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Revit 2021 Releases

X-RAY version 2021.2

Release Date 6/4/2021

New Features

Condition Mapping

Condition Mapping provides Builders with greater flexibility when using existing Revit content information to produce specific Pipeline key measure names and provide better alignment where type or parameter naming has been inconsistent. Historical X-RAY development workflows relied heavily on modifying existing content to include key measure information within a custom Pipeline parameter. X-RAY can now look within to determine this needed information resulting in less manipulation of existing assets and providing a more streamlined approach to condition development.

Within the new Pipeline Value tab, users can create a list of existing element types organized per Revit category that will require a specific key measure or description value to be produced when a condition is met. These new values are created in the Key Measure ID and Description fields of a condition by using the new Pipeline value tag within those statements.

Within the new Type Alias tab, users can override type names for existing families with unexpected or undesirable naming conventions. This can help bypass the need to manually change these families across all existing projects or makes it possible to reuse existing conditions that already reference other type names.

Within the new Parameter Alias tab, users can override parameter names for existing families with unexpected or undesirable naming conventions. Similar to the Type Alias, this can also help bypass the need to manually change these families across all existing projects or makes it possible to reuse existing conditions that already reference other parameter names.

For existing X-RAY users, a condition database upgrade will be required to support this new functionality.

Rule Builders for the Edit Condition Dialog

New Rule Builder dialogs have been added for the Condition, Key Measure ID and Description fields to assist with syntax development and help to streamline the rule building process. String tools such as operators, functions, range expressions and X-RAY specific tags will now appear as clickable buttons with tool tips that describe their use and function bringing more help documentation directly to the user.

When adding a new condition or editing existing conditions with the new “Edit w/ Ref” button, the user will be prompted to select a Revit element for reference prior to launching the rule builder dialog. This will expose all of the selected elements property information within the Instance, Type, and Material parameter drop down menu’s making it easier to understand what can be used to build the rule. Buttons are available to add parameters and their values into the rule string for all information categories. Additionally, a list of Syntax examples is also now available for all 3 fields to provide practical ideas for how rules can be properly constructed when first getting started.

Learning Resource Additions

Video – Condition Mapping
Documentation – Pipeline Value Tab
Documentation – Type Alias Tab
Documentation – Parameter Alias Tab

Documentation – Condition Field
Documentation – Key Measure ID Field
Documentation – Description Field
Documentation – Quantity Field

Enhancements

  • The Key Measure ID and Description fields have been enhanced to also utilize the new Pipeline Value tag, IF statements, Formulas and Roundup to create more dynamic results which can result in fewer conditions to manage and improved report generation performance.
  • The House Material Files dialog has been enhanced to also work with local house material files that are pending upload to Pipeline. Pending material files can now be uploaded on demand to provide users more control so that unintentional information is not automatically uploaded to Pipeline. To fully support this offline workflow, a new Auto Upload to Pipeline setting has been added to the X-RAY Settings dialog to specify if directly uploading house material files upon LotSpec option set solve is preferred or not.
  • The House Material Files dialog has been enhanced to include a Preview Files button for uploaded files that will show which products do not exist in Pipeline yet. The missing products information can be exported and provided to the estimator to approve and create the missing products within Pipeline.
  • Added a new Initiate Comparisons button to the House Material Files dialog that functions exactly the same as the Pipeline “Generate Comparisons” function. This allows the X-RAY user to execute one additional step that creates processed files needed for the Pipeline report view from any selected material files and without being signed into a Pipeline site separately to do so.
  • Enhanced the Comparison Group dialog to provide warnings if any comparison group configurations do not match the LotSpec option sets or are unassigned. The configuration field will now also display which option sets are already used to better understand what has not been used yet.
  • Enhanced the Comparison Group dialog to include a Validate button that will check for duplicate comparison group information and flag the duplicate fields for closer inspection. The duplicate information flags can be clicked to remove them as the user reviews their comparison groups for intended or unintended duplication.
  • Added the ability to export and import X-RAY settings for the following data sets: Units, Handing, Level Alias, Condition Groups, Range Groups, Quantity Formulas, and Condition Mapping. This will be particularly helpful for users who wish to reuse specific setup information that has already been accomplished elsewhere when setting up additional databases resulting in a savings of implementation time.

Fixes

  • Addressed an issue where duplicate material files were being created at the same time when using Pipeline Export.

X-RAY version 2021.1

Release Date 2/19/2021

New Features

Pipeline Connection Framework

X-RAY now has a Pipeline connection framework that will allow users to specify Pipeline credentials within the Settings dialog to link active Revit projects to House or Job assets. Projects that are linked can benefit from automatic material file uploads when exporting from within X-RAY and when solving LotSpec Option Sets with the X-RAY toggle on. This new functionality must be paired with the Pipeline 2021.0 release or newer in order to be available. The existing workflow that creates local material files that are later manually imported into Pipeline can still be used in the absence of a Pipeline linked workflow.

To get started, please review our Project Requirements documentation for the new Linked Pipeline Workflow.

Comparison Groups Builder

In X-RAY 2021.1, Revit users who are most familiar with how the LotSpec Option Sets were assembled can now build Pipeline Comparison Groups locally using the same familiar tools that are available within Pipeline but without having to be in Pipeline to do so. Comparison Groups that are built locally will immediately become available within Pipeline and vice versa. This feature requires the active project to be linked to a Pipeline House asset and for LotSpec for Revit to be installed and available. The Comparison Groups dialog will use Options from the linked Pipeline environment and Option Sets from the active LotSpec project for the assembly process.

House Material File Reviewer

With the new House Material Files dialog, X-RAY users can review key material file information and delete older House material files that have been uploaded to the linked Pipeline environment without having to be in Pipeline to do so. This dialog also allows for localized key measure tracing by providing select, isolate, and reset capabilities that are similar to the condition browser preview. This feature also requires the active project to be linked to a Pipeline House asset.

View Connect Targeted Elements

With the new View X-RAY Items utility, users can quickly identify project elements that have been targeted by active conditions, inactive conditions, or are not being targeted by conditions at all.

Enhancements

  • The About dialog has been revised to allow the user to Activate a license in addition to being able to Deactivate a license and also includes a new Purchase License link that will navigate the user to the Simpson Strong-Tie Builder/LBM Solutions Marketplace.
  • The X-RAY application is now digitally signed and certified.
  • The X-RAY License Activation Wizard now includes a “Request Trial License” button. This will provide a simple request form that will then automatically email the user a trial license key.
  • X-RAY will now include the Revit Element ID values for quantities inside of Pipeline material files which will allow for visual trace back functionality when using the House Material Files dialog.

Fixes

  • An issue was fixed where the addition of a condition group within the condition browser edit condition dialog was not being saved correctly.

X-RAY version 2021.0

Released 8/28/2020

Enhancements

  • X-RAY is now available for Autodesk Revit 2021.