But What if I Don't Want to Edit XML?

But What if I Don't Want to Edit XML?

There's a whole lot of variety in the MEP world; from the different system types that can meet the occupancy requirements of a building, to the different standards that can be used to create each of those system types, to the different materials and connection types that can be used to for a given standard for a given system type...you catch my drift.

The Wall of Blinking Lights, Switches, and Knobs

For us as a product team, it means that we need to architect an application that is flexible enough to meet those needs, but is not a "wall of blinking lights, switches, and knobs".  While the "wall of blinking lights, switches, and knobs" certainly does accomplish the task, it's not the most usable or learnable solutions.

The guy who's been working at that wall for 10 years?  Well he's got that wall down, ask him to do something and he know which knob to turn to get the desired result.  If that guy gets hit by a bus, or decides he wants to work somewhere else, then the next guy just kind of stares at the wall in awe while there is a near meltdown because the Safety Inspector in Sector 7G is working from home due to an obesity disability claim (Simpsons referenece).

The contrary solution involves good UI design, user testing, and a lot more resources.  Therefore, as a product team we must pick and choose where we apply our finite resources to provide the more usable and learnable product, while still making sure it is still a capable one.  Just a little insight into our decision-making process.

The Old Way - In an XML File

With that in mind, we've made a nice step (admittedly biased opinion) forward with Revit MEP 2009 regarding a piece of functionality that was previously such a "wall of blinking lights, switches, and knobs".  As a way of delivering the aforementioned application flexibility, we previously kept record of the sizing information available for both Pipes and Wire for a given Revit project in XML files.

We willed these XML files with the information we felt was needed for a good chunk of our users' projects.  But, due to the aforementioned variety in the MEP industry, there was need to add more information to these XML files.  Simple enough, if you were comfortable editing XML files.  That is a big "IF", and certainly not the most learnable or usable solution.

Add to that fact that for projects with customized XML files, those XML files had to be accessible to every user working on that project, or else some users would not be able to use these custom sizes/materials.  This created an additional coordination hurdle for CAD/BIM Managers.

In short, we had a bit of a "wall of blinking lights, switches, and knobs" on our hands.

The New Way - In the Project

So in Revit MEP 2009 we have moved this previously XML-based information into the Revit Project file itself, creating a much more usable/learnable solution.  At the same time, we have made users aware that such capability existed in the first place...all good things.

Size List Migration

Note: Be sure to Right-Click->Zoom->Full Screen inside of the embedded video player to see it in all its 1024x768 beauty.  You you can download the full video by clicking on the linked title.

As you can see, this is a nice enhancement to the previously available functionality, and with the Transfer Project Standards functionality, it's a straightforward process to move your customized settings from one project to another.

Now, for those of you who managed to navigate the previous "wall of blinking lights, knobs, and switches", we did not forget about you.  Watch the following video for the process to migrate this previously customized data from Revit MEP 2008 into Revit MEP 2009.

Migrating Custom Settings from 2008 to 2009

Note: Be sure to Right-Click->Zoom->Full Screen inside of the embedded video player to see it in all its 1024x768 beauty.  You you can download the full video by clicking on the linked title.

I hope that helps to cover this new functionality.  As always posts comments/questions you have and I'll try to answer.

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