What's New: OFCDesk Connect Features

You can view your designs within the Connect web interface before you start your render.

Show your true colors

Now you can view your designs on the web with enhanced clarity and vibrant color, before you render.

After opening your uploaded design in Connect, you can apply finishes and see the results in stunning color.  You will see the colors applied to all designs that have associated color swatches.

This will help you visualize your designs even better, before sending them to be rendered.  

Revit materials in color: All of the colors that you have applied in CAP, or in the Connect interface, will be attached to the Revit Families that you translate through color materials. 

This means that your customers who use Revit will be able easily change materials inside designs you send them, visualized the way that you created them....with color. 

Take a better picture

Before you render, you can place the camera anywhere you want in the space.

Our Connect camera, found in the viewer window, is new and improved. 

There are no limitations as to where you can place the camera. This allows you full control over what portion of the design you would like to render.

Zoom in nice and close. Pull all the way back, or view from underneath the object, for a long shot of your design.  The choice is yours.

Here is the finished product, after it has been rendered:

Click HERE to learn more about Connect.

Why AutoCAD Files Just Don't Work in Revit

Yes, its true:  AutoCAD .DWG files just don't work in Revit.  You can import a .DWG file into Revit, but you won't be pleased with the results.

Because of this, it's recommended that you don't send your customer, who uses Revit, your AutoCAD files.  Watch the video above to see why...

This is the challenge that manufacturers face: they offer symbols, but the majority of them are .DWG files (the most common AutoCAD file type).  This is great for your customers who use AutoCAD, but not so good for Revit users.

Your customers who want to interact with your products in Revit, won't like the fact that they have to insert a .DWG file into their precious design.  

Here are a two additional reasons your Revit design customers won't insert your AutoCAD .DWG files into their Revit projects:

1. AutoCAD .DWG files are HEAVY in Revit

Revit users often work on large scale projects.  Their designs could include entire buildings or floors, so .DWG files are not ideal.

Because .DWG files were not meant to reside in Revit projects, they are "heavy." 

This means that they slow down the Revit software, include too much detail, and are not parametric (the ability for users to turn product options on and off).  

In short, they're not made for Revit and don't allow the user to experience the best functionality that Revit can offer.  

Imagine adding a table and a chair 30 or 40 times into an entire Revit floor using clunky .DWG files. Your Revit project would come to a stand still.

The end result is a computer that crashes and an unhappy customer.

2.  AutoCAD .DWG files are not flexible in Revit

As we have shown in the above video, .DWG files used in Revit are inflexible and stiff.  

Let's say you've created a furniture typical configuration in AutoCAD and you then import it into Revit.  If your customer who uses Revit wants to make a change, they will struggle to adjust the model in Revit.  

The .DWG file in Revit imports just as you created it in AutoCAD and cannot be moved or easily broken apart.  The entire typical is essentially a stiff, unmovable block that slows down your customer's Revit project.

Also, .DWG files that are imported into Revit lose all "data," meaning that any specification information that the .DWG file contained will not show in Revit.

In conclusion: it's not a good idea to offer your AutoCAD files to a Revit user.  Give them the Revit version of your products they need, and they'll place an order.

Ofcdesk uses new Autodesk technology to help contract furniture dealers speak the same language as their customers.

Chicago, IL (June 1, 2015) Ofcdesk llc, a member of the Autodesk Developer Network, released Ofcdesk Connect, a tool that translates 20/20 CAP Studio® designs to Autodesk Revit® designs, using new Autodesk cloud and web browser technology.

“We’d been hearing complaints for years about the disconnect between commercial office furniture dealers and designers using Revit®,” said Ofcdesk’s CEO, Mauricio Ritzmann, “so we decided to apply new Autodesk technology to make it easier for the two parties to share designs.”

Utilizing the new Autodesk technology, Ofcdesk developed Connect, a primarily web-based system that translates 20/20 CAP Studio® and AutoCAD® layouts to an equivalent native Revit® layout.  The user can view the final output in their web browser and email the Revit® file to their clients.

Ofcdesk’s new Connect software uses translation technology originally created for Ofcdesk IDC. The IDC plugin won Ofcdesk the Best of NeoCon Gold Award for Software Technologies in 2014.

While planning to sell the IDC plugin to the contract office furniture dealer market, Ofcdesk’s CTO, Fernando Malard, attended an exclusive cloud accelerator where Autodesk developers were invited to work together on their product ideas, using the new platform.

“This new technology helps Ofcdesk leverage all of IDC’s features in the cloud. By using the Autodesk Cloud API, Ofcdesk Connect will help dealers translate AutoCAD® designs to Revit®, collect information, and manage projects, all in a web browser,” Fernando said.

 “Because most of the Connect interface uses a web browser, we can offer a subscription model that means more price flexibility for dealers.” Ritzmann said.

A designer at a dealer can subscribe at connect.ofcdesk.com, download a simple plugin for AutoCAD®, select their CAP Studio® design, and upload it to the Connect web page, all for a minimal monthly fee.  From there, the Ofcdesk server will translate their CAP Studio® layout to the equivalent layout, using Revit® symbols.

Ritzmann added, “The Connect process makes it easy for a commercial office furniture dealer who doesn’t want a large upfront investment in Revit® technology, to be able to share their designs with their customers in a more cost effective way.”

Connect subscriptions are available at: http://connect.ofcdesk.com/