I just noticed a few good write-ups on the Revit Family Browser by Kiwi Codes that I wanted to pass along. Some of the developers at Kiwi are readers of this blog so a nod of thx to them.
Article at Do U Revit
Aaron Maller's write-ups - blog post about v2 & some of the new features in version 3.7
Revit Family Browser by Kiwi Codes - Product Page
Lat but not least - manditory eye candy
Tell us what you think of the product. Do you use it and if not do you think you need it?
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Thanks for the link back. Obviously, we are using it. It was the first major thing i hated about Revit (that it was missing) after coming from AutoCAD and the Design palettes.
The catch all Component Button is the most absurd thing ever. So it throws everything in it, by alphabetical order, oh- but not doors, or windows, or...
Even more ironic is that the LEGEND component button manages to sort by category, and legends are virtually unuseable.
The FB is a great add on, and it provides a big enough functionality that its worth managing as an add on.
It is a shame- however- that we are having to look to Third party developers for something so basic as structured content searchability.
Autodesk obviously understands the need, as the content SHIPS in categoric breakdown. The only things that could make the FB better would be actual programmatic integration. Letting it dock, letting it have access to more features like groups, insert from file, etc. It needs to be exactly how it is, but not through an API add on.
Posted by: Aaron Maller | February 26, 2011 at 05:51 PM
Aaron - Thank you for the feedback - I hear you loud and clear.
Posted by: Emile Kfouri (Blog Author) | February 27, 2011 at 01:44 PM
Yes, this type of functionality is huge for the everyday user. Not to mention that since this tool makes it so much easier to pull families from a central library, it totally cuts down on having to update preloaded families in templates as one would simply leave them out all together.
This week we will be evaluating the product and set it up for our users. Most probably we'll be purchasing an office license.
I'm also looking forward to see additional API functionality so we can develop applications to manage drafting view libraries. It is so disappointing to keep waiting year after year, asking developers if this is possible only to get the same response. I think this is the third or fourth year I have been longing for a drafting view management system and there is still no hope on the horizon.
Posted by: David Baldacchino | February 27, 2011 at 05:54 PM
David - I thought during my research I had seen at least one tool for managing and loading details into Revit. Is that what you are talking about?
Do you know of this product and would it meet your needs?
Adept Detail Manager - http://www.adept-dev.com/products
Posted by: Emile Kfouri (Blog Author) | February 27, 2011 at 06:07 PM
HI Emile.
Thank you so much for your plug of our product.
I'm pretty sure what Dave will be wanting is to insert native detail views directly into Revit from other Revit projects/files. At this stage this cannot be done through the Revit API. It is a really common wish that we receive from our customers along with the ability to insert groups, both of which can be done through the native Revit UI.
By the looks of the mentioned product they are inserting AutoCAD DWG details into Revit. Who in their right mind really wants to do this???
Cheers
Phillip Miller
Posted by: Phillip Miller | February 27, 2011 at 07:02 PM
Family Browser is a God send. It is the type of Revit productivity tool that has been SADLY lacking in Revit's development. It is simple to use and speeds things up immeasureably. A great joy to use.
Posted by: Dick Barath | February 27, 2011 at 07:46 PM
Family Browser is a huge time saver. If Autodesk were to include something similar, they would have to hit a huge homerun with the implementation of it. Family Browser has been updated 3 or 4 times in the last year, all updates have kept the tool simple, increased the functionality while increasing productivity without impacting the performance. Kiwi Codes have set the bar high for third party developers and maybe even Autodesk in my opinion.
Instead of buying Family Browser or 'borrowing' the idea and making it part of Revit, Autodesk's time would be better spent focusing on the core features of Revit, knocking out most of the wish list items, keep expanding the API and reach out to developers like Kiwi Codes, helping them improve their products.
The last thing I want to see happen is for Autodesk to buy or develop something similar to Family Browser, introduce it, then let it sit idle, only to slightly improve it on a yearly basis with small features.
There are a number of add-ons the duplicate each other’s features; standard checking, renumbering, etc. only a few rise above the crowd.
Family Browser is the add-on of this year and the next.
Posted by: Chris Ridder | March 18, 2011 at 11:26 AM
As with everyone else here, I am a HUGE fan of Family Browser and have been a happy user since V1.0.
It is such a pleasure to use a very well thought out tool. As with many others, I have totally rebuilt my template and remove a ton of families which would have been previously loaded into every project.
Family browser saves so much time that it pays for itself in the first day of use.
Agree with Chris that this is the add on of the year and the next.
Cannot wait for V4.0, it is sure to knock our socks off.
Posted by: Ian Kidston | March 21, 2011 at 02:05 AM