Using FDN is pretty straight forward. Pressing the “Find” button will search and find double nodes within the given margin. Unconnected nodes will be grouped and presented as a list. This list of nodes will show its index, node id and coordinates. You can select a node from the list and it will be highlighted in Revit.

·       Press the “Isolate Selected” button to isolate the neighboring nodes and elements.

·       Check “Visibility” to “switch on” the display of analytical nodes.

·       Press the “Zoom” button to zoom in to the selected node.

·       Press “Fix” button to merge surrounding nodes to the selected one on the list.

·       Click “Thin Lines” to switch to thin line mode.

·       Below you can find further detailed descriptions and documentation.

FIND

Finding double nodes is the core component of the software. This tab includes key indicators and functionality which are as follows:

Find Button

This button starts the core engine of the software. It gathers all the analytical node data in the Revit model and compares them in order to determine whether they are within the range of given margin. The elapsed time to complete the find operation will be shown in the status area.

Data Grid

Double nodes found in the database are presented here in a tabular form. Nodes found that are closer than the given margin are grouped to gather and colored-coded. Differentiating colors make it easy to follow which node is close to which one. The data grid also indicates Index, Element Id, and X, Y, Z coordinates of the nodes. Coordinates shown here are converted to millimeters or inches according to the model being metric or imperial. By clicking the column header you can sort the nodes' data accordingly. Selecting a row also selects and highlights the corresponding element in the Revit model. If the selected node is no longer exists in the analytical model, a warning message will be shown in the status area.

Margin

This is the main criteria for the find function. You can adjust the margin to a value that you think it would be erroneous for the analytical model. Nodes that have a smaller distance than the margin are considered to be double nodes.

Nodes

This is an indicator of the total number of nodes in the structural model. Bigger the model higher the total node count will be. As you approach to such high numbers as 5,000 ~ 10,000 nodes or more, FDN will utilize a multi-threaded algorithm to provide you faster results.

Double

This section is the indicator of double nodes count, found after you run the program. “Double” term is used for designating the problem. Actually, in an analytical model, there can be triple or even more nodes that are close to each other but not connected. Hopefully, FDN can find and group those problematic nodes, shows them to you in a color-coded fashion.

Visibility

This control is a toggle; with it, you can switch the visibility of analytical nodes. In order to visually follow the problem and accurately fix it, we advise switching analytical nodes visibility on while you are working with FDN.

Export

After you run the program and the data grid is populated with double nodes, you can easily export them. The data will be saved to a comma-separated plain text file (CSV). You can save the current state of the found nodes to be imported back again at a later stage of your work.

Import

Although the finder algorithm got pretty fast with the new release of FDN, you may prefer to import nodes that are previously exported for convenience. Import procedure checks the exported nodes against the Revit database; verifying whether they are still in the model or not to prevent further conflicts.

FIX

Fix tab provides you auxiliary functionality to correct nodal problems in your analytical model. Those tools are as follows:

Visibility

Visibility button toggles the analytical node visibility in the Revit view. It is the same function provided at the Find tab, placed here in the Fix tab as well for user convenience. If the active view is bound to a view template, this tool will relinquish the template in order to switch the nodes' visibility.

Isolate

Isolation of model elements is very useful, especially while working with large models. This tool isolates the selected node and its doubles along with the connected analytical elements. So you can see the problem clearer and work on the isolated parts easily.

Zoom

Using zoom, in parallel with the isolate tool provides you more simplicity and control over the correction of double nodes. Zoom tool smoothly pans the selected node to the center of the screen and zooms in to it. When pressed for the first time zooming in is performed, and then button name and function is converted; the second press will zoom out to fit the current view to the screen. Pan and Zoom speeds can be adjusted at the settings page. You can set the speed to an optimum level according to your hardware and size of your model.

Data Grid

This data grid works in tandem with the one placed on the Find tab however this one provides you further functionality which you can use while fixing problems. While the other data grid is read-only, here coordinates of nodes are editable. While merging nodes with the fix tool you can edit coordinates and manipulate the final position of the nodes.

Fix Button

Fix functionality is a handy feature of FDN that you can utilize to correct nodal problems with ease. Since the aim is to merge multiple nodes, the first step should be to determine which nodes position is correct. According to its relation with surrounding elements and by checking its coordinates, you can decide which node to keep at its current location. If we call this the main node, other node(s) in the proximity should be displaced and merged into the main node. In order to achieve this user should keep the main node selected and hit the fix button. This way selected node will be kept in place and the other one(s) will be moved to this location eventually getting merged with the main. There is also an option you could set at the settings page which enables you to merge multiple nodes at once to the main.

