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Introducing FormIt 2023

by Josh Goldstein, 6 April 2022

Hello FormIt fans!

It's spring, and that means amazing new Autodesk product releases!

For our part, we're proud to introduce FormIt 2023: The most capable and competent FormIt ever.

We'll cover the main highlights of this release below, but feel free to take a look at the complete list of changes and improvements for each FormIt platform: Windows, Web, and iPadOS.

You can also skip right to downloading the update now for Windows (also available via the Autodesk Desktop App), Web, and iPadOS.

Let's go!

A New Look for 2023

It's been several years since the FormIt brand has been refreshed, but we're changing that with this release!

Along with the rest of Autodesk and its products, you'll notice a new logo and splash screen when launching FormIt on all platforms:

FormIt + Revit for 2023

Linking support, Edit in FormIt button, and Preview Send to Revit Mode

The FormIt + Revit connection is stronger than ever with this release, featuring a long-standing customer request and new workflows to bring these two apps closer together. (FormIt for Windows only)

To enjoy the following improvements, you'll need both FormIt and Revit 2023. Take a look at what's new in Revit 2023!

FormIt Linking in Revit

Yes, it's finally happening: FormIt models can now be linked directly in Revit!

You'll now find FormIt files (*.axm) offered in the Revit Link CAD files list.

Fun fact: AXM stands for Autodesk X-Modeler, the internal code name for FormIt before it had an official name.

Edit in FormIt Button

Linking is great, but we didn't stop there! Building on that technology, we added a new feature unique to FormIt and Revit: The Edit in FormIt button.

After linking a FormIt model in Revit, you can now select the FormIt link element in Revit, and click Edit in FormIt to launch FormIt with that linked model open for immediate editing.

Once FormIt is open, the Send to Revit button now saves the FormIt model, so the changes made in this session will be reflected in the Revit link. More on that below!

Control What's Sent to Revit

Speaking of the Send to Revit button in FormIt, we've added several new ways to control and preview which FormIt geometry is sent to Revit. (FormIt for Windows only)

Send to Revit Column in the Layers Palette

The Layers palette now features a dedicated column to control whether objects on that layer are sent to Revit:

When checked, objects on that layer will be sent to Revit when the FormIt file is imported or linked in Revit, or when the active Edit in FormIt session is saved and the link is reloaded in Revit.

Send to Revit Preview Mode

Want to see exactly what FormIt elements will appear in Revit?

We've added a new mode just for this: Preview Send to Revit Selections. You'll find a new checkbox to enable this mode in two places.

At the bottom of the Layers palette:

And next to the Send to Revit button, which appears when FormIt is launched from the 3D Sketch button or from the Edit in FormIt button:

Changes to the 3D Sketch and Send to Revit Buttons

With this release, the 3D Sketch and the Send to Revit button behaviors have changed slightly.

3D Sketch will still launch a new instance of FormIt, but Send to Revit from this new instance will now ask you to save the FormIt sketch, and will create a new Revit link once saved. No more one-way trips to Revit!

Similarly, when editing an existing FormIt link from Revit, the Send to Revit button now acts as a File -> Save, saving the sketch and updating the link in Revit.

We hope you enjoy all the improvements. FormIt and Revit have never been tighter!

FormIt + Dynamo for 2023

Data Graphs and Node-Level Faceting

We've added a new way to run Dynamo graphs from FormIt which opens up the ability to run data-only graphs without the need for a SendToFormIt node, and we've also added a new FormItGroupOptions node to control geometry faceting. (FormIt for Windows only)

Data Graph Support

Have you ever wanted to run a Dynamo graph in FormIt that outputs data only, with no geometric results?

If so, we have good news: With this update, we've removed the stipulation that a Dynamo graph must include a SendToFormIt node to function in FormIt.

When executing a Dynamo graph without a SendToFormIt node, it's considered a Data Graph since it will only be surfacing or passing data through FormIt.

Data Graphs can be identified by their icon in the Dynamo panel, and we've added unique icons for the other graph types as well:

When executing a Data Graph, any inputs marked Is Input or any Watch Nodes marked Is Output will be displayed in a new collapsible panel in the Dynamo palette.:

From here, you can re-run the graph by clicking the thumbnail again or clicking the Run button in the list of parameters.

If you're running multiple Data Graphs in this session, the last one run will be the one displayed here.

Learn more about the different Dynamo graph types in FormIt.

Send FormIt Levels Data to Excel

In the screenshots above, you might have noticed we're running a Dynamo-powered workflow that sends FormIt levels data to Excel. This is a common customer request, and we're happy to announce that it's now possible!

