Project managment & telecommuting...

[John K.]

Morning all,

Has anyone found a particularly efficient or effective way to create mini-sheets [for project/workload planning] w/Revit or, say, Adobe Acrobat, GIMP, etc.? More specifically, I'm looking for something that works well for redlining, sharing redlines, etc. that will allow me to continue to telecommute. Sometimes there's simply no substitute for proximity and face-time but avoiding 45-minute one-way drives to the client is just plain nice.

Thanks in advance,

--
John K.
Atlanta GA
USA

[Wes Macaulay]

I've been using Netmeeting and Architectural Studio. I take JPG exports from Revit, dump 'em into Arch Studio, and sketch away in a Netmeeting with my client. They can comment on what I'm doing as if I was in the room.

The client machine needs to be a Windows box to run Netmeeting, and they will probably need to have a high speed connection. On your end you'll need one of those cheap Wacom Graphire tablets to run Arch Studio. You get Arch Studio with Revit (you have to download it from Autodesk - the lastest version is 3.1), so hey, give it a go. Arch Studio is an excellent application - you'd never know Autodesk created it :P

[ajayholland]

Well, I really like that solution, although I have never used NetMeeting and have yet to download Arch Studio.

If its not necessary to have a live meeting I was going to suggest furnishing the client with a copy of Volo View 3, and creating DWF output that could redlined by the client.

If you want to go all the way, set yourself up with a 30 day Buzzsaw trial site, and see if the client will foot the bill. You would still need VV3, as I believe the Buzzsaw client support for markup has not been released.

Volo View Express saved its mark-up files separate from the original in either DWF or RNL format. I think I would want to import and overlay the mark-up on a live Revit sheet or view for this to be an effective tool.

-AJH

[mlgatzke]

Wes,

I use JPG exports in ArchStudio too. However, I usually send them via email to my clients and others. Sometimes, for the more refined work, I'll print PDFs and communicate with them. These are great ways to communicate - it works great. Also, I've used NetMeeting and it's a good solution. However, I never seem to be able schedule time with everyone at the same time. In these cases, email seems to work best.

[Wes Macaulay]

Well, I really like that solution, although I have never used NetMeeting and have yet to download Arch Studio.

There's some setup involved with Netmeeting - ports and firewalls and so on - but it has plenty of uses. A bit of hassle for some, I suppose, but hey, it's free... and as ubiquitous as Windoze.

[ajayholland]

I really got into the application of the MS Office suite of products at the last firm with which I was associated. I became the defacto IT guy.

I used Outlook to log phone calls and other project events, and the automatic journal entries for Word & Excel would also track transmittals and other project correspondence. The "activities" tab for each contact would display (and link to) related documents and events.

Whatever your opinion about the behemoth, this is the kind of functionality that should be expected in these type of applications. Its just that they are way over-priced IMHO.

A. Jay Holland

[brentcarlson892079]

How do I download Arch. Studio? I just see the 30 day trial?

[LRaiz]

Did anyone try to use Windows (or MSN) Messenger for the purpose of on line conferencing instead of NetMeeting? It is supposed to be newer and better. How do you like it comparing to teleconferencing aspects of ArchStudio?

[JamesVan]

Leonid,

We use MSN Messenger to some degree here. If I'm not mistaken, to use the meeting functions in Messenger, all parties must be using XP. If you have Messenger running on Win2000, all you have is a 'Start NetMeeting' function.

Another product worth looking into is Macromedia Flash Communication (http://www.macromedia.com/software/flashcom/) software. If you have the bandwidth, this thing rocks! Not that expensive either.

[StephenVB]

This doesn't really address the mini-sheet issue, but as far as a "net-meeting" like approach, has anybody tried www.groove.net? I have only played with it a little bit, but it looks promising for collaborating as long as everybody has a high speed connection.

[JamesVan]

Sorry, guess we're off on a tangent...

You should really try the Autodesk DWF writer (http://revit.autodesk.com/download.asp). When plugged into Revit, you can create fantastically light-weight, multi-sheet DWFs in which the annotations remain hyperlinked as in your Revit project. Then just purchase Volo View for $49 (for a limited time :wink: ) with its decent markup capabilities and away you go!

I think this latest version of DWF will start to give PDFs a run for their money.

[mikesheehan]

The redline thing is the big issue W/O facetime, there are just some things that escape us on screen; then scream at us from hard copy.

For single details, I print hard copy (letter size) mark it scan it and print to PDF, then email to production team members.

For big picture things, desing and plan changes, I suck it up and do face time - off peak travel helps.