The View Control Bar is located at the bottom of the Revit window above the status bar. It provides quick access to functions that affect the drawing area, including the following:
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Revit 2010: View Control Bar
Revit 2010: Type Selector
"The Type Selector is located on the Element panel for the currently invoked tool, for example, Place a Wall. Its contents change depending on the current function or selected elements. When you place an element in a drawing, use the Type Selector to specify the type of element to add.
To change existing elements to a different type, select one or more elements of the same category. Then use the Type Selector to select the desired type.
Revit 2010: Options Bar
The Options Bar is located below the ribbon. Its contents change depending on the current command or selected element.
Revit 2010: Status Bar (Hints About What to Do Next)
"If you start a command (such as Rotate) and are not sure what to do next, check the status bar. It often displays tips or hints about what to do next for the current command. In addition, a tool tip appears next to the cursor, displaying the same information.
To cancel or exit the current command, do either of the following:
- Press Esc twice.
- On the Quick Access toolbar, click Modify."
Revit 2010: Using the Quick Access Toolbar
The Quick Access toolbar contains the following items by default:
To undo or redo a series of operations, click the drop-down to the right of the Undo and Redo buttons. This displays the command history in a list. Starting with the most recent command, you can select any number of previous commands to include in the Undo or Redo operation.
The Quick Access toolbar can display below the ribbon. Click Show Below the Ribbon on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar to change the display setting.
You can customize the Quick Access toolbar. to include commands that you use frequently. To add a ribbon button to the Quick Access toolbar, right-click the button on the ribbon and click Add to Quick Access toolbar. Buttons are added to the right of the default commands on the Quick Access toolbar.
While in an edit mode (such as Place a Wall), or the Family Editor, items that are added to the Quick Access toolbar from the Create, Modify, Group, Clipboard, or View Graphics panel persist on the toolbar for that mode. However, when you switch to another editing mode, these items do not display and need to be re-added to the Quick Access toolbar.
Note There are some tools on contextual tabs that cannot be added to the Quick Access toolbar.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Revit 2010: Access Common Tools
Access common tools to start or publish a file in the application menu.
Click 
to quickly perform the following actions:
- Create a file
- Open an existing file
- Save a file
- Export a file to another file format
- Publish a file and place it in a central or shared location
- Print a file
- Access license information
- Close the application
You can quickly access the following dialogs from the application menu:
Revit 2010: The Application Menu
Revit 2010: Application Frame Overview
"The application frame contains tools and provides feedback to help you manage your Revit Architecture projects.
The application frame consists of five main areas described in the following table:
"
Revit 2010: Contextual Ribbon Tabs
"When you execute certain commands or select an element, a special contextual ribbon tab displays that contains a set of tools that relate only to the context of the command.
For example, when drawing walls, the Place Wall contextual tab displays that has 3 panels:
- Select: contains the Modify command.
- Element: contains Element Properties and the Type Selector.
- Draw: contains the draw editors necessary for creating the wall.
This contextual ribbon tab closes once you end the command.
"
Revit 2010: Ribbon - Expanded Panels
"A drop-down arrow at the bottom of a panel indicates that you can expand the panel to display additional tools and controls. By default, an expanded panel closes automatically when you click another panel. To keep a panel expanded, click the push pin icon in the bottom-left corner of the expanded panel.
A dialog-launcher arrow on the bottom of a panel opens a dialog.
Revit 2010: Ribbon Tabs and Panels
Ribbon example
Tip: When you see a button that shows a line dividing it into two sides, you can click the top (or left) side to access the tool you probably use most often. Click the other side to expose a list of other related tools
Examples of buttons that can be clicked on two sides
The following table describes the ribbon tabs and the types of commands they contain.
There are a number of button types on the ribbon
Revit 2010: Ribbon Overview
"The ribbon displays automatically when you create or open a file, and provides all the tools necessary to create your file. Customize the ribbon by changing the panel order, or moving a panel off the ribbon to your desktop. The ribbon can be minimized for maximum use of the drawing area.
Revit 2010: Understanding Terms
"Most of the terms used to identify objects in Revit Architecture are common, industry-standard terms familiar to most architects. However, some terms are unique to Revit Architecture. Understanding the following terms is crucial to understanding the software.
Project: In Revit Architecture, the project is the single database of information for your design—the building information model. The project file contains all information for the building design, from geometry to construction data. This information includes components used to design the model, views of the project, and drawings of the design. By using a single project file, Revit Architecture makes it easy for you to alter the design and have changes reflected in all associated areas (plan views, elevation views, section views, schedules, and so forth). Having only one file to track also makes it easier to manage the project.
