Requirements:  Navisworks Exporter Installed for Revit (version specific)

Above the Line

Basic Above the Line task setup information can be found at the following blog post

https://imaginit.helprace.com/i746-clarity-task-basics-setup-above-the-line

Navisworks Task Setup

1. Specify the view(s) you want to export by using a view set, or expression
   1. 
   2. Selecting the ….. brings up options to use Expressions or View/SheetSet Selection options
   3. 
   4. Expression example for views that contain 3D Navis
      1. View Name=~3D Navis
      2. If you have done a Revit Database Export on the model, you can see the sets that are available to export if you prefer to choose one of those instead.
         1. 
2. Specify how you want to name the output
   1. 
   2. Selecting the ….. brings up a dialog for naming options
   3. 
   4. If you are exporting multiple views, verify your naming setup.
   5. You must include the .nwc at the end
3. Error on Missing Links?
   1. Checked is Yes, unchecked is No
   2. If links are missing when processing the task, this will kill the task.
   3. 
4. Coordinates
   1. 

1. Parameter Option
   1. Specifies how Revit parameters are read. Select from the following options:
   2. 
      1. None - the file exporter does not convert parameters.
      2. Elements - the file exporter converts parameters for all found elements.
      3. All - the file exporter converts parameters for all found elements, including the referenced elements. As a result, extra property tabs are available in Autodesk Navisworks.

1. Faceting Factor
   1. Recommended value between 1-4, the higher the number the more facets
   2. 
2. Divide File into Levels
   1. Checked means yes, unchecked means no
      1. 
3. Convert Element Properties
   1. 
4. Export ElementIds
   1. 
5. Export Links
   1. If you want linked model geometry to export, this box needs to be checked.
   2. 
6. Export Parts
   1. 
7. Export Room as Attribute
   1. export data for each room into a single shared room attribute
   2. 
8. Export Room Geometry
   1. 
9. Export URLs
   1. 
10. Find Missing Materials
    1. Yes, the file exporter looks for a match for the materials missing from the export.
    2. 
11. Include Metadata File
    1. BIM360/ACC files only this will produce an XML format file with the Metadata information.
    2. 

They will be exported in the default version of Autocad set up in the Revit model Export Settings if a specific version is not specified in the task setup.

This would be the version you would see when you export manually from Revit by default.

Above the Line Settings

These are the same as all other tasks and can be referenced in this blog post:  https://imaginit.helprace.com/i746-clarity-task-basics-setup-above-the-line

Worksets:  All or those specifically needed to produce the dwgs if you want to be selective.

DWG Task Setup

DWG Help

Export Settings

In the task setup area, the Export Settings refers to the DWG/DXF Export Settings defined in the Revit Model. 

If you have a saved Setup in the model that you want to use, you can define that here and we will use those settings instead of you having to define them manually in the task.

If you have not done a Revit Database Export to see the DWG Setup from the model, you can just type it in.  It is case sensitive, so it must match exactly how it exists in the model.

If Export Settings are set to NONE, that means you are going to define things in the task.

If you want to specify an Export Setting from the model you will enter that information here by entering the name of the Export Settings from Revit:

View/Sheet Set to Export:      [ALL SHEETS ..... 

The default is ALL Sheets, but you can select the …. and choose by Expression or Set

View Expressions are very powerful and there are lots of options, I will not go into detail in this document, but you can find addition information in this help link.

Example

In this example I am looking for views that contain 3D Navis Coordination in their name.

View/Sheet Set

Sometimes it will be easier to use a view set than to try to use an expression to get the views you need.  The view sets are populated by running a Revit Database Export task on the model.

If you know the name of the set you can just type it in rather than run a database export, keep in mind it is case sensitive.

Export Individually – Depending on how you have this set, the naming options change.

• Do you want to export each view as its own dwg or combine them all into one file?

DWG Filename(s)  ..... 

• Your export settings determine the options available for naming.
  • If you select to export individually and you select the ….
  • You will see Sheets and Views under Data Type
  • 
• If you are not exporting individually, you will not see the same options under Data Type
  • 

Error on Missing Links 

• If this is set to yes (checked) and we cannot load some Revit links for any reason, we will kill the task.

