Navisworks for visualized review with walkthroughs (Building Design)

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[MUSIC PLAYING]

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Hi, my name is Simon Jones.

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I'd like to show you today how we

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can use Navisworks works to review models as part

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of the visualized walkthrough.

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Right.

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Let's get started.

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This safe harbor statement is a legal disclaimer

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that boils down to this.

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Please don't make purchasing decisions

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based on any speculative comments made

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in this presentation regarding possible future changes

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or new features.

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My name is Simon Jones.

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I work for North West for 35 years.

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I had a variety of roles, from product support,

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product development, technical sales and consulting.

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I left at the start of 2021 and I'm now an independent BIM

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consultant.

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I've been working with Navisworks since well

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before it was acquired from Autodesk, when

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it was an independent application

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and based near Guildford, in the UK.

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Autodesk accelerators are designed

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to help your team stay ahead of the curve with the latest

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workflows.

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They include courses, videos, and live coaching, which

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is what we're doing today.

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You can see a full list of topics on the customer Success

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Hub.

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Navisworks can combine separate models

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from different disciplines into a single lightweight

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multi-discipline model.

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Not only can Navisworks import models from Revit,

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but it can also import many other different products

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and file formats.

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These include Autodesk products such as AutoCAD, Civil 3D,

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and Inventor as well as non-core asset products

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such as MicroStation, DGM, ISC, and sketch up files,

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to name a few.

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In this example, we'll be working with a Revit building

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model but Navis could also be used to include a Civil 3D site

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model.

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The resultant model is lightweight and easy

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to navigate around, making it ideal to share

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with an extended design team and to support a design review

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meeting.

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A typical workflow, for working building projects,

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has a following main steps.

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First, we export the models from Revit as Navisworks in WC file.

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Separate discipline specific models

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are combined together in a Navisworks

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as a single coordinated, multi-discipline model.

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This model can be used to perform a virtual model

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review to demonstrate intent, present progress, and capture

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design issues.

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Issues can be exported as reports to the design team,

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to be addressed back in Revit, and updated models

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can refresh the Navisworks model for tracking resolutions.

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Finally, the model can be published and archived

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as an accurate record of the design

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at any stage of the project.

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This accelerator provides a quick overview

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of using Navisworks on building projects.

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The workflow will be based on a commercial building designed

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in Revit.

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The Revit model has been split into three disciplines that

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are architectural, structural, and MEP services.

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The main topics and overall learning objectives

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we will be covering today are as follows.

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First, we shall learn how to export discipline

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specific models from Revit, then we

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shall aggregate the discipline specific models

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into a single coordinated multi-discipline model

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in Navisworks.

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Before starting the review, we should learn some Navisworks

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good practices and setting up orientations views and search

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tests in order to make the review process as efficient

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and streamlined as possible.

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Once the Navisworks model has been set up,

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we'll learn how to navigate around it,

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perform virtual tour of the building.

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We shall learn how to take measurements of the model.

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And to capture these, have red line mark UPS

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in annotated viewpoints.

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We shall learn how to export reports and publish

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the model, to report back to the design team.

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Finally, we shall use Switchback to identify

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an object in the Revit model and demonstrate

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how to make a change, and then refresh the Navisworks model.

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These are not all the features of Navisworks

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nor is this a detail training class, instead

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this accelerator is intended as an introduction of using

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Navisworks of building projects.

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Additional links will be provided

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at the end of the webinar.

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If you wish to investigate Navisworks further.

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All products in the presentation are

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utilized in the 2022 versions.

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Let's take a look how we can export

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the discipline specific MWC files from Revit

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and combine them together into a federated multi-discipline

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model with Navisworks for the review.

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When exporting a Navisworks file from Revit,

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you can choose whether to export all objects in the model

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or those visible in the view.

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The recommended workflow is to use the View option

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so that what you see is what you get.

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This will avoid unnecessary graphics, such as scope boxes

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being exported to Navisworks.

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Whilst it is possible to include linked files as part

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of the export, it is recommended that you

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have a single NWC for each Revit file

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and therefore, do not export linked files with the host.

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Then before performing the export,

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it is recommended that you save a 3D view of a name,

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such as Navisworks Export, then switch off the links

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and hide the objects that you do not

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want to include in the export.

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The view should have detailed level

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set to Find so that objects such as pipes

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are exported in full 3D and not simply as centralized.

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We shall now demonstrate to you.

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The Revit export options for Navisworks

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can be accessed from the Export dialog from Revit

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or through Options dialog in Navisworks.

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In most cases, you can stick to the default settings.

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However, there are two options it should be confirmed.