Thanks to recent improvements like our new CallJSAPI node and the Data Graph support outlined above, we've fully unlocked the ability to send FormIt levels data directly to an Excel spreadsheet using Dynamo.

Learn more about this newly-unlocked workflow and download the sample graph here.

Control Geometry Faceting Per SendToFormIt Node

We've added two new FormItGroupOptions nodes to control the faceting of curves and surfaces attached to SendToFormIt nodes:

These new SetCurveFaceting and SetSurfaceFaceting nodes will override the global curve and surface faceting settings in the Edit -> Preferences -> Units + Accuracy dialog.

Here are the nodes in action:

This is very useful if your Dynamo graph needs to generate curved objects using specific faceting values, alleviating the need to change the global setting for each Dynamo graph run in the current session.

Dynamo 2.13

As usual, we've updated the version of Dynamo used in FormIt so we can deliver the latest and greatest from the Dynamo team.

Dynamo 2.13 packs so many new features and improvements, the blog post is a three-parter. Take a look at Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 to see what's new and improved. Enjoy!

Among other things, Dynamo 2.13 features a completely redesigned interface, including the ability to collapse groups to simplify graphs.

The future is now!

Camera Improvements

Two-Point Perspective Camera

We've tackled a highly-requested feature with this release: a 2-point perspective camera that keeps vertical lines vertical!

This new camera mode joins the perspective and orthographic modes in the floating navigation toolbar, which also received new icons as part of this work.

Bonus: This isn't just a display mode, but a full working mode! All navigation and drawing tools will work while maintaining vertical lines in 2-point perspective mode.

Toggle Constant Zoom Speed

If you've ever worked in an interior model, you've likely gotten the camera stuck inside some geometry.

Because FormIt's camera zooming algorithm uses the distance between the camera and the object below the cursor to determine speed, getting stuck like this can require lots of scrolling to overcome the diminishing distance between the camera and the object it's stuck in.

With this update, we've added the ability to hold the Ctrl key to force the Zoom tool to zoom at a constant rate, which is great for quickly freeing the camera from the geometry it was stuck in. (FormIt for Windows and Web only)

FormIt will use the current units setting to determine the constant zoom rate. For example, when working in Meters, the Ctrl toggle will zoom constantly at 1m per scroll increment; in Millimeters, the zoom speed is set at 1mm per scroll increment.

Graphics Improvements

Order-Independent Transparency

We've added something called order-independent transparency to FormIt, which fixes issues when transparent surfaces stack up in front of the camera. (FormIt for Windows and Web only)

A classic example of this is transparent trees in front of glassy surfaces:

Or, for a more primitive example:

Elimination of Bump/Normal Map Artifacting

We've eliminated an issue that could occur when using bump or normal maps in materials applied to surfaces with complex shapes, resulting in "triangulation" appearing on the surfaces.

In addition, we've also generally improved the appearance of materials that use a bump or normal map:

Section Plane Improvements

Better Section Cut Edge Visualization

When we implemented section planes several years ago, we used a method for drawing the thickened edges at the section plane/geometry intersection that didn't work very well when the camera became perpendicular with the surface being cut.

With this release, we've improved the way we draw the thickened edges for section planes so you can consistently see section cut edges regardless of the camera position:

See Poché Effect With No Active Section Cuts

We've added the ability to enable the "Poché" effect (the fill of the section cut) even when no section planes are active.

This is useful if you want to intentionally use the camera clipping plane to get the same graphical effect as a section cut. For example, the View Plan At Level plugin (more on that below) uses this trick to generate a floor plan image without using a section plane at all.

Material Improvements

Support for Both Bump and Normal Maps

We've added support for both bump maps (grayscale images) or normal maps (blue/purple images) in the Material Editor slot formerly labeled "Bump Map."

Improved Thumbnail Preview Quality

We've also generally improved the accuracy of the 2D thumbnail previews for materials with this release.

First, materials that used high-resolution textures would lose critical detail in the lower-resolution preview:

Also, materials that used bump or normal maps would appear incorrectly desaturated in the thumbnail preview:

Note that for existing files, material thumbnails won't update until you view the material in the Material Editor dialog.

