Questions regarding Revit and compatibility with Mac.

[Avh_UK]

This is really a follow on from this topic (started on the cloud service topic) see below:

http://feedback.autodesk.com/cloudservices/topics/revit_mac_version

As Christiaan said "it's a travesty that there are no powerful and intuitive BIM programmes available for Mac. Revit and OS X belong together!!"

I understand that as an organisation you need to keep certain things quiet until they are released, but i presume this is more to do with particular features and tools within Revit.

The closest competitors to Revit already have their software native to both the PC and Mac. So i can't see why there is a need to keep the plans, or a possible time frame for Revit to include a native Mac compatible version quiet. (unless there are no plans for this to happen?)

Releasing this information can only be beneficial to Autodesk, its users and potential future users, as we can prepare our offices appropriately.

Our office uses Mac computers and the only thing holding us back from making the move to Revit is that there is not a version for the Mac OS.

The key questions from this thread are:

1). Is Revit going to be available on the Mac using OS X?

2). When is this likely to be?

3). What form is Revit on the Mac likely to take?

Can someone from Autodesk please, provide some clarification to these questions?

[andrew.munya]

Sorry Davissc but that sounds like, 'yeah, there is no revit for mac in the foreseeable future.' Which is fine, but it also sounds like Autodesk is not responding to its client needs.We are an insititution that teaches Revit and other Autodesk products to students. The fact that our students who have macs are forced to purchase parallels and other software in order to run Autodesk software on macs is a disadvantage and not exactly a a strong selling point whichever way you look at it.

I also work for an office that specializes in ArchiCAD. However we get clients who require that their projects be delivered through Revit. because we dont want to lose these clients we are forced to restructure our OS platforms to run Revit. (one may argue that yeah its a free market and market choices dictate product demand and hence product type), however as the intermederies between end consumers and software producers like Autodesk, we do have a vital role to play and therefore our unique needs for flexibility inorder to  timely execute some of these roles  should be taken into consideration. 

The point is, there is a gap in the market for Revit and other Autodesk software to run directly on macs without the need for third party software.Someone has a duty to fill this gap.

[eric.dempsey]

Bump.  

Its 2016.  Is anyone listening?

[glyn.whibley]

Yes... Whats up? 🙂

[eric.dempsey]

the unanswered questions from this thread...

[architects]

The workaround is to export to IFC from Archicad, import into Revit on a single Windows PC, and save that file. IFC is now a reliable, robust and valid way of exchanging data.

If there is a commercial reason for a Revit file, however specious, this is the easy option. The alternative is to employ a consultant to do the conversion.

The situation described does not specifically require a Mac version of Revit for this one task.

As a Mac Archicad user with Revit in the office, this is the workflow that we use, and I think it's a poor justification for a Mac native version.

[architects]

Personally I'm not convinced that teaching Revit to students is necessarily the best or even a good strategy. 

If a teaching institution decides that teaching software is an acceptable use of students' time (when I was studying, there were no drawing lessons, and neither were there any in how to use software) then logically one would have thought that it ought to decide on which BIM application to use based on flexibility and lack of limitations.

Restriction to a specific operating system is a pretty big one! Choosing a specific package that imposes (arguably) unreasonable limitations on students, and complaining that the company doesn't produce a version for another operating system seems very churlish to say the least. The obvious thing to point out is, "Why did you choose that software in the first place?". The second thing is, given that you have identified the issues, "Why do you persist with it?"

BIM software is not design software, whatever anyone might say. It's a very efficient means of streamlining the process of creating consistent and coherent design documentation, not of enhancing the design process itself.

For students, something like SketchUp is a much better tool for design development, but design itself ought to be done on paper, by sketching.

The principle of teaching students employable skills for practice is one which is separate to the process of teaching architecture. You can learn BIM with books and Youtube tutorials. It's considerably more difficult to learn design or construction that way...