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Firstly, assuming the models are set up

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using shared coordinates, check that coordinates

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is set to Shared.

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For models not using shared coordinates,

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the settings should be Project Internal.

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Under Export, ensure the Current View is set.

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Let's start by duplicating existing 3D view.

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And we're going to rename that one to Navisworks Export.

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To ensure all the objects are displayed correctly,

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we're going to change the discipline to Coordination.

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And visibility graphics override dialog box.

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We're going to switch the Revit links

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and switch off the visibility of the links.

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Next, we're going to select on the levels

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and hide them from the view by category

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and we can also hide the category of section boxes.

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So now left with just the model items

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that we want in our Navis model.

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We noticed-- if we zoom in, we noticed that the pipes

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are actually only single line.

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By changing the detail level to Fine,

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they're now through fully 3D.

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Now, it can go to the external tools

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and run the Navisworks Export tool.

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First, let's check those settings.

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Coordinates are indeed set to Shared

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and we're exporting the Current View.

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Just going to cancel that and generate a new NWC file.

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Existing one we had there, it's been overwritten.

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That's fine.

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Also in Navisworks, before starting,

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open the Navisworks Options Editor to Viewpoint Default

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and enable the first three options of Save, Hide,

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Required Attributes, Override Appearance, and Override Linear

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Speed.

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These are global settings that only need to be done once.

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What it means is, your viewpoints

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will now save the visibility, color, and transparency

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of objects and will also save walking or flying

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speeds of the walkthroughs of flybys

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associated with those views.

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One more default worth changing is a Close NWC slash NWD

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files on load setting, that is found on the Model Performance.

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When this option is enabled, it is

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possible to overwrite an NWC file that

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is loaded in Navisworks session, enabling you to refresh

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the models with model updates without having

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to unload the models first.

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Typically, a federated Navisworks model

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is created by a BIM coordinator.

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Their role would be to create a coordinated multidiscipline

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model that can be reviewed by members of the extended design

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team, subcontractors, or client representatives.

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As previously mentioned, the design models

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can be a combination of different file

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formats such as Revit RVT, AutoCAD DTG, and ISC files.

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However, these files are read directly or exported

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from the design applications.

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Navisworks imports the data as an NWC file.

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This stands for Navisworks cache.

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In this presentation, the model consists entirely

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of Revit models.

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When the NWC files are read into Navisworks,

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the file can then be saved as an NWF file.

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This stands for Navisworks file set.

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This is a live file that simply references the disciplines

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specific geometry and metadata from the design application

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saved to the NWC files.

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If the underlying NWC files are updated,

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the updates are reflected in the NWF file,

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enabling an iterative review and update to the design.

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The NWF file also stores the Navisworks specific data

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such as annotated viewpoints and comments

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that will be explained in a session.

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At any point, all the data can be encapsulated

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into a single NWD file, which stands for Navisworks document.

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But perhaps, Navisworks distributor

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but would be a better name.

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And NWD file is much like a zip file that

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contains all the design geometry and metadata, as well

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as the Navisworks specific data, such as annotated viewpoints

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and comments.

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Whilst an NWD file has lost its ability

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to update changes to the NWC files,

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it does mean it is ideal for archiving

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a state of the model of all the associated designed review

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information for future reference.

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Not only that, an NWD file can be viewed for free by anyone

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using the Navisworks freedom viewer.

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To create a Navisworks that's model, for more than one

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NWC, simply open one then append all the others.

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If the Revit models are set up correctly

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with shared coordinates, they should align

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with each other in Navisworks.

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However, they're not aligned, well,

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there are different scales.

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You should review the units and transform

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settings for each model.

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Please note, that all Revit models

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should have the model units set to Feet

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since that is the internal units that Revit models are

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safe with.

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While models can be moved, rotated,

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and scaled through this dialogue,

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the recommended way of aligning models

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is to use a Navisworks measurement tools.

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But we won't be covering that today in this presentation.

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We shall look at the discipline model from Revit

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starting with opening the MEP services model.

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You can see the MEP services.

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Spin around a bit.

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Next, we should append the structural model.

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And you can see the two models now together.

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And finally, we should append the architectural model.

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This goes across the top of all those.

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And this, we can save as an NWF file called Coordinated.nwf.

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There are a number of few background options

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that can be set up according to personal preference.

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In this example, we're using the graduated option.

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The background options can be accessed

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from a view driven or simply right

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clicking on the background.

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Key to running a successful model

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review is to set up some viewpoints that

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will enable you to quickly jump to areas of interest.

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This is especially useful if you have a large audience

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in the design review.