Artifact Subfolder 

• Do you want a sub folder created under the Project Artifacts for this export?
• If you select this option, it will require you to enter the name of the folder or the parameter to fill in for the name.
  • Example: [Date] 
    • That will create a sub folder with the date for that model
• 

Zip Output Files 

• Do you want the output zipped, if this is toggled it will add another line to enter the name of the zip file.
  • This is a good option if you run into a situation where the filename is too long which happens sometimes when images are exported with the dwg files.
• If you select this option, a naming dialog will appear.
  • 

Force Apply View Template 

• Do you want to apply a view template to the views being exported?

Remove PCP Files 

• When the dwgs are produced it also includes the plot settings files, do want to keep those or discard them.

 Include View/Sheet Metadata File 

• For each view exported, extract the Revit parameters for the view/sheet and project information into XML format. This data can be used with specific post task actions to push the metadata into document management systems, such as ProjectWise or 360.

 Split Large Tasks? 

• This option can only be used if the task is exporting the files individually and the output is not zipped
• If you toggle this selection it will bring up a configuration dialog for you to specify the split settings
• 
  • When the "original" task starts, it will determine if it should split itself into multiple tasks. If so, it creates sub-tasks, and assigns those tasks what part-of-the-whole-task that they should be responsible for. These subtasks are launched, and will appear as independent tasks within the Current Task queue. They do not have a strong link to the original task - they will just have the same name (with the sub-set information appended to the name).
  • While the exact behavior of the original task is up to the task author, in most cases we believe that the original task will:
    • Take the first "batch" for itself and start the work.
    • NOT wait for the others to complete- just finish and close.
    • You can find out more information on the configuration, and any kinds of limitations about when a task can-or-cannot be split within the configuration help for each task.

In Session Settings

In session settings are used if you have not specified a DWG settings file.  Here you will configure how you want the export to run.

These settings are a condensed version of the tabs in the DWG/DXF Export Setup dialog inside of Revit.

All settings are pretty self-explanatory with the exception of Merge Views

Merge Views

This setting is the opposite of this setting in Revit

• If Merge Views is checked, a consolidated DWG will be created, meaning that the views will be blocks in the exported DWG.
• If unchecked, there will be separate DWGs for the views, and they will be external reference links in the DWG.

Notes

The notes section is in all tasks, and it' good practice to add information about the task setup.

Unified Sync

Unified Sync Help Link

Task Processor:  Clarity Windows Task Server

Scope:  Project

Oauth:  Default or the one specified in the project.

BIM360:  Published files

File Types:  All*

 This task has a variety of Platforms for you to choose from to either Synchronize between the two, or just backup from one to the other.

* IMPORTANT NOTE

Keep in mind that this can transfer all file types, however some platforms may not support all file types from the other platform.  For example, you cannot upload a .html file to BIM360.

• 360/ACC Unsupported Formats Link
• 360/ACC Supported Formats Link

Task Configuration

Depending on how the task is configured, the Project may or may not be relevant.

Make sure you pay attention to the Credentials (Oauth) for the various platforms.

Supported Platforms

 BIM 360/ACC Download

BIM 360/ACC Help Link

Task Processor:  Clarity Windows Task Server

Scope:  Project

Oauth:  Default or the one specified in the project.

BIM360:  Published files

File Types:  All

This task only works on files in the Autodesk Cloud Projects

There are no cleanup options for this task.

• The 360 download task will download everything from the Plans and Projects Files folders unless you specify a sub folder or file, this can include wildcards.
• Be aware that it does not use live models, it uses published models so it will be necessary to make sure all Revit models are published prior to running this task.
• You can filter the file types you want to download.
• For Revit models I would recommend that you also set it to unzip the files (even if you don't have the task set to zip) since depending on the model size it may be a zipped file even though it will appear with a .rvt extension.

BIM 360/ACC Migrate

BIM 360/ACC Migrate Help Link

Task Processor:  Clarity Revit Task Server

Scope:  Project

Oauth:  Default or the one specified in the project.

BIM360:  Live Models (Revit)

File Types:  All

Limitations: It is not possible to overwrite live models within BIM360 Docs or ACC, you must choose whether existing models will be deleted or skipped. If you choose the delete mechanism, it may be necessary to fix other models that link to models that were deleted. However, models brought over during the migration should be relinked by the task.

This task is strictly for copying models files from one location in 360/ACC to another.

• This task is not specific to Revit files.  For Revit files we will open the live model
• You can copy files from one hub to another or use this task to copy to other folders in the same project.
• If you are copying from one hub to another, you will need to create a project in Clarity for the Target Project
• This task can convert uploaded Revit models to workshared collaboration models.
• If you are migrating from Teams to ACC there needs to be a model in the new folder in the proper version of Revit.
• This task can have Worksets set to None if processing Revit models
• In the File Wildcard area, you can specify the file(s) you want to copy

• Scheduled tasks are controlled by the Clarity Monitoring Service that runs on the host.

