Share your favorite tips, tricks and workflows in Revit!

[Viveka_CD]

Hello Awesome community!

I wanted to make a thread about sharing your favorite tips, tricks, or workflows found within Revit. From hotkey combos to those really essential tools that everyone may not know about, this is the place to share!

I've set the ball rolling below with some simple cool tidbits 'using formulas in fields' that people may not be aware of.

If you have a requirement to reduce the size of an architectural element, maybe a wall which needs to be cut down to half its size - you can use a formula in the 'unconnected height' field, input =20' 0"*.5 and yes the wall's height is reduced by half! Don't forget to use the '=' sign in front of your formula!

Please, share your tips too! Feel free to use images and screencasts!

Best Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hello Awesome community!

I wanted to make a thread about sharing your favorite tips, tricks, or workflows found within Revit. From hotkey combos to those really essential tools that everyone may not know about, this is the place to share!

I've set the ball rolling below with some simple cool tidbits 'using formulas in fields' that people may not be aware of.

If you have a requirement to reduce the size of an architectural element, maybe a wall which needs to be cut down to half its size - you can use a formula in the 'unconnected height' field, input =20' 0"*.5 and yes the wall's height is reduced by half! Don't forget to use the '=' sign in front of your formula!

Please, share your tips too! Feel free to use images and screencasts!

Best Regards,

[Anonymous]

Thanks @Viveka_CD! Happy to be here 

[Anonymous]

Thanks @Viveka_CD! Happy to be here 

[ennujozlagam]

shear wall 1

[ennujozlagam]

shear wall 1

[ennujozlagam]

shear wall 2 (continue)

[ennujozlagam]

shear wall 2 (continue)

[Viveka_CD]

Awesome @ennujozlagam thanks for sharing! 

It will be great if you could add a small note and this will help others seeking similar solutions.

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Awesome @ennujozlagam thanks for sharing! 

It will be great if you could add a small note and this will help others seeking similar solutions.

Regards,

[Ilic.Andrej]

I will show how I combine curtain walls and window families. Before that, I will mention something that is probably not new to you. Many Revit users use curtain walls to model complex and custom made windows like those shown bellow:

  

This is understandable because it would be very tedious to create new window family for every custom made window in your project. In construction, the key differences between curtain walls and windows are in their profiles. Still, some users create curtain wall mullions by using profiles which actually describe a window frame. This is how they give new purpose to curtain walls.

The downside is that they don't get much control over how curtain walls embed. The curtain wall families create just one simple opening (which may be appropriate for their initial purpose). On the other hand, window families give the ability to use multiple voids and tools for wall layer wrapping. Yeah yeah, no options for wrapping in the section view thanks to the program inconsistency, but this can be managed with some workarounds. (Btw, I didn't look at rv2018. so I apologize if they gave this option).

So, my question was "how can I get the best of both Worlds?" . I learned from nested families. Since a curtain wall is a system family, it cannot be nested. But, it can be positioned inside a window in a project. Ofc, to make this work, you have to uncheck the curtain wall option "automatically embed" as the Window family will create the opening.

Now, your question might be: how will this affect scheduling? You give the curtain wall a type mark which then you can use to exclude the particular curtain wall from schedules. When creating a schedule, add parameter "Type Mark", use "Filter By Type Mark" , select "does not equal" and write the mark.  

What are the advantages of this? 

First, you are able to use a window family with its parameters for scheduling. If you have a good window family, you will have tools for wrapping, optional head-space and all that good stuff. You will be even able to display how the air bridge is being ventilated in a wall....

Second, you will be able to model fast. With their grid lines, mullions and panels, curtain walls save your precious time....

[Ilic.Andrej]

I will show how I combine curtain walls and window families. Before that, I will mention something that is probably not new to you. Many Revit users use curtain walls to model complex and custom made windows like those shown bellow:

  

This is understandable because it would be very tedious to create new window family for every custom made window in your project. In construction, the key differences between curtain walls and windows are in their profiles. Still, some users create curtain wall mullions by using profiles which actually describe a window frame. This is how they give new purpose to curtain walls.

The downside is that they don't get much control over how curtain walls embed. The curtain wall families create just one simple opening (which may be appropriate for their initial purpose). On the other hand, window families give the ability to use multiple voids and tools for wall layer wrapping. Yeah yeah, no options for wrapping in the section view thanks to the program inconsistency, but this can be managed with some workarounds. (Btw, I didn't look at rv2018. so I apologize if they gave this option).

So, my question was "how can I get the best of both Worlds?" . I learned from nested families. Since a curtain wall is a system family, it cannot be nested. But, it can be positioned inside a window in a project. Ofc, to make this work, you have to uncheck the curtain wall option "automatically embed" as the Window family will create the opening.

Now, your question might be: how will this affect scheduling? You give the curtain wall a type mark which then you can use to exclude the particular curtain wall from schedules. When creating a schedule, add parameter "Type Mark", use "Filter By Type Mark" , select "does not equal" and write the mark.  

What are the advantages of this? 