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To avoid time been wasted during a meeting, wandering around

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aimlessly in the virtual world, it

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is recommended to group together viewpoints into folders.

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The understanding of the capabilities of viewpoints

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is essential to know in order to use Navisworks efficiently.

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Not only do viewpoint save view direction,

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but they can also save object appearances,

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walkthrough fly-by speeds, annotations, and red line

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markups and comments.

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We should use the same viewpoint tool to create a new viewpoint.

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And it's recommended you create a home view

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so you can return to it if necessary

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to re-orientate yourself from a starting location.

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We can also designate this home view on the View cube.

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It also provides some organizations

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with viewpoints, which creates some folders with creative one

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called Imports, Disciplines, and Orientation.

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To organize the view ports, we should

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start by dragging all the imported ones into the imported

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folder.

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Now, we're going to hide the architecture.

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We're going to create some discipline specific views.

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So here we just seeing the structure and the MEP.

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So we're going to save this as a viewpoint

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and call it MEP plus structure.

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Let's just make the structure transparent

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so we can see the services behind the structure.

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And this one, we're going to call it

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MEP plus structure transparent.

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And if we just want to quickly see just the MEP,

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let's hide the structure and create another viewpoint,

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which we're going to just call MEP only.

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Next, we'll have a housekeeping and review

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some of these important views.

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A lot of these providers no help whatsoever

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so we're just going to delete these.

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I'm not going to delete them all now.

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But some of them, like in this architectural model,

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are actually some quite useful views,

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like here, we got the one main entrance, workout room,

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pool room.

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And these are going to drag in to the orientation folder

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so I can then quickly find myself in the building.

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If I need to locate the library, I

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can quickly jump to the Library view

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and I'm in the library or work out whatever.

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Or I can jump to Disciplines and quickly get

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a disciplined view of just the MEP structure

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or I can return myself back to start

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by selecting the Home view.

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Objects can be selected directly in the model

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or through the selection tree.

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The selection tree is a hierarchical structure

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that organizes the objects according

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to their source file, level, category, and family,

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if applicable.

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The alternative Property view of the selection tree

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organizes a hierarchy according to the object's properties

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and provides an alternative view of the data.

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Selecting an object in a selection tree

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will highlight the equivalent object

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in the model and vise versa.

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Whilst objects can be selected individually

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from the model or the selection tree,

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the Find items panel provides an interface

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to search for items that match a search criteria.

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The example on the slide will find

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all items whose category is either Duct,

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Flex Ducts, or Duct Fitting.

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All Search criteria have been created.

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They can be saved to XML files to re-use

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across different projects.

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Use selection sets and search sets

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to group together items for reselection.

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Selection sets are named static groups of items

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based on a manual selection, where a search set are named

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dynamic groups of items based on a search criteria defined

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using the Find items panel.

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Search sets update automatically as a models change.

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You can export search sets to XML files for re-use

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across projects.

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Selecting a flaw in the model--

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you see from the selection tree that

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represents a composite concrete slab over a metal deck.

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Reviewing the properties of the metal deck,

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we can see that its name is set to Metal Deck.

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And the Find Items panel, we're going

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to use this to search for all items

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with the name that equals metal deck.

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And when we press a final button,

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it'll highlight all the metal decks.

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And we can save this as a search set, which we're

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going to call metal decks.

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If we change to find items to condition Contains,

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and this time are going to use concrete, and do a final,

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we can now find all items that have a material that

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contain the word concrete.

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You can create another search stack and call it concrete,

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and this is highlighted, the slabs as well as the lift

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shaft.

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That's concrete items.

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Next, if we take a look at one of the ducts,

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we can see that it has a system type of name, Supply Air.

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So then delete the conditions we have now

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and we're going to choose the category of system type, name,

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and we'll say equals Supply Air.

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And do I Find All.

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And this will find all the duct, flex duxs,

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equipment that are on the supply air system.

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And see them highlighted in the model.

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We changed a value to Return Air.

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We now can see the Return is selected,

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which we're going to save as a search site called Return Air

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and finally, we'll change the value to Exhaust.

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And we can create a search set for the Exhaust Air system.

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One more search set.

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We're going to change the--

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we can highlight each one of these search tests

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and reselect those items.

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Let's take a look at one of these columns.

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We'll see that has the material with the word steel in it.

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So we're going to change the category

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to Search to be material.

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The item material contains steel.

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So now we're going to find anything that's made a steel

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or has a material sign with steel.

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Find All and we can-- you see the highlighted steel columns

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and braces.

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And in Properties Panel, you can see

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that we found 2,607 items of steel in this model.

