provides the direct ways.

• DocumentModels.OverridePermanentTransform ( 
                              IEnumerable<ModelItem> items, 
                              Transform3D transform, 
                              bool updateModelTransform)

            this method applies an incremental transform to a selection with a transform matrix.

• DocumentModels.ResetAllPermanentTransforms()

           this method reset incremental transforms for all model items contained in the entire model.

In addition, .NET API allows you to access the transformation information of the objects. While in the past, we cannot know the override value.

• ModelGeometry.OriginalTransform: Returns the original transform of the geometry when it was loaded.
• ModelGeometry.PermanentOverrideTransform: Transform applied to the original transform of the model geometry
• ModelGeometry.PermanentTransform : Permanent transform for the model geometry. The transform formed as a result of combining the original transform with the override transform

     public override int Execute(params string[] parameters)

      {

          Document doc = Autodesk.Navisworks.Api.Application.MainDocument;

 

          // current selection

          ModelItemCollection coll = doc.CurrentSelection.SelectedItems;

          if (coll.Count == 0)

              return 0;

 

          //build a vector for moving

          Vector3D oNewVector3d = new Vector3D(1, 1, 0);

 

          // optional way 1: orthogonal transforms + translation

          //*********

          //build an identity matrix which represents orthogonal transforms

          Matrix3 oNewIndentityM = new Matrix3();        

 

          //create a transform from a matrix with a vector.

          Transform3D oNewOverrideTrans = new Transform3D(oNewIndentityM, oNewVector3d);

          //***********

 

          // optional way 2: direct static function

          //********

          Transform3D oNewOverrideTrans1 = Transform3D.CreateTranslation(oNewVector3d);

          //*********

 

          //override the transformation of the selection

          doc.Models.OverridePermanentTransform(coll, oNewOverrideTrans1, true);  

 

         return 0;

      }