First, you are able to use a window family with its parameters for scheduling. If you have a good window family, you will have tools for wrapping, optional head-space and all that good stuff. You will be even able to display how the air bridge is being ventilated in a wall....

Second, you will be able to model fast. With their grid lines, mullions and panels, curtain walls save your precious time....

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @Ilic.Andrej Thanks a bunch for sharing!

If you have work in progress, you are welcome to share and post on our Friday Feature #3 Share your WIP CONTEST as well!

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @Ilic.Andrej Thanks a bunch for sharing!

If you have work in progress, you are welcome to share and post on our Friday Feature #3 Share your WIP CONTEST as well!

Regards,

[Anonymous]

Efficiency! I like it. 

Similar to the solution you just mentioned, one of the thing I really like about BIMsmith (which I already posted about) is that it offers free cloud storage where you can maintain your favorite content in online folders on their server and assign sharing permissions with others. These can be set at the organization level (for your firm), at the team level, project level, or individual level. I also maintain a "private" folder just for easy personal access.

So basically, when you're browsing for BIM content on their marketplace you can save it and keep it in the cloud instead of your own organization's server. Same thing when you configure a new wall, floor, ceiling, roof, etc. assembly with their Forge tool. You just save it to the cloud, share it with whoever you want, and it's there in the future whether or not you download it at that particular moment.

Saves me a bunch of time both when I'm searching for things I've already downloaded or searching for things I have seen before but didn't download at the time because I didn't have space.

In line with the platform itself, it's called MyBIMsmith. Worth checking out 

MyBIMsmith

[Anonymous]

Efficiency! I like it. 

Similar to the solution you just mentioned, one of the thing I really like about BIMsmith (which I already posted about) is that it offers free cloud storage where you can maintain your favorite content in online folders on their server and assign sharing permissions with others. These can be set at the organization level (for your firm), at the team level, project level, or individual level. I also maintain a "private" folder just for easy personal access.

So basically, when you're browsing for BIM content on their marketplace you can save it and keep it in the cloud instead of your own organization's server. Same thing when you configure a new wall, floor, ceiling, roof, etc. assembly with their Forge tool. You just save it to the cloud, share it with whoever you want, and it's there in the future whether or not you download it at that particular moment.

Saves me a bunch of time both when I'm searching for things I've already downloaded or searching for things I have seen before but didn't download at the time because I didn't have space.

In line with the platform itself, it's called MyBIMsmith. Worth checking out 

MyBIMsmith

[Viveka_CD · Accepted solution]

Hi All,

I'm happy to see this thread flowing!

Here one more find - Over 60 Revit Tips in 60 minutes by Joe Banks

Thanks all for your contributions and participation so far, keep it coming!

Regards,

[Viveka_CD · Accepted solution]

Hi All,

I'm happy to see this thread flowing!

Here one more find - Over 60 Revit Tips in 60 minutes by Joe Banks

Thanks all for your contributions and participation so far, keep it coming!

Regards,

[Sahay_R]

THANK YOU, @Viveka_CD - I was looking for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Sahay_R]

THANK YOU, @Viveka_CD - I was looking for this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Viveka_CD]

You are most welcome @Sahay_R

[Viveka_CD]

You are most welcome @Sahay_R

[ysautodesklover]

Hi

This is my favorite trick which I have learnt from my colleague.

★How to transfer only one material from a project into a family★

1, Create in-place family in your project

2, Apply the material which you want to transfer into a family, ex MATERIAL A

3,DO NOT FINISH MODEL, select and copy the model!!

4,Open your family editor and paste it from the clipboard

5,Now, you have the material in family editor so delete the family which you copy from the project.

 

This is the same idea of transfering a material from one family to the other family.

I hope you find it helpful 🙂

See the video in this blog although this is in Japanese. Have a fun!

"https://revit-lab.blogspot.jp/2017/04/1.html"

Thank you,

Yuki_S 

[ysautodesklover]

Hi

This is my favorite trick which I have learnt from my colleague.

★How to transfer only one material from a project into a family★

1, Create in-place family in your project

2, Apply the material which you want to transfer into a family, ex MATERIAL A

3,DO NOT FINISH MODEL, select and copy the model!!

4,Open your family editor and paste it from the clipboard

5,Now, you have the material in family editor so delete the family which you copy from the project.

 

This is the same idea of transfering a material from one family to the other family.

I hope you find it helpful 🙂

See the video in this blog although this is in Japanese. Have a fun!

"https://revit-lab.blogspot.jp/2017/04/1.html"

Thank you,

Yuki_S 

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @ysautodesklover

Awesome, that's cool! Thanks for sharing this with our community.

I like the simple and fun graphics you have for your questionnaire and comments on your blog.

Best wishes and keep it going!

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @ysautodesklover

Awesome, that's cool! Thanks for sharing this with our community.

I like the simple and fun graphics you have for your questionnaire and comments on your blog.

Best wishes and keep it going!

Regards,

[ysautodesklover]

Dear @Viveka_CD

Oh sorry, this isn't my blog but my colleague's 😛

I have learnt this trick from her and I wanted introduce this method on be half of her.

