Question about Journals and Batch Rendering...

[twiceroadsfool]

Yes, i know its an internal debugging tool, and not an end-user tool, but necessity is the mother, and i found some good info here on setting on a batch rendering journal, so i dont have to babysit my computer. Only thing is:

PC:3DView 1

... will render at the presentation 300 DPI... How do i get it to render at the Custom DPI that i picked in the Settings dialogue? Anyone know?

Thanks in advance...

[twiceroadsfool]

Okay, forget that, lol...

I cant get it to work at all, how do i make an .lis file from a text editor?

UGH, all i want to do is highlight 6 views, and render them at 400 DPI for the morning, LOL...

[truevis]

If you get this to work, PLEASE tell us how it's done.

I've been thinking about it since I saw the rendering benchmark thing.

My other half-baked batch rendering idea is to do a few-frame walk-around at high resolution and pick out the individual frames.

[aaronrumple]

If you get this to work, PLEASE tell us how it's done.

I've been thinking about it since I saw the rendering benchmark thing.

My other half-baked batch rendering idea is to do a few-frame walk-around at high resolution and pick out the individual frames.
That's actually a clever idea....

[twiceroadsfool]

lol... My only other idea is to try opening the file from 8 different computers, rendering and exporting/plotting to PDF for the rendered images, but God that will be annoying...

Tomorrow someone at the office is gonna help me with the journal. Ill report back if i get it to work...

[twiceroadsfool]

If you get this to work, PLEASE tell us how it's done.

I've been thinking about it since I saw the rendering benchmark thing.

My other half-baked batch rendering idea is to do a few-frame walk-around at high resolution and pick out the individual frames.

Well, im certainly not taking credit for figuring this out, as i found the answer in someone elses post from a couple of years ago, but it does work.

I DL'ed a bunch of files from a post that was made here about it...

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=6829&highlight=batch+rendering

That was the post. Running the rev.bat file from the command prompt, it generated the code i needed for the bath rendering based on a very very simple text file it asked you to make. The only place it fell short (for me) was that because the *path* to the 3d views is different in out company template, i had to go in to the .txt file it generated and change that in the code. But it took like three minutes.

Im still hoping to figure out how to set it to a custom DPI, and how to get it to *capture* a rendering, instead of just exporting to JPEG.

Im also taking the mod and developers warnings VERY serioously about messing with these. Im not doing it with ANY important files... as its very finicky. Any mistakes in the code and it fatal errors Revit, and kills my file, lol...

[truevis]

> a few-frame walk-around at high resolution and pick out the individual frames

That's actually a clever idea....
One application that can do it is the RAM player in 3DS Max. You can convert frames to .PNGs. There are probably cheaper programs for that around.

[Scott D Davis]

lol... My only other idea is to try opening the file from 8 different computers, rendering and exporting/plotting to PDF for the rendered images, but God that will be annoying...

Tomorrow someone at the office is gonna help me with the journal. Ill report back if i get it to work...
You can render to individual JPGs in Revit, and then compile the frames in another program to make the video. This will allow you to render a portion of the overall on 8 separate machines.

[twiceroadsfool]

You can render to individual JPGs in Revit, and then compile the frames in another program to make the video. This will allow you to render a portion of the overall on 8 separate machines.

Im not really trying to make a movie, its a presentation poster. Its just the sitting in between renderings thats killing our productivity. I got this thing set up, and messed with the code enough to get it to render, capture, and save with export, so im gonna do a test run tonight.

The trouble is cleaning the files so no unexpected msg's come up, cuz it kills it when that happens, lol...

Me wants a batch rendering button :(

[3dway]

Is this topic still valid for 2009? I've tried it. I was able to follow the instructions and get a txt file that executes revit and opens the correct file, but it always gives me an error that it can't continue to follow the journal and it's entering interactive mode.

I went in and cleared all of the errors in the file. Is there a more recent version.

One thing I notice is that the resolution settings in the instructions don't seem to match what revit offers in it's rendering dialogue. This sets either "camera' or "extents". "Draft" or something else for quality. Doesn't seem current.

Is there a REV.BAT floating around out there for 2009? What else could stop the journal from finishing? The first time I looked in and near the end was a bunch of stuff about errors. I cleared those and the new journal was no good indication of the problem.

[cliff collins]

It's called 3dsMax with Backburner.......

Cheers......

[3dway]

It's called 3dsMax with Backburner.......

Cheers......

I'll send you my accounts receivable information then? As soon as we recieve your payment I'll place the order.

Seriously. Why would you post a reply like that in a Revit forum? If I wanted to know how to render multiple frames in Max, I'd have posted it there. If fact, I already know how to do it in Max but I'm trying to learn Revit.

[cliff collins]

Because you will spend more time and be more frustrated trying to do ANY photorealistic animation in Revit--even with the fastest Quad core machine.

I'm just pointing out that there are some things that are better done in Max--having done it
both ways. This may save someone a lot of time "experimenting". Even if such a method
works--it is still better to do the task with the best tool.

I applaud such challenging efforts--I've been known to come up with a few myself--
but I've also learned that if you try to force a tool to do something it's not intended to do
you will burn more hrs./fee and you could have already paid for a better tool for the job--
which can, in the case of Max, usually be covered by the cost of 1 or 2 renderings on a typical project.