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Navisworks this works provide several options

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for displaying your Revit models that

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can help communicate the design during a design review.

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These include applying colors or materials to specific objects

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to provide identification, making objects transparent so

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that other objects can be seen in context behind them,

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sectioning the model for cutaway views.

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Individual objects can be assigned an overriding color

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and/or transparency, such as this example

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of a see-through green wall that we can now demonstrate.

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An alternative to assigning color and transparency

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overrides an individual object level

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is to use the appearance profiler that

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can assign color and transparency

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overrides to the whole model based

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on their properties or their inclusion

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in a selection or search set.

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This is an important and powerful tool

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for assigning consistent standardized colors that would

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help object identification.

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These standards can be saved as a DAT file that can be

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used across multiple projects.

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To demonstrate object overrides, we

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should simply select the wall and use

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the Override item to first override its color to green.

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And then we're going to override its transparency.

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And as you can see, we can now see through our green wall

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into the offices behind it.

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To turn this wall, any other walls

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have a color or transparency overrides,

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then we use the Reset All Appearances on the Home room.

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More practical example is to set the glass in the windows

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to be transparent.

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However, there's a lot of glass in this model

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so selecting them individually would not

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be a practical solution.

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We select one of the windows.

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We can see Finish Properties and Material Properties

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for glass cast gray, which we copied to the clipboard.

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In the appearance profile, we're going to use that property

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to search for.

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So we're going to use item, material, glass carts, gray.

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And we're going to set a light gray color

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and set a transparency of 75%.

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Test selection will test what items

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were found on that property.

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And then when we hit Run, that transparency

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has been applied to all our glass objects in the buildings

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so we can now see through our windows.

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We can also use your parent profile in conjunction

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with the search test we just created.

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So what we can do is take each search test.

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Here we have exhaust air.

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We're going to make these dark green.

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Return air, we're going to set to orange, supply air,

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we're going to set a light blue.

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For the metal deck, we use brown and the steel,

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we shall use pink.

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Finally, the concrete, we're going to set that to gray

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but we're also going to make it transparent as

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well so that we can see through our concrete

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to the items behind it.

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Once we've done that, let's just test one of the selections.

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It's here now.

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That's fine.

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Then we hit Run and all those colors

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will apply to those objects.

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And now we can quickly see--

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we can identify our various duct systems based on their colors.

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And we can quickly see what is steel and what is concrete

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and we can even see through the concrete

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to get context of our objects.

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There are two main render styles that control

22:07

how Navisworks display objects.

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The Shaded option displays objects using their color

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and transparency settings, whereas the Full Render option

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displays objects using materials, such as concrete,

22:17

brick, or grass, which will override any color

22:20

and transparency settings.

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Should you wish to generate renders with extra realism,

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Navisworks also includes a ray tracing

22:27

renderer that provide enhanced lighting and material control.

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Whilst this is not as fast as a standard renderer,

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there is an option to have the renders generated

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in the cloud, which is significantly faster

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and doesn't tap a desktop machine.

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Here we see the model displayed using the standard shading

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mode using the default colors assigned in Revit.

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To view the materials, we select the full render mode

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from the Viewpoint ribbon.

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In MEP dark wall, an equipment is displayed in white,

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making it difficult to distinguish from other objects.

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So we shall select the dark wall and apply a polish, brushed

23:03

metamaterial to them.

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And to any of the equipment, we shall

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apply a nerd metamaterial.

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You can now see the differentiation

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between the metallic objects and the bricks

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and concrete used in the building fabric.

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However, the polished metal of the dark wall

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still looks anything but realistic.

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For further realism, we shall switch to the Render ribbon

23:24

and render the Render in the Cloud tool.

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The Render in Cloud dialog will confirm

23:29

a number of cloud credits that are available to us.

23:31

And assuming credits are available,

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you can start the render process.

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This process will take a few minutes.

23:36

So we've enabled the Email Me when

23:37

complete option to notify us when the render is completed.

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This process is sped up for the purpose of this demonstration

23:43

or for a short while later, an email is sent with a link

23:46

to your gallery, where you can access the final rendering,

23:48

which we're seeing now.

23:49

The cloud render deals with lights and reflections

23:51

in a more accurate way.

23:53

And we can see from the large duct in the roof,

23:55

the polished, brushed metal finish

23:57

is closer to what we would have expected.

24:01

The View section feature enables you to slice through the model

24:04

in order to cut away non relevant geometry or view

24:07

hidden features, such as cross section

24:09

of a structural composition of the building.

