New Symbol in Navisworks 2012 Generated NWC Files

As some of you may or may not have noticed, Navisworks (2012) generated NWC files (meaning you opened or appended say a DWG file) have a new symbol in the NWC name….the # symbol.  This is something new for 2012 NWC files and is meant to differentiate NWC files created as Cache vs. NWC files exported from other programs.

So when you see the # symbol in the file name, leave it there.  Navisworks doesn’t do anything special with the file or anything, it’s just a way to differentiate the files.  If you delete the # symbol, Navisworks will just recreate the NWC again with the # symbol. 

The reason behind this is in the past, there were cases where users would export their DWG files to an NWC file and place them alongside the DWG files in the same folder with the same file name. They would then open the DWG file in Navisworks, thereby overwriting the exported NWC file with an automatically generated NWC.  So by automatically putting the # symbol in the name, this issue should be avoided.

Thanks to Autodesk support for clarifying the new naming convention!

Clashes Not Showing Color in Navisworks 2012

I’ve run across a little issue with Navisworks 2012 where the clashes sometimes will not show the actual color of the Clash Status…i.e. Red for new, Orange for Active, etc.  The issue seems to be with the Lighting for the Render Style.  If the Render Style is set to Full Lights, clashes show up solid gray like this…

In order to fix this, all you need to do is change the Render Style to utilize Scene Lights (or Head Light or No Lights) and then the clashes will show up properly…

This is a defect and Autodesk Support is saying that the Development Team is aware of the issue.  Now we’ll just have to keep our fingers and toes crossed that a fix is released soon.  Once a fix has been released, I’ll post an update.

Navisworks 2012 Available for Download

I know I’m tardy on this, it’s been a very busy last few weeks.  If you’re a subscription customer, you now should have the ability to download your Navisworks 2012 product via the Subscription Center.  If you aren’t on subscription and/or would like to try out Navisworks 2012, you can download a trial HERE.

Navisworks 2012 has some nice new features and I will be blogging about them in the coming weeks.

Downloadable NWC Export Utility

This has been around now for a while, but I know there are people out there that don’t know or didn’t know this was available.

If you go to the Navisworks Product Page, scroll down until you see the link for the NWC File Export Utility (<-or just click the link).  You will be required to fill out the information asked (Name, Company, etc.) and then you’ll be able to download the Exporter.  You can share this with anyone once it’s downloaded…so for those Contractors out there, give this to your subs!!

For those Design people out there, install this so you you can provide the NWC files for those that are using Navisworks to coordinate the design files….even if you are using AutoCAD based products.

Navisworks 2012 Availability

UPDATE: Navisworks 2012 Available for Download

Now that the information is out about the new 2012 Autodesk products, the questions start coming up on when the 2012 products will be available. 

First things first, 2012 will be the same as 2011…it’s going to be available as a download for Subscription Customers unless you specify you want a disk.  So keep an eye out for an email from Autodesk Subscription (if you are a Subscription site manager for your company) as you’ll get your new serial number and notification that 2012 is available for download.

As for the date, the Navisworks 2012 products will probably be available around mid April based on the past couple years.  Remember, this is not a 100% certainty and is purely a guess, Autodesk has the right to provide the download/ship the disks at a earlier or later timeframe.

Hope you enjoy the new 2012 products!