SETTINGS

Settings tabs provide adjustments for application-specific properties and user preferences.

Visual: Theme

The new user interface offers you two theme options, light and dark mode. Light mode is designed to be easy on the eyes a with soft blend of colors. Dark mode is higher in contrast and looks sharper. You can choose one of them according to your preference or the time of the day.

Visual: Window

Occasionally you would want your working window to be always on top of others and access it without going into the hassle of minimizing and restoring back and forth. Always on top option keeps the FDN window at the top even if it's lost the focus and in an inactive state.

Always on top state normally blocks the view and prevents the user to see what is behind it. Enhanced FDN GUI provides you the ability to make the whole window transparent when it is in the inactive state. Seeing through the transparent window comes pretty handy while the FDN window is inactive and the user is interacting with Revit. You can adjust the “Inactive Opacity” value at a level in between 0 (full transparency) and 100 (full opacity) as you wish.

Options: Import Export

Find tab provides you functionalities of importing and exporting of the nodal data. Each time you use those functions; file locations are memorized and can also be altered here.

Options: Animation

Fix tab hosts the “zoom” button which enables you to zoom in to the selected node in the model. This is a multi-step process. If already zoomed in, first zoom out action is taken then the selected node is panned to the center of the screen and then zoomed in close enough that the user can distinguish the problematic situation. Those animation durations can be fine-tuned with options of “Zoom Speed” and “Pan Speed” according to the hardware and the size of the model.

Options: Multi-Threading

This feature is also introduced in the new version and it’s actually been found pretty satisfying in terms of user experience. Multi-Threaded algorithms and Asynchronous Tasks are deeply implemented into the FDN engine to utilize the most out of the CPU resources. Now parallel tasks can be fired simultaneously and huge speed gains can be achieved. Compared to a single serial worker thread, now FDN users can complete the Find operations orders of magnitude faster in parallel. “Thread Count” can be adjusted manually or automatically.

The "Auto" option determines the count, depending on the number of nodes in the analytical model and also the number of logical cores of the CPU. Modern workstation CPUs do have at least 4 physical cores which mean 8 logical cores. In such a setting, it would be optimal to utilize 8 threads for a large model. However, this option is flexible to let users fine-tune their resource usage by adjusting the count manually. When the Find button is pressed thread count is indicated at the status area and individual bars show the progress of each thread.

Options: Fix Mode

Fix feature lets the designer easily merge more than two nodes that are found to be unconnected. Fix mode regulates the behavior of FDN while nodes are getting merged. If “Multiple Merge” option is selected, all nodes in the vicinity of the main node are merged at one go. If this option is not checked then every time the user hits the “Fix” button one node is merged to the selected main node.

Options: Graphics

Especially working with the analytical model, users do prefer to see thin lines rather than seeing line widths getting larger and larger at every zoom level. This option lets the user to switch the line width view.

LICENSE

At the “License” tab current licensing status can be checked, a trial license can be issued, an existing standard license can be activated or a new standard license can be purchased. In order to use FDN with its full functionality, a valid activation license needs to be obtained.

Status

This section shows all the license related information. Once a trial or standard license is activated related fields are populated with the pertinent license data. If the license is downloaded as a file, it can be loaded here by using the “Load From File” button.

Trial

For evaluation purposes, a “Trial License” can be obtained for free. Trial License enables full functionality of the application within a specified time frame, referred to as “Trial Period”. This evaluation period is set to 3 days by default. The trial form will submit the filled information to the license server and activate your copy of FDN. A license is per machine only therefore it will be valid for the application and for the computer that it is issued for.

Standard

“Standard License” is purchased and issued annually. This will grant the Licensee to run the licensed software for one year with full functionality and receive priority support. This form is provided for users to activate their "existing standard license”. If users are under a promotion contract supplied promotion code should be entered to the “Promo Code” field (Promo Code is provided for clients with volume licensing contract, contact us for volume discounts).

Purchase

Users are strongly encouraged to try out FDN with a free trial license. After the trial period, users can purchase a standard license which will provide 365 days to run the application again with full functionality. Purchase form fields are self-explanatory and with the submission of the form, an inquiry will be sent to our PCI-DSS compliant secure server through a 1024 bit encrypted tunnel and carry out the transaction. Sensitive information will be transferred directly to the payment gateway provider, transaction data is never stored.

