I recently came across a unique feature in Revit. It is called the I-drop drag and drop feature. The feature works by clicking the thumbnail image of the file and dragging it onto the Revit plan, elevation, section, etc. Release the file into the appropriate view. See the image below showing the highlighted file on the right that was dragged into the Revit file on the left. Revit does not link the file; it recognizes it as an object inserted into the current view only. After placing the object, the user can explode it if they choose to do so. Just a reminder that if the baseplan.dwg layout changes, the modifications will not be automatically updated. The user would have to perform the I-drop command again or decide to link the import.
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As most people in the building industry know, LEED is becoming more mainstream. It is evident in one area and that is Revit. Revit and LEED have gotten together to start to implement LEED technology into the Revit software. Autodesk has gone out and partnered with Integrated Environmental Solutions (IES). This means that Autodesk is attempting to support green design with their Revit software. I have not been fortunate to do a LEED project in the Revit software but I look forwarded to that in the future. From what I have read, the user in Revit can run quick thermal, day lighting, and heating and cooling load analysis. The user does not need to recreate the building geometry for the analysis as was needed in the past. The building geometry has to be done correctly for the calculations to work properly. Rooms need to be given certain info such as room heights. Obviously, Autodesk will continue to enhance the LEED capabilities within Revit. Will Revit be able to properly compute the information needed for LEED? Only time will tell.
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As most Revit users know, we often have made a detail in AutoCAD that we could really use in Revit. There are a few ways that I know of to solve this issue:
- You can recreate that detail from scratch in Revit
- Import the 2D detail and draw over the top in Revit
- Import and explode the 2D detail
- Import and modify the layers to work better inside of Revit
I have personally done all four methods during my time using Revit. I have found that if you import the detail and leave as is, then it will most likely not print the way that you would like to see it. Some users that I know prefer to trace over the imported detail and detach the detail when they have completed the new Revit detail. I have used that method when I wanted to use Revit fill patterns so they were consistent from sheet to sheet. If you choose to import and explode the detail you will have to change the individual lines, hatches, etc. to work with Revit lines, fill patterns, etc. This can cause the file size to grow rapidly in Revit. For future projects that I work on in Revit, I am going to use the method of importing and modifying the layers using the “Visibility/Graphic Overrides” command. It may not be a flawless way to get the previously made details into Revit but it may be a time saver.
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I recently read a review of Revit Architecture 2009 by Lachmi Khemlani. She wrote about the improvements that Revit has included in the latest release. I suggest reading the article. It can be found at: http://www.aecbytes.com/review/2008/RevitArch2009_pr.html.
Some of the improvements that she writes about are going to be very helpful to Ross & Baruzzini as we continue with the implementation of Revit. I have not been able to check out any of these new improvements with 2009, but plan on checking them out very soon. The improvements that I am looking forward to are the improved rendering/visualization, color display, and dimensioning features.
Revit 2009 has made rendering scenes much easier to produce. Revit has added several materials and modified the folder organization. The user not only has several more options when choosing materials/ colors, but they have much more specific control to modify the material/ color to meet their needs. I am looking very forward to checking out these new improvements because I feel that Revit was strongly lacking in this area in previous versions. I often had to go out on the internet and find a material or color and import into Revit. That would often cause the final rendering to not represent the material properly.
Another improvement with Revit 2009 is the ability to use the color display in more views than just the plan view. In the past I had wanted to show a building section with the color scheme shown. Until now this was not possible, but after reading the above mentioned article, I am excited that Revit has made this improvement.
One of the most basic dimensioning issues that I have come across in the past is the inability to control dimension text. In this latest Revit issue, the user can override the dimension text. In the past the user has been able to add text as a prefix or suffix to the dimension text. Now the user will be able to replace that text with specific notes to the contractor. From my experience I often had to add floating text adjacent to the dimension to relate information to the contractor. If the dimension moved, the user would need to remember to move the floating text as well. That is a big hassle.
The above mentioned improvements are very nice to see for a user of Revit. I hope that Autodesk continues to improve and tweak Revit so that it can become a more prevalent CAD product. I once again want to recommend to anyone reading this, to please go to the link above and read Lachmi Khemlani’s article for she discusses other improvements in more detail.
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My name is Derek Freand and I am a Project Architect for Ross & Baruzzini. I have been with R&B for 11 months but have used Revit dating back to 2003. Here at R&B we are getting the Revit programs started. Architecturally we have done two projects to CD completion, but we also use Revit as a modeling tool to represent proposed material layouts showing 3D views and renderings. During my time of using Revit I have completed nearly 30 projects. It is a very valuable tool for our industry and will most likely be around for quite some time.
Over the past few years of using Revit I have come across several people that have said, "Sure, Revit is great for the 3D capabilities, but you cannot make 2D details as well as you can in AutoCAD." I have learned that is untrue, because it is easy to detail in Revit if you just get used to it.
First of all, Revit has a "Drafting" tab that I use frequently. For continuous lines Revit has thin, medium, and wide. I have found that using these three linetypes in a detail is enough. Obviously, you will need to use hidden, center, and other lines but they are there as well. Hatching in Revit is called a Filled Region and is very easy to use. Actually much easier than CAD. Revit has one text size when detailing. If you decide to change the scale of the detail later, it is as simple as changing the scale button at the bottom of the frame. The text, lines, and filled regions, etc., automatically update per the new scale. Also, when cutting a wall section you can add very detailed information in that section. The section will show 3D components exactly how you have drawn them and then you can add insulation, gypsum board, J-mold, blocking. etc. Revit comes with many 2D drafting components such as metal studs, steel angles, channels, CMU blocks of all sizes, furniture, and many other items. As mentioned above making 2D details is easy and you will be happy with the end product.
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