24:11

You can define simple cut planes, such as the example

24:13

on the slide, the vertical selection

24:15

through the length of the building or horizontal sections

24:18

reveal details below floors and settings.

24:20

You can also inspect riser spaces in elevator shafts

24:23

by using the box section.

24:25

To create a sectional view, select the Enable sectioning

24:28

on the Viewpoint ribbon.

24:30

So this example of section is aligned

24:31

to one of the walls that slices the length

24:33

of the building at that point.

24:35

Use a move kidman, the section can

24:37

be repositioned as required to open up the model.

24:40

And this can be saved to viewpoint.

24:47

We call this viewpoint Long Section.

24:54

Next, we'll set the section to lines

24:56

of one of the roof surfaces.

24:58

And again, we can move the gizmo to reveal

25:02

the detail below the roof.

25:05

And this section, we'll call Horizontal Section.

25:14

And I quickly spin the building around and use a section tool

25:18

just to hide the back wall.

25:20

So first, we're going to create a section from that back wall

25:23

and just push it back a bit to reveal our duct rises.

25:33

What we do is we're going to select a few of the docks,

25:38

just to indicate the extent of the dutch run

25:41

that we want to look at.

25:45

We're going to enable the box section

25:48

and we're going to fit to the selection.

25:50

So now we have a section box automatically wrapping

25:52

around our duct rises.

25:55

So we can inspect the whole duct rise a run in context

25:59

with the building fabric.

26:01

Let's see if we've got any clashes and things

26:04

without the rest of the building in place.

26:06

And this one, we're going to call Rise a Section.

26:12

Now, let's say viewpoints, we can instantly

26:14

restore any one of these sections.

26:16

So we hit Back at Home, there's our long section,

26:19

our horizontal section, and our rise a section.

26:23

An alternative sectioning to view

26:25

underneath or behind objects is to simply move

26:28

objects that are in the way using Item Transformation

26:31

tools.

26:32

This example demonstrates how to lift off

26:34

the roof of the building, enabling the reviewer

26:36

to view underneath it while still

26:38

being able to see the roof and associated services.

26:41

In the front view, we're going to use a selection box

26:43

and simply select all the items that make up the roof

26:46

and be saved as a selection set that we're going to call Roof.

26:54

Then using the Move tool, in the items of tools ribbon,

26:57

we can simply drag all the items up,

26:60

clear the rest of the building.

27:03

Switching to 3D, we can now visualize a top floor

27:07

under the roof while still seeing the roof.

27:11

Since the selection set was saved,

27:13

the items could be selected and moved again at any time.

27:21

To reposition the roof back into its original position,

27:25

we shall use to Reset or Transform

27:26

tool, which is found on the Home ribbon.

27:33

Our alternative to moving items out

27:35

of the way it's to temporary hide them.

27:37

You can select individual items or those in selection sets

27:41

or search sets.

27:42

A particularly useful tool is to hide unselected tool

27:45

so you can quickly isolate some chosen

27:47

items by hiding all the others.

27:49

You can use Unhide All to restore

27:51

the visibility of all items.

27:54

To hide objects, we simply select

27:55

the individual items, such as this front wall,

27:57

then select the Hide option from the menu.

28:00

Now, that's left three windows.

28:02

So we should go hide those two and clearly see into the rooms

28:05

behind.

28:10

Looking down on the building, we may want to see under the roof

28:15

again.

28:17

We're going to recall our roof's selection and simply hide that.

28:22

And now we got another obscured view into the rooms

28:25

underneath the roof.

28:29

We've covered how Navisworks can be set up to display the model.

28:32

So now we shall discuss how to navigate

28:34

around and within the building in order to review the model.

28:38

A necessary part of model review is

28:39

to efficiently move around the model and Navisworks

28:42

provide three different navigation options.

28:44

Which you use will be down to personal preferences

28:47

and some subtle differences.

28:49

Originally, Navisworks included just the Navigation bar,

28:52

with options such as zoom, pan, orbit, walk, and fly.

28:56

However, once the product was acquired by Autodesk,

28:59

the steering wheel and the view cube

29:00

were also included to provide a consistent 3D navigation

29:04

experience across the suite of Autodesk applications.

29:07

When walking or flying, there additional realism options.

29:10

Collision controls whether or not

29:12

you can pass through objects such as walls.

29:15

Gravity gives you weight and pulls you down

29:17

onto the surfaces and is used in conjunction with the collision

29:19

option.

29:20

Crouch enables you to duck under low items

29:23

with limited headroom.

29:24

Third party allows you to navigate a scene

29:27

from a third person perspective looking over their shoulder.

