Worksets for the very first time - EEK!

[DanielleAnderson]

Okay, first of all, I put this thread here in 'general' so that people might actually see it.
I need some support-group time here...
Hi, my name is Danielle and I've been using Revit for 3 years now and I have never touched worksets. :Oops: (watching my reputation points dive well below that of our Underworld Ruler)
Okay, so on Monday, the project I am now working on is about to gain at least 2 extra workers and I know I have to now employ worksets. I played around with them way back in v5 but have never had to work on a multi-user project so I haven't touched them since. I've heard they have greatly improved but I am still a bit nervous about them. And to add to it, this is this firm's revit pilot project so I don't want to screw this up so that they are like, wow, new girl doesn't know what she's talking about.
So, if anyone has any pearls of wisdom over the weekend, they would be greatly appreciated. :)
Thanks!

[Wes Macaulay]

Not too much to say -- things are a lot easier, but you must use 8.1, and preferably the latest build (20060124_2200).

Make sure the Worksets toolbar is turned on for each employee -- you won't be able to see the current workset
No one should sign out worksets any more -- no need to. Just grab objects and run!
Remember that you can create new worksets that are not visible by default -- great when you're adding objects that are only to be seen in one view
User-created worksets contain only 3D data; view worksets contain everything else
Grids and level datums live on user-created worksets -- make sure they're on the right workset
Worksets are like layers in that you can get stuff on the wrong workset -- but you can go back later and change a 3D object's workset (all 2D stuff lives in the workset of the view it's in)
Edit the keyboard shortcuts file so Edit > Make Elements Editable is available. This allows you to preselect a bunch of objects you need to work onand sign them before you start working on them. If someone has them signed out, you'll have to put in an Editing Request
The central file keeps track of who has what signed out. Each user's seat of Revit talks immediately to the central file all the time to sign out objects and find out if objects are available to edit
If person A tries to edit an object person B has signed out, person A can request that B give the object over via File > Editing Requests. (ER being the shortcut for this.) If B hasn't made any changes to the requested objects, they can just give them over. But if they have, then B must save to central and A must save to central or reload latest to get these changes.

And we'll take your questions as they come.

Cheers

W.

[beegee]

Since 8.1, worksharing is a very simple process.

Best practice - keep the number of worksets to a minimum, in fact as long as you STC regularly, you don't really need more than the basic worksets. The tutorials do not reflect this new way of working.

You may want to have additional worksets for extra visibility control though. With a large project, there can still be benefits in having a reasonable number of worksets and using selective open to lazy parse the file, thus reducing memory requirements.

Follow the usual systems of clearly naming the central, and the locals ( with usernames ).I follow the old school idea of deleting the local after the STC at the end of the day and creating a new local the next day. Not really necessary, but can have advantages, particularly for teams working long ,, odd hours !

... just a few quick thoughts. More later if I get time.

[Joef]

Jeffrey Mcgrew recently ran an ATP course on worksets that was very good. His course material should be available.


Joe

[cparsons]

Hi Danielle,

Here are our Revit Workset rules copied and pasted from our office wiki. We aren't a big rules and standards shop but we have found these to be non-negotiable.

Good luck. It really is not very hard once you get going. Remember, the primary benefits of worksets (IMHO) are visibility and speed of the model.

Chris

1. Always save to central and relinquish worksets and borrowed elements before you go home (and preferably before you leave your desk for any length of time). When you leave items checked out, it can hamstring other team members and you risk losing your work. 2. Create your local files in a folder called C:\Revit and NOT on your desktop or in your my documents folder. If you forget rule #1 and we need to get into your computer we will be able to access the local files and save to central. Your desktop and my documents folders are hidden from other users and saving to C:\Revit will ensure that we will be able to access the files.

3. Log off at night and on the weekends. This will ensure that we will be able to get into your machine without an administrator.

4. Replace the word central with your name when you save your local copy of a workset. So 20528_Block_1_Central.rvt becomes 20528_Block_1_Chris.rvt on my workstation (in C:\Revit of course) and 20528_Block_1_Rob.rvt on Rob's workstation.

