Application Notes for Autodesk Building Systems

Wednesday, May 31, 2006 

ABS Schedules

Production Topic: Tips and tricks for using the schedule tool effectively...
# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 9:06 AM   0 comments

Tuesday, May 30, 2006 

ABS Sections

Production Topic: The ABS 2007 section tool addresses the needs of MEP...

# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 7:18 AM   0 comments

Friday, May 19, 2006 

Configuring the Installation Image

Administrative Topic: Custom settings for the installation image creation Wizard
# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 1:54 PM   0 comments

Thursday, May 18, 2006 

Bringing Forward Customizations

Administrative Topic: Tips and tricks for preserving customizations moving forward through the application generations...
  • The CUI - Hotkeys, Toolbars, etc.
  • Catalogs - Custom MvParts

# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 4:16 PM   0 comments

 

Green Building Studio and eQuest

Engineering Topic: Energy modeling with ABS2007, GBS and eQuest
# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 2:54 PM   0 comments

Tuesday, May 16, 2006 

Concurrent ABS Installations

Administrative Topic: Managing concurrent ABS installations
  • ABS2005
  • ABS2006
  • ABS2007

# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 3:30 PM   0 comments

Tuesday, May 09, 2006 

The MultiEdit Text Editor

Administrative Topic: Managing ABS configuration files using MultiEdit

  • on-the-fly macros
  • session and project file group management across platforms
  • load a list of files from the commandline /@ switch

Note: a reasonable set of extensions for the MultiEdit 'Add Files Wizard' in an AcadMEP systems management context is as follows:

BAT CMD CSS FMP HTM HTML INI LIN LOG LSP MNU PGP REG TXT XML
# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 9:04 AM   0 comments

Sunday, May 07, 2006 

ABS Performance Tips

Following is a summary of ABS performance tips compiled from a I thread initiated earlier this year on the ABS discussion board forum...

If you are suffering through seemingly indeterminate do-loops while loading, plotting or regenerating your ABS project drawings, perhaps the following tips learned the hard way regarding ABS x-referencing and haloed line display representations may provide some relief:

1. Use Only Overlay-Type Xrefs
  • Only if absolutely necessary use a very minimal number of small attachment-type xrefs -- like title block key plans, not entire architectural floor plans.
2. Do Not Use Composite Xrefs for Backgrounds
  • This is possible and a potential timesaver with standard AutoCAD, but is anathema to ABS performance.
  • Composite backgrounds REQUIRE component xrefs to be attached, and thus should be avoided.
  • It takes a little more time to build backgrounds, but the performance improvement may well be worth it.
3. If using haloed lines, be sure to edit the model through dedicated 'wireframe' viewports.
  • There is an insidious delay caused by regenerating off-screen haloed lines that creeps into drawings as they grow larger.
  • If you're editing the model in model space with an active haloed line display mode, STOP DOING THAT!!!
  • Create a LAYOUT specifically for editing... e.g. 'Working Views'.
  • On this layout create viewports with plan, elevation, and isometric views of your model.
  • Set the display manager rendering mode for each of these viewports to be double line, which is to say unequivocally 'not haloed'.
  • Assure that the shademode of these new editing viewports is set to '2D wireframe'.
  • Now try editing the model through one of the new editing viewports, using the VPMAX command if desired to maximize it (VPMIN to restore).
  • The model rendering through the working viewports will be double line / 2D wireframe, but the greatly improved response time should be well worth the loss of haloed line visibility.
  • Be sure to leave the model space display mode as haloed line, and also assure that the haloed lines are saved with the drawing for efficient plotting of the construct using view drawings.
4. Do All MEP Work for a Given Floorplate & Discipline in a Single Drawing
  • Don't split it up and xref the pieces together, as in the "one drawing file per sheet" paradigm possible with standard AutoCAD.
  • This can cause some production challenges at crunch time, but challenges that can be solved when not burdened with poorly performing drawings
  • Much to our surprise, a 14 MB ABS HVAC drawing representing the entire first floor of a hospital now loads up in just 10 or 15 seconds -- 6 to 8 times faster than than any of the five 4 MB cross-xref'd drawings that were its previous constituents.
  • Reconciling the x-referencing of one ABS drawing to another appears to initiate some data table rebuilding or reindexing that isn't necessary when all the information is stored in a common file.
5. When Constructing View Drawings Manually, Be Sure to Use a Sheet Template
  • Don't just copy the base drawing, erase everything, and start xreferencing to create your plot layouts.
  • The problem seems to be reconciling the style manager tables -- if the host drawing has essentially empty style manager tables, the xrefs seem to load much faster.
  • Note that the ABS sample sheet template, besides being filled with sample title block layouts, has an essentially empty style manager table.
  • Multiple ABS X-References: If your plot sheet requires more than one ABS x-reference, see the next tip...
6. Use Intermediate 'Flat' Files for Interdisciplinary X-Referencing
  • Whether x-referencing one ABS drawing into another, or both into an empty drawing, the resulting performance degradation is essentially equivalent.
  • Use the 'Export to AutoCAD 2000' or 'Export to AutoCAD 2004' routines to produce intermediate 'flat' files containing no AEC entities to facilitate interdisciplinary coordination and plotting within the office.
  • These flat files are also in many ways more useful for sharing outside the office, as they do not require object enablers and the content is more in conformance with the traditional expectations of the design community.

# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 11:04 PM   0 comments

Tuesday, May 02, 2006 

ABS Schedules

Future topic: ABS Schedules (and the ability to explode them)



# posted by Brandon Nichols @ 3:59 PM   0 comments