29:31

Familiarize yourself with all three options

29:33

as they have their advantages.

29:36

Using the orbital from the Navigation bar,

29:38

we can freely view around building in any axis.

29:45

If you wish to keep the model vertical,

29:47

use the constrained orbit.

30:01

If we switch to fly mode, we can swoop down

30:04

to the entrance of the model from our third's eye position.

30:10

As we get closer to the ground, we can enable the walk mode.

30:20

And we switch on gravity, we'll gently lower ourselves

30:24

onto the ground.

30:27

May allow us to walk up to the building.

30:30

We can look up and down using the mouse scroll wheel.

30:36

You can switch to the basketball view

30:39

and now stand in the corner of the room,

30:41

standing still, looking around so we can inspect

30:44

the interior of our rooms.

30:47

These are the navigation bar features.

30:50

Next, we're going to switch the steering wheel,

30:53

download the full navigation wheel.

30:57

Here I'm using the orbital as advantage

31:02

to all the options that are on the cursor.

31:04

So you can quickly change between different modes.

31:11

So now I'm going to switch to a walk mode.

31:16

Walk along.

31:19

And if I stop, I can switch to look up and look around,

31:23

and we can look about anywhere where we're standing.

31:28

Handy feature is its rewind option.

31:30

So if you get lost, you can get yourself

31:32

back to where you were before.

31:36

Finally, we're going to have a look at the view cube.

31:40

Here we can select pre-selected views, corners,

31:43

tops from left and back.

31:47

And you've got a nominal compass direction,

31:49

so you can orientate yourself according

31:51

to what's considered north or we can track the ring around

31:55

and spin our model around using the view cube as such.

32:03

So returns the exterior to show you the realism.

32:08

Here we've got gravity and collision switched on.

32:11

Gravity will also allow us to walk up steps.

32:14

And we go up the steps.

32:15

The collision means, we won't walk

32:17

through walls or even this glass door

32:19

so we will literally bump our head against the glass door.

32:23

If we want to get through that glass door,

32:25

we can switch off collision or you can simply

32:29

enter Control D and that will switch off collisions.

32:32

Well, now we can go through.

32:36

So again, appreciation of the space,

32:40

we're going to switch on the third person mode.

32:45

Now we're looking over the shoulder of someone

32:47

walking around the room and we can see for ourselves

32:51

how much space they have walking around these desks

32:53

and down this corridor.

33:02

In any view and during walkthroughs,

33:03

you can optionally display the grid lines that

33:05

have been imported from the Revit models,

33:07

helping you to locate your position

33:09

or the position of objects in the model.

33:11

Simply hovering the cursor over an intersection point

33:14

will display the grid reference.

33:16

You can enable the display of the grids for the show grid

33:19

so on the View ribbon.

33:21

The first instance, the grid has been

33:22

fixed to zero basement level of the structural model.

33:26

But we can change the level to some alternative levels

33:28

and notice how the grid is re-displayed accordingly.

33:33

When the mode is changed to below,

33:36

the grid below the current camera eye level is displayed.

33:39

And as we move up and down the model,

33:41

the grid automatically updates that irrelevant level.

33:46

As a cursor is hovered over at an intersection point,

33:50

at the base of this column, it displays a grid location

33:53

in the tool tip.

33:56

Once the Navisworks model has been prepared with viewpoints

33:59

and search sets, it is ready to support model review

34:02

process using measure, markup, tags, and comments features.

34:06

The measure tools can be used for measuring distances, areas,

34:09

and angles of the model geometry.

34:11

They need to feature is the option to measure the shortest

34:14

distance between two objects.

34:15

And if, for example, you need the vertical distance,

34:18

there's a lock feature to constrain the measurement

34:21

to just the z-axis, as illustrated

34:23

in this slide that's measuring the floor

34:25

to land in rise of a staircase.

34:28

Initially, measurements are displayed temporarily

34:31

in the Current View but they can be converted into red lines

34:34

and saved to a name viewpoint.

34:36

Measure, distances angles can also

34:38

be used to move and rotate objects

34:40

or a complete model that is not coordinated to other models.

34:44

The Navisworks redlining tools are fairly basic

34:47

but it does make them very easy to use.

34:49

And it will not take long to get familiar

34:51

with tools such as cloud, ellipse, arrow, and text.

34:54

Once a red line is placed, it is automatically

34:56

added to current name viewpoint or a new viewpoint

34:59

is created if required.

35:01

Red lines disappear when you navigate away from a viewpoint

35:04

but reappear when that viewpoint is returned to.

35:08

In this model, we're performing a walking inspection of the MBP

35:11

services and structural model.

