"jason martin [Autodesk]" wrote in message
news:404c9002_3@newsprd01...
> Hey All -
>
> This is a very interesting subject and I'd very much appreciate your
> opinions on the items below...
>
> What are revisions? Are they just visual differences from one version of a
> single file to another version of that same file?
The changes that get clouded are the visual differences. It would be great
to be able to get a visual color override of the items that changed
visually, as well as Mr. Bell's suggestion of some sort of dialog box.
> If I change the height of
> a ceiling, but don't change the layout of the grid, is that a revision
that
> you want to be notified of? It won't be a visual difference (at least in
> "plan" views).
This is where some sort of dialog or list of all changes, labeled visual and
non-visual, would address the other type of changes. The document
"originator" or person making the original changes would 1) notate those
changes with a description for the other project members to read, 2) enter
an "official" date, 3) Indicates (to Autocad)whether the change is to be
automatically clouded, manually clouded or not clouded. A simple box or
circle could be viewed or grip modified prior to acceptance of each
"Auto-Cloud." Someone may want to grip edit the cloud to encircle a much
larger area. Nodes could be added to change shape of the "Auto-Cloud." If
the user chooses to manually cloud, then the software would simply highlight
or step thru each visual object to be clouded.
Mr. Bell's suggestion is perfect for quality control and project
communication. A project member thru the x-refs gets a dialog box of their
own notifying that a change(s) have been made. The project member goes down
the list and 1) checks off that he/she has seen the change, 2) Annotates
comments back, 3) generates an e-mail to the "originator" and/or project
group and/or bulletin board. Tracking changes, who has communicated, how and
when, is very important to both quality control and project management.
> What if a walls construction changes from fire rated to
> non-fire rated, or vice-versa. The actual construction of the wall may not
> have changed (5/8 gyp both sides + 3-5/8 mtl studs), but wouldn't you want
> to be notified that you now need dampers (or need to remove dampers) in
that
> wall?
Love this idea! Don't know how many times a wall rating changes and dampers
added/removed are missed. The dialog box described above and by Mr. Bell
should include these changes.
>
> What about changes at the project level. Let's say that the architect
> changes the floor to floor height on level 2. That doesn't show up in any
of
> the floor plans (project setting), but should you be notified about it
> (ideally the architect would tell you about a change like this, but...)?
Same here, Love it. Mr. Bixler brings up a very valid point, we don't want
every little change to be mentioned to everyone, however, what is little?
Maybe, instead of the software making that decision or only filtering small
things like single linework added, the document "originator" should be asked
this question and given the final say.
> Will simply pointing out the visual differences between two versions of
the
> same file satisfy your needs? Will this satisfy 80% of the cases or will
you
> need significantly better "change management tools" to track what has
> happened between different versions of the file(s).
>
> Thanks for any input.
>
> jason
Visual notifications are a great start, but the remaining suggestions about
dialog boxes and e-mails, and "Auto-Clouds" would be a very very powerful
tool. The answer to your question, how far should the software go, depends
on how much Autodesk want to build. The age old problems of quality control,
how errors are kept to a minimum, getting project member to communicate, and
what system is used to enforce and track that communication will never go
away. Maybe Autodesk can help!
>
> "Joshua P. Benoist" wrote in message
> news:404c8a18$1_3@newsprd01...
> > At the same time, the less steps in the process and modifications you
make
> > to files, the better the quality control will be AND the more efficient
> the
> > process will be. Having a command or add-in that will efficiently
identify
> > changes and OPTION to/or not to auto cloud on a separate layer would be
> more
> > efficient. You wouldn't have to tinker (much) with the original files.
Mr.
> > Bell's idea is a great solution for the meantime.
> > JPB
> >
>
>