Just some real-world experience, and just my opinion. To each his own.

Cheers....

[dhurtubise]

Unfortunately i have to agree with Cliff. Rendering in Revit is very limited for now. Texturing, resolution and of course performance.
If you have such a rendering to do, outsource it if you don't have the ability/knowledge to do it. Way better business decision.

[truevis]

AutohotKey could be used to do batch rendering.

I'd do something like:

Open the views I wanted rendered
Do rendering
save rendering
Ctrl-F4 to close window
...Here is some code to save rendered image:

;Saves rendered image by Eric Boehlke - truevis.com
#IfWinActive, Revit
#s:: ; Win+ s
WinClose, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
Send, {ALTDOWN}v{ALTUP}r{ENTER}{ALTDOWN}x{ALTUP}
Sleep, 100
WinWait, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
WinActivate, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
WinWaitActive, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
Send, {TAB}{ALTDOWN}x{ALTUP}
WinWait, Save Image, Previous folder(Alt+
Sleep, 400
Send, !n
Sleep, 400
SendInput {Raw}c:\temp\my render1.png
Send, !s
Sleep, 1000
WinClose, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
Return

[3dway]

Unfortunately i have to agree with Cliff. Rendering in Revit is very limited for now. Texturing, resolution and of course performance.
If you have such a rendering to do, outsource it if you don't have the ability/knowledge to do it. Way better business decision.


I don't have the luxury of making those around here.

Apologies for my snappy response too; I was hoping for a more Revit related answer, but I can appreciate that Max does it better.

Part of the problem here is that we bought the sales hook that you work better by using the same model data throughout all phases of the project. Instead of having your 2d model (traditional design presentation drawings) a separate rendering model done in max or by a contractor, and your 2d working drawings. And you use one software package to do it.

I think I'm the only non-sceptic left in the office.

[dhurtubise]

I don't have the luxury of making those around here.
Then i would consider outsourcing. You would be surprised how efficient it can be for that part of the process.

[3dway]

AutohotKey could be used to do batch rendering.

I'd do something like:

Open the views I wanted rendered
Do rendering
save rendering
Ctrl-F4 to close window
...Here is some code to save rendered image:

;Saves rendered image by Eric Boehlke - truevis.com
#IfWinActive, Revit
#s:: ; Win+ s
WinClose, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
Send, {ALTDOWN}v{ALTUP}r{ENTER}{ALTDOWN}x{ALTUP}
Sleep, 100
WinWait, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
WinActivate, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
WinWaitActive, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
Send, {TAB}{ALTDOWN}x{ALTUP}
WinWait, Save Image, Previous folder(Alt+
Sleep, 400
Send, !n
Sleep, 400
SendInput {Raw}c:\temp\my render1.png
Send, !s
Sleep, 1000
WinClose, Rendering, Uncompressed image s
Return


Thanks, but way way beyond my current skill set. You must be really frustrated with "user friendliness". The current software market seems to think that hiding options and capabilities makes something user friendly. To me it feels like handcuffs. If I don't know what it does, I flick the switch and see what happens. If I don't like the result I don't flick that switch in that situation again. I don't need someone to hide the switch from me.

....if you can write your own switches your frustration level is either alieviated completely or compounded.

But I digress.

... somehow formatted off the side. Sorry.

[twiceroadsfool]

3Dway-

My oroginal post in this thread, and the subsequent executable that writes the journal, were based on the old Accurender Rendering commands. 2009 (having mental Ray) probably has an entirely different set of commands and options, which is why the journal wont work.

When it tells you its entering interactive mode, its not because of the *errors* in the file, but because the program is encountering a dialogue or situation that the script (journal) isnt expecting. Liken it to an actor being told to walk across the stage, and the stage having a giant hole in it. He has to stop and sit there going *wtf?*.

Im sure you COULD get it to work, if someone regenerated the executable that writes the journal to be contiguous with the MR commands, but i got the original from this forum somewhere, because i cant write Code to save my life.

That said, what everyone else is saying is true. I fought steadfastedly with everyone here, piping that i wanted to *keep it all in Revit* just for the sake of doing so... Its just not as efficient. max IS expensive, but if youve got more than 4 or 5 renderings to do, make the presentation to management. Itll probably pay itself off in the first job.

[cliff collins]

Amen!

And there was much rejoicing....

cheers....

[truevis]

Thanks, but way way beyond my current skill set. You must be really frustrated with "user friendliness".

AutoHotKey can be thought of as a robot that presses buttons in your program for you. So, I simply teach the robot what to do.


The current software market seems to think that hiding options and capabilities makes something user friendly.

That was the thinking behind the Revit version of metalray. I'd say that about the Revit versions of AccuRender as well. However, you've seen the Rendering dialogs on Max, right? That is something rather overwhelming except for someone who is willing to devote much time to learning them.

I prefer simple dialogs with a 'More.. ' button, myself.

There was a lecture about the research behind making Revit at AU. They talked about the choices and trade-offs they have to make. However, I didn't hear any mention about avoiding making a feature of one product so good that it hurts the sales of another product. Could that be a factor or am I just cynical?