eVolve Mechanical v4.0.1

Release Date: May 18, 2020

Resources

Compatibility

  • Autodesk® Revit® 2019.2
  • Autodesk® Revit® 2020.2
  • Autodesk® Revit® 2021.0
In alignment with Autodesk, we develop and support the product for the latest 3 annual versions of Revit. As such, this version of eVolve Mechanical is not compatible with Revit 2018.
See below for more information.

At a Glance

New Features
  • Modify Spool now enables seamless editing of spools with the ability to add, remove, exchange parts all within one command.
  • Our new Automatic Sleeve Placement feature allows for real-world placement based on deep rule sets. Setup your rule based on oversizing options, choices for wall/floor type, links to evaluate, and much more.
  • Element Filter now enables specific selections based on user-defined rules and parameter values. These rules can be saved, called from hotkeys, and used to tailor all Revit commands!
  • Parameter Sync further exposes fabrication parameters for schedules/families and also allows for custom additions to the eVolve Properties Panel.
  • Universal Tools
    • Shortucts
    • Family Browser HotKeys
    • MEP Rotate
Enhancements
  • Hanger Improvements allow for deeper SMACNA alignment , quicker rule editing, and even catch all scenarios.
  • Spooling/Renumbering options allow you to further tailor these commands to your specific workflows with new options such as sequential numbering of runs, renumbering when spooled, and renumber by service.
  • Content updates
    • Spool sheets now allow multiple placements of the same view
    • Added arrow options to Duct Offset Tag
    • Standardized sleeves for "Auto Sleeve" performance
    • Added Sleeve Schedules to Template
  • UI Improvements
  • Reliability improvements
    • 2d views now 'Assign' when configured on Spool Sheets
    • Rod adjustment rounding reliability
    • Multi-Service Bearer now interacts as expected with vertical runs
    • Spool cache updates more consistently.
    • Alignment Tool now honors rectangular duct.
  • Revised/Updated all Help site documentation
  • Removed
    • Replaced Show / Hide / Isolate with Element Filters
    • Removed Point Export (Legacy)
    • Removed Original spool sheet templates
    • Removed eM_Point

New Features

Modify Spool

Streamline spool editing with our new modify spool feature. Choose to add new parts, remove those no longer needed, borrow from other spools, or even merge spools entirely all within one command. This feature further enables complete customization of your spooling workflow.

Automatic Sleeve Placement

Sleeve placement no longer requires wasting countless hours with alignments and manually determining oversizing. Leverage our new Sleeve Placement command to automate this process and tailor it to your standards using easy rule sets.

Element Filter

Our new, truly revolutionary, Element Filter not only allows you to quickly locate objects in the model, but creates endless possibilities for customization of commands.

  • Slice and Dice the model as needed with all parameters in the model at your fingertips.
  • Save your filters to use later and even assign keyboard shortcuts for true efficiency.
  • Use truly Dynamic options such as input and selection prompts to maximize usability.

Parameter Sync

Access previously hidden parameters for schedules and families creation using Parameter Sync. You can link any parameter in the model, or even combine multiple, to a shared parameter of your choosing. Through this, you can also use this feature to add any desired parameter to the eVolve Properties Panel.

Universal Tools

Speed up detailing and link in outside workflows with the addition of even more modeling tools.

  • Shortcuts - to link to files, scripts, websites, and much more directly on the ribbon
  • MEP Rotate - to quickly rotate elements and entire runs without the need to adjust your view orientation.
  • Family Browser Keys - to quickly load, and place, commonly used families with your own keyboard shortcuts.

Enhancements

Hanger Improvements

4.0 includes many new hanger enhancements that are all geared towards making your rules more accurate as well as faster to create.

  • ANY Service/Material Option which enables more generic rule sets for easier project transitions and even catch all rules.
  • Duplicate Rule ability to quickly repeat similar rules and even edit them while doing so.
  • From Tap/Branch Spacing to align closer to industry standards as well give even more control to your layout.
  • Sizing by ½ Perimeter option for rectangular duct to quickly harmonize to SMACNA standards.
  • Highlight Unresolved option to immediately be alerted if clashes could not be prevented during placement.

Renumbering Options

We have added even more functionality to our renumbering feature. You can now take advantage of enhancements such as

  • Renumber By Service - To tailor your rules to service specific renumbering.
  • Renumber Order by Run - To quickly sequential order parts in a spool using the same logic from our easy Define Spool Run feature.
  • Shift Reset - Quickly reset your renumber increments back 1 when finished renumbering by simply holding shift when initially clicking the command.

Content Updates

  • Our Duct Offset Tag now contains an arrow toggle to aid in field install.
  • All eVolve Sleeves within Family Browser have been edited for streamlined "Auto Sleeve" performance
  • Our eVolve Project Template now contains two Sleeve Schedules.

UI Changes

Shift Key Icons

Did you know many of our eVolve commands have even more options when used with the Shift key? We have denoted which have this ability through special icons included on each.

Grid States

eVolve has always allowed users to customize their grid layouts with tailored grouping, filtering and much more. But now we have also added the ability to save these configuration with Grid States. Save grid layouts in any eVolve grid to easily switch to configurations that match your workflow.

Help Docs

We are serious about empowering our users and ensuring you can always use our tools to their fullest. As such, with this release we have also overhauled our entire help site. All articles have been updated with new content, detailed graphics, and thorough walkthroughs.

Deprecation

Through the additions listed above, we now have a few commands with overlap. Because of this, we will also housekeeping in this release as all good things must come to an end. This allows us to create more space on the ribbon as well as in our code base to continue to add features in the future.

  • Show / Hide / Isolate has been removed in 4.0. We have instead provided rules within element filter that replicate this functionality which are below.
    • Show All Services
    • Isolate a Service
    • Hide a Service
  • Material Hanger Configurations will be removed in future releases. We recommend using service configurations moving forward and creating new rules with ANY service to replicate this option.
    • For existing rules we have provided a migration script that will do the step above automatically.

Previous Version Compatibility

With the additions of the many new features and our ended support for Revit 2018, we highly recommend all effected projects when possible. If this is not feasible, their are a few technical considerations to note.

  • If Hanger Configurations are edited in a pre4.0 version, various settings will be reset to default when returning to 4.0
    • "ANY" Hanger Configuration Rules will not be honored in pre-4.0 versions resulting in a "could not find an applicable rule notice".
    • Hanger Configuration rule From Branch/Tap will value will be reset ( inheriting from end value )
    • Hanger Configuration Settings Use half perimeter and Highlight unresolved will be restored to false in the project.
  • If Spool Settings are edited in a pre4.0 version, Renumber spools when created/modified will be restored to false when returning to 4.0
  • User will lose hotkeys for Family Browser when a pre 4.0 version is used.
  • Users will loose loose assigned Network path and hotkeys for Element Filter
  • Pre-4.0 versions will not receive new notifications.
  • EULA acceptances will be reset resulting in user being asked to accept again
  • Notifications will be reset resulting in user seeing most recent notification again

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