Mobile model viewing

[mesikepps]

Is there a product out there that allows model viewing on an iPad or other tablet? First preference is to have the model file saved locally on the device (as a dwf, perhaps, or something similar). From what I understand Buzzsaw might be able to do this if you have an internet connection. Appreciate any ideas on the topic.

-Sam

[rosskirby]

There's a free dwf viewer app for the iPad. But no, I don't believe there's anything for viewing a native Revit file on an iPad.

[gbrowne]

I'd actually like to hear others thoughts on this. I've tried AutoCAD WS & DesignReview both from Autodesk and found them incredibly fiddly, slow, complicated, crash prone, buggy etc etc. The most straightforward method I can find is to PDF the sheet set out from my desktop where Revit resides, and move them into my Dropbox folder, and then on my ipad in dropbox 'favourite' the individual PDF's so as I can view them offline i.e. on site where generally there is no wifi (I have the basic wifi ipad3). Or you could put them into your ibooks, but that's a bit of a pain as well. This obviously is for drawing sheets, and not for presentation of the 3D model, and you can't markup the drawings either, so not a perfect solution by any means.

I'm astonished at how slow Autodesk are dealing with this.

[jeffh]

You can look into this. Perhaps a more comprehensive solution thatn you are looking for. It was just realeased in the last week.

Autodesk BIM 360 Glue (the first item on the table at the page)

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?id=19729180&siteID=123112

The wikihelp site:

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/BIM_360_Glue/enu/Help

[Rick Moore]

My iPhone app just got updated today and it changed from Design Review Mobile to Autodesk 360. It supposedly will work with Revit files but I haven't tried that yet. It almost choked on a 1.5 meg DWFX

[gbrowne]

Jeff, thanks for the links. I don't think this is what I'm looking for. I'm looking for a method of taking offline drawings to site on my ipad, making notes on them and emailing them on. I upgraded my Design Review app this morning and its now called Autodesk 360. (Between you and me, Autodesk Bim 360 Glue is a hideous name...). It seems to work quite well so far, although like any software I could pick holes in it. A step in the right direction tho, and long may the development continue. I look forward to the day that OOTB I can press a 'cloud' button on Revit and have drawings on my ipad automatically, with usable markup capabilities.

I'm behind you guys at the factory and think you do excellent work. Hopefully Autodesk feel the same way.

[jeffh]

I look forward to the day that OOTB I can press a 'cloud' button on Revit and have drawings on my ipad automatically, with usable markup capabilities.

A guy has to have dreams I suppose. ;)

Just out of curiosity when do you stop thinking of "drawings"? Are "drawings" still a necessary evil because of legal contracts? I am just wondering because there is a paradigm shift happening on the technology side of things so thinking directly in terms of "drawings" might limit the possible solutions.

I actually have yet to try out Autodesk BIM 360 Glue (that is a mouthfull) so I am not sure of all it is capable of doing. I still have the 10,000 ft view of things.

[gbrowne]

'To sleep, perchance to Dream; Ay, there's the rub'.... ;-)

Whenever I get all gooey about 3d walkthroughs and the like, I think about the guy on site with the hammer/brick/stud/whathaveyou in his hand trying to build it. We are a long long long way away from that part of the process, the fundamental part, being electronic...

[antman]

This thread inspired me, so I'll share my experience. I have an iPhone 3GS (it's ok, I'll wait until you're done laughing), and had Design Review Mobile installed. After updating, it renamed itself to Autodesk 360 Mobile, and changed to a nice shiny logo. All was well. I logged in with my Autodesk ID no problem, but I didn't have any files uploaded. Logged in at my computer no problem, saw the huge Upload Document button. Sweet! That was easy. Dragged a 975 KB dwf file of a 2D floor plan into the box, and uploaded. Good, good. Checked my phone, refreshed the page, and the file showed up.

