Troubleshooting
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      AVAIL Glossary

      To better navigate our training materials and software, AVAIL has created this glossary of common terminology, phrases, and jargon for our partners.

      • Active Directory Federation Services: A software component developed by Microsoft, can run on Windows Server operating systems to provide users with single sign-on access to systems and applications located across organizations.
      • Active Directory/Single-Sign On: A system that allows users to log in once and access multiple systems without needing to re-enter their credentials.
      • Add-in: A software extension that adds extra functionality to an existing program. AVAIL has several add-ins that enhance the user experience and provide additional features. Popular add-ins include Bluebeam and our own AVAIL Harvest.

      • AVAIL Admin Portal: A web portal that allows AVAIL administrators to manage user accounts and permissions.

      • AVAIL Analytics: 

      • Azure: Microsoft's cloud computing platform and service.

      • Catalog (Revit): A collection of predefined Revit content, such as families, materials, and templates, that can be used in building projects.

      • Channel Author: A role within AVAIL that allows users to add and edit content within a specific Channel, but does not allow them to manage Channel settings or permissions.

      • Channel Card: A feature within AVAIL that provides a quick overview of the content within a specific Channel. The Channel Card displays the Channel name, a thumbnail image, and information about the number of files and tags within the Channel.

      • Channel Editor: A role within AVAIL that allows users to add, remove, and edit content within a specific Channel. Channel Editors can also manage Channel settings and permissions.

      • Channel Publisher: A role within AVAIL that allows users to publish content to a Cloud Host and manage content within a specific Channel. Channel Publishers can also manage Channel settings and permissions.

      • Channel User: A role within AVAIL that allows users to view content within a specific Channel, but does not allow them to add, edit, or publish content.

      • AVAIL Channels: A feature within AVAIL that allows users to group and organize content. Channels can be created for specific projects or teams, and can be shared with other AVAIL users.

      • Connector: A tool that allows AVAIL to connect to different sources of content, such as file servers or cloud storage.

      • Containers (Revit): A way of grouping elements in a Revit project, similar to how objects are organized in a physical container.

      • Content: Any file or piece of digital media that is accessible through AVAIL.

      • AVAIL Desktop: The desktop application for AVAIL that provides a user-friendly interface for accessing and curating content.

      AVAIL Glossary Screenshot

      • Dynamic Path: A set of path update specifications that is targeted to a specific subarea node within a dynamic path update member is called a dynamic path specification set. The "path" to the file; C://users/drop/stuff/me is the dynamic path.

      • Element (Revit): A basic component or building block in a Revit project, such as walls, doors, windows, and floors.

      • Event: Any action taken within AVAIL will be counted as an Event in Analytics; exceptions are for opening and closing AVAIL without any other actions taken

      • Families (Revit): A collection of Revit elements that share common properties and behaviors, such as chairs, tables, and light fixtures.

      • Feature Request: A ticket submitted to AVAIL's customer support outlining specific new functionality or improvements that could be made to an AVAIL product.

      • Filters: Cross-sections of content based on keyword, key value, or parameter.

      • Flag: A feature within AVAIL that allows users to mark content as important or requiring attention. Flagged content is easy to find and can be used to prioritize work or collaborate with team members.

      • Groups: Within AVAIL Desktop's "Shared Users" tab is an option to "Show Groups Only". 

      • AVAIL Harvest/Harvesting: When you Harvest content, it is automatically virtualized and placed into your selected output channel in the AVAIL Desktop. This pulls the individual .rfa elements from the .RVT file and allows you to better manipulate details within a large project.

      • AVAIL Host in Cloud: Publishers (editors of the channel) manage content locally and decide when to publish updates to the cloud. The Channel is mirrored in a secure cloud location hosted by AVAIL (Cloud Host). Consumers (view only permission) will see and consume from the Cloud Host, requiring them to download content for use. All editing of content (i.e. adding, removing, tagging, etc) is performed locally (the Master file) and must be pushed to the Cloud Host. Editors of the channel will see the option to switch their view between Local (the Master) or Cloud.

      • Indexing: Adding content to a Channel is referred to as Indexing. The content is not being moved from its location nor duplicated, rather a representation of the file is created in AVAIL, based on the filepath location.

      • Keycard: A feature within AVAIL that provides a more structured browsing experience by visually grouping your content based on tags associated with the content.

      • Keys: A key is the name of the parameter you are visualizing/searching.

      • AVAIL Lens: The dedicated add-ins within our AVAIL Desktop that augment and improve the AVAIL experience. At this time, we offer Tag IO, Tag Import, and Key Card Editor.

      • AVAIL Manage Portal: An admin portal for AVAIL customers that allows them to enable features, download latest builds, and manage users on their plan.

      • AVAIL Marketplace: AVAIL Desktop's gallery of published channels that users can subscribe to for additional content, curated and maintained by AVAIL partners.

      • Metadata: Data about files; think of a Table of Contents, complete with descriptors and reference data.

      • Okta: A cloud-based identity management service that helps organizations manage user authentication and access control.

      • Parameter (Revit): A specific attribute or value assigned to a Revit element, such as its size, material, or location.

      • Path: The location of content (the file path) is how AVAIL links to your content and is determined when indexing.

      • Preview: A feature within AVAIL that allows users to preview content before opening it, using a thumbnail image and other metadata.

      • Preview Image Generator P.I.G.:

      • Revit Project Mode: A mode in Revit that allows the user to create, modify, and manage a building project.

      • Storage: The location where content is stored, such as a local or network drive. AVAIL does not store content, but references that path across users. All users must be able to path to that content location to be able to access that same content within AVAIL.

      • AVAIL Stream: An enterprise service that monitors selected folders for changes and publishes these changes in AVAIL automatically, based on guidelines you provide.

      • AVAIL Stream Definitions:  A set of rules that defines what content on your file system will be added to an AVAIL Channel, as well as what Tags will be associated with this content. As mentioned in the overview, Stream Definitions define: 

          • Which folders on your network you want to monitor
          • What content you want to index into AVAIL
          • What Channels you want this content to appear in
          • What Tags you want to be associated to this content

      • AVAIL Tag IO: Our custom lens for AVAIL Desktop, it organizes your tags into a .tsv and allows you to both export and import .tsvs to better manage large numbers of tags.

      • AVAIL Tags: Metadata that allows users to categorize and search their content within AVAIL; tagging allows you to manipulate your visual experience and refine your searches. Our indexing process defaults to automatically maintaining your existing folder names as tags to maintain the organizational structure of your content.

      • Thumbnail: A small image that represents a piece of content within AVAIL. Thumbnails are used to provide a visual preview of content, and are generated automatically by AVAIL or can be customized by the user.

      • Type (Revit): A category or classification of a Revit element based on its properties and characteristics, such as walls or doors.

      • AVAIL User Admin: A feature within AVAIL that allows administrators to manage user accounts and permissions.

      • Versions: Software is typically identified by version number - a value assigned to each iteration of a software application. You can identify which iteration of AVAIL you are currently using through two ways: you can search in your installed programs on your machine, or you can select your account name in the upper-right hand corner of your AVAIL Desktop, select About, and your version number will display in a dialogue panel.

      • Virtualize: An AVAIL feature that allows you to serve thumbnails for select content via our AVAIL Thumbnail Service; thumbnails will be extracted from the file and stored in a secure cloud location hosted by AVAIL.