Knowledge Base ​>​ ​Announcements & Release Notes ​>​ EVOLVE Mechanical 7.0.1

EVOLVE Mechanical 7.0.1

Updated 7 months ago by Adam Heon

Resources

  • Downloads: http://evolvemep.com/downloads
  • Feedback and Ideas: https://www.evolvemep.com/evolve-mechanical-ideas/
  • Support: https://www.evolvemep.com/contact-support/
  • Foresite: https://foresite.evolvemep.com/

Compatibility

  • Autodesk® Revit® 2021.1.7
  • Autodesk® Revit® 2022.1.3
  • Autodesk® Revit® 2023.0.1
  • Autodesk® Revit® 2024

Summary

EVOLVE 7.0.1 Release notes:

Upgrade Notices

Mechanical Properties Ancillaries functionality requires creating new on-demand parameters which are stored in the Workstation Settings Shared Parameter File Location. As is standard with this file, it should be built out as completely as possible before it is available for general use in order to prevent multiple copies of the same parameter name (with different ids) from being created.

To ensure this is done - the following steps should be performed (note that these are the same steps a new customer should follow when first deploying Mechanical):

  1. It is important that this is done before widescale use is deployed.
  2. Ensure Workstation Settings Shared Parameter File Location is set to a network path which all users can access.
  3. Open an existing model which utilizes as many different fab parts from the company ITM library as possible.
  4. In the Mechanical Properties dock pane, run Refresh > Full Project.
  5. When complete, opening the shared parameter file from Workstation Settings Shared Parameter File Location in Notepad should show that a new group named eM_Fabrication Ancillaries exists and that there are several parameters within this group following the name pattern eM_Ancillary # (where # starts and 1 and increments).

🎉New:

👍Improvements:

  • Linked elements querying within Selection Filter for Data Profiles, Find Elements
  • Options to Run Colorizer Rules on demand
    • Hold Shift when using 'Reset View' in Element Filter
    • Use Refresh Colors button from the Revit toolbar
  • Continuous single union placement
  • Mechanical Properties enhancements
    • Ancillaries data
    • Ancillaries Description lookup configuration
    • Show help and configuration links in dock pane
  • 'Enter' key signals 'Finish' button in multi-selection prompts option
  • Option to disable certain background processes during Worksharing Sync
  • Enhanced expansion options available within Data Profiles
  • Additional Special/ITM Value options:
    • Execution Date/Time
    • Is Nested
    • Project File Name
    • Project File Path
    • Weight
    • Windows User Name
    • Workstation Name
  • Enhanced Revit selection prompt
  • Spool Weight column in Prefab Manager

🔧Changes

  • Load Favorites when multiple families have conflicts
  • Prompt user to save and continue in some dialogs
  • Configuration Exchange import allows overwriting existing
  • Load Sleeve family as needed in Manual Placement dialog
  • Update to DevExpress 22.2.6
  • Do not allow loose nested parts in Spool or Package
  • Subfolder support for Foresite destinations on Export Utility
  • Family Browser can reload content items without restarting Revit
  • Data Table 'Decimal' columns use .NET double data type
  • Ribbon updates
  • Windows User Profile path persisted as a transient path name
  • Remove Foresite Project link requirement
  • Remove ability to create Foresite Project

💪Stability

  • Update number parsing for localization neutral compatibility
  • Allow slightly more tolerance in Remove Elements selection
  • Fix issue with Bulk Update in ITM Hanger Configuration running in French
  • Data Fields set to Autodetect may not work when Ancillary Data is included
  • Spool Sheet generation gives false error when Continuation Tags are disabled
  • Compare Data may sometimes show progress bar on selection after close
  • Data Profiles allows saving while data errors are present
  • Fix sleeve not assigning level in some circumstances

📂Content Updates

  • eV_Spool_View_rotation Angle parameter added to Mechanical Shared Parameters.
  • eV_Weight parameter added to Electrical Shared Parameters.
  • Generic Family Types (no finish) added for all hardware families.
  • PVC Description value was corrected across all applicable families to be more consistent.
  • Minerallac Legend & Schedule added to Electrical template file.

🧠Technical Notes

Configuration setting incompatibilities

Some feature's project configurations may not be compatible with previous versions. To prevent compatibility issues, all project members should be on the same version.

