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NET Connections | Autodesk

.NET Connections

.NET Connections are custom connections created with the Advance Steel .NET API.

Connections, are complex elements used in general to automate construction based on input elements, a
set of predefined rules, and user modifiable parameters. The connection consists of the input elements as
well as newly created dependent elements. All individual elements in the connection, including their
properties, represent a connection object and are visually displayed as a gray box in Advance Steel.

Connections are "intelligent" parts of a building that adapt automatically to changes in the environment
(changes in the position of input elements, orientation, size, length, changes in loads placed on elements,
changes of user modifiable parameters) in order to:

ensure the construction is as correct as possible

help the engineer avoid mistakes
save time by automatically propagating changes throughout the model

For more information on connections in Advance Steel, see About Connections

Custom connections can be created with .NET by implementing the IRule interface. The methods to be
implemented in IRule determine what types of elements can be input for the connection, what properties
can be modified for the connection, and define the rules that control how the connection is created or
modified.

Once custom Advance Steel connections have been defined by implementing the IRule interface in a .NET
project, they can be made available in Revit (2017 and later).

There is a COM dll for creating connections as well, and regardless of the API chosen (COM or .NET), the
resultant connection objects behave identically. Connections created by third parties via either of these
APIs are also identical to the connections shipped as standard with Advance Steel.

The Joints Walkthrough demonstrates how to place an instance of a connection using the
UserAutoConstructionObject class. The following sections describe how to implement new custom .NET
Connection which can be placed in an Advance Steel model as well as made available in Revit.

Topics in this section

IRule Interface

To create custom connections for Advance Steel, implement the IRule interface.
Register .NET Connection in Advance Steel

.NET Connections must be registered to be used in Advance Steel.

.NET Connections in Revit

.NET Connections can be made available in Revit.

Parent topic: Developers

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