Dynamo 0.6.3 Release and 0.7.0 Alpha

New Stuff!  New Website!  New Awesome!

It's been a while since the Dynamo team did a new official release, and there are plenty of new toys for everyone to use. The first bag of tricks is Dynamo 0.6.3, an incremental improvement to the 0.6.2 tools you know and love. There are, of course, a number of stability improvements, new nodes, access to more Revit functionalities and a richer computation environment. There's also a fresh, cutting edge release, 0.7.0, which takes a giant step into the future of Dynamo. This alpha release represents a significant refactor of the underlying code, a vast expansion of the geometric capabilities of Dynamo, and a rich new set of tools for scripting. 0.6 and 0.7 can each be installed side by side, so feel free to continue to use 0.6.3 in your more production oriented work, and install 0.7 to understand where Dynamo is headed.  Both releases also feature a stand alone application, allowing you to experience Dynamo without running Vasari or Revit.  0.6.3 Stand-alone has access to all the logic, list, and general computing aspects of Dynamo, and 0.7.0 Stand-Alone also features a powerful and versatile geometric engine.

And there is also a new website and home base!  This site is both a distribution point for free/open software as well as a hub for information and discussion around Design Computation, Architecture, Analysis, Fabrication, Construction, and Building Information Modeling.  The Dynamo team prides itself on being able to directly talk to designers about issues and interests that affect their work on a day to day level, and hopes that this site can nurture this kind of discussion.  The site itself is still new and relatively untested, so please be patient while the kinks get worked out of the system. There will be many more details and descriptions to follow. Please bookmark this page and visit frequently, as Dynamo is evolving rapidly.

Release notes:

0.6.3 Some noteworthy aspects, but please check the installer ReadMe for a more full rundown.

• Dynamo Sandbox: Explore Dynamo without running Revit or Vasari (see your Start Menu)
• Application level settings for Imperial and Metric Units:  We hear that most of the world does not use Imperial Units, and we'd like to accommodate this.  Please check out this post for a more in-depth look at our Units tools.  http://dynamobim.org/units-in-0-6-3/
• Daylighting with cloud Rendering service sample files:  New analysis workflows available.  You will need an Autodesk ID to use these services, but you can get access to this when you sign up for membership on this website.
• Set Parameters Node - set writable parameters for any Revit Element, (not restricted to loaded Families anymore)
• Add name to reference plane node.
• Convert to Unitized measures (Length, Area, Volume)
• Explode Node (Solids to Faces, Faces to Edges)
• Solids from Elements handles lists
• Select All Elements of Type and Category Nodes
• Wall Nodes element IDs persist after changes
• Area Node
• Volume Measure node
• Length from Curve Node
• Topography from Points and Points from Topography Nodes
• Last of List Node
• Filter by Boolean Mask
• Group by Key Node
• Is Null node (for filtering out null values)
• Explode Node (replaces Explode Solid)
• Python nodes now can take node inputs as functions
• Shuffle List Node
• Select All Elements of Category Nodes
• Divided Path Node updates
• XYZs from Divided path
• Treat curves and edges the same for intersection operations
• Preserve Wall Elements on change
• Improvements to node Help descriptions
• Toolbar shortcuts
• Improvements to Preview bubble display (fades, compact error messages, etc)

0.7.0 This is an alpha quality release which represents a significant refactoring of the underlying code. There are some notable (temporary) restrictions to the functionality that is available in 0.6.3, and major enhancements to others. To allow users to continue work with 0.6.3 while exploring 0.7.0, this release can be installed side by side with older releases. Please jump in and try it out.  Let us know what you like and what you hate.  The Dynamo team is counting on your feedback. New

• Geometry tools: Dynamo now has a much more extensive collection of geometric operations that are available in stand alone mode as well as when running in Revit.  Stay tuned for more posts about these tools and how to enjoy them
• Scripting interface: Dynamo now allows for direct input of DesignScript code into CodeBlock nodes. Please see this document for learning DesignScript syntax and capabilities: http://designscript.org/manual.pdf and watch for more blog posts and forum commentary on how to make the most to these tools.

Temporarily Unavailable Functionality from 0.6.3 (coming back soon!)

• Upgrade: 0.6 Dynamo files cannot be opened in 0.7.0. We are actively working on the upgrade mechanism
• Package Manager: currently disabled until migration is working
• Recursion in custom nodes
• Revit Element explosion to geometry. Currently users cannot generically extract geometric information from Revit elements. However, there are different tools that, on a per element basis, can extract geometric data. For instance, After selecting a curve from Revit, a user can look in Revit>Element>CurveElement>Query>Curve to extract the geometry. Similarly, a Family Instance can be queried for such items as faces, curves, location, etc.
• Revit Elements created in a Dynamo session are not remembered in subsequent sessions. New elements will be created when files are re-opened.

Known Problem Areas

• To have both 0.7.0 and 0.6.3 installed, you must install 0.7.0 AFTER 0.6.3
• You can only load 0.7.0 OR 0.6.3 in a single Revit session. You must close Revit before changing from one to the other.
• Visualization can be slow with lots of curvy stuff
• Manually Deleting and recreating Revit elements created by Dynamo can cause element duplication or failure to be re-created when the graph is re-run,
• Search tags are in progress. If you don't find what you are looking for via search, try browsing.