Revit 8 - Tutorial

Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin ResortOrlando, Florida

11/28/2005 - 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm Room:Americas Seminar [Lab] (Dolphin)

A Quick Spin on Autodesk® Revit® Building

Take a hands-on tour through some of the most productive features of Autodesk Revit Building. Learn how building information modeling improves productivity and creates more accurate, better-coordinated drawing sets. Explore the user interface, understand why Revit "Works Like an Architect Thinks". Dive into a building information model and generate sections, elevations, and schedules on the fly. Experience the power of automatic coordination throughout the entire building model -- right through construction documents. This class is designed for architectural professionals who are looking for ways to be more efficient and provide higher quality documents to clients and consultants.

BD14-1L

About the Speaker:

Amy Fietkau - AutodeskJohn Jansen; Scott Davis (Assistant); Brian Tuffin (Assistant)and

Amy recently joined Autodesk with 9 years of CAD experience. She has degrees in Computer-Aided Drafting and Industrial Design. Previous work experience includes teaching CAD at a local college, CAD management for a large architectural firm, and technical support as an application engineer for a reseller. Amy has provided training and implementation services for a variety of Autodesk products including AutoCAD, Architectural Desktop, and Revit Building.

A Quick Spin on Autodesk Revit Building

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If you haven’t been living under a rock you’ve probably been hearing a lot of buzz about Revit Building. Maybe you saw a smooth sales presentation, read a marketing brochure, or talked to someone with hands-on experience. Just like getting a new car, you’ve done some research and its time to take it for a quick spin. The intent of this class is for you to test drive the software, experiencing some of the more powerful tools, without being technically trained.

This document is organized into five categories; each category has topics with written steps and tips for using the feature. In italics next to some of the topics is a path to a file that can be opened for use during that particular exercise or discussion.

This paper is meant to supplement and expand upon what we cover in the workshop. We will not have time to cover each topic in each category.

INTRODUCTION TO REVIT BUILDING Menus, Toolbars, and More…


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View Coordination and Control

When a project file is opened in Revit all views shown in the Project Browser are part of the same file (.RVT). Views can be opened as needed from the Project Browser by double clicking on the view name in the list. The active View will always be shown with bold text in the Project Browser. There are a few things to keep in mind when working with Views:

• Each open View has its own View Control Bar.

• The Window menu can be used to tile multiple open views.

• When a single View is open and maximized, the window menu can be used to Close Hidden Views.

Useful Tips

Watch the Status Bar and on screen Tool Tips; they help clarify what the steps are for the tool currently in use.

To cancel/finish a command or to deselect a component, press ESC on the keyboard or select the Modify tool from the Design Bar

When looking at a view, or when an entity is selected, the Blue items are controls that can be used to link to another view or manipulate the item that is selected.

EXPLORING THE BUILDING Dynamic View Control (C:\BD14-1L\Urban_House.rvt)

The easiest way to Pan, Zoom and Spin Views in Revit is with the mouse (steps below). If the mouse you are using does not have a middle scroll button use the Dynamic View dialog box (F8) to Pan, Zoom, and Spin the Views.

Scroll (pan) - hold the middle-mouse button and drag the pointer

Zoom - hold CTRL, hold the middle-mouse button, and drag the pointer.

Spin 3D model - hold SHIFT, hold the middle-mouse button, drag the pointer.

Section Box (C:\BD14-1L\Urban_House.rvt)

Revit provides the ability to turn on or off a section box around a 3D view. You can use the section box to clip the viewable portion of a 3D model. When the section box is visible, you can resize it and rotate it with the handles.

Steps: Set the current view orientation to 3D

Type VP to access View Properties; scroll down and select the check box for Section Box. Exit the dialog

Click and drag one of the handles to resize the box (blue arrows). Click the rotation control symbol to rotate the section


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Camera Views (C:\BD14-1L\Urban_House.rvt)

At any time you can place a camera and Revit Building creates a perspective 3D view and assigns a name to the view: 3D View1, 3D View2, and so on. 3D Views can be very helpful in explaining building connections, interferences, and design ideas.

Steps: Double Click First Floor from the View list to set it current

Select the Camera tool from the View tab of the Design Bar

Revit is now ready for two clicks; the first places the camera and second sets the target location (Plan, section and elevation views can be used to place cameras)

1 - Click in the design area to place the camera – near the back wall of the Den works well

2 - Click in the design area to set the target – past the Den couch and the curtain of windows works well

In the new perspective view (3D View 1), Drag the handles to vary the field of view

Walkthroughs (C:\BD14-1L\Townhouse.rvt)

In a very simple, easily controlled manner Revit provides the ability for a camera to follow a path and create an animation. Walkthrough animations can be used to navigate the exterior of a building model or to create a virtual walk though of a space in the building.

