Release Notes#

The following list presents new features and issues resolved within SOFiSTiK Analysis + Design. These issues are often directly reported by our users by contacting the support_assistant_small SOFiSTiK Technical Support or the SOFiSTiK Communities.

Note

For the optimal product experience we highly recommend to work with its latest version.

2024-4 Update Release (April 2024)#

Features#

  • New features and improvement of the command Rebar Check:

    • Rebar Check is now also available for beams. For downstand beams, it will also take the slab into consideration.

    • For beams and columns the Anchoring factor now allows to account for anchorage lengths and laps.

    • Rebar Check now supports structural instance having multiple counterparts.

    • Rebar Check now supports reinforcement hosted across several elements.

    • Rebar Check now supports area reinforcement which boundaries are curved (e.g. arc-shaped edges).

  • New features to the command Show Results:

    • New Reload data button to refresh results and cutline visualisations.

    • Option Flip diagram enables to rotate the direction where diagram results display, e.g. to display beam bending moment or support reactions in top views.

  • Improved the Common SOFiSTiK Structural Property Panel it will not display when all selected elements belong to the same type. 222786

  • Improved the default order in which subsystems are calculated by Dynamo script 002.

Bug Fixes#

  • Fixed a crashing issue when trying to show or isolate already deleted elements with the warning dialog.

  • Fixed an issue where Show Results and Rebar Check could not display results on analytical panels when no structural role was set. 222544

  • Fixed an issue where Rebar Check modified the active section box.

  • Fixed an issue where Rebar Check could not identify provided reinforcement on cranked reabrs properly.

  • Fixed an issue where the icon of command Show Results did not display correctly in the ribbon.

  • Fixed an issue where user-defined grid names were not transferred to the FE model.

2024-3 Update Release (February 2024)#

Features#

  • New features and improvement of the command Rebar Check:

    • Rebar Check is now also available for columns.

    • New Reload button to refresh the database and cutline visualisations.

    • New concept to determine overlapping and supplementary reinforcement in slabs using an Anchoring factor.

  • From now on, the design code BS EN1992-2004 is supported for the design of reinforced concrete beams with Beam Design (access here the overview of supported design codes).

  • Improved the creation of subsystems via Subsystem View by Levels, now also including hosted loads on supporting elements such as columns and walls. 220561

  • Small improvements in the Dynamo package:

    • Node “Analyze.CalculateSubsystem” now returns the correct file paths.

    • Graph “Calculate - Subsystems” has been simplified to automatically create the required shared parameter.

2024-2 Update Release (December 2023)#

Features#

  • Define Group number for multiple elements across different (analytical) model categories simultaneously with the new SOFiSTiK Structural Properties: Common. To learn more, see Structural Properties, where all supported categories are now listed.

  • The display style Rebar Check Points of Rebar Check has been improved to show peak values in clusters.

  • Rebar Check can now also display A_s,req – A_s,prov along cutlines.

Bug Fixes#

  • Fixed an issue where one drop-down of the dialogue-box SOFiSTiK material did not follow the correct language. 218689

  • Fixed an issue where line loads oriented according to the local coordinate system of analytical panels were not exported correctly.

  • Fixed an issue linked to the shared parameter SOFiSTiK_Use and the handling of levels in projects where multiple Level Type exist.

  • Fixed issues in beam design linked to insufficient numerical precision.

  • Show Results and the Dynamo package: corrected how columns’ shear reinforcement results are read from the SOFiSTiK database.

  • Improved how material mapping reacts to changes and to being invalidated.

2024-1 Update Release (October 2023)#

Features#

  • Attribute Areas are introduced to Revit models to better support SOFiSTiK workflows relying on these elements. Existing commands, such as Set Names have been extended to integrate the new category of element.

  • List, summarize or edit analytically relevant elements in your project with the help of Schedules. Standard tools apply when working with Revit Schedules, we just give you a head start by creating them for you with just a few clicks.

  • Set Names has been extended to allow sequential numbers to be added to naming rules. The order in which elements are numbered is controlled in the browser’s context menu. Futhermore, the new import/export allows to re-use custom naming rules between projects.

  • Rebar Check has been improved, extended and is also now part of the application SOFiSTiK Reinforcement. Especially, it is now possible to conduct checks using result packages. Furthermore, the visualisation of results has been improved: it now support views placed on sheet with a specific scale and displays more clearly results along cutlines.

  • The result scope available in Show Results and Save as Package has been extended to displacements along cut lines.

  • When using Show Results or Rebar Check in new projects, default Text Styles will be generated for a better visibility of the values.

  • In the reports of Slab Design, the orientation of the slab’s top views is defined explicitly instead of using Graphic’s default.

  • Both the dialogue and the reports of Column Design have been slightly reworked for a seamless integration into the newest workflows offered by Set Names and SSD’s Column Design Assistant.

  • Continuous effort to improve failure handling for easier trouble shooting in a BIM context by associating error and warning messages with the causing elements; focus on Design Elements, such as Wall Strip or Building Core.

Bug Fixes#

  • Rebar Check now recognizes properly the reinforcement in slanted slabs as well as in projects where several slab are placed over each other.

  • Warning added for polygonal cross sections when the area of equivalent hollow section cannot be calculated correctly. See Building Core for more information.

