# RevThat > The technical journal of Eric Boehlke. RevThat is the editorial wing of truevis. I write about technology in the construction industry: practical AI application development, Autodesk Revit customization, and the lessons from 40 years of making complex systems behave. Author: Eric Boehlke. Posts are HTML pages at trailing-slash URLs (for example `/slug/`). Prefer this file and the RSS feed over crawling `/admin/` or `/api/`. ## Pages - [Home](https://revthat.com/): Latest posts and featured work - [About](https://revthat.com/about/): RevThat is the editorial wing of truevis. I write about technology in the construction industry: practical AI application development, Autodesk Revit customization, and the lessons from 40 years of making complex system... - [Contact](https://revthat.com/contact/): Email and WhatsApp - [Search](https://revthat.com/search/): Client-side search across post titles and descriptions ## Categories - [How-to](https://revthat.com/category/how-to/): Procedures that I probably learned the hard way - [From Revit Learning Club](https://revthat.com/category/from-revit-learning-club/): A group Revit class I taught in Boston in conjunction with the Boston Society of Architects (BSA), circa 2010-2011. The first hour was an easy challenge and showing how to do something in Revit. The second hour was prac... - [Storytelling](https://revthat.com/category/storytelling/): There I was... ## Posts - [How to get speed out of OpenRouter](https://revthat.com/how-to-get-speed-out-of-openrouter/): The same OpenRouter slug can land on hosts with very different speed and price. These are the ways one can optimize that tradeoff: :nitro for the fastest live host, a throughput sort under a price ceiling, or ranking th... - [Hybrid Search for Technical Documents: Why Semantic Search Alone Fails](https://revthat.com/hybrid-search-for-technical-documents-why-semantic-search-alone-fails/): Embeddings miss the jargon that construction specifications are made of. I run keyword and vector search in parallel, rerank the union, and expand each hit with its neighboring pages before the LLM sees it. - [From WordPress to a Free Cloudflare Site with HTTrack and Cursor](https://revthat.com/from-wordpress-to-a-free-cloudflare-site-with-httrack-and-cursor/): How I mirrored my WordPress sites with HTTrack Website Copier, used Cursor to generate npm static sites, and host them for free on Cloudflare. I installed Cloudflare tools in Cursor so the agent can check builds, docs,... - [Operating a CMS on Cloudflare powered by Cursor](https://revthat.com/operating-a-cms-on-cloudflare-powered-by-cursor/): I describe how to change a static site that has a lot of articles (i.e., a blog) into a site where I can edit the articles, like a CMS (or similar to how it would be done in WordPress), except the database is a folder f... - [Using Grok Bot to Review This Entire Blog](https://revthat.com/using-grok-bot-to-review-this-entire-blog/): I pointed Grok Bot at every RevThat post, asked it to find stale links and sloppy writing, then had it write a Cursor Agent prompt so the repo could be patched file by file. - [Connecting a Streamlit App to Autodesk Construction Cloud](https://revthat.com/connecting-a-streamlit-app-to-autodesk-construction-cloud/): This guide explains how our Streamlit app logs into Autodesk and pulls real project data — like issues, RFIs, and submittals — from Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC). It is written for people who are new to Python or ar... - [When Autodesk API Auth Fails](https://revthat.com/when-autodesk-api-auth-fails/): The author encountered issues with his app's authorization for Autodesk Construction Cloud due to system changes from Autodesk. After researching with AI tools, he discovered Autodesk's transition to a hub system. He cr... - [Using QA Pairs for Recursive Chatbot Performance Improvement](https://revthat.com/using-qa-pairs-for-recursive-chatbot-performance-improvement/): Generate QA pairs from the same retrieval stack the chatbot uses, score answers with a separate model, then iterate on prompts and search. - [Your Personal UX Critic: Using Gemini LLM to Roast Your App Demos](https://revthat.com/your-personal-ux-critic-using-gemini-llm-to-roast-your-app-demos/): Recording software demos is a special kind of torture. You stumble over your words, the mouse cursor disappears, and you’re never quite sure if you’re focusing on the features that actually matter to the user. Usually,... - [Deploying a Streamlit App on Your VPS (with Cloudflare for the Subdomain)](https://revthat.com/deploying-a-streamlit-app-on-your-vps-with-cloudflare-for-the-subdomain/): So you’ve coded a Streamlit project, pushed it to GitHub, and rented a cheap VPS. Here is how to turn that server into a public-facing web app — no prior Docker or sysadmin chops required. 