Thank you anyway,

Yuki_S

[ysautodesklover]

Dear @Viveka_CD

Oh sorry, this isn't my blog but my colleague's 😛

I have learnt this trick from her and I wanted introduce this method on be half of her.

Thank you anyway,

Yuki_S

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @ysautodesklover

No worries! Please convey my wishes to your colleague and I'm looking forward to your participation in the forums.

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @ysautodesklover

No worries! Please convey my wishes to your colleague and I'm looking forward to your participation in the forums.

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hello Community!

I would like to take a moment to thank all those who contributed to this thread! I'm glad to see the participation.

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hello Community!

I would like to take a moment to thank all those who contributed to this thread! I'm glad to see the participation.

Regards,

[jair_gh]

Sometimes I just like to have fun with the program. Here playing with View Templates

[jair_gh]

Sometimes I just like to have fun with the program. Here playing with View Templates

[Viveka_CD]

Absolutely @jair_gh  good to see you having fun with the program!

Thanks for sharing - creating a separate view template for graphics display with black solid pattern with thin white outlines is cool - Rethink design!

[Viveka_CD]

Absolutely @jair_gh  good to see you having fun with the program!

Thanks for sharing - creating a separate view template for graphics display with black solid pattern with thin white outlines is cool - Rethink design!

[Basam.Yousif]

My first contribution will be about grids. Be careful how you draw these things.

1. Draw all parallel grids in one direction. This is very important. Revit grids have the bubble on the 2nd click.
2. Grids drawn the opposite direction needs to be fixed, by unlocking and physically swapping the location of the two endpoints. Seriously.
3. The checkbox at the end for the bubble visibility is ONLY for the view you're in. In all the other views in the model, that grid is still "wrong"
4. Like everything else in Revit, you're working in 3D, not 2D. Meaning, your grids are visible in elevations and sections too. Make sure you adjust those accordingly.
5. If the building has a high rise AND low rise, you should adjust your grids visibility in each part by controlling their extents. How? Grids will show in any plan view they INTERSECT with its level. 
6. To make sure you know this: 2D means THIS VIEW ONLY while 3D means MODEL WIDE
7. To "copy" a certain arrangement and adjustments of 2D grids in one view to others, use the PROPAGATE EXTENTS icon. You can even filter that list by scale, as each scale requires own adjustment of grids heads.
8. The three controls (Grid bubble viz, jog, and 2D extents) are ALL view specific and they only live in the view you create them.
9. Dedicate a view to managing grids and actually name it MANAGE GRIDS. 
10. In complex projects, you can use filters to control grids visibility in different parts of the building, simply by creating a naming strategy that a filter can target. For example, add a prefix to grids names, so Building 'A' grids are named A1, A2, A3 and AA, AB, AC etc. Bldg 'B' grids B1 B2 B3 and BA BB BC .... generally speaking, in complex projects, filters are your best friend 🙂 

My next post will be about Levels!

[Basam.Yousif]

My first contribution will be about grids. Be careful how you draw these things.

1. Draw all parallel grids in one direction. This is very important. Revit grids have the bubble on the 2nd click.
2. Grids drawn the opposite direction needs to be fixed, by unlocking and physically swapping the location of the two endpoints. Seriously.
3. The checkbox at the end for the bubble visibility is ONLY for the view you're in. In all the other views in the model, that grid is still "wrong"
4. Like everything else in Revit, you're working in 3D, not 2D. Meaning, your grids are visible in elevations and sections too. Make sure you adjust those accordingly.
5. If the building has a high rise AND low rise, you should adjust your grids visibility in each part by controlling their extents. How? Grids will show in any plan view they INTERSECT with its level. 
6. To make sure you know this: 2D means THIS VIEW ONLY while 3D means MODEL WIDE
7. To "copy" a certain arrangement and adjustments of 2D grids in one view to others, use the PROPAGATE EXTENTS icon. You can even filter that list by scale, as each scale requires own adjustment of grids heads.
8. The three controls (Grid bubble viz, jog, and 2D extents) are ALL view specific and they only live in the view you create them.
9. Dedicate a view to managing grids and actually name it MANAGE GRIDS. 
10. In complex projects, you can use filters to control grids visibility in different parts of the building, simply by creating a naming strategy that a filter can target. For example, add a prefix to grids names, so Building 'A' grids are named A1, A2, A3 and AA, AB, AC etc. Bldg 'B' grids B1 B2 B3 and BA BB BC .... generally speaking, in complex projects, filters are your best friend 🙂 

My next post will be about Levels!

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @Basam.Yousif

That's awesome. Thanks for listing out these points.

Looking forward to your next post.

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @Basam.Yousif

That's awesome. Thanks for listing out these points.

Looking forward to your next post.

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @Karambaki

Thanks for sharing! 

I'll move this to the Revit tips and tricks thread, this will greatly benefit the community!

Regards,

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @Karambaki

Thanks for sharing! 

I'll move this to the Revit tips and tricks thread, this will greatly benefit the community!

Regards,