35:13

The first issue we noticed are some disconnected ducts,

35:16

which we will mark with a simple ellipse red line.

35:19

When this is added, a new view is

35:20

created that we'll rename to Disconnected Ducts.

35:24

Moving on, we stop at the foot of the stairs

35:27

to check the staircase width and the landing rise height

35:29

above the floor.

35:33

The point-to-point measure tool is used

35:34

to display the staircase width.

35:38

At this point, the measurement is temporary

35:40

and to make it permanent, the convert markup tool

35:42

is used to create a new red line,

35:45

and that creates a new viewpoint.

35:48

Next, to measure the staircase landing height,

35:50

the point-to-point measure tool once again selected.

35:52

And since we only want the vertical distance,

35:55

the z-axis has been locked.

35:57

First point selected is snap to the bottom of the staircase

36:01

and the second point is going to snap to top of the ladder.

36:03

This measurement is then converted into red line mark

36:06

up and added to the current viewpoint, which we'll

36:09

call staircase measurements.

36:13

And we shall continue our virtual inspection

36:15

around the floor.

36:19

Looking up, we see a number of pipes running

36:21

through the supply air ducts.

36:23

Since there are several interferences,

36:25

we should use cloud tool to highlight them all

36:27

and rename a new viewpoint to Duct Interferences.

36:36

Next I would like to check the gap that

36:38

has been allowed between the exhaust and return air ducts

36:40

to check there sufficient room for insulation that

36:43

hasn't been modeled.

36:45

To get a good view of the duct rises,

36:46

we select a couple of the duct segments from each

36:49

of the rises, and then uses a constrained orbit

36:51

to spin around them to get a clear view from the other side

36:54

without losing focus on the ducts.

36:56

I suspect that two rises are very close together.

36:60

And using the shortest distance tools,

37:01

you confirm that the gap is just

37:04

of inches, which is insufficient for duct installation.

37:10

So we'll create a new viewpoint and call this one Insufficient

37:13

Clearance For Duct Insulation.

37:16

To organize the review, we shall create

37:18

a new folder called Project View and the current date.

37:21

I'm going to move the new viewpoints into that folder.

37:27

We can quickly play back the issues found simply

37:29

by reflecting any of the product review viewpoints.

37:35

Navisworks comments tool enable the reviewer

37:37

to add additional information to viewpoint as well

37:39

as other Navisworks features.

37:41

As comments are added, they are automatically signed an author

37:43

from the Windows username and the current date and time.

37:47

Each comment can have a status to indicate whether it's new,

37:50

active, approved, or resolved.

37:53

The Find Comments tool can be used

37:54

to list all comments by name, date modified, status, and/or

37:57

author.

37:59

Opening the viewpoints from the model review,

38:01

we can simply add a comment to each one

38:03

in order to provide additional information

38:05

to the issues found.

38:08

We should have a basic modeling issue

38:10

to be resolved by the HTC modeler.

38:14

Next up is take a look at the duct interferences

38:19

and add a comment, pipes be rerouted below the ducts.

38:24

Now, we go around adding comments

38:26

to our other viewpoints.

38:30

The tags feature combines the features

38:31

of markups, viewpoints, and comments

38:33

into a single tool to further enhance the review meeting

38:36

efficiency.

38:38

Once again, we are performing a model review

38:40

by walking around the model and looking around.

38:43

This time, as we spot issues, we select the Add Tag tool.

38:48

Here, we simply pick a point where the issue is

38:51

and then a point the small number tag.

38:53

As soon as the tag is placed, the comments dialog box

38:56

is opened for the reviewer to add a relevant comment.

38:60

This process is repeated for other issues as I spotted.

39:03

And the tag IDs automatically incremented so that each tag

39:06

is assigned a unique number.

39:08

Is also given to a correspondent viewpoint name,

39:11

for example, tag for you too.

39:15

The Find Comments panel could be used

39:17

to list all these comments, not just the ones who just created

39:20

the tanks, but we can also see the comments that

39:22

were created with the previous review we did

39:24

walking around the building.

39:28

Once the model review has been completed,

39:30

it will then be necessary to report findings

39:32

back to the design team for issues to be resolved.

39:36

Annotated views can be exported as simple images or all

39:39

the markups and comments attached to viewpoints

39:41

can be written to a viewpoint report

39:43

in HTML format, which include viewpoints thumbnails.

39:47

However, the most powerful options

39:48

is to publish the review to an NWD file that encapsulates

39:52

all the information, including the actual state of the review

39:55

design and all viewpoints, comments, and markups.

