Plugin of the Month, August 2011 Brought to you by the Autodesk Developer Network
Wall Opening Area
This plugin calculates the sum of openings on each wall and store the values in two shared parameters of each wall:
Opening Area Smaller Max
Sum all area value smaller than a specific value
Opening Area
Sum all opening areas
This plugin has been tested with Revit Architecture 2011 and 2012, and requires the .NET Framework 3.5
A pre-built version of the plugin has been provided which should work on 32- and 64-bit Windows systems. The plugin has not been tested with all Revit verticals, but should work (see "Feedback" below, otherwise).
The source code has been provided as a Visual Studio 2008 project containing C# code (not required to run the plugin).
The following steps are for using the plugin with Revit Architecture 2012. If you are using Revit 2011, please consider the release number as "2011" in the paths listed below.
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If you are using Vista or Windows 7, first check if the zip file needs to be unblocked. Right-click on the zip file and select "Properties". If you see an "Unblock" button, then click it.
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Copy the plugin module "ADNPlugin-WallOpeningArea.dll" and the .addin manifest file, "ADNPlugin-WallOpeningArea.addin", to one of the following locations:
For Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings<your login>\Application Data
Autodesk\Revit\Addins\2012\
or
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data
Autodesk\Revit\Addins\2012\
The first location will make the plugin available for your use only, while the second is for all users of your computer.
** Note: The first location is recommended if you have security permission issues (e.g., when UAC is turned on), such as problem creating the shared parameter file.
For Vista/Windows 7:
C:\Users<your login>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\2012\
or
C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\2012\
The first location will make the plugin available for your use only, while the second is for all users of your computer.
** Note: The first location is recommended if you have security permission issues (e.g., when UAC is turned on), such as problem creating the shared parameter file.
If you decide for a different location for the .dll, please modify the following line in the .addin file to match to the location that you have copied:
.\ADNPlugin-WallOpeningArea.dll
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Once installed, "Wall Opening Area" command becomes available in your Revit. Go to "Add-ins" tab >> "External Tools" panel. You should see "Wall Opening Area" command listed there.
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After run the command, check the newly created parameters on any wall element of the project.
Inside your Revit-based application, make sure you are in 3D view before running the command. Go to "Add-ins" tab >> "External Tools" panel >> "Wall Opening Area" to start the command.
In the dialog that appears, you can type in the maximum area of opening to search on walls. Click 'OK'. The command will search on each wall for openings smaller than the specified value, sum all these areas and store the information as a 'Shared Parameter'.
When the command is run for the first time, the plugin will create a shared parameter file named "WallOpeningsSharedParam.txt" in the same folder as the plugin's .dll module.
Simply removing "ADNPlugin-WallOpeningArea.addin" file from your installation folder will uninstall the plugin.
The following scenarios are considered: hosted elements (such as doors, windows, etc.), hosted opening elements, inner loop profile openings that cross the entire wall width. Outer loops profile changes are not considered (to create an opening on the border of wall, consider use opening element instead profile edit)
Walls which are created as in-place family are not supported. Walls created from a mass with curved surfaces are also not supported.
The command requires a 3D View to run. It is also required that all elements to be considered are visible. Any type of opening that is invisible on the active 3D view WILL NOT be considered on the sum.
The parameters are not dynamically updated, which means that the command must be executed in order to updated the parameter value.
If the profile of the opening is not constant along the opening width, the command may not identify it as a 'full opening' and do not consider it. To avoid (or reduce) miscalculations, pay attention to such openings.
We have identified that in certain situations the plug-in could not create the required shared parameter file due to security permissions (e.g. when UAC is turned on). If you have already installed this plug-in, just replace the ADNPlugin-WallOpeningArea.dll with the new version (1.0.1).
This plugin was written by Augusto Goncalves of Autodesk Developer Technical Services team.
Autodesk Brazil Technical Specialist Ricardo Bianca De Mello who helped with industry expertise and Brazilian reseller Mauricio Antonini (Brasoftware) who helped on initial validation and testing models.
For more information on developing with Revit, please visit the Revit Developer Center at http://www.autodesk.com/developrevit
Email us at labs.plugins@autodesk.com with feedback or requests for enhancements.
1.0 Original release (August 1, 2011)
1.0.1 Modified the Installation Instruction
in the ReadMe.txt, considering the
permission issue with the location
of the shared parameter file (August 9, 2011)
1.0.2 Ribbon button created (October 13, 2011)
(C) Copyright 2011 by Autodesk, Inc.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software in object code form for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appears in all copies and that both that copyright notice and the limited warranty and restricted rights notice below appear in all supporting documentation.
AUTODESK PROVIDES THIS PROGRAM "AS IS" AND WITH ALL FAULTS. AUTODESK SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE. AUTODESK, INC. DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE OPERATION OF THE PROGRAM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE.