BIM Coordinator for AutoCAD Civil 3D / Revit

The nice guys at the Autodesk Labs have come up with another interesting app. This one is called the Bim Coordinator for Civil 3d and Revit. It is a technology preview and free!
This utility helps to coordinate the UCS / origin points between a Civil 3D drawing and Revit. The reference point between these two softwares is automatically coordinated. Very nice. 
The current version is release for 2012 Civil 3D and Revit flavours. You can download and try it here. 

Autodesk Exchange Apps for Revit

Here is another fantastic development from Autodesk. This is touted as one of the new things for Revit 2013. However, it has been available for AutoCAD in the 2012 version itself.
Anyway, Similar to the appstore, this website has some small utilities that aid Revit. Some of them are free. It is worth while to check once in a while. Here is the link:
http://apps.exchange.autodesk.com/RVT/2013/en/Home/Index
If you are a developed you can visit here to read the guidelines to publish your own app! 

Autodesk Revit 2013

Autodesk has released their 2013 version of software last week. Interesting point to note is that Autodesk has released a new software - Autodesk Revit 2013 - which includes ALL the funtionality of Revit Architecture, Revit MEP and Revit Structure. 
Revit is also available as stand alone product per field (Architecture, MEP, etc.) 

The pricing for all these software very twisted. As per the link above, all the standalone Revit versions cost around $5,500. However, by paying another $1000, one can get all flavours of AutoCAD + all flavours of Revit + 3DS Max Design. 
The combo version that includes all flavours of revit will be very useful for BIM managers while trouble shooting. Well done  Autodesk! (I guess, this has been a long time request from the users!)

Copy cells from Spreadsheet to Revit Schedule 2013

We are very happy to announce that our popular utility "Copy Spreadsheet to Revit" has been released for Autodesk Revit 2013. This version works only for Revit versions of 2013, but for all flavors of revit, vis a vis, Architecture, MEP, Structure and Suite. This version works in both the 32 bit and 64 bit version of Windows. 
The trial version can be downloaded from here but it copies only a maximum of (3 x 3) 9 cells at a time. You can buy the full version (which does not have any restrictions on the number of copied cells) here. 

Etransmit for Revit

Autodesk had an in-built nice command called 'Etransmit' for AutoCAD. Using that command was the only correct method to transmit / send files to consultants and clients.
It might be heartening to know that Autodesk is working on a similar command / utility for Revit too. Their etransmit technology preview can be viewed / downloaded here.
However, it works ONLY with Revit 2012 versions. You need to have an autodesk user id (free) to download the utility.
The best part is that it collects all the DWG / RVT files that are linked into the Revit file. It does away with all the error messages we used to get when we COPY the Revit Central File using Windows explorer, etc. You can download the preview for free until June 30th. 

Payment options for Copy Spreadsheet utility for Revit

We are very happy to announce that we have incorporated payment services to buy the fully functional Copy Spreadsheet utility for Revit versions 2010, 2011 and 2012 and the "Where is my command in Revit 2010?" in our website. The paid version does NOT have any restriction on the number of cells being copied at a time. You can pay for the licensed version here. 
The utility does NOT come with any support and is sold "as is" with no warranty. Please check the evaluation version first before paying.
Cost: The pricing is based on the size of the firm, rather than the number of installed machines. The idea is that bigger firms can afford to pay a little bit more.

• $2 : Firm with One or two employees
• $10 : Firm with less than 10 employees
• $25 : Firm with less than 50 employees
• $50 : Firm with more than 50 employees

Please add $2 per order towards payment service fees and handling.


Version: Please check the correct version before you buy. The utility does NOT work in different Revit version. Since, this is a digital purchase, we cannot refund the payment, if you select the wrong version of the product.
License: After confirming the payment, we will send you the licensed copy of the utility by email in 48 hours. The licensed copy will show the name of your firm, location and the license type (number of employees). 

Draftsight - An alternative to AutoCAD

It has been more than a year since Dassault Systemes (the makers of CATIA) have released their 2D CAD software, Draftsight. Their website says that the software is FREE for individuals as a standalone license. (Email activation necessary).
This software is ALMOST same as Autocad. (2008 version) and supports PGP, Plot configurations, etc. Very easy to use. You can download the software here.
This software is highly recommended.
Here are some screen shots:

Copy from Excel to a Revit Schedule 2012 64 bit

After such a long time (sorry), I updated the script to copy data from excel spreadsheet to Revit Schedule. The updated script is available at:
http://bim.nichitecture.com/copyexcel.html
The evaluation version can be downloaded from the above link. The evaluation version has a limit of 25 cells that can be copied into Revit at a time. You can buy the utility with no restriction in the number of cells to copy (at the bottom of this post!)
The software currently supports 64 bit and 32bit windows environment for:

• Revit Architecture 2009
• Revit Architecture 2010
• Revit Architecture 2011
• Revit Architecture 2012
• Revit Structure 2009
• Revit Structure 2010
• Revit Structure 2011
• Revit Structure 2012
• Revit MEP 2009
• Revit  MEP  2010
• Revit  MEP  2011
• Revit  MEP  2012

The cost of the licensed version of the software:
Single license cost is $2;
Site license cost for a firm with less than 10 employees is $10;
Site license cost for a firm with less than 50 employees is $25;
Site license cost for a firm with more than 50 employees is $50;

I copy and paste from my previous post:
The script works with both Microsoft Excel and Open Office.org Calc. 
The script copies a bunch of cells (rows x columns) and pastes them into a revit schedule (contiguous rows x columns).

1. The script works well if all the fields in Revit schedule are EDITABLE. (A normal schedule has lots of ‘read-only’ fields like Family name, Area, etc where this script will fail.) The cells also need to be 'instance' driven cells (as compared to 'type' driven cells)
2. The script does not create blank rows for data in Revit (yet). You need to create as many rows as you might need using this button in the Revit option bar before running the script.

You can buy the utility:
1. Register here.
2. Pay here.