  • If the Monitoring service is not running, scheduled tasks will not run.

• Tasks must be set to Enabled ‘Yes’
• The time the tasks run is based on the equivalent time in the host timezone.
• If the task is set to ‘Only on Change’
  • Has the model date changed since the last time the task was run? (using the date as shown on the project homepage)
  • Has the task definition been changed/saved since the last time the task was run?
  • In the case of a project-scoped task, if any model in the project has changed, the project is considered changed.
• Notes:
  • The updates to the date last modified shown on the project homepage are performed by the monitoring service, and they are updated on different schedules according to the project type (ranging from near-instantaneous to once every 45 minutes or so). In the case of BIM360 projects, there are also different date updates that Clarity receives - in some cases for Publish Dates and in some cases for the last Sync To Central.
  • The date modified only refers to the file itself, it does not consider if there is a link within the file which has changed.

Schedule Settings

The time you see on the Task Configuration page next to the Schedule represents your timezone

This is to make it easier for you to schedule tasks based on your timezone.

If you hover over your timezone shown above, it will show you the difference between your timezone and the host, if any.  In my case there isn’t one.

However, tasks are always run off what the scheduled time equates to on the host.

Example

If you schedule a task to run at 9:00 pm (21:00) PST and the host is on EST, the task will run at midnight EST since there is a three-hour difference between those two time zones.

That is when the task will be “launched” and placed in the queue.

If the task server that picks it up is in Texas, that task is running on that task server at 10:00 pm since Texas is in the Central time zone.

It is a Windows-based tool, installed with the Clarity Host software, which can do some batch updates on tasks and task definitions.

Where is It?

C:\Program Files\IMAGINiT Technologies\Tools\Clarity.TaskUtility

What Can It Do?

• Manage Current Tasks
  • Select the tasks in the grid, then for the selected tasks:
    • Kill Them (request that Revit be shutdown if it's working on them)
    • Delete them (remove them if Revit has not yet claimed them)
    • Reprioritize them to a new priority level
• Manage Task Definitions
  • Select the tasks in the grid, then for the selected tasks:
    • Batch Copy them to multiple other projects
    • Change their scheduled time

Below is a list of tasks that can run with worksets set to None without impacting the output from the task.

Revit Tasks

• Backup Project
• Backup Revit Server
• BIM360/ACC Publish
• BIM 360 Migrate
• Family Upgrader
• Harvest Families
• Index Families
• Index Model Families
• Model Checker
• Model Metrics
• Model Review
• Model Upgrader
• Performance Advisor
• Quantity Snapshot
• Revit Audit and Compact
• Revit Database Export
• Unless you need svg room images for datasheets.
• Schedule Export
• Transfer Project Standards
• Transmit Revit Model (Publish Revit Model)
• Update Revit Model from Disk
• Update Revit Model from FTP
• Update Revit Model with Change Requests

All Clarity Windows Task Server tasks

These do not run inside of Revit so we would not use worksets in the task, even it is was set to do so.

• A360 Download
• AutoCAD Etransmit
• AutoCAD Metrics
• AutoCAD to PDF
• AutoCAD Script
• AutoCAD to Navisworks
• BIM360 Data Extraction
• BIM Track Backup
• BOX Sync
• Civil 3d Metrics
• DropBox  Download
• Egnyte Sync
• File Copy
• Glue Download
• Glue Upload
• Google Drive Sync
• Navisworks Conversion
• One Drive Sync
• Procore Sync
• SharePoint Download
• Unified Sync 

Types of Task Servers

There are several types of Task Servers that can be enabled in the Clarity task tray.  For each of these, the proper identity must be associated to it.  For Revit tasks, the logged in windows session should be the designated Clarity account.  For the Windows task server, the service account identity needs to be the “log on” in that service.  Forge requires credentials and a key.

• Clarity Revit Task Server
  • This will process tasks that require opening the Revit model.
  • For 360 projects we will use the Autodesk credentials signed into Revit or the desktop connector.
• Clarity Windows Task Server
  • This will process tasks that don’t require opening the Revit model.
  • This also applies to Autocad tasks.
  • For 360 projects, we use the Autodesk credentials assigned to the project in Clarity.
• Autodesk Forge
  • This is a paid service through Autodesk.
• Clarity Cloud (2024+)
  • This can process a small list of task types.