39:59

The NWD file can be viewed but not edited by anyone

40:02

using the free viewer called Navisworks Freedom,

40:05

enabling anyone access to the information.

40:07

In the case of sensitive information,

40:09

an NWD file can be password protected

40:12

to protect confidentiality or given an expiry date so that it

40:16

is not inadvertently referenced after it is considered out

40:19

of date information.

40:21

SwitchBack enables you to select an object in Navisworks

40:24

and then locate and zoom into the same object in Revit.

40:28

Revit must be installed and running on the same machine

40:30

as Navisworks.

40:31

And it is necessary to first run the Navisworks Switchback

40:34

command in Revit, so this is primed for the SwitchBack.

40:38

To perform a switchback, locate an item in Navisworks

40:41

and select the SwitchBack option from the Item menu.

40:44

Revit will then attempt to locate the equivalent

40:46

object in Revit and zoom to it.

40:49

Using the Revit section box tool,

40:50

we'll create a section box around the selected objects,

40:53

which helps in isolating it from the rest of the model.

40:57

Once the issue has been located and isolated in Revit,

40:60

make the necessary change to fix the issue,

41:03

then switch to the Navisworks export view

41:05

to export an updated model override the existing NWC file.

41:09

Back in Navisworks, use a refresh tool

41:12

to reload any updated files.

41:14

Review the change, and update the viewpoint comment status

41:17

accordingly.

41:20

Highlighted is a duct segment that

41:21

is causing a disconnect with the rest of the duct run.

41:25

In order to locate this in Revit,

41:26

first, we shall switch over to a Revit

41:28

session that is running on the same machine as Navisworks.

41:32

From the External Tools menu, select the Navisworks

41:35

SwitchBack.

41:37

To prime Revit wait for the switchback

41:39

call from Navisworks.

41:41

Back in Navisworks, select SwitchBack

41:43

from the Duct Segments menu.

41:46

Now returns a Revit and the equivalent duct segment

41:49

has been selected in a view that matches the viewpoint you

41:51

had in Navisworks.

41:53

However, we can't see the duct segment

41:55

as this view includes the room ceiling.

41:58

With the duct segment still selected,

42:00

select the selection box tool from the Modify ribbon.

42:03

This will create a new view of a section box

42:06

tightly cropping the duct segment.

42:09

We shall zoom into the section box

42:10

and use grips to expand it sufficiently

42:13

to reveal more of the duct run.

42:16

To resolve the issue, we shall delete

42:18

the disconnected segments and add a new duct segment

42:21

from the end of the rectangular duct

42:23

to the connector of the round fitting.

42:27

Satisfied that the issue has been resolved,

42:29

we should open the Navisworks Export View

42:31

and export an updated NWC file, overwriting the existing one.

42:48

Once the NWC files been written, we

42:50

should use a Refresh tool to reload this

42:53

and any other updated files.

42:55

Now we can see the duct run disconnect has been resolved,

42:58

and we can update the comment on the viewpoint,

43:00

changing its status to Resolved.

43:08

This change is also reflected in the comments list.

43:13

Hopefully this session has provided a good overview

43:15

of using Navisworks on building projects

43:17

for performing model reviews with visualized walkthroughs.

43:20

Today we covered the exporting of discipline specific models

43:24

from Revit, preparing the federated model review

43:27

in Navisworks, performing a model

43:29

review of annotated viewpoints and comments,

43:32

recording and sharing findings with the extended design team,

43:36

and using SwitchBack to find an object to Revit

43:39

and then refreshing the Navisworks model

43:41

with an updated design model.

43:44

As I mentioned at the start, this

43:45

is not all the features of Navisworks,

43:47

nor was it intended as a detailed training class.

43:50

So we shall now highlight some additional resources

43:53

that can support your learning.

43:55

Please refer to the links, courses, and coaching classes

43:58

that are available to you.

43:60

I particularly like to point out the AU presentations that

44:02

says access to many Revits and Navisworks related class

44:05

recordings from current and previous research universities.

44:08

The Navisworks freedom download, share this link

44:11

with your extended design team and clients

44:13

so they can freely view the Navisworks model as well

44:15

as comments and mark ups. And check out

44:17

the other courses and coaching that

44:19

are all available on the Customer Success Hub.

44:23

So unlock the potential of all your access

44:25

technology through these additional courses

44:27

and learning paths.

44:29

Hopefully this session has made your expectations.

44:32

I wish you a good day and success

44:33

in learning Navisworks for reviewing Revit projects.

44:37

If you'd like to contact me directly, please do so.

44:40

My email address is simon@aecbimtools.com.