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View Full Version : Revit's Next Big Thing - Metadata



mibzim
2007-08-22, 06:18 AM
Vista uses it....
Sharepoint uses it....
and Revit is built on it, but doesn't use it like the others do.

So, metadata... parameters.... kinda the same thing at the end of the day. It just a way to input additional information to existing data - like adding length parameters. But the rest of the world is using the concept so much more effectively than our revit!

Take sharepoint for example. Or vista. You can add extra information to word files such as the date it was created and modified, who it was created by, what purpose it was created for, what star rating the document has, etc etc etc. You can then create separate views that can be filtered to only see documents created by a particular person, or on a particular date, or with a 5 star rating. Does the terminology sound familiar? Views. Filters. Data.

The only place that revit employs this technology for file management is when loading a family component that has an associated catalogue. You can filter out components with a particular value for each parameter, but its seriously dumb and ugly.

So. My proposal is that the factory allow users to create FAMILY PARAMETERS. We have instance and type parameters, but very dumb family parameters such as family category, family name, always upright, shared etc. We seriously need control of the next level up. This would allow users to essentially assign metadata to family files so that a detail component for a window jamb, for example, can be viewed under detail components as well as windows.

The factory could update the 'load from library' menu, and somehow link their family parameters to vista's and sharepoint's metadata. Family components can all sit in the same folder, eliminating the need to meticulously and correctly file each family because views can be filtered. So when loading families users can filter out everything but detail components, see who made it, when, additional notes, its category, etc.

Seriously smart data management using already existing revit techniques.

Comments?

Andre Baros
2007-08-22, 02:00 PM
I really like the idea of leveraging this more in Revit... but this isn't anything new. For as long as I can remember GUI on either the Mac or PC I can remember this option. It got a little harder in XP because it was more hidden than back in DOS where you just needed to add a wildcard to your list command but it's always been there. The real problem, in Revit or Windows or on a web page is still that you have to manually add the metadata.

Any improvment in this area would be usefull, especially being able to leverage the database to bypass the "folder" heirarchy for families.

hand471037
2007-08-22, 04:50 PM
What would really rock (but will probably never, ever happen) is if Autodesk made it so that the .RVT and .RFA file formats were a little more open so that something Not-Revit could inspect them, query parameters and data, all without having to actually open the file or run Revit.

For example, with my Mac and Spotlight, if I do a search it queries the metadata of Word documents, pictures, PDF's, MP3's, etc, so that everything comes up properly.

If something like this was implemented for Revit then one in Vista or OS X could simply type into a search something like 'Glass Conference Table' and have the search dig up a parametric conference table with a glass option for a top, along with everything else.

Right now all we get is searches based upon the file name. That stinks, and is really stupid in light of how things are going in the industry.

ron.sanpedro
2007-08-22, 05:25 PM
What would really rock (but will probably never, ever happen) is if Autodesk made it so that the .RVT and .RFA file formats were a little more open so that something Not-Revit could inspect them, query parameters and data, all without having to actually open the file or run Revit.

For example, with my Mac and Spotlight, if I do a search it queries the metadata of Word documents, pictures, PDF's, MP3's, etc, so that everything comes up properly.

If something like this was implemented for Revit then one in Vista or OS X could simply type into a search something like 'Glass Conference Table' and have the search dig up a parametric conference table with a glass option for a top, along with everything else.

Right now all we get is searches based upon the file name. That stinks, and is really stupid in light of how things are going in the industry.

Does anyone know if an XML file can be selectively encrypted? I imagine an RVTx file ala Word's DOCx, where all the metadata is unencrypted, searchable, editable, etc. But all the Revit specific proprietary data is encrypted and not accessible, editable, etc.

Also, I like the idea of a Family Parameter, but only if someone actually puts some effort into a standard. Ideally I want to be able to download families from different manufacturers and have the same information, using the same industry standard Family Parameter Name, so my schedules & tags & external tools all work on all families. Given that Autodesk can't even be bothered to use the same linetype names in Detail Components as everywhere else, I fear every single manufacturer will come up with their own names, then every office will have to establish their own names and modify the downloaded families before use, and a joint venture would require establishing a standard for the joint venture, and again modifying all the families. Ack!

Best,
Gordon