Update history​

Arquimedes

Improvements in the connection to BIMserver.center

Version 2024.b includes the following improvements and corrections to the connection of applications to the BIMserver.center platform:

  • After sharing a contribution, there is a delay before it becomes available in the BIMserver.center project. This could result in another application not having immediate access, even if the export was made from the same computer. Now applications can read contributions from the "File directory stored in local cache" before they are accessible in BIMserver.center.

  • It is now possible to export a contribution without an internet connection. When this occurs, a confirmation dialogue box will appear to inform users that if the contribution is exported, it cannot be shared in the BIMserver.center project. The contribution can be read in another application as long as it is on the same computer and linked to the same project. However, for the contribution to be available on the platform, users will need to "Share" it again with an internet connection.

  • The uploading process has been improved to allow larger files to be included.

  • An error that did not allow users to connect to the platform when the "AppData" system folder was not accessible has been fixed.

  • An error that showed the user as logged in when the session had already expired has been fixed.

  • The warning messages displayed when there is a problem in the communication with BIMserver.center have been improved.

  • Now, when creating a new project, the same default fields are used as in the BIMserver.center website.

Links to the BIMserver.center platform

From the BIMserver.center project information window (displayed by clicking on the project name shown in the project information bar - upper right part of the application window) you can access the project page of the BIMserver.center platform via a link that has been inserted in the text indicating the project name.

Likewise, from the information window about the project contributions ("Contributions" option in the project information window), users can access the page of each contribution in the BIMserver.center platform. These links are inserted in the texts indicating the name of each contribution.

Notifications on the project status

The status information bar of the BIMserver.center project is located at the top right of the window of the programs included in the Open BIM workflow. This bar has been available in the applications since version 2022.e and shows a warning icon when there is a problem with the connection to the project, as well as other things. Now, in version 2024.b, users can obtain more information about the warning by hovering the mouse cursor over the icon.

Creating BIMserver.center Corporate projects

As of version 2024.b, users can create projects associated with a "BIMserver.center Corporate" account from all CYPE applications included in the Open BIM workflow. To do this, the "Owner" field has been added to the window for creating a new project. This is a drop-down menu that includes, as one of the available options, the logged-in BIMserver.center user name along with the "BIMserver.center Corporate" accounts to which it has access. When selecting the user name as the owner, the project will be associated with this personal account, as was the case in previous versions. On the other hand, if a BIMserver.center Corporate account is selected, the project will be associated with that account.

Clear cache

The "Clear cache" button has been added to the CYPE applications included in the Open BIM workflow in the "Configuration" dialogue box that opens with the following sequence of commands: Select any of the options in the "BIMserver.center" tool group > "Configuration" option in the dialogue box that appears. When clicking on "Clear cache", the following options are displayed:

  • Projects
    Deletes projects, contributions and documents downloaded from the platform that are in the "File directory stored in local cache".

  • Sessions
    Deletes the data of any active sessions. This action will require applications to be re-authorised to access BIMserver.center.

  • Log files
    Deletes transaction logging from applications with BIMserver.center.

Long access paths

In previous versions, file paths used by applications were limited to a maximum length of 256 characters. This restriction is not specific to CYPE tools but is set by default in the Windows file system. As of version 2024.b, CYPE applications can bypass the restriction and allow the use of an extended path length for a maximum total path length of 10,000 characters. This eliminates the problems caused by the default limit and allows users to work with long access paths.

This improvement is particularly useful when working on projects with a complex directory structure or with long file names. By allowing longer paths, CYPE applications offer greater flexibility in file organisation.

Classic menu of CYPE programs

As of version 2024.b, the classic menu of CYPE programs has a downloadable version available from the BIMserver.center platform Store.

This new classic menu downloaded from BIMserver.center includes the same applications and layout as the version available from the download area of the CYPE website, but with some differences.

When installing the BIMserver.center menu, only those applications that are not available for individual download in BIMserver.center will be included in the installation. The other applications in the BIMserver.center menu (those that can be downloaded individually from the BIMserver.center Store) can be downloaded and installed when they are opened for the first time from this new menu.

Compatibility of CYPE plugins for Revit® with "Revit 2024"

As of version 2024.a, the CYPE plugins for Revit "Plugin Open BIM - Revit" and "Bill of quantities of Revit models" (the latter included in the Arquimedes module "Bill of quantities of BIM models"), are compatible with Revit version 2024.