Interface Improvements

A New Save/Discard Experience

With this release, we've addressed a longtime annoyance in FormIt's user interface: The save/discard dialog. (FormIt for Web and Windows only)

Instead of only providing the option to discard or cancel when unsaved changes are present, we've provided easy access to save locally or to Autodesk Docs directly from the dialog:

Automatic Refresh for Library Palettes

For library-based palettes in FormIt for Windows, such as Content Library, Dynamo, and Materials, we've added an automatic refresh when files in the current folder are added, changed, or deleted:

Autodesk Docs Account/Project Selector

We improved the Autodesk Docs account/project selection dialog to automatically return to the list of projects when an account is selected:

Performance Improvements

As always, we continue to improve performance of various parts of the app.

In this release, you can expect to see the following performance enhancements when working with large models:

Back Face and Watertight Diagnostics

The Display Back Faces diagnostic is now instantaneous.

The Display Watertight Issues diagnostic is now 11.5x faster.

Section Plane and Top View

Placing a section plane or toggling top view is now 6x faster.

Silhouette Edges

Navigating large models with silhouette edges enabled is now 4.7x faster.

Painting Materials

Painting a surface with a material inside a group instance for the first time in a session is now 3x faster.

Visual Styles

Toggling various visual style settings, such as monotone mode, sky, fog, and edges, is now 2.5x faster.

New and Updated Plugins

A few notable plugins have been released or significantly updated recently, so we figured we'd mention them while we've got you here.

Match Photo

A highly-requested workflow to match a photograph with the 3D scene.

Create a material that uses a photo as a texture, start Match Photo mode, and use FormIt navigation tools like orbit, pan, swivel, and zoom, to align the image with the scene.

You can also use the camera plane distance to control whether the photo appears in the foreground or background of your scene geometry.

View Plan at Level

A quick and easy way to generate floor plan views using levels, the View Plan at Level plugin uses the orthographic camera mode to expose floor plan views without using section planes.

Even better, this plugin allows you to select an object to focus on, so your plan view can be at the site level, building level, or detail level depending on what you've selected.

Camera Undo/Redo

The Manage Cameras plugin now features the ability to undo and redo the camera state, and the interface has been generally cleaned up and improved.

Manage Attributes

FormIt supports text-based data that can be attached to any object, known as "string attributes." Now, you can view and modify these attributes using the new Manage Attributes plugin.

Bug Fixes

In addition to everything above, we've fixed dozens of bugs and addressed lots of undesirable behavior with this release.

We've highlighted just a few below, but you can read the full list of fixes in the release notes for Windows, Web, and iPadOS.

• Revit:

  • We addressed missing silhouette edges on curved imported FormIt geometry.

  • We fixed an issue where an unhelpful message was displayed when clicking "Send to Revit" with no active 3D view available in Revit.

• Dynamo:

  • We fixed a regression where materials painted on Dynamo group sub-instances would be lost when making parameter changes while editing a graph.

  • We fixed an issue where adding then deleting a FormItLengthString node in Dynamo would cause the FormIt results to be scaled incorrectly.

  • We fixed an issue where using CallJSAPI nodes with multiple FormIt instances running would get or set data in the wrong instance of FormIt.

• Content Library:

  • We fixed an issue where changes to the folder being viewed in the Content Library palette would fail to update when multiple FormIt instances were running.

• Inferencing/snapping engine:

  • We fixed several issues with Drag Face (extrude face) including cases where the tool would fail to start, or would start using the wrong initialization point.

  • We fixed several cases where edges or vertices could be inferenced, snapped to, or selected due to numerical noise.

• Graphics:

  • We fixed an issue where the grid would partially or completely disappear at certain camera angles in Edit Group mode.

  • We fixed an issue where tool widget grips would not update when the window was resized while a widget-based tool was active.

• Materials:

  • We fixed several issues around painting materials on curved or smoothed faces, which generally improves consistency of material alignment across smooth edges in a variety of cases.

  • We fixed several issues around material and thumbnail display quality when a grayscale image was used as a texture or bump/normal map.

  • We fixed an issue where materials that use a cutout map would disappear in the distance when viewed obliquely in the canvas.

  • We fixed issues with transparent materials, including where shadows would unexpectedly cast from faces painted with transparent materials, and where the Display Back Faces diagnostic would appear to incorrectly flag faces painted with transparent materials.
    
    

Up Next

FormIt 2023 strengthens existing integrations, addresses major customer requests, and improves reliability and performance across the board. We think you'll love it as much as we do!

Looking ahead, we've got exciting new integrations in the works. We can't say much more, but keep an eye out for news coming out of Autodesk University later this year.

Love what you see? Have something you want us to know? Feel free to post on the FormIt forums with questions or comments or on the IdeaStation for feature requests.

More updates on the way! Until then, be well.

The FormIt Team