5. Save to Central every 30-60 Minutes or after major revisions to the model. This is to reduce the amount of work lost if there is a problem but also to reduce the chances of file corruption while in the process of saving to central. The save to central process is very quick if done frequently if done often. The longer you go without saving to central the time the process takes goes up exponentially. You should also save the file locally first and then do the save to central operation this lessens the chance of corruption.

[Beaglemommy]

No one should sign out worksets any more -- no need to. Just grab objects and run!




The central file keeps track of who has what signed out. Each user's seat of Revit talks immediately to the central file all the time to sign out objects and find out if objects are available to edit


I know this is an older thread, but I still need clarification if anyone has it. I've heard that it is preferred to "borrow" worksets rather than "checking out / make editible". (Are the 2 quotes above talking about "borrowing" and "checking out" worksets, respectively?)

First, what is the difference (if any) between "checking out" and "make editible"?
Second, why is it recommended to "borrow"? (I can't seem to get specifics on this one).

Thank you in advance!

Respectfully,
Scared Of Worksets

[Steve_Stafford]

I use a public library as "my" metaphor for worksets. As such we can borrow the book shelf or just borrow books. The workset is equivalent to the book shelf while everything in the model; walls, doors, windows, text, dimensions, views, sheets, symbols etc...everything is a book.

What the posts are recommending is borrowing "books" instead of "shelves". Borrowing shelves means fewer users can work productively without first "bumping" into the person that has borrowed the shelf. Borrowing a book is as simple as selecting and moving a wall or editing a text element. If there is no conflict in "ownership" Revit just lends the book to the person.

If someone borrows a shelf of books then any book on that shelf that another user wants to borrow must first be relinquished by the shelf "borrower".

When you refer to the Workset dialog and display user created worksets the Owner column refers to "borrowing shelves" while the borrowing column refers to borrowing books from shelves. Ideally nobody is listed under Owner.

I've written many posts on my BLOG (http://www.revitoped.com) about worksets if you are interested. You can also just this GOOGLE SEARCH (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Revit+Worksets+Revit+OpEd&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=) (not to mention threads here at AUGI)

[Beaglemommy]

Thanks, Steve! I thought borrowing vs owning was much more complicated than just communication issue as if there were going to be fatal crashes or visibility graphics problems. I'm assuming that the recommended borrowing will work with a smaller project and only when there are a few people worksharing.

I've worked with a company that had crashes when borrowing. Once they became an owner, the crashing stopped. But this was a huge huge project, so maybe owning was necessary?

[Steve_Stafford]

Crashing shouldn't be happening because of borrowing, more likely a symptom of something else. So the answer is no a small team should be simpler, communication is easier, fewer tasks to divide up among staff etc.

[aaronrumple]

1. Always save to central and relinquish worksets and borrowed elements before you go home
2. Create your local files in a folder called C:\Revit and NOT on your desktop or in your my documents folder.
3. Log off at night and on the weekends.
4. Replace the word central with your name when you save your local copy of a workset. So 20528_Block_1_Central.rvt becomes 20528_Block_1_Chris.rvt on my workstation (in C:\Revit of course) and 20528_Block_1_Rob.rvt on Rob's workstation.
5. Save to Central every 30-60 Minutes or after major revisions to the model.

Our rules:
1. Always use the pulldown at the end of the day for File > Save to Central and check all relenquish options. The icon save to central doesn't relenquish object explicitly checked out - only borrowed items. Don't check out items explicitly. Allways borrow.
2. We use My Revit Projects in My Documents. That c:\ root stuff is soooo DOS. Windows profiles manage My Projects and Your Projects for users logging onto the same workstation.
3.Shut computers down at night and weekends to save energy - think green.
4. You're not going to remember to change the name and put your initials behind the file name, so just make sure it is in the right spot on the local drive. (Initials always seems to be an uphill battle). 080001 North Wing.rvt indivcates a non-workset file. 080001c North Wing.rvt indicates a workset enabled file. Skip all the underscore garbage - it's soooo 1990's.
5. The save prompt always comes up right after you satrt an operation - not when you finish. Human nature is to cancel it and finish what you just started to do. Don't. Save.
6. Save local and central at the same time.