June 15, 2011

The Essential Revit Data Management Tool: Ideate BIMLink 2012 Ships

Ideate BIMLink 2012 is hot off the presses – thanks to all who helped us with feedback and ideas on our first release of Ideate BIMLink 2012.

One of our biggest user-interface related requests was, thankfully, fairly easy to pull-off. So, by popular request, Ideate BIMLink (as well as Ideate Explorer) now installs directly to the Add-Ins tab within an Ideate Software Tab. The Extensions Manager, free with Autodesk Subscription, is no longer a requirement for Ideate BIMLink installation.

In addition to many minor improvements, our single biggest addition in this release is the support of Key Schedules. This was our top user request so we’re pleased to provide support for both editing Key Schedules and the assignment of Keys within Instance Links. Lana Gochenauer, one of our Revit MEP Specialists helped us put together a great example of how Key Schedules can be used to take control over manufacturer provided content and delivers the schedule output you need. Check out this Smoke Damper Schedule example.



For our architectural customers, access to the Key Schedule data means it’s never been easier to hand off that Equipment, Fixture, Room or Hardware Schedule to a consultant or any non-Revit users to be filled out in Excel. Did you know that Key Schedules have their own workset, allowing easy modification to volumes of data without interrupting Worksharing? Here’s another video showing how Ideate BIMLink 2012 supports this powerful workflow with Door Hardware.


Lastly, we’re providing even more great content in this release to help get you started including:
  • Occupancy Sample File with custom occupancy tag
  • Lighting Fixture Types Link
  • Plumbing Fixture Types Link
  • Duct Accessory Types Link
  • Mechanical Equipment Types Link
  • Mechanical Equipment Link
  • Materials - Rename Link
You can get the detailed list of improvements and fixes within our Online Help. Keep those wishlist ideas coming for upcoming point releases! If you’d like to give Ideate BIMLink 2012 a try, download our free Trial version.



Glynnis Patterson,
N.C.A.R.B. – Director of Services

Glynnis is a Registered Architect and has worked within the BIM industry since 1998. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, she has worked as an architect, educator and construction site manager. Glynnis is currently the Director of Development Services at Ideate, Inc. and continues to work with AEC clients across the nation, developing, and implementing best practices solutions. In her spare time Glynnis is a member of the Morristown Environmental Commission and builds Lego projects. @GVPinNJ

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