Level: Levels are infinite horizontal planes that act as a reference for level-hosted elements, such as roofs, floors, and ceilings. Most often, you use levels to define a vertical height or story within a building. You create a level for each known story or other needed reference of the building; for example, first floor, top of wall, or bottom of foundation. To place levels, you must be in a section or elevation view.
Level 2 work plane cutting through the 3D view with the corresponding floor plan next to it
Element: When creating a project, you add Revit Architecture parametric building elements to the design. Revit Architecture classifies elements by categories, families, and types.
Category: A category is a group of elements that you use to model or document a building design. For example, categories of model elements include walls and beams. Categories of annotation elements include tags and text notes.
Family: Families are classes of elements in a category. A family groups elements with a common set of parameters (properties), identical use, and similar graphical representation. Different elements in a family may have different values for some or all properties, but the set of properties—their names and meaning—is the same. For example, 6-panel colonial doors could be considered one family, although the doors that compose the family come in different sizes and materials.
There are 3 kinds of families:
- Loadable families can be loaded into a project and created from family templates. You can determine the set of properties and the graphical representation of the family.
- System families include walls, dimensions, ceilings, roofs, floors, and levels. They are not available for loading or creating as separate files.
- Revit Architecture predefines the set of properties and the graphical representation of system families.
- You can use the predefined types to generate new types that belong to this family within the project. For example, the behavior of a wall is predefined in the system. However, you can create different types of walls with different compositions.
- System families can be transferred between projects.
- In-place families are custom families that you create in the context of a project. Create an in-place family when your project needs unique geometry that you do not expect to reuse or geometry that must maintain one of more relationships to other project geometry.
- Because in-place families are intended for limited use in a project, each in-place family contains only a single type. You can create multiple in-place families in your projects, and you can place copies of the same in-place family element in your projects. Unlike system and standard component families, you cannot duplicate in-place family types to create multiple types.
Type: Each family can have several types. A type can be a specific size of a family, such as a 30” X 42” title block or a 32" x 84" door. A type can also be a style, such as default aligned or default angular style for dimensions.
Instance: Instances are the actual items (individual elements) that are placed in the project and have specific locations in the building (model instances) or on a drawing sheet (annotation instances).
Revit 2010: Element behavior in a parametric modeler
"In projects, Revit Architecture uses 3 types of elements:
- Model elements represent the actual 3D geometry of the building. They display in relevant views of the model. For example, walls, windows, doors, and roofs are model elements.
- Datum elements help to define project context. For example, grids, levels, and reference planes are datum elements.
- View-specific elements display only in the views in which they are placed. They help to describe or document the model. For example, dimensions, tags, and 2D detail components are view-specific elements.
There are 2 types of model elements:
- Hosts (or host elements) are generally built in place at the construction site. For example, walls and roofs are hosts.
- Model components are all the other types of elements in the building model. For example, windows, doors, and cabinets are model components.
There are 2 types of view-specific elements:
- Annotation elements are 2D components that document the model and maintain scale on paper. For example, dimensions, tags, and keynotes are annotation elements.
- Details are 2D items that provide details about the building model in a particular view. Examples include detail lines, filled regions, and 2D detail components.
This implementation provides flexibility for designers. Revit Architecture elements are designed to be created and modified by you directly; programming is not required. If you can draw, you can define new parametric elements in Revit Architecture.
In Revit Architecture, the elements determine their behavior largely from their context in the building. The context is determined by how you draw the component and the constraint relationships that are established with other components. Often, you do nothing to establish these relationships; they are implied by what you do and how you draw. In other cases, you can explicitly control them, by locking a dimension or aligning 2 walls, for example."
Revit 2010: How does it keep things updated?
"A fundamental characteristic of a building information modelling application is the ability to coordinate changes and maintain consistency at all times. You do not have to intervene to update drawings or links. When you change something, Revit Architecture immediately determines what is affected by the change and reflects that change to any affected elements.
Revit Architecture uses 2 key concepts that make it especially powerful and easy to use. The first is the capturing of relationships while the designer works. The second is its approach to propagating building changes. The result of these concepts is software that works like you do, without requiring entry of data that is unimportant to your design."
Revit 2010: What is meant by parametric?
"The term parametric refers to the relationships among all elements of the model that enable the coordination and change management that Revit Architecture provides. These relationships are created either automatically by the software or by you as you work. In mathematics and mechanical CAD, the numbers or characteristics that define these kinds of relationships are called parameters; hence, the operation of the software is parametric. This capability delivers the fundamental coordination and productivity benefits of Revit Architecture: Change anything at any time anywhere in the project, and Revit Architecture coordinates that change through the entire project.
