So, Er,
No standalone tablet or mobile version? does anyone know if this is being worked on?
I was thinking of a somewhat similar thing, but instead of a full fledged working version of Dynamo that can do graphical calculations, a simplified “light” version that would basically act as a learning tool.
It would have all of Dynamo’s nodes, understand what the input requirements for each node are and what each node outputs. And based on that, it would tell you if your workflow is valid or not, highlighting where a problem might occur.
And that way when you are on the go and inspiration hits you, you can immediately start planning a way to tackle that pesky problem.
On a later version of the app, you’ll be able to send your *.mdyn file(short for Mobile Dynamo) to the “cloud^TM” and have it instantly replicated on your desktop.
This is something I have talked with the developers about. The problem currently is dynamo’s need for revit/Vasari install to run even as sandbox. They did say that moving towards an ipad/tablet application will happen but maybe not for a while. A current work around buy a Microsoft surface, install Vasari for free and then run dynamo. Works quite well actually and gives you the freedom of Dynamo’ing on the go 
That’s an expensive work around if you only have an ipad. There’s always remote desktop…
Does Standalone Dynamo (the one that runs from the start menu instead of the Revit Add-ins) require an installation of Vasari/Revit? I really like the idea of having a sandbox that I could tinker on (limit it to lists and arrays of 3-5 items to allow some simple verification that the dyn is lacing correctly), then push out to the real thing, put the finishing touches in and run with real data.
Hey guys!
We’re working on a cross-platform solution that would handle a lot of what you describe. Glad to hear your interest and ideas!
~Peter (Dynamo developer)
So tell us more! Matthew- why do you want a mobile version? Ben - does the standalone version do enough for you right now? or do you need/want Revit nodes in it? Dimitar - when you say “all of Dynamo’s nodes” are you including Revit nodes? Mark - what are you doing when you’re “Dynamo’ing on the go”? (love that) We get the need to test, play and learn. Tell us about some of the test projects you would want to do on a mobile version (with or without Revit nodes).
Hello Lilli, others, thanks, Peter!
I am an ‘old-school’ Generative components user (the precedent program developed by Robert Aish)
Mark’s description “Dynamo-on-the-go” is the best summary. I would like a self-contained version that you can use while you are on your 1.5h a day trip back-and-forth from work on the bus, or holding a baby that doesn’t sleep if not physically on you.
I am personally interested in compound and surface development routines, I like the code language ‘point, vertex, vector, plane, polygon, bsplinecurve, (so on)’ rather than an abstract (overcoded) translation of the drafting board that you get with revit, autocad, etc.
It would be great if we could have dynamo, as a standalone interface, to develop pre-built libraries of geometry (subdivided surfaces in the uv with which you can apply sub components to, an array of pipesupports with which you can {much later!} connect to Revit nodes) to control a lot of the deliverables outside of a lumbering network in the workplace.
Matt
Hi Lilli,
This is what I had in mind:
I think that it’s unrealistic to expect Dynamo’s complex functionality on a mobile platform at this stage and that is why I suggested the “light” or mobile version to basically have just placeholder nodes.The place holder nodes won’t be able to do the complex computations but will have some level of self-awareness and will know to expect certain things coming in and going out of them, mimicking the connectivity of the desktop Dynamo client. That way once you create your node network on the mobile platform, you can do some basic debugging ( i.e. hey this node expects strings and the previous node is feeding it numbers) and once cleaned up, transfer it to the desktop to finalize the workflow.
Ideally you’d want to have all of Revit’s nodes as well, but those could be added later in stages at a later time, together with some of the most common packages of custom nodes.
Once mobile platforms advance sufficiently, a fully functional version could replace the “light version”.
Lilli-
Obviously the standalone version is not enough, but I use it quite a bit. Most of what I do with Dynamo is data-centric, meaning that I get data from Revit, do stuff to it, then send back to Revit.
The GetFromRevit part is usually just a few nodes, as is the Send back to Revit. What I get from Revit is usually a list of lengths, doubles, strings, etc. I have found it quicker and easier to open standalone Dynamo, create a short placeholder list of doubles, strings, etc, then take care of the data manipulation part. Once I have that handled, I save the definition, Close Dynamo, fire up Revit and the DynamoAddIn, then take care of the GetFromRevit and SendToRevit parts. This keeps more network licenses open and available longer, takes less computing power, etc.
What i would like to see with the mobile Sandbox would be similar to what Dimitar suggests, but rather than just checking if the node connection paths are valid, i would like to have a small bit of functionality. In other words, if i use an “All Elements of Category” node in the mobile version, it should give me a list of 3-5 “elements” that I can at least use to test the workflow. Or perhaps just create some special nodes in the mobile sandbox version called “list of strings”, “list of doubles”, “list of integers”, “list of bools”. These would be short lists that users could insert to test the workflow they have created. Perhaps the ability to save a list from the desktop version to the mobile version for testing (i might create a short list of 3 Foundation Elements - that would contain all of the parameters that i then plan to use in the Dynamo). Send that to the mobile version, build a valid definition that works on my really short list of elements, save to desktop version, fix a few things that need the Revit interaction, test, done. Most of the work could be done on the mobile version.
Another sticky issue will be the use of packages on the mobile platform. How do you get them onto the device and update them?