Steps: Double Click 1st Floor from the View list to set it current

Click Walkthrough from the View tab of the Design Bar.

Click in the view to place a key frame – this is the starting point of the camera path

Place another Key Frame and continue to create a path – each pick is a new camera location that can be controlled (You can place key frames anywhere you want, but you cannot change their position during creation of the path. You can edit the key frames after finishing the path)

Press ESC to finish the walkthrough path

Select the path and Edit Walkthrough from the Options Bar (You can move the position of the camera's target point at a key frame, for example, to create the effect that the camera is looking side to side)

Click Open from the Options Bar to Open the Camera View (By default, there is a uniform speed at which the camera travels along the entire walkthrough path. You can change the speed by increasing or decreasing the total number of frames or by increasing or decreasing the number of frames per second)

Click Play to view the Walkthrough


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VIEWS AND SHEETS Elevations (C:\BD14-1L\Townhouse.rvt)

In the default Revit Building project template there are four elevation views already created; North, South, East and West. It is in these views that we add, remove and adjust levels markers. Additional interior and exterior elevations can be added as needed.

Steps: Double Click First Floor from the View list to set it current

Click Elevation from the View tab of the Design Bar.

Place the pointer near a wall and click the left-mouse button to place the elevation symbol (To set different interior elevation views, highlight the round shape of the elevation symbol and select the check box for creating additional views)

Double Click the New elevation from the View list to set it current

Sections (C:\BD14-1L\Townhouse.rvt)

Sections are views used to cut through the model. You can draw them in plan, section, elevation, and detail views, and they display as section representations in intersecting views.

Steps: Double Click 2nd Floor from the View list to set it current

Click Section from the View tab of the Design Bar – notice in the options bar that you can set the scale of the section before it is created, but don’t worry if you forget to set the scale we can easily change it later.

Pick the Start and End points for the section - pick two points outside the building to create a building section.

If desired, resize the crop region by dragging the blue controls; the depth of the section view changes accordingly

ESC to cancel the Section command

To open the section view, double-click the section header (The section view changes when the design changes or the section line is moved)

Details (C:\BD14-1L\Townhouse.rvt)

There are multiple ways to create details with Revit. The modeled geometry can be leveraged when creating the detail or a blank drafting view allows the user to work from scratch. Drafting views can also be used for importing CAD (DWG, DXF, DGN) files from existing details libraries. Below are the steps for beginning a drafting view detail and for importing a CAD file.

Steps: Double Click Section 1 from the View list to open it up

From the View Design Bar select the Callout tool - don’t place the callout yet, you need to change a few settings in the options bar:

Set the Type to Detail View: Detail View 1

Set the Scale to 1-1/2” = 1’-0”

Check the Reference Other View box and set New Drafting View (this box allows you to link multiple detail callouts to more than one detail view)

Draw a window around the desired detail area - in Section 1 window the top of the wall

Once the symbol is drawn you can select the rectangle and use the blue grips to edit the boundary and the callout bubble location


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Double click the callout bubble to open the New Drafting View

To draft from scratch in Revit use the tools on the Drafting tab of the Design Bar

To import a CAD file select Import/Link DWG, DXF, DGN, SAT… from the File menu

Browse and select the Parapet.dwg – Set the Layer/Level Colors to Black and White and press Open (you may have to Zoom All ZA to see the detail in the drafting view)

Enlarged Views (C:\BD14-1L\Townhouse.rvt)

Enlarged Views are created very similarly to Detail Callouts that reference the building model. Revit does an excellent job of setting up a cropped view of a plan that can be annotated at a different scale but still updates with changes made to the drawing set.

Steps: Open the 1st Floor View

Zoom into the Toilet room near the Kitchen

From the View Design Bar select the Callout tool - don’t place the callout yet, you need to change a few settings in the options bar:

Set the Type to Floor Plan

Set the Scale to 1/4” = 1’-0”

Place a window around the desired area for an enlarged view of the restroom (Once the symbol is drawn you can select the rectangle and use the blue grips to edit the boundary and the callout bubble location)

Double Click the callout bubble to open the New Enlarged View – It’s probably listed as Callout of 1st Floor in the View list of the Project Browser

The enlarged view of the restroom can be flushed out with more content and annotated at a different scale.

To turn off the Crop Region around the enlarged view type VP, scroll through the list of view options and uncheck the Crop Region Visible box

Sheets (C:\BD14-1L\Townhouse.rvt)

Drawing Sheets can be set up at the beginning of a project, as a template for new projects or whenever you like. The Revit interface for creating, organizing and manipulating content on Sheets is quite simple once you know the basics. A couple things to keep in mind when working with sheets:

• The drawing sheet is the view to which you add model views. You print the sheets to create a drawing set

• A view can only be placed on a sheet once. But a view can be copied for multiple placements on sheets.