The following are examples of these element relationships:
- The outside of a door frame is a fixed dimension on the hinge side from a perpendicular partition. If you move the partition, the door retains this relationship to the partition.
- Windows or pilasters are spaced equally across a given elevation. If the length of the elevation is changed, the relationship of equal spacing is maintained. In this case, the parameter is not a number but a proportional characteristic.
- The edge of a floor or roof is related to the exterior wall such that when the exterior wall is moved, the floor or roof remains connected. In this case, the parameter is one of association or connection."
What is Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010?
Excerpts taken from the training files within the program...
"The Revit Architecture platform for building information modelling is a design and documentation system that supports the design, drawings, and schedules required for a building project. Building information modelling (BIM) delivers information about project design, scope, quantities, and phases when you need it.
In the Revit Architecture model, every drawing sheet, 2D and 3D view, and schedule is a presentation of information from the same underlying building model database. As you work in drawing and schedule views, Revit Architecture collects information about the building project and coordinates this information across all other representations of the project. The Revit Architecture parametric change engine automatically coordinates changes made anywhere—in model views, drawing sheets, schedules, sections, and plans."
Friday, November 6, 2009
Revit 2010 New Features: Family Creation
"VSTA macros, external commands, and external applications can create, modify, and manage Revit families."
Revit 2010 New Features: Export To gbXML
"Examine an analytical model of your Revit project before exporting the model to a gbXML file. The accuracy of energy analysis depends on accurately identifying surfaces and accounting for the entire volume of the building."
Revit 2010 New Features: Surface Analysis Tool
"A new surface analysis tool helps you correctly identify surfaces and openings by color-coding interior and exterior walls, windows, doors, floors, and roofs. With this information, you can then make adjustments to the model and perform accurate energy analysis."
Revit 2010 New Features: Opening A Building Component
"In Revit projects, you can incorporate building components designed using Autodesk Inventor or other mechanical applications that create Autodesk Exchange (ADSK) files."
Revit 2010 New Features: Exporting a Building Site
"Export a Revit building model (including the BIM data) for use by civil engineers designing the building site with AutoCAD Civil 3D or applications that accept Autodesk Exchange (ADSK) files."
Revit 2010 New Features: Conceptual Design - Divide and Pattern
"The conceptual design environment allows the ability to divide and pattern complex surfaces and then add building detail that can later be fabricated."
Revit 2010 New Features: Conceptual Design - Make Form
"Concept drawings are easily converted into 3D forms, such as sweeps, extrusions, and lofts. You can directly manipulate points, edges, and faces in 3D."
Revit 2010 New Features: Conceptual Design Drawing
"To draw a conceptual design, you work in a 3D view, drawing lines and placing points on reference planes, levels, and existing surfaces."
Revit 2010 New Features: Conceptual Design Overview
"The conceptual design environment is used to create in-place masses during the design phase. It provides a place to test concepts before committing to a final design. "
Revit 2010 New Features: Application Menu
"The application menu is the location for file management operations, such as New, Open, Save, Export, and Print."
Revit 2010 New Features: Quick Access Toolbar
"The Quick Access toolbar allows user configuration by letting users select the commonly used tools to place within it."
Revit 2010 New Features: Contextual Ribbon Tabs
"When you click a tool on the ribbon or select an element in a view, the ribbon displays tools that are specific to the context."
Revit 2010 New Features: Using Seek To Share and Find Online Content
"Use Autodesk Seek to find product design information. Many content providers, both corporate partners and individual contributors, publish to Autodesk Seek. Content includes 3D models, 2D drawings, specifications, brochures, and descriptions of products or components."Revit 2010 New Features: Ribbon
"Ribbon tabs group tools according to the current task. For example, there is one tab for architectural modeling and another for annotating and detailing."
Looks to me like they combined the drop down menus with the button toolbars. We'll see how it works.
Revit Archtecture 2010 Introduction
I would say that about 60% of advertising architecture firms require Revit experience. It is the 3D BIM version of 2d CAD drafting. BIM (building information modeling) is a virtual model of the building with information attached to each component, you could say it has an intelligence. I have often wondered why I have not been using it sooner (probably cost) as it should be much more productive than drawing every view of a building, tediously, line by line.
So, I have downloaded and installed the Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 thirty day trial.
I will start with the new features intros and move into lessons.
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