Now here's where things started coming off the rails. There was no preview, either in the phone app or in my browser. I could view the details and add comments to the file, but that's all. About 30-45 minutes after uploading the file, the preview finally showed up. This is apparently not considered a long time for infinite computing in the cloud. I was then able to view the plan in my browser, though any pan or zoom was slow, plus the geometry remained grainy for about a second afterward. No markup capabilities on the browser side. Checked the mobile app, and the preview showed there as well, so I tapped to view the file. It gave some sort of warning that due to the large file size, performance could deteriorate (sorry, forgot to write down the exact wording), and I tapped to continue anyway. The plan showed up, but after I panned the app crashed. I tried launching the app again but it crashed every time. I closed all apps and restarted my phone. Still crashed. I thought maybe it was trying to load the same file, so I deleted it from my account using the browser. App still crashed. I deleted and reinstalled the app. Crashed.

After reading the reviews, I learned I could re-launch the app if my phone was in Airplane Mode. That worked. I am now able to open the app and log in (after turning Airplane off).

I re-uploaded the dwf using the browser, to track how long it takes for the preview to process, and now get the error: "Missing Graphics - The document you are trying to view was not processed completely. There may be a server problem at this time, or you may be using a corrupt file or invalid format. Try re-uploading the file to remedy the issue." In the mobile app, it reads: "Drawing load failure! Tap to retry loading full drawing." I have deleted and re-uploaded multiple times, with identical results.

There is a reason this version of the app has almost entirely one-star reviews (one user gave it two, that I saw). I have a difficult time believing that anyone can really be this incompetent. I am really wondering if Autodesk is trying to sink this deliberately. All that said, I didn't really even have super high hopes that this app would be great, or even do what it promised. I did hope and expect it to at least function. I'm leaving it installed so I can keep track of updates and see if they ever actually fix it, because I like the idea of tablet-based field markups. Unfortunately, I see a third party being able to do this earlier and better than Autodesk at this point. So, if anyone finds something promising I consider myself interested.

[LP Design]

Wow. Anyways... I am also looking for offline tablet viewing, but for security reasons. I work for clients with extremely strict intellectual property rules especially concerning drawing files. Uploading to the cloud is not an option.

Does anyone know if the cloud-only concept is the overall direction for Autodesk? Or is it just the next step?

[patricks]

I'm still longing for the day when I can snap something from my desktop to a portable display device when I want to discuss something with someone else in the office, like they do on CSI in the lab and such :lol: Sure would beat having to print out junk, mark it up or not, and then decide whether it should be filed with the project, or scanned, or recycled, or some combination of those.

[MikeJarosz]

Are "drawings" still a necessary evil because of legal contracts?

Drawings and specs are deeply ingrained in the architecture and construction industry. It's not just legal contracts. It's estimators who need more than just the model (how does Revit model "insurance"?), to union tradesmen who are still taught "blueprint reading".

But we are on our way. I recently attended a seminar given by one of the AIA attorneys who is writing the new AIA BIM documents. He made an interesting statement. Since the AIA monitors architect-owner contracts to report statistics, he could say that more BIM contracts are now being written than conventional architect-owner contracts. He says "We have reached the tipping point."

[LP Design]

like they do on CSI in the lab and such :lol:
No no no, you have to think big! Like the full immersion interface from minority report, or manipulative holograms like in Iron Man! Science fiction becomes science fact if you wait long enough. :)


more BIM contracts are now being written than conventional architect-owner contracts.
I certainly haven't seen that in my neck of the woods, but that is encouraging. Slightly off topic but did he mention how IPD contacts were doing?

[patricks]

No no no, you have to think big! Like the full immersion interface from minority report, or manipulative holograms like in Iron Man! Science fiction becomes science fact if you wait long enough. :)


Well of course I thought about those but those are obviously set in the future or fictional technology invented by a fictional billionaire genius :lol: CSI on the other hand is somewhat more believable with today's tech... somewhat. ;)

[rbcameron1]

9-18-12
antman -
I've had similar issues, but on a iPhone 4s, my Android Google Samsung Galaxy Nexus, but not as bad on my Galaxy Tab 10.1" I will try it on my Asus Infinity TF700 at some point and post my findings.
LP Design - As far as cloud operations and Autodesk, you'd have to find someone who works on this specific project with them to find a clear set of answers. My opinion is that they will be pushing cloud storage and operations pretty hard over the next few years

[lbeyer593018]

Have you tried Bluebeam? It's a PDF viewing/creating/editing software specifically geared toward the construction industry. I have it on my desktop and love it. It's great for marking up shop drawings and the like. I don't have an ipad, but I understand that they have an ipad version that sounds like what your looking for. I believe you can open PDF'd drawings, and then add markups while onsite, without having anything flying through cyberspace.

