Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Closing NWC/NWD Files on Load

Ok, show of hands….How many of you work in Navisworks and also work in a “design” application (like Revit, AutoCAD, etc.) at the same time?  A few, that’s what I thought.  Of those that do, how often are you having to close out of your current Navisworks project (NWF) so you can save over the top of your existing/appended NWC (or NWD I suppose) so you can show the changes in Navisworks?  Or you’re (for example) a GC (general contractor) who is gathering NWC or NWD files and when you get a new one, you have to close out of project file in Navisworks so you can save the new version over the top of the previous?  Yeah, that’s what I thought…too many of you!

All kidding aside, this is a very common question I get about working with Navisworks….why do I have to close out of my NWF just so I can overwrite my appended NWC/NWD files?  The reason is one “little” checkbox in the Navisworks options….”Close NWC/NWD files on load”

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With this options checked, you no longer have to close out of your current project to re-export your NWC files from the design applications, or when you want to overwrite a previous version when you get a new one from the “designers/engineers”. 

This little checkbox essentially removes the file lock that would get attached to the appended NWC/NWD file.  Without this checked, the file lock is applied and you can’t overwrite the file unless you close out of the NWF file the NWC/NWD is appended to.

Friday, May 13, 2011

Navisworks and Vault Integration for 2012

The last couple days, I’ve been learning some of the ins and outs of how Vault 2012 can now work with the AEC 2012 products like Revit and Navisworks, besides just learning about Vault period.  Brian Schanen at Autodesk has a nice little post over at Under the Hood about this integration with Navisworks.

Here’s a little clip from his post about how to show the Vault tools in Navisworks…

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Now, here’s a tip that you’ll need to use before Vaulting Navisworks data. The Vault Ribbon tab is off by default. To enable, go to Options, expand Tools, click Vault, and put a check in the box to ‘Show in User Interface’.

Navis Vault enable

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Now, before everyone goes out and starts trying to show the Vault tools in Navisworks 2012, you’ll need Vault 2012 installed for this option to be available.

As far as how Navisworks and Vault work together, this is the first iteration of this integration and a specific workflow at this point hasn’t really been nailed down.  As I learn more about Vault and how it’s going to play with Navisworks, I will be posting more about this new integration.