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6082 views,  2 edit(s),  3029 characters(s) Page last modified 11:33, 8 Jun 2011 by paulapl
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Revit 2012 Deployment Utility

    When you create a Revit 2012 deployment, use the Revit 2012 Deployment Utility to include custom Revit.ini settings, and to suppress the paths that locate Autodesk content. When it executes, this utility runs against the image before it deploys to the client systems.

    This utility has 2 tabs:

    1. Custom Revit.ini – This creates a custom output inifile.xml by merging the custom Revit.ini file with the original inifile.xml file.
    2. Suppress Content - This communicates with the AdminImage and removes the URLs that are used to locate Autodesk content. This ensures that content is not downloaded.

    Using the Revit 2012 Deployment Utility

    The RevitDeploymentUtility.zip contains 2 files you will use:

    • CustomControls.dll
    • RevitDeploymentUtility.exe
    1. Locate the revit2012deploymentutility.zip.
    2. Save the utility to your hard drive.
    3. Extract its files to the same location as the deployment.
    4. Run the EXE to display the Revit 2012 Deployment Utility dialog.

    Creating Custom Revit.ini File

    1. Create a backup of the inifile.xml. In the deployment folders, the inifile.xml can be found in a location similar to …<deploymentlocation>\AdminImage\x64\RAC2012. This path may vary depending on the Revit product being deployed and if it is 32-bit or 64-bit.
    2. On the Revit 2012 Deployment Utility dialog, select Custom Revit.ini.
    3. Click License Agreement, read and accept the license agreement.
    4. In the Custom Revit.ini field, browse to the custom Revit.ini.
    5. In the Original inifile.xml field, browse to the inifile.xml backup.
    6. In the Output inifile.xml field, browse to the deployment output located in the location similar to …<deploymentlocation>\AdminImage\x64\RAC2012. This path may vary depending on the Revit product being deployed, and whether or not it is 32-bit or 64-bit.
    7. Click Execute.

    Supressing Content Download

    1. On the Revit 2012 Deployment Utility dialog, select Suppress Content.
    2. In the Master document field, browse to the AdminImage\content\Revit directory.
    3. Select the RAC, RME, or RST XML file you want to deploy.
    4. Click Execute. This action removes the URL paths that locate content, and renames content cabinets to prevent them from being installed.

    Note: This affects all deployments that use this AdminImage.

    Comments

    Comments5

    • jbcoe2k5Thu Aug 25, 2011 7:29 amThere are a couple things I do not understand about this utility:
      1. Why was this not included in the standard install. I think all these added utilities are over-complicating deployments and installs, especially for non-programmer types like myself. Having a login script that copied the Revit.ini file seemed to be a more straightforward solution and one that did not need special video tutorials or programming knowledge in order to execute.
      2. What custom Revit.ini file am I supposed to use? Do I create this from scratch? Can I use my 2011 Revit.ini file? This step is unclear to me.
      3. I tried using my 2011 Revit.ini file and none of my network paths mapped to the output inifile.xml. So now each time I run a deployment I have to go and manually map the drives. Isn't this defeating the purpose of having an uber-special utility? Either I did something incorrectly (which is likely given the lack of documentation on this), or the utility is not working as expected.
    • paulaplWed Aug 31, 2011 7:25 amThank you for this valuable comment. After Revit 2012 was released, we received feedback that the requirement to work directly in XML to create a deployment put some Revit users in unfamiliar territory. So, we created this tool which bypasses working directly in the XML file to create a deployment.

      To create the customized Revit.ini file, you first create a single install of Revit 2012, and customize it to meet your needs or standards. You can find the Revit.ini in this location: “C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\Revit\Autodesk Revit Architecture 2012”.

      The only Revit.ini file that can be used with this utility is the 2012 Revit.ini.

      I hope this helps,
      Paula, Autodesk Revit User Experience Team
    • timwaldock5907Tue Mar 6, 2012 4:15 pmRegardless of whether we use the deployment utility or try to edit xml files ourselves, there is nowhere near enough information about this subject in the help files. In the help files I cannot find any explanation of how to access the inifile.xml, nor how to edit it. I would expect to see a snapshot sample of how it might look in any help notes.
      We have tried the deployment utility, and it does not sucessfully merge the Revit.ini file with the xml; nor does it suppress content download if you have any service packs included. It is proving to take longer to attempt the deployment (utility or otherwise) than it does to manually install each computer, then manually change the Revit settings whenever anyone new logs onto the computer (and that takes a long time in a large office).
    • jbcoe2k5Wed Mar 7, 2012 4:59 amI'm with you on this one Tim. We just had a new employee start the other day, I ran the deployment, and am still having issues with Revit not finding the correct network paths. When I look at my Revit.ini file, all the paths are there, but this is not getting translated to the software. I think this sort of stuff needs to built into the deployment wizard for us more illiterate programmer types.
    • jwongWed Mar 7, 2012 8:42 am@timwaldock5907, @jbcoe2k5 - You're right about not having it properly documented, but the tool does work. After a little hands-on tweaking, new deployments should all point to the server content, as well as any custom Revit.ini settings. As for the service updates - you can download it and apply the updates to your centralized content. That's step one. Step two is to update workstations, which subsequently will NOT download content since it's pointing to the server.

      I have a video demo'ing the deployment utility. Check it out on youtube, under the title "Revit 2012 Deployment Utility for customization"

      Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xPJiVRLZJ4&list=UUTgCoTWSJbFcb-yfRHB_mGw&index=3&feature=plcp

      Regards,

      Jame Wong
      Microsol Resources | youtube: iamTheJame
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