Welcome to the Application Development Team news page. Visit regularly for the latest news about Microdesk’s development solutions, featured projects and upcoming events. Also check out our blog posts for the latest tips & tricks for how to make better use of the tools you use.
Last month, we sat down with Steve Martin, Director of Application Development at Microdesk, to discuss how his team has been integrating applications and data to positively impact processes, projects and bottom lines. Now, starting this month he will answer questions from our readers.
Q:
I'd like to start creating my own custom extensions for Revit using the API but I'm not a programmer. What's the best way to get started?
A:
Whether you're interested in customizing Revit or another Autodesk product, there are going to be two challenges: 1) learning how to write and compile programs in Microsoft .NET, and 2) learning about the API you plan to use.
Most people start by trying to build samples in the Revit Software Development Kit (SDK), frequently without success. Since Revit ships with its own built-in development environment (VSTA), I strongly recommend that new developers begin by writing and debugging code there instead of trying to work with Visual Studio out of the gate.
The VSTA macro editor is a great place to practice writing simple routines and stepping through them, without the complexity of Visual Studio. Once you've written your first "Hello World," I'd then suggest delving into the API by copying bits of code from the SDK samples into VSTA and getting them to run.
Have a question you'd like to ask our development team? Send it to lguzman@microdesk.com.