The licensing server (under one of our subdomains “license.stand.com.tr”) is built on a stateless system that does not use any cookie or session info to store and gather data. At all times entire communication is carried on HTTPS protocol by default. Information required by the licensing form such as user name, company name, email, and address will be used to provide you an invoice and to keep track of your license usage. Credit cards of Visa MasterCard and American Express are supported. All of the payment processes take place in remote highly qualified secure servers that carry full PCI-DSS compliance.

VERSION HISTORY

Version              Date                   Description

2.1.7682            12.01.2021        Isolate function bug fixed.

2.1.7678            08.01.2021        Documentation page updated.

2.1.7648            17.12.2020        Minor bug fixes.

2.1.7637            28.11.2020        Documentation page updated.

2.1.7624            15.11.2020        Options for Fix algorithm introduced as Fix Mode.

2.1.7614            05.11.2020        Fix tab grid editing is enabled for altering coordinates.

2.1.7610            01.11.2020        Build for Revit 2021.

2.1.7607            29.10.2020        Fix mechanism is introduced.

2.1.7593            15.10.2020        Thread count auto adjustment mechanism implemented.

2.1.7564            16.09.2020        Multiple progress bars are now generated with each thread.

2.1.7554            06.09.2020        Multi-Threading algorithm is implemented.

2.0.7526            09.08.2020        Feedback page created.

2.0.7489            03.07.2020        In app purchasing mechanism is implemented.

2.0.7475            19.06.2020        Trial and Standard licensing activation forms created.

2.0.7449            24.05.2020        Licensing status page is added.

2.0.7434            09.05.2020        Help tab added.

2.0.7423            28.04.2020        Opacity of main window can be adjusted now.

2.0.7413            18.04.2020        Theme selection is introduced with Light & Dark modes.

2.0.7372            08.03.2020        New GUI is developed and integrated.

1.2.7273            30.11.2019        Minor bug fixes, Speed Improvements.

1.2.7020            22.03.2019        Build for Revit 2020.

1.2.6877            30.10.2018        Build for Revit 2019.

1.2.6871            24.10.2018        Bug Fixes, Minor improvements.

1.2.6340            11.05.2017        Build for Revit 2018.

1.2.6004            09.06.2016        Build for Revit 2017.

1.2.5625            27.05.2015        Always on Top property is implemented.

1.2.5605            07.05.2015        Build for Revit 2016.

1.2.5585            17.04.2015        Data grid sorting is enabled.

1.2.5524            15.02.2015        Import / Export mechanism integrated.

1.2.5484            06.01.2015        Zoom/Pan Speed can be adjusted with this version.

1.2.5439            22.11.2014        Thin Lines switching is implemented.

1.2.5315            21.07.2014        Node Visibility switching is implemented.

1.1.5234            01.05.2014        Build for Revit 2015.

1.1.4966            06.08.2013        Build for Revit 2014.

1.1.4884            16.05.2013        Progress bar is added to main window.

1.1.4829            22.03.2013        Isolate function for selected node is implemented.

1.1.4792            13.02.2013        Pan action is integrated to zoom animation.

1.1.4782            03.02.2013        Zoom in and out animation is integrated.

1.1.4714            27.11.2012        Window position is now remembered.

1.1.4704            17.11.2012        Modeless WPF window.

1.0.4665            09.10.2012        Imperial metric units is distinguished and indicated.

1.0.4642            16.09.2012        Build for Revit 2013.

1.0.4623            28.08.2012        Data grid color grouping of double nodes.

1.0.4578            14.07.2012        Data grid selection highlights node in Revit view.

1.0.4540            06.06.2012        Licensing Mechanism implementation.

1.0.4478            05.04.2012        First Release!

The installer that ran when you downloaded this app/plug-in from Autodesk App Store will start installing the app/plug-in. OR, simply double-click the downloaded installer to install the app/plugin. To uninstall this plug-in, exit the Autodesk product if you are currently running it, simply rerun the installer, and select the "Uninstall" button. OR, click Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features (Windows 7/8.1/10) and uninstall as you would any other application from your system.

The installer will place the plugin to folder %ProgramData%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\FDN.bundle. All versions of the application will reside here. Your license file will also be placed in this folder. 

There are currently no known issues. If you encounter a bug or any other issue please contact us.