1. Prep the VPS (Ubuntu) 2. Cl... - [Keyword and Semantic Search with Contextual Reranking for Enhanced LLM Queries](https://revthat.com/keyword-and-semantic-search-with-contextual-reranking-for-enhanced-llm-queries/): I combine keyword extraction, SQLite text search, vector search, and a reranker so an LLM gets better context, especially when the query is jargon. - [Optimizing Vector Storage: Moving from Pinecone to SQLite for Static LLM Applications](https://revthat.com/optimizing-vector-storage-moving-from-pinecone-to-sqlite-for-static-llm-applications/): When building LLM-powered search applications, vector databases like Pinecone are often the go-to solution for storing and querying embeddings. However, for static datasets that are only written once and don’t require r... - [Using a Prompt File with Cursor Streamlit](https://revthat.com/using-a-prompt-file-with-cursor-streamlit/): In Cursor’s Composer you can point to an MD file as a prompt instead of typing it. Just use “@” Composer Prompt Prompt File Results Before After See also https://discuss.streamlit.io/t/lets-make-a-prompt-library-for-cur... - [Create and Publish an Interactive Web App Using Cursor and Streamlit](https://revthat.com/create-and-publish-an-interactive-web-app-using-cursor-and-streamlit/): The goal in this demo is to make and publish a simple chatbot that creates Google Calendar links from text prompts. - [Programming with Bing Chat AI as Helper](https://revthat.com/programming-with-bing-chat-ai-as-helper/): Bing AI Chat is an amazing a programming coach. I can give it some code or info plus what I want to do with it and it will write new code for me. Python works really well. Using Bing Chat Here are some snippets of a Typ... - [How to Get a List of Installed Apps in Windows](https://revthat.com/how-to-get-a-list-of-installed-apps-in-windows/): Download ZIP from https://gist.github.com/Bill-Stewart/a524bd4ce9f2b041cba5d499ba76142c#file-get-installedapp-ps1 Extract a524bd4ce9f2b041cba5d499ba76142c-b3da3b34bfe883c6b71ed18660fd897cd2aaaab6Get-InstalledApp.ps1 to... - [Upgrading to Revit 2023.1.1 Update](https://revthat.com/upgrading-to-revit-2023-1-1-update/): A way to find the elusive RVT.msi from old install files when running Revit 2023.1.1 Update - [Comparing OBJ Import Revit 2022 Addin vs Native Import](https://revthat.com/comparing-obj-import-revit-2022-addin-vs-native-import/): In this video, I compare my $50 Mesh Import from OBJ files for Revit addin to the native OBJ importer that was new in Revit 2022. It seems to me that my addin is better because one can apply a Revit Material to the impo... - [Upgrading Revit API Apps For Newer Revit Versions](https://revthat.com/upgrading-revit-api-apps-for-newer-revit-versions/): Every version of a Revit API app must reference some DLLs that come with Revit’s releases. Open the .sln of your API code. In Visual Studio’s Solution Explorer, see Properties. One can see what Revit version an app was... - [How to get coordinates of View, then use them for placing other Views in Dynamo](https://revthat.com/how-to-get-coordinates-of-view-then-use-them-for-placing-other-views/): Here’s a trick using Revit Lookup to find the coordinates of existing Views so you can use those points for placing Views on an other Sheet. - [Using Autodesk Viewer for a Revit Project](https://revthat.com/using-autodesk-viewer-for-a-revit-project/): Explore using Autodesk Viewer for Revit files - [Getting Revit Background Building Massing From InfraWorks](https://revthat.com/getting-revit-background-building-massing-from-infraworks/): Getting Revit Background Building Massing From InfraWorks - [Updating Origin of Meshes with MeshLab](https://revthat.com/updating-origin-meshes-meshlab/): How to update Origin of Meshes with MeshLab for importing to Revit - [How to Publish a Pano Tour with Enscape Renderings](https://revthat.com/how-to-publish-a-pano-tour-with-enscape-renderings/): Capture panos in Enscape, export the images, then publish on a pano host. Roundme is gone. Kuula is a current alternative, but the upload and tour steps will differ from the historical Roundme walkthrough in this post.... - [Preparing Meshes