Steps: Click the Sheet tool from the View tab of the Design Bar and select a title block

Zoom into the lower right corner of the title block and rename the sheet to Floor Plans - change the number to A-101 – zoom out

With the sheet active drag and drop the 1st Floor from the View list and place it on the sheet


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Drag and drop the enlarged view we created earlier next to the floor plan (notice that the callout on the floor plan updates to show the sheet location of the enlarged view)

To modify the view on the sheet select the view, right click and choose Activate View from the menu

With the view active you can modify graphics or change the view settings by typing VP

DOCUMENTATION Dimensions (C:\BD14-1L\Office_Building.rvt)

With the Revit Building automatic linear dimensions, you can place a dimension on a wall with one click, eliminating the need to pick all references. You can dimension an entire wall, a wall with intersecting walls, or a wall with openings

Steps: Double Click Level 1 from the View list to set it current

Select the Dimension tool from the Drafting or Basics tabs of the Design Bar – don’t forget to set up your dimension string on the Options Bar before creating dimensions

Use the Options Button to set what is being dimensioned

Place the cursor on a wall so that the wall highlights and click. Place the dimension string (repeat this step and change the options to create more than one dimension string for a wall)

Tags (C:\BD14-1L\Office_Building.rvt)

You have two basic options with Revit, tag all at once or one at a time. Revit tags are smart enough to know what is being tagged and will automatically create the correct symbol. Below are steps for placing room tags, but feel free to try tagging doors and windows, the tag tool can be found in the drafting Design Bar

Steps: Double Click Level 1 from the View list to set it current

Select Room Tag from the Drafting tab of the Design Bar

Drag the cursor to an enclosed area of the plan view to place the Room Tag (Revit Building will highlight the enclosed area to indicate it is valid for placing the tag)

Continue placing the Room Tags – notice you can line them up using the green tracking lines on screen

You can divide spaces using the Room Separation tool on the Drafting tab

Once all of the rooms have labeled, rename the rooms by double clicking on the room tag


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Schedules (C:\BD14-1L\Office_Building.rvt)

A schedule is a type of view in Revit Building. It is a tabular display of information from the project. This information is contained in the properties of certain components. You can create a schedule at any point of the design process. As you make changes to the project that affect the schedule, the schedule updates automatically to reflect the changes.

Steps: Click Schedule/Quantities from the View tab of the Design Bar.

In the New Schedule dialog box, select Rooms from the category pane, click OK

From the Schedule Properties dialog, select the parameters in the Available fields: pane you wish to set and then click Add to add them to the Scheduled fields: pane

Click OK when finished - You can add a schedule to a drawing sheet, just like elevation and plan views

Color Fills (C:\BD14-1L\Office_Building.rvt)

Creating floor plan color fills is an excellent method for visually explaining how a space is being used and Revit provides an intuitive process for creating them. Give it try using the steps below:

Steps: Set the 1st Floor View current

Click Color Fill from the Drafting tab of the Design Bar. A legend appears next to the pointer.

Place the legend in the plan near your rooms.

To set the color scheme, select the legend. Click Edit Color Scheme from the Options Bar

In the Edit Color Scheme dialog box, click Name from the Color: menu to assign colors (If you want Revit to choose colors, select Assign colors automatically)

When finished, click OK.

If anything changes on the room schedule or floor plan, the color fills will update automatically


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QUALITY OUTPUT A great way to share views created in Revit in a read only format is with DWF files. DWF files are small in size and can be easily viewed with the free DWF viewer. In a 3D DWF users can rotate the model, make components transparent or turn them off completely. In a 2D DWF all of the sheets from a project can be exported to one file and the callout links are maintained, making it easy to navigate from one page to the next.

2D DWF (C:\BD14-1L\Office_Building.rvt)

Steps: Set the A101-Level 1 sheet current

Select Export DWF 2D DWF from the File menu (Exporting to a 2D DWF is similar to printing)

Set the export path to C:\BD14-1L\Office_Building.dwf

Select Setup from the Print dialog box, set the paper size to Arch E and the Zoom to 100%

Press Ok to finish

Locate the Office_Building.dwf in Windows Explorer, Double click to open.

3D DWF (C:\BD14-1L\Townhouse.rvt)

Steps: Set the 3D view current

Select Export DWF 3D DWF from the File menu

Save the DWF to C:\BD14-1L\Townhouse.dwf

Locate the Townhouse.dwf in Windows Explorer, Double click to open

Documents

Revit 8 - Tutorial