  • Expansion Options within Data Profiles (incompatible formats will show with no entries in this dialog)
  • Folder destination in Export Utility targets using Foresite
  • Ancillary Value Template and Ancillary Description Lookup values within Manage Mechanical Properties

API Notices

  • New API methods
    • eVolve.Core.Revit.Integration.API.GetSpecialParameterValue
    • eVolve.Core.Revit.Integration.API.GetFabAncillaryValue
    • eVolve.Core.Revit.Utilities.API.PublishToExporter
  • API signature changes (any extensions which are referencing the following methods will need to be recompiled against this version)
    • eVolve.Core.Revit.Integration.API.ViewData

Known Technical Issues

Supported alongside installation of eVolve Electrical v7.0See: Multi-Product Install Notes

Compatibility issue with other addins

Our product uses DevExpress 22.2.6 for it's UI components. Any other Revit addin (regardless of vendor) installed on the client also using DevExpress but on a different version may cause crashes and/or unpredictable behavior with our product and/or the other addin. When this is the case, the user must either uninstall the other addin or contact the vendor to issue a new release with updated DevExpress references.

External communication

Access to the following must be allowed and unfiltered on all client machines:

  • api.evolvemep.com
  • app.pendo.io
  • cognito-idp.us-east-1.amazonaws.com

Revit Project Units

Unit precision

Content and/or default configurations shipped with the product use measurements of a set precision level. Revit projects must use (at a minimum) this precision level otherwise content and/or configurations may produce errors, incorrect results, or behave unpredictably.

Length units must be set to a precision of at least:

  • 1/32" in imperial
  • 0.0001 m in metric
Rounding

Configuration data will be saved against the precision level at the time of save, regardless of the precision level of the previous value.

For example, assume a configuration value is currently set to 2 1/32" and the current precision level is 1/16". When the user opens the configuration form, the value will show as 2 1/16". Upon the user clicking OK or Apply, the value will be saved as 2 1/16" even if the user did not explicitly update this particular value. The value will remain 2 1/16" even after the precision level is changed to 1/32", however at this point the user can update and save the configuration value as 2 1/32".

Duplicate Custom Properties

When multiple custom properties with the same name are present, only the first one will be editable in the eVolve Properties grid. Additionally, the respective eM_ property with the same name will have the data type of this first entry.

In the event there is a duplicate name with a different data type this can cause issues if it is not fixed across all models (where the first property by the name is the same data type for all). These situations will need to be addressed manually.

Licensing

When a license is disabled, the following automatic processes will not run which can cause the elements they update to become "stale" and/or lead to data issues:

  • Data protection prompts and integrity enforcement on elements with a Pre-Fab Package (eV_PackageId) assigned
  • Spool Modeling
    • Modification: updates association of parts merged into/added to/removed from a spool
      • Prompt to add parts cut into or added on to the end of an existing spool
      • Prompt to update sheets when a spool is modified
      • Prompt to renumber when a spool is modified
    • Deletion: disassociates parts, deletes generated spool sheets
    • Change monitoring: assists in monitoring spools on the document
      • If this is re-enabled in a session where spools have been modified then this must be rebuilt by either closing/reopening the model or by opening Spool Manager.
        Failure to do so can cause incorrect behavior with the execution and/or detection of spooling events.
    • Reset on Copy: when a spool is created via a copy from existing, associations of the "source" spool (packages, status, etc.) are removed from the new spool
    • Assignment to Locations based on part assignments
  • Properties
    • Fabrication Part properties sync with Revit parameters
    • Carry over values
  • Working with Family Hangers may fail or produce incorrect results
  • Automatic control of product specific View Template parameters
  • Parameter Sync
  • Workset Manager
  • Macro Automation
  • Automatic Point Status updating
  • Automatic Renumber

Localization

On startup, our product will set the Revit process' localization/culture according to the language settings configured. If the auto detect setting (which is the default) is used the culture will be set to the language which Revit was launched in.

Examples:

  • Auto detect is set and Revit is launched in English. The culture will be set to "en-US".
  • Auto detect is set and Revit is launched in French. The culture will be set to "fr-FR".
  • French is set as the language and Revit is launched in English. The culture will be set "en-US".

When the environment is in a hybrid setup where all of the following localizations are not consistent: Windows, Revit, and eVolve - the following inconsistencies can occur:

  • Some dialog messages may display in a different language
  • Numeric formatting may be inconsistent
    • For example, if Revit Project Units define numbers using the #,###.## format and the culture is set to use French, some numeric values may appear as # ###,##
    • Certain input fields may require for data to be entered in the format of either the Project Units or the culture
Number Formatting

The following are supported number formats for decimal values. If the settings below are not used, some features may not work as expected.

  • 123,456,789.00 when running in the English language
  • 123.456.789,00 when running in the French language

Revit Limitations

In Revit versions prior to 2023, eVolve Properties, Mechanical Properties, and Compare Data may not update when selecting similar elements. To refresh the data displayed in this situation, click on a empty space within the view to clear the grid and then select the target element.