for Import to Revit as DirectShape](https://revthat.com/preparing-meshes-for-import-to-revit-as-directshape/): Meshes may need to be repaired when importing into Autodesk Revit. This is a how-to article. - [Search for Dynamo Nodes from a Website](https://revthat.com/search-for-dynamo-nodes-from-a-website/): I built a WordPress catalog of Dynamo nodes from packages on my PC for a hackathon. That per-node catalog is no longer online. To find nodes and packages now, use Dynamo’s in-app Package Manager or dynamopackages.com. T... - [How to Make a Seamless Revit Rendering Texture from a Photo](https://revthat.com/how-to-make-a-seamless-revit-rendering-texture-from-a-photo/): Take a picture Crop picture. In this case, I chose a 1 x 1 ratio. (I like to use FastStone Image Viewer.) Save in a folder In this example we will start with “Dirt – Dark Brown” OOTB (non-advanced asset Revit 2019, regu... - [Working With Revit 2019 Advanced Materials](https://revthat.com/working-with-revit-2019-advanced-materials/): Tutorial for Revit 2019 Advanced Materials - [Free(ish) Software For the AEC Professional](https://revthat.com/freeish-software-for-getting-work-done/): Here is some software that I like to use on any computer I am using: Bulk Crap Uninstaller Batch uninstall Windows apps — even on a new install. If I’m not using OneDrive, Candy Crush, Xbox, etc. I don’t really want the... - [How To Make A Pano Tour From Revit](https://revthat.com/how-to-make-a-pano-tour-from-revit/): Make Camera View from where the center of the spherical rendering will be. Cloud-render as Panorama, download Equirectangular, then publish on a pano host. Roundme is gone. Kuula is a current alternative, but the upload... - [Converting Revit Panorama Renderings to Equirectangular Projection](https://revthat.com/converting-revit-panorama-renderings-to-equirectangular-projection/): Revit pano cloud rendering used to export cube maps. Here is how I converted those six faces to equirectangular projection for a web pano host. Autodesk later added an Equirectangular download. Roundme is gone; I use Ku... - [Lighting Revit Cloud Rendering Scenes](https://revthat.com/lighting-revit-cloud-rendering-scenes/): Autodesk Revit’s cloud rendering service has several settings for lighting scenes. It seems to use HDRI lighting skydomes. By default, it has Native , which has similar lighting to how the rendering will result with the... - [Enabling NVIDIA Graphics Instead of Intel Integrated Graphics on a Laptop](https://revthat.com/enabling-nvidia-processor-instead-of-integrated-graphics-on-a-laptop/): On a laptop with a GeForce GPU, some apps stay on Intel graphics until you assign High-Performance NVIDIA Processor in NVIDIA Control Panel. Autodesk Live / Revit Live Viewer is discontinued. The same GPU assignment is... - [DWG Software](https://revthat.com/dwg-software/): Quick DWG viewing used to be Brava’s DWG Viewer, which OpenText discontinued in 2022. For a free viewer, use Autodesk DWG TrueView or the in-browser Autodesk Viewer. DraftSight is paid CAD with a 30-day trial, not a fre... - [Dynamo Videos](https://revthat.com/dynamo-videos/): At AU: https://www.autodesk.com/autodesk-university/search?query=dynamo Youtube Dynamo + Revit search (screenshot from 2016): https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dynamo+revit - [Project Tango Scanning to Revit](https://revthat.com/project-tango-scanning-to-revit/): At a Google Project Tango hackathon I tried Constructor for a room mesh into Revit. Google Project Tango and Constructor are no longer available. The scan-to-Revit pipeline below used MeshLab and Autodesk Memento, which... - [Big Project Commandments](https://revthat.com/big-project-commandments/): Last year I was working on a large, multi-phase, multi-discipline project at an architectural firm. These are some notes I took. Please consider this advice: Everybody, including people sending in RVTs from other discip... - [Turning artwork to mesh for import to Revit](https://revthat.com/turning-artwork-to-mesh-for-import-to-revit/): This is a tutorial on making meshes for the Mesh Import app, which lets us bring meshes into Revit’s project environment. This is one way of making a mesh. The free online app, Tinkercad, lets one import an SVG and turn... - [Photogrammetry Mesh into Revit as Point Cloud](https://revthat.com/photogrammetry-mesh-into-revit-as-point-cloud/): I made a photogrammetry mesh of a building facade in Recap 360 from about 50 images. Recap 360 is gone. Current Autodesk