Task Priority

Each task has a priority set to it that controls whether it is more or less critical than another.  The lower the number, the higher it is in the line of tasks.

IMPORTANT NOTE

This however can be overridden when tasks are in the queue by prioritizing it, which pushes the task to a priority 1 and moves it up in the queue.

Server Task Server Settings

This is set from the Server tab, Settings

Claim all tasks for each model, will process all tasks in the queue for that same model when set to True, so whichever task server grabs it, it will do all of the tasks for that model.

If that setting is False we can distribute the tasks to other task servers with a lighter load…unless the task is part of a sequence or specific task servers are set in the project or on the task servers.

Scheduled Tasks

In addition to the priority, and the server and task server settings the task will run on the set schedule, unless, it is set to Only on Change.  When set to only on change, it will only run at the scheduled time, if we see that the target model has changed for that model when the task is a File Scope.  If the task is a project scope, the same is true, except if any model changed it will run.

If you want the task to always run on schedule, do not select Only on Change.

We base the “change” on the date we see on the project home page, if it is different it will run, if not, it won’t.

Scheduled tasks will run in the timezone of the Server, so keep that in mind if you have task servers in different timezones.

Scheduled tasks must be “Enabled” in the task setup, or they won’t run on schedule.

Finally, the Monitoring service is what takes care of scheduled tasks, so if that service isn’t running on the host, scheduled tasks won’t run.  You can see if the service is running on the Server tab, Central Host. 

Task Sequence

IMPORTANT NOTES:

You cannot mix File scoped and Project scoped tasks.

You cannot mix Revit task server tasks with Windows task server tasks, they must be the same task processor type task.

It’s best to do the sequence either by model, or by task types.

• For example a sequence for the Arch model to run a pdf, dwg and navis tasks
  • Or
• Several models to run the Revit DBX, Model Metrics and Performance Advisor tasks, with worksets None.

A task sequence bundles together multiple tasks in a Project, so that they will run together, in a single operation, in a guaranteed sequence.

That means, that regardless of the server settings, the targets in this task will all run at the same time and in the order specified in the task setup.  If you are running a sequence on multiple targets, this could cause issues with tasks failing due to timeout issues.

The task server that claims the sequence will do all of the tasks in the sequence, for all models, in one session.

The settings above the line, will override settings in the individual tasks:  target, priority, email notifications, enabled are replaced with the top configuration of the Task Sequence, with one exception:

• For any configured Post Action on the individual task, you can set the Task Sequence to process the individual task actions. All of the files produced by all of the tasks in the Task Sequence will be compiled and processed by a Post Action configured on the Task Sequence.
• 

Setting Task Servers in the Project

This applies to all task types in the project.

If there are task servers specified in the project, that will override the ability to distribute the tasks to task servers not selected in the project, or on the task servers.

Task Server Settings for Projects and Tasks

In addition to all of the above, the task servers can also play a role in this.

If you select the Server and Edit, you can make additional configuration changes that apply to task processing.

We can specify projects and or tasks that the task server will do.

If you Enable Project Filtering, no tasks will process on that task server unless that project is checked.  New projects do not automatically get checked, you would need to do that manually.

Other Task Server Settings

The task server Clarity version is also something to consider since not all versions support the same versions of Revit.  Additionally, not all versions of Revit may be configured to run on the task server.

The task server might not be configured to run during certain times, which would make it unable to claim tasks.

Windows and 360 Credentials

If the task server is logged in with credentials other than the designated Clarity account, we may not be able to process certain tasks due to permission issues.  This could also be true, if the task server is configured to allow multiple Windows logins.

For 360 projects, the 360 identity signed in on the task server must have access to the models in Revit.

For the Clarity Windows task server, we use the credentials assigned to the project.

Miscellaneous Considerations

PDF Tasks

For PDF tasks, only the Clarity pdfx and Revit PDF (2022 +) can run multiple pdf tasks at the same time, assuming you have the task server configured to run multiple Revit Sessions.

Memory Consumption

If a task server is over the specified memory consumption, it will not take more tasks, even if configured to run multiple sessions, until the value is below the specified setting.

Addin Missing

Some tasks require addins, if they are not installed on the task server, it will not process the task.  Some addins are version specific.

Wrong Version

If the wrong version is specified for a 360 project we will not be able to claim the task and it will sit in the queue until it times out.

Additional Configuration

Some task types require additional configuration to allow them to run on the task server ie: Autocad tasks.