2024-0 Release (July 2023)#

Note

For projects generated with a previous SOFiSTiK major release, data will be updated automatically.
Please check the systems and their mappings carefully after the upgrade.

Projects cannot be opened with a previous major release anymore.

BIM-based Identification of Analytical Elements#

SOFiSTiK Analysis + Design 2024 provides a fully revised workflow to easily and quickly identify analytical elements at any step of the BIM project. For this, several new features are available and can be combined in a flexible manner:

  • Set Names manages efficiently the names of analytical elements.

    It assigns rich SOFiSTiK Names to elements based on the value of their BIM parameters. The assignation happens selectively and relies on user-defined rules for each category. Combined with a powerful preview features, full control during the identification process is ensured.

  • Name View generates 2D overview drawings for the elements previously identified.

    The views, which provide the general arrangements of analytical elements in their physical context, are a filtered live-visualisation of the BIM information.

    They rely on newly delivered Tag families to display the SOFiSTiK Name and other BIM parameters of the visible analytical elements.

  • The SOFiSTiK Name information is transmitted seamlessly to all SOFiSTiK systems generated from the projects. Retrieving the name of a member at any further step of the project is therefore guaranteed, enabling name-based post-processing, selection or data-processing workflows, regardless of the interface chosen to conduct the project’s analysis (e.g., SSD with Graphics, SOFiPLUS or even SOFiSTiK-generated IFC files).

  • Initiated in SOFiSTiK Analysis + Design with Set Names, the member-oriented approach continues also in ssd_small SOFiSTiK Structural Desktop (SSD).

    New workflows, such as task Column Design Assistant or the Table Assistant of Result Viewer, but also existing tasks like Shear Wall Design, use SOFiSTiK Name as an identifier.

Rebar Check#

The new Rebar Check provides a dynamic colour-coded representation of the required and provided reinforcement in a concrete slab element.

  • Live display of reinforcement quantities read from the BIM model (provided reinforcement) and from a SOFiSTiK data source (required reinforcement).

  • Display of reinforcement quantities either as surface values or along cut lines.

  • Available in 2D and in 3D views of Revit.

  • Automatic view optimization and advanced display settings.

  • Display style based on Revit’s Analysis Display Style object and therefore fully customisable to local requirements.

Seismic Workflow “Tower”#

With Tower, access the newest improvements of the Building - Seismic Analysis workflow. It enables analysing and checking the seismic behaviour of multi-towered or multi-building projects with tower-wise assessment of the performance.

  • Gain more control over the creation of Storey Levels by checking the Export behaviour for the Revit levels of your project.

  • Define Towers, check and adjust their assignment to levels.

  • In ssd_small SOFiSTiK Structural Desktop (SSD), access new evaluation possibilities offered by the Tower objects, e.g., in the graphical tasks Earthquake RSA - Buildings, Storey levels or in the program Graphics.

  • To learn more, see Storeys and Towers Workflow.

Further New Features#

  • The result scope available in Show Results and Save as Package has been extended. Now it also allows to display and store displacements and deformations of SOFiSTiK systems inside of Revit.

  • SOFiSTiK Structural Properties and their corresponding Revit Shared Parameter have been extended and revised.

    • The following categories newly have SOFiSTiK Structural Properties: Analytical Nodes, Levels, Grids, Towers.

    • The following new Revit Shared Parameter can be activated to report SOFiSTiK Properties values: SOFiSTiK_Number, SOFiSTiK_Use.

    • The Revit Shared Parameter SOFiSTiK_Name has been extended to support the new categories.

    • The Revit Shared Parameter SOFiSTiK_Level parameter is deprecated and upgraded into parameters SOFiSTiK_Name and SOFiSTiK_Use.

  • Information provided by Export to Excel has been revised to export cleaned Grid Locations, consistently with what is available in Set Names dialog.

  • SOFiSTiK Structural Properties now shows a count of selected elements by category.

  • The Dynamo Package delivered together with SOFiSTiK Analysis + Design as well as its online documentation has been revised. The Package is now published with integrated exemplary Graphs for the Dynamo Player available directly in the player’s folder SOFiSTiK Samples.

  • The SOFiSTiK Properties available for analytical walls and wall strips (design elements) have been extended. Both types of element now allow to generate shear wall, column and beam design elements.

  • A new SOFiSTiK standard cross section Shear Wall, which is automatically assigned to shear wall design elements. This new cross section allows new capabilities in the revised Shear Wall Design task in ssd_small SOFiSTiK Structural Desktop (SSD).

  • It is now possible to copy the Revit ID of an element from the context menu of SOFiSTiK Analysis + Design’s warning dialog, e.g., for direct use in Manage Tab ‣ Inquiry ‣ Select By ID.

  • Handling of loads has been revised to fully support Revit’s enhanced analytical loads. Furthermore, Filter Loads now also support the category Structural Internal Loads (Reaction Loads).

  • Load Pattern: from now on, an error message warns the user when the sum of all divided loads do not match the original load.

  • Small improvement in the automatic Load Nature mapping in projects with Italian and French design codes.

  • In accordance with the latest development in Revit 2024, SOFiSTiK Analysis + Design 2024 also supports a dark theme to provide a seamless graphical integration in the Revit environment. The newly designed icons have a fresh look and feel.

Bug Fixes#

  • Corrected an issue where IDs of elements from a linked project were not handled properly. 214741