Changing the reference database and updating the concepts with external references

In versions prior to 2024.a, in order to change the reference database and update the prices with references that were external to the previous database, a somewhat non-direct process had to be carried out. Now, with version 2024.a, this process has been made much easier by the implementation of the "Change the location" option in the "Databases used by..." dialogue box.

Editing the "Comment" field in the “Comparative bill of quantities” dialogue box

As of Arquimedes version 2024.a, in the "Comparative bills of quantities" dialogue box, the cells of the "Comment" column belonging to the table at the end of this dialogue box (in the "Comparative presentation data" section) can be edited directly.

Bill of quantities of Revit models. Deducting openings in joined parallel walls

When a multilayer wall is defined in Revit, there are usually two different ways for Revit users to define it. One way is to select a multilayer wall that has already been defined as a family and the other way is to enter as many basic walls with as many layers as the multilayer wall to be entered. In the latter case, users use Revit's "Join Geometry" tool after entering the walls to make the whole wall act as a single unit. In both cases, when an opening is entered in the wall in Revit, it affects all the layers of the multilayer wall and all the walls joined by means of the "Join Geometry" tool.

In versions prior to Arquimedes 2024.a, when generating the quantities of these walls using the "MedBIM - Revit Plugin", the composition of the wall was not detected correctly (when it came to deducting an opening in the quantities of the wall) if in Revit the wall had been defined by joining walls that had been entered one by one. For this reason, in the quantities generated by the plugin, the opening was only deducted from one of the walls that made up the complete element. This did not happen when the wall in Revit had been defined as an element with different layers.

As of version 2024.a, the "MedBIM - Revit Plugin" now detects that the wall formed by different walls joined together in Revit is a unit and that the opening affects all the walls joined together in Revit equally.

New method for connecting applications to the BIMserver.center platform

The mode of communication between Open BIM applications and the BIMserver.center collaborative work platform has changed. In previous versions, the applications used the "BIMserver.center Sync" tool to upload and download the files of the contributions associated with the project from the platform. This tool was downloaded from the BIMserver.center platform or installed together with the installation of the platform applications if users so desired.

From version 2024.a onwards, applications are now able to work directly with BIMserver.center without an intermediary. That is, without the need for the "BIMserver.center Sync" tool.

This modification will improve the performance and efficiency of Open BIM applications significantly. By removing this dependency, the applications have more autonomy and the waiting times for communication between BIMserver.center Sync and the program have been considerably reduced. The process of downloading contributions has also been optimised, as users no longer need to obtain the entire content of a project from BIMserver.center in order to work, but only the contributions to be read.

The way of authenticating a BIMserver.center user in the applications has also been modified. Now, this process is carried out within the BIMserver.center web platform. To do this, the application with which the user is working will run the user's default browser when the "Login" button is pressed. When the credentials are entered, or after opening the browser if the user is already connected to the platform, an authorisation page will be displayed. This page details the resources the application is requesting access to and two buttons for granting or denying this access.

The authorisation must be carried out for each application. Once access has been granted, it is saved for the next time the program is run and there is no need to perform this process again for that application.

As well as performance improvements, changes have been made to the user interface of the Open BIM applications regarding the connection to BIMserver.center.

  • The "Connect to BIMserver.center" window now includes a "Configuration" button. Clicking it launches a menu from which you can edit the "File directory stored in local cache". This is the path where the files that make up the contributions will be downloaded when working with them from the applications. In previous versions, this location could be selected from the BIMserver.center Sync tool.
  • The appearance of the "Project selection" window has been modified.
  • In the "Select project" list, the "View only my projects" option has been added to show only the projects where the connected BIMserver.center user is the owner. Icons have also been included for the "Type of project" column in order to make it easier to identify them. The detailed data of a project now shows the image of each contribution, the description and the tags.
  • The "Review new contributions" and "Review updated contributions" options have been added to the "Create new project" window.
  • The list for selecting contributions ("Import BIM models") now includes the images of the contributions and the tags. The name of the contribution will be displayed in blue to indicate that the owner is the logged-in user.
  • When sharing a contribution or selecting contributions during the process of linking to a BIMserver.center project, a progress window will appear during the upload or download process.

To work in BIMserver.center with versions of Open BIM applications prior to 2024.a, users must continue to use the BIMserver.center Sync tool. This is still available for download from the platform and was included in the installation packages of the CYPE Open BIM applications prior to 2024.a.