If it’s spring, it must be time for new releases of Autodesk software! (And it hasn’t snowed here in a week, so I think it finally is spring.) You probably know that AutoCAD 2017 was released last month, and today I have a preview of some things that are coming for my fellow Revit fans. (At least, it’s officially a preview, because full support & resources won’t be available until April 18, 2016. But I also saw Building Design Suite Premium 2017  in my Subscription Center this morning, so…)

The focus for this year is on connecting the steps in the construction process. You’ll see things for design, detailing, fabrication, and construction. Some of them previously debuted in Revit 2016 R2 — so if you haven’t installed that yet, go get it! I’ll be here when you get back.

(tl;dr — I think it’s worth the upgrade! All my architect friends, please don’t wait too long…remember I can’t upgrade until you do…)

This is not a deep dive…just a quick overview of the things I’m most interested in. If you want a closer look, here’s the Help file. Let’s start with the new stuff.

WYSISYG Text Editor

Who wants outline lists? (We do! We do!) Yes, that’s right: there’s a new text editor.

This might seem like a small thing to lead with, but sometimes even little things can make a big difference. We still need to have notes on sheets and sets, and the ability to have outline lists (with spaces!) is something we’ll be able to put to use right away. There are even subscripts and superscripts! (My design parameters table thanks you.)

I’ve said for a long time that text is one of the only things that AutoCAD does better than Revit, and this new editor goes a long way towards leveling that particular area of the playing field.

Fun with Parameters

Need to show two values in one schedule column? Now you can. Trying to show a calculated value in a tag? You can do that too. How about creating a Global Parameter that can be used in project elements (like you’ve done before with family parameters)? Yep. How about a schedule-friendly slab thickness parameter? Yes, thank you!

Steel Connections for Revit

This is technically an extension, but anything that makes modeling these connections easier is a win in my book. It’s supposed to facilitate LOD 350 and 400-level connections, and even includes code checks.

Rendering

For those of you doing renderings, know that Raytracer is now the default engine in Revit. Mental Ray is gone.

There’s also a neat new feature called Depth Cueing, which lets you add shadows to elevations on the fly, without doing a full-blown render.

Data Sharing

Revit 2017 is IFC4 compliant, for those of you working with that. There’s also a new Formit 360 converter, which helps bring FormIT and SketchUp files into Revit.

Structural Fabrication Suite

Here on the east coast, structural engineers don’t always do our own connection design. But for those engineers and detailers who do, you may be interested in the new suite. Announced yesterday at NASCC, it combines Autodesk Advance Steel, Autodesk AutoCAD, Autodesk Revit and Autodesk Navisworks Simulate

Dynamo & Collaboration For Revit integration

A couple of great Revit add-ins are now fully integrated into the main program. You’ll find Dynamo now on the Manage tab. And although Collaboration for Revit still requires a separate subscription, it no longer requires a separate installation.

Familiar faces from 2016 R2

As I said earlier, some of these appeared last year for Revit 2016. No surprise here, they’re back!

• Global parameters: see above
• Occlusion culling: for better performance in 3D and cropped views
• Family preview: visibility parameters!
• In-canvas names for reference planes: a small but convenient tweak
• Link unload per user: for better performance

One more thing

Say goodbye to “Revit Architecture”, “Revit Structure”, and “Revit MEP”. Starting this year, there’s just Revit. (And Revit LT, which will have an architectural focus.)

I’m looking forward to trying these out for myself — when  you do too, let me know what you think!

Well, I’m home again…I did warn you that the Day 3 recap wouldn’t appear right away!

The Last Day

The morning started with a feedback meeting on a new website that Autodesk is developing. I can’t say much about it yet, but it looked pretty nice. (And when I get released from my NDA, maybe I’ll review it for real.)

Then I went to a session on incorporating analysis into the structural design workflow. It was a good overview of some of the new tools available within Revit (gravity load takedowns) and the link with Robot. I have to say, it looks like Robot’s usability has improved a lot lately…but I’m more interested in React Structures.

In the afternoon, I did another feedback session on Autodesk Support. (If you haven’t been to http://knowledge.autodesk.com in the last couple weeks, go check it out — they just launched a nice redesign!)

Then I had the privilege of sitting on a CAD Management panel with Robert Green, Curt Moreno, and R.K. McSwain, moderated by Rick Ellis. We had a great time talking about our experiences — it was a little like the conversations you get just hanging around the exhibit hall or coffee stations. You can read some of the attendee’s comments under #Ask4AUexperts. (Although I know there are more than are listed under that link…not sure where they went.)

AU wrapped up with a more low-key closing session than in years past, but it was still engaging. They continued the theme of “meaningful work”, and once again I live-tweeted it. My takeaways:

• If you ask people, “Who does meaningful work?” they often list doctors and teachers. But you shouldn’t forget designers.
• Volunteers at AU assembled 150 prosthetic hands for children via eNable kits
• Instead of buying new fleets of electric buses, retrofit diesels with new hybrid engines
• Paraphrase of one of my favorite parts: “Why air condition the building when it’s the people who get hot?”
• The Antikythera shipwreck (from 60 BC!) is being mapped & documented with reality capture technologies
• It’s good enough to read the instructions off the case of an ancient calculator, and to be able to re-cast a fragile artifact after it went to pieces

The AU wrap party was a circus, as it is every year…this year, I mainly found it to be loud, crowded, and cold. (Can you tell I’m not one for big parties?) But it picked up after I ran into some friends–I’ll never understand how, in a crowd of 10,000, you can run into the same people over and over!

I’ll leave you with a final thought from the closing session, a reminder that we can’t just wait around for things to happen:

Be the change. Make the difference.

Hope to see you all in Vegas next year — November 15-17, 2016!

Autodesk University 2015 is two-thirds complete, and it’s kind of astonishing to think that there can still be more after today. No live-tweeting today, but here’s what I did instead.

Before lunch

I started the day in a focus group for Autodesk Subscription. I always love these, because I’m very opinionated when it comes to using and managing my software, and it’s nice to know someone is listening. And the moderators are so patient, even when the participants contradict each other with our requests!

After that was a lab…unfortunately, the less said about that, the better. It had some technical difficulties that might have thrown off even an experienced presenter, and in the end I left early. It wasn’t a total loss, though, because I stopped in for a chat with more Autodesk researchers, this time about what makes a student seeking work an attractive candidate to a hiring manager.

After lunch

The afternoon was dedicated to prepping for the annual AUGI General Meeting, and then to the meeting itself. It all went great, if I do say so myself. I’m having trouble posting pictures on the mobile WordPress app, but if you check Twitter or the AUGI Facebook page you can check some out and see if you agree. If I get a chance, I’ll revisit this post when I’m back at my computer and can add some images.

After dinner

In the evening, I spent some time in the AUGI booth, still in costume from the AGM. Two things I noticed there: (1) After a while, you almost forget you’re in costume and start to wonder why people are giving you funny looks; and (2) Here, even people in Star Wars costumes don’t get as many funny looks as you might think!

After I ditched the Leia wig, I went to the Social Media & Blogger meetup, where I got a chance to actually see a lot of the great people I only see online the rest of the year. I also had a nice chat with our special guest Roman Mars, of 99% Invisible…don’t mind saying I was a little star-struck!

 To cap off the day, I stopped in at a customer reception hosted by my reseller. I thought it might be winding down, since I got there kind of late…nope. It was in full swing when I arrived, and was still going strong when I left a little while later.

Now this recap is done, and it’s time to rest again for what I know will be a fantastic (but very long) day tomorrow. No promises that you’ll see a post about Thursday anytime before Monday…