photogrammetry/scan product is ReCap. I brought the mesh through MeshLab into Revit as a point clo... - [Sketchy Lines In Revit](https://revthat.com/sketchy-lines-in-revit-2015/): This is a useful feature, especially when one is trying to imply that one’s design is still in the conceptual stage. People often see things produced on computers and take them for the literal outcome. I have observed t... - [New Point Cloud Manipulation Videos Posted — ReCap / Revit / AutoCAD](https://revthat.com/new-point-cloud-manipulation-videos-posted-recap-revit-autocad/): ReCap demonstration with a mechanical room scan Revit and point clouds demonstration AutoCAD and point clouds demonstration See https://www.youtube.com/user/LTC3D - [Cleaning Up The Disks](https://revthat.com/cleaning-up-the-disks/): Just found an open-source utility that maps out disk usage: WinDirStat You let it run and it shows an overview of all of your disk usage. It also lets you delete selected files — nice! The large... - [Beware the Disjoin](https://revthat.com/beware-the-disjoin/): When we do a Move command in Revit, on the Option Bar there is an option for Disjoin. this option stays as it was set for every Move and even stays set from session-to-session. When Move is done with Disjoin, it is as i... - [How to Get a Color From Your Screen into a Revit Material](https://revthat.com/how-to-get-a-color-from-your-screen-into-a-revit-material/): Someone has shared a very nice color picker utility called Colorette, which was written in AutoHotKey. The script is on GitHub. For an example of how to use Colorette with Revit, make an EXE from the AHK code and run it... - [3D Detailing in Revit](https://revthat.com/3d-detailing-in-revit/): Revit 101 June 13, 2011, 4pm We will explore views, sheets, details, and printing. Revit Learning Club June 13, 2011, 6:15pm The inspiration is this roof detail from a website about keeping water out of a building:Here... - [Voids in un-hosted families can be used to cut objects in projects in Revit 2012](https://revthat.com/voids-in-un-hosted-families-can-be-used-to-cut-objects-in-projects-in-revit-2012/): Un-hosted family voids can cut objects in a Revit project. Current Autodesk help covers Cut with voids when loaded / Cut Geometry. WikiHelp is gone. - [Art Gallery Walkthrough Video](https://revthat.com/art-gallery-walkthrough-video/): Who wants to learn how to do this? It’s a walkthrough of how I imagine the Paula Rego Museum gallery might look like. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aN8X5QlOuq8 - [Three Revit Tutorials About Topography](https://revthat.com/three-revit-tutorials-about-topography/): These videos can help you review some of the subjects covered tonight: YouTube – Easy Revit (2010) – 32.1 – Topography (Part One) YouTube – Easy Revit (2010) – 32.2 – Topography (Part Two) YouTube – Easy Revit (2010) –... - [Section Boxes in perspective views](https://revthat.com/section-boxes-in-perspective-views/): One can turn on a 3D Section Box in perspective views. It’s in the View’s Properties. A trick is then to use the View Cube to get an overall view, manipulate the Section Box’s extents, then use the Navigation Wheel’s Re... - [Some Autodesk Revit Architecture 2011 Tutorial Videos](https://revthat.com/some-autodesk-revit-architecture-2011-tutorial-videos/): Autodesk published Revit Architecture 2011 tutorial videos on the AutodeskEd YouTube channel. The 2011 Architecture playlist and that specific Step00/14 video are gone. The channel is still there. The 2011 data sets are... - [A great freeware utility – Clipboard Help+Spell](https://revthat.com/a-great-freeware-utility-clipboard-helpspell/): It’s very useful when using Revit. Changing case, and holding a list of clips are the features I use the most. Revit’s spell checker is limited, so if you need to spellcheck the names of views or such, this utility can... - [Getting Educational Licences of Autodesk Software](https://revthat.com/getting-educational-licences-of-autodesk-software/): Students and educators at a qualified institution can apply on Autodesk Education. Access is verified through SheerID. Unemployed people and veterans are not eligible as a class. ## Optional - [RSS feed](https://revthat.com/rss.xml): Most recent posts - [Sitemap](https://revthat.com/sitemap-index.xml): Full indexable URL list - [truevis consulting](https://truevis.com/): Sister site - [aifab.xyz](https://aifab.xyz/): AI apps - [Electrical Conduit Workbench](https://conduit.aifab.xyz/): Related app