Revit Plugins and Add-ons Review 2008

It seems that in this last year there have been many plugins, add-ons, extensions etc created for Revit. From my perspective plugins are usually best as a stop-gap solution. By this I mean that they do something that Revit out-of-the-box can't do (or do well) at this point in time. CAD/BIM Mangers have an enormous task of installing the latest versions and patches of the core software. Now add on top of that the individual plugins that each user may want. This is compounded by each new release and update. Revit's initial philosophy was to do everything well out-of-the-box. That being said, even Autodesk can't keep up with the developing demands of this hugely popular software. For this good reason the API has enabled people to create some excellent solutions. Autodesk has taken note and even bought up some of the better programs to integrate with the core software.

So, let's review some available plugins for Revit Architecture. This list is by no means comprehensive. Please let me know of any good ones that I have missed as I will keep updating this.

IES VE-Ware

"VE-Ware is our FREE building energy usage and carbon dioxide emission assessment software that can make a real difference to the green credentials of a building, as well as benchmark it against the US Architecture 2030 Challenge."

http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s130

ease of installation: easy
ease of use: Knowing how to set up the model before running the calcs is essential.
results: Pretty basic. Not detailed enough but still useful.
price: Free

IES VE-Toolkit

"Our VE-Toolkits are ideal for use at the very early stages of the design process as they give quick sustainability feedback at the click of a few buttons."

http://www.iesve.com/content/default.asp?page=s158

ease of installation: easy
ease of use: Knowing how to set up the model before running the calcs is essential.
results: Very detailed and graphic results. Great value in my opinion.
price: approx. $1500 (ballpark)

Especs for Revit

"e-SPECS for Revit extends the Autodesk® Revit-based products document coordination and quality solutions to the construction specifications. "

http://www.e-specs.com/especs-revit.html

ease of installation: Not very easy.
ease of use: Easy to use once the difficult setup process is done.
results: For the money the results can be awesome, as long as there is some setup and attention to standards. This has great potential but needs to be more accessible.
price: approx $1700(ballpark)

Avatech Tools:
http://www.avatech.com/solutions/building-design/product-details.aspx?product=44

Avatech Room Renumber
ease of installation: easy
ease of use: easy
results: This is a nice utility that I would consider a necessary stop-gap.
price: free

Avatech Door Mark Update
ease of installation: easy
ease of use: easy
results: This is what happens when someone actually reads the Wish Lists.
price: free

Autodesk Extensions
available on the Autodesk Subscription Website
ease of installation: easy
price: included with subscription

Autodesk Extensions: Compare Models
ease of use: easy
results: I think this has some good uses but I'm not sure what yet. Useful for diagnostics.

Autodesk Extensions: Element Positioning
ease of use: easy, but not sure what it's for.
results: Seems like this might be a diagnostic tool as well. This one is kind of a mixed bag. There is a tool for tagging but I'm not sure what the rest of the tools do yet. I'll keep you posted.

Autodesk Extensions: Freeze Drawings
ease of use: easy
results: This is very useful for creating static details.

Autodesk Extensions: Text Generator
ease of use: easy
results: A good stop-gap until more tools are added to the Text tool.

Autodesk Extensions: Excel Based model Generation
ease of use: haven't used it yet
results:

Autodesk Extensions: Grids Generator
ease of use: medium
results: creates some 3D lines so you can see where your grids are in 3D. I think it would be nice to toggle ref-planes in 3D.

Autodesk Subscription: Worksharing Monitor
ease of installation: easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: easy
results: a little buggy at times but useful.
price: included with subscription

Autodesk Subscription: Import/Export Google Earth
ease of installation: easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: easy
results: A 'cool' tool but also somewhat useful.
price: included with subscription

Autodesk Subscription: Batch Print
ease of installation:easy, once you find it on the subscription site maze.
ease of use: Haven't used it yet.
results:Haven't used it yet.
price:included with subscription

Autodesk Labs: STL Exporter
ease of installation: Haven't used it yet.
ease of use:
results:
price:

BIM Content Manager
http://www.bimcontentmanager.com/
ease of installation: fairly easy
ease of use: kind of complex
results: Autodesk intends to buy the parent company so hopefully a refined version of this lands inside of Revit (not an add-on through subscription).
price: $150 for now...

StrucSoft Metal Wood Framer
http://www.strucsoftsolutions.com/products.asp
"First wall panelizer running on Autodesk Revit Platform for wood and Light Guage metal construction."
Although I haven't used this yet it's very presence is encouraging.

Ideate Explorer for Revit
http://www.ideatexplorer.com/index.php
I haven't used this yet but it looks like a very useful tool.
price: $95

Autodesk Navisworks
Exports a Revit model to Navisworks.
You need to buy Navisworks to get this plugin.

Many macro samples are also available in the SDK (Software Development Kit)
ease of installation: medium-hard, you need to edit the revit.ini
ease of use: medium
results: although they are samples there are some useful tools ie. change case, find-replace etc.
price: free

Affinity for Revit
http://www.trelligence.com/affinity_revit.php
Trelligence Affinity™, Affinity for ArchiCAD™, and Affinity for Revit™ is software focused on enhancing the early architectural design process with a unique programming, space planning and schematic design solution. Targeted at the worldwide architectural, engineering, construction and owner/developer (AECO) market, the Trelligence Affinity patent-pending software integrates with ArchiCAD from Graphisoft, Revit Architecture from Autodesk, and other design tools to extend the benefits of Building Information Modeling (BIM) - faster planning, less rework and better team collaboration - to the early design phases of complex building projects.
ease of installation: ?
ease of use: ?
results:?
price: ?