You do have to work with a pdf though.

[LP Design]

Working with PDFs is not a problem. I can load those via USB and mark them up using Adobe, bluebeam, whatever. Where the system breaks down is with actual DWG files. In my particular case it would be extremely valuable to be able to jump into a drawing to identify layer names, block definitions, etc. I guess where I get frustrated is in searching online and finding that there used to be a tool for exactly this purpose, but now that it has migrated to the cloud it becomes useless to me. *le sigh.

[jeffh]

New video showing Autodesk BIM 360 Glue for a mobile device.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHglW2lqdSw

[jeffh]

Wow. Anyways... I am also looking for offline tablet viewing, but for security reasons. I work for clients with extremely strict intellectual property rules especially concerning drawing files. Uploading to the cloud is not an option.

Does anyone know if the cloud-only concept is the overall direction for Autodesk? Or is it just the next step?

I have had a chance to look a bit closer at BIM 360 Glue on the iPad now and have found it is possible to have offline model viewing on the iPad as well as streamed to the device from the clound via Wi-Fi or a 3G connection.

http://wikihelp.autodesk.com/BIM_360_Glue/enu/Help/Help/0019-Mobile_A19/0023-Using_th23

[Rick Moore]

How much does BIM 360 Glue cost? It's not a free service or part of subscription but I couldn't find a price

[jeffh]

How much does BIM 360 Glue cost? It's not a free service or part of subscription but I couldn't find a price

I am not sure of the pricing or sales model being used for this service. You can request to have an Audesk representative contact you directly to talk more about how to implement this service on your projects.

http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/item?siteID=123112&id=19730722

[LP Design]

Jeff,

Thanks for your attention to this thread, but again things fall juuust a little bit short for me. BIM 360 Glue seems to be supported by iOS only. No android. Remember the days when owning a Mac meant you couldn't get the best programs? Well played Apple.... Well played...

[cliff collins]

Jeff--how do we get started using Autodesk BIM 360 Glue? Hard to find anything in documentation. It says you must "receive an email" to get started? Is this a pay-for-service? If so, how do we sign up and what does it cost? Our reseller ( won't mention any names ) doesn't even know the answer......

[jeffh]

Jeff,

Thanks for your attention to this thread, but again things fall juuust a little bit short for me. BIM 360 Glue seems to be supported by iOS only. No android. Remember the days when owning a Mac meant you couldn't get the best programs? Well played Apple.... Well played...


Yes you are correct no android support. Sorry. :(


Jeff--how do we get started using Autodesk BIM 360 Glue? Hard to find anything in documentation. It says you must "receive an email" to get started? Is this a pay-for-service? If so, how do we sign up and what does it cost? Our reseller ( won't mention any names ) doesn't even know the answer......

The link I provided above is the way to get going with the service. I don't think there is a resleer model for selling this (I could be wrong). It is really a service not a software product that can be sold as a "box". I am not sure of the pricing structure. Per month, per project, per data use, I really don't have any idea. If you send a message via the link above you can have someone from Autodesk contact you about the service.

[Liamnacuac]

This is an 16 month old post. Has there been any good headway on an app that runs on Surfacers? Or has Autodesk put all their eggs into the Ipod basket?


Wow. Anyways... I am also looking for offline tablet viewing, but for security reasons. I work for clients with extremely strict intellectual property rules especially concerning drawing files. Uploading to the cloud is not an option.

Does anyone know if the cloud-only concept is the overall direction for Autodesk? Or is it just the next step?