Misc

  • Mechanical Properties, Parameter Sync, Workset Manager, Colorizer, Macro Automation, and Automatic Renumber may not work correctly until a project is saved with a unique RVT file name.
  • If a Revit Workset referenced in a Workset Manager rule is deleted then Workset Manager configuration must be addressed immediately, otherwise elements may continue to be assigned to the deleted Workset.
  • A licensed version of Microsoft Excel must be installed on the local machine for some import/export functionality to work.
  • Background processes required for successful operation of the product are flagged as optional within Revit. If Revit fails to load them for any reason, the user will not be notified.
  • PowerShell 5.1 is used for execution of scripts.

General Guideline

In general, it is recommended that only a single product be installed and/or active on the current machine as this will ensure the best experience in terms of performance and consistency. Our internal testing processes attempt to eliminate possibly of catastrophic events such as data corruption, infinite loops, unreasonable inconsistencies, etc. when multiple products are installed but do not place heavy emphasis on performance.

Background Processes

Each product registers its own set of background processes which can be redundant and, in some cases, may impact performance. When both products are installed, it is generally required that a Revit model is saved after updating the configuration of one of the listed background processes in order to ensure consistency.

Background processes effected include:

  • Parameter Sync
  • Workset Manager
  • Macro Automation
  • Colorizer
  • eVolve Properties
  • Family Hangers processing
  • Point Status updater
  • Spool and Package data integrity checks
  • Automatic Renumbering
  • View Template parameters initialization

Dockable Panels (Dock Panes)

Each product includes its own distinct registration of common features utilizing a dock pane. While the functionality of these features is identical, each can have different configuration options and embedded settings which may lead to a slightly different experience depending on the product the respective dock pane is registered to.

Features:

  • Family Browser
  • Selection Filter

Default Configurations

Default feature configurations (what is applied when a feature is first used within a model) is applied in the following order (first match wins):

  1. Configuration exists within the model (i.e. the project template the model was created with contains configuration information)
  2. Default configuration is defined within Network Default Configuration of Workstation Settings
  3. Default configuration exists in the local machine's user profile folder for the product the feature was opened under
  4. Factory defaults are used

Example

Consider a common feature such as Renumbering.

If resolution falls to the local machine's user profile and the current user opened the feature for the first time from eVolve Mechanical - the default configuration under the local user's eVolve Mechanical user profile will be applied even if a different default configuration is saved under the local user's eVolve Electrical user profile folder.

Conversely, if the user (on the Renumbering configuration dialog) clicks the Save as Default option when the feature was launched from the eVolve Electrical menu - the currently set configuration will only be applied to the local user's eVolve Electrical user profile folder even though they also have eVolve Mechanical installed.

To prevent this and have consistent settings, regardless, one of the following should be done:

  • Configure company standards via Network Default Configuration in Workstation Settings for all installations within the company
  • When performing a Save as Default, immediately open the same configuration within all other installed products on the machine and perform a Save as Default within them as well. This will ensure the same default configuration is applied on all products

Workstation Settings

Because our products are based off a common core, many of the local machine user profile configuration options are common between them. This section lists configuration settings which are both common and stored on the local machine. If a machine specific setting is not explicitly mentioned here, it is product specific and not applicable to these lists.

The following are shared across all products (changes apply to all installed products):

  • Licensing
  • Language
  • Network Default Configuration location
  • Messaging Configuration
  • PowerShell execution options
  • Properties Panel options
  • Selection Prompt options
  • Default Grid options
  • Logging options
  • Disable background process on worksharing sync
  • Theme Selection
  • Materials batch size

The following are not shared across products (changes only apply to the product the feature was opened from):

  • Add/Remove Union
  • Assign Level
  • Compare Data
  • Family Browser
    • Custom library location
    • Custom column headers
    • Favorite/Recent selections
    • HotKey bindings
  • Form/Dialog size and positioning
  • Grid States
  • Hide Ribbon Panels
  • Reconnect Tolerance
  • Rotation Angle
  • Run Alignment
  • Spooling
    • Sheet opening options
  • Selection Filter
    • Network location
    • Ranking/Last Used data
    • HotKey bindings
  • System Family Reference Project
  • Suppressed Messages
  • View Sheet Names (last used)
    • Location
    • Package
    • Spool

Reset Workstation Settings will only apply to the product settings under which the command was run. To completely reset workstation settings, this should be done on all installed products in immediate succession.

After installation notes

The first time a product is run after a new installation, configurations should be reviewed as shared options may be inherited from an existing installation of a separate product.

For example, if eVolve Mechanical has been installed on the machine for some time and then eVolve Electrical is installed, some shared configuration options may appear within the eVolve Electrical Workstation Settings which were previously set within eVolve Mechanical. These should be reviewed and adjusted as needed - keeping in mind what is shared and what is not.

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