PTDetailing – pyRevit Extension for Post-Tension Detailing

Overview

PTDetailing is an Autodesk Revit® add-in built with pyRevit v4.8.16 that streamlines the transfer of post-tension tendon information from INDUCTA PTD into Revit 2024 (and later). The extension automates the creation, grouping, and annotation of tendons—including differentiating between End Stress, Dead End, and Pan Stress conditions—using standardised Revit families so that engineers and drafters can produce consistent, high-quality drawings with minimal manual effort.

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Key Features

• One-Click PTD Import – Parse PTD text exports and create corresponding Revit elements in a single operation.
• Smart Auto-Alignment – Automatically rotates and positions imported tendons to best-fit the slab outline, with a manual pick-point fallback.
• Advanced, Configurable Grouping – Intelligently groups similar tendons based on fine-grained tolerances for angle, length, spacing, and drape profile.
• Automatic End Tagging – Places IndependentTag instances on "live" tendon ends (End Stress and Pan Stress), correctly associating them with their host.
• Differentiates End Types – Sets parameters on tendon families to correctly display anchor types for stressing, dead, and pan-stressed ends.
• Consolidated Settings UI – A comprehensive WPF dialog to manage all project-level settings for families, grouping tolerances, and import options.
• Smart Family Auto-Loader – Automatically loads required families from the extension's content/ folder if they are missing from the project.
• Robust & Performant – Batches all element creation into minimal transactions to ensure performance and prevent common Revit errors like "modified outside group edit mode".

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Repository Layout

The codebase has been refactored into a clean, modular structure.

PTDetailing.extension/
 ├─ lib/                  # Core business logic (Revit-agnostic where possible)
 │   ├─ ptd_parser/       # PTD text-file parser and data models
 │   ├─ revit_backend/    # Revit-specific implementation (creation, settings, etc.)
 │   └─ utils/            # Shared helpers/utilities
 │
 ├─ PTDetailing.tab/      # GUI definitions (bundles) consumed by pyRevit
 │   └─ Post Tensioning.panel/
 │       ├─ Import.pushbutton/
 │       ├─ Settings.pushbutton/
 │       └─ TagTendons.pushbutton/
 │
 ├─ content/              # Bundled Revit families (.rfa)
 │
 ├─ README.md             # ← you are here
 ├─ ROADMAP.md            # Tracks future development
 ├─ PRD.md                # Detailed product requirements
 └─ Taskfile.yml          # Developer task automation

Bundles follow pyRevit's convention (bundle.yaml, script.py, icons, etc.).

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Installation

1. Install pyRevit 4.8.16+ (see docs).
2. Clone or download this repo and locate the PTDetailing.extension folder.
3. Copy PTDetailing.extension into your local pyRevit extensions directory (find it via the pyRevit Settings dialog).
4. Launch Revit 2024 → pyRevit will load the Post Tensioning ribbon panel.

Required Revit Families

The extension is bundled with all required standard tendon detail components & tag families (.rfa) in the content/ folder. The add-in will automatically load these families into your project if they are not already present.

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Usage

1. Export tendons from PTD to a .txt file.
2. In Revit, open the desired floor plan view.
3. (First time) Click Settings in the Post Tensioning panel to review and configure project-specific options like grouping tolerances and family names. These settings are saved with the Revit project.
4. Click Import Tendons – pick the PTD file and the add-in does the rest: loads missing families, aligns the tendon set to the slab, creates all tendon elements, groups them, and tags the live ends according to your settings.
5. Optionally run Tag Tendons to add additional tags.

Each command writes to the Revit Undo stack, so changes can be easily reverted.

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Development Guide

Prerequisites

• Revit 2024
• pyRevit ≥ 4.8.16 (IronPython 2.7.11)
• A separate CPython environment (e.g., 3.10+) for running developer tools.

Recommended Workflow

1. Clone the repo outside your pyRevit extensions folder (e.g., C:\dev\PTDetailing).
2. Create a symbolic link from your extensions folder to your repo: mklink /D "%APPDATA%\pyRevit\Extensions\PTDetailing.extension" "C:\dev\PTDetailing\PTDetailing.extension"
3. Use the Task-Master workflow (see below) to run lint, tests and packaging tasks.

Code Style & Linting

• PEP8 via ruff (configured for IronPython compatibility).
• Docstrings follow Google style.

Tests

The foundation for a pytest suite is in place. Full test coverage using revit-stubs is a future goal as outlined in the ROADMAP.md.

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Task-Master Automation

This repo uses Task v3 as a lightweight build runner. Common developer commands are defined in Taskfile.yml:

version: '3'

tasks:
  lint:
    desc: Lint python sources with ruff (IronPython-compatible)
    cmds:
      - ruff lib

  format:
    desc: Format code with black (run on py3 compatible code)
    cmds:
      - black lib

  test:
    desc: Run pytest test-suite (work in progress)
    cmds:
      - pytest -q

  bundle:
    desc: Package the extension into dist/PTDetailing.zip
    cmds:
      - powershell Compress-Archive -Path PTDetailing.extension -DestinationPath dist/PTDetailing.zip -Force

Install Task on Windows with scoop install task or another package manager. Then:

# Run the linter
task lint

# Package the extension for distribution
task bundle

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Roadmap

The initial MVP and subsequent refactoring are complete. Future work, including building out the test suite and implementing a renumbering tool, is tracked in the ROADMAP.md file.

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Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! Please:

1. Create a feature branch from main.
2. Ensure linter passes (task lint).
3. Follow conventional commit style: <scope>: <subject>.
4. Add/update documentation as needed.

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License

Distributed under the MIT License.

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Acknowledgements

• pyRevit – Rapid UI & scripting framework for Revit.
• INDUCTA PTD – Source of tendon analysis data.
• Autodesk Revit API © Autodesk, Inc.