If you have lots of materials in a project, it can become a chore to actually ‘choose’ them in the Material dialog box.

Here is a quicker way:

Scroll down for step by step version…

  1. In the Element or Type Properties box, select the Name of the material you want.
  2. Use Ctrl+C to copy the text.
  3. Go to the other Element or Type Properties box.
  4. In the appropriate material parameter location, select existing text with your cursor and then use Ctrl+V to paste the text.

This is a little plug for a new blog called Autodesk Explorer. Its still in its infancy, but if you are anything like me, you will want to add this to your extensive Revit blog reading list. There was a good tip on finding warning related objects in 3D wireframe mode:
Autodesk Explorer: Warnings, Warnings & More Warnings

If you would like to see a list of blogs I follow (with current posts), head over to:
Revit Professionals (aka Revit Blog Directory)


I found an interesting little PDF while using osun.org today.

It basically describes the features and benefits of Revit version 5.  Here is the link.

Here are a few gems:

Automatic sheet/drawing references
Ensures that no section, elevation, or callout ever references the wrong drawing or sheet.

Sketch-based hosts
Built-in-place items (wall, floor, roof, and so forth) are defined by simple 2D sketching, delivering flexible but geometrically complex 3D items in the building that can be iteratively changed by altering the sketch. 

And my favourite:
Align, split, trim, offset tools
These editing tools are like their CAD equivalents, but better. As you use these tools, they imply constraints between the things you pick so the model knows how to update as your design changes, saving effort and rework.

like their CAD equivalents, but better – what a way to sell it!

And some of the New Features in version 5:

“True North” views
View can be switched between Project North and True North orientation, saving time by eliminating the need to rotate text and symbols.

Temporary hide/show/isolate
Something getting in your way while editing? Now you can isolate your selection or temporarily hide it, reducing editing headaches.

It looks like Revit version 5 was released around December 2002.

I recently received a comment on one of my previous posts about the program Folder Menu.  I had actually been meaning to post about it – it currently seems to be the best 64-bit replacement for Folder Guide.  It is relatively simple to use, and seems to work in all dialog boxes.

You can download Folder Menu from the Sourceforge page here.

Basically, middle button on the mouse brings up the menu, left-click to ‘navigate’ folders within the menu, right-click to actually Explore a folder.  If you want to always just Explore using left-click, change the Use browse mode when capslock is off option on the ‘Menu’ tab of the Options.

Give it a go and feel free to post your comments.

(image from Sourceforge page)

You can now filter Google Image Search to just show you SVG files. Here is an example search:
“Nintendo” SVG files

See Only Resize-Friendly Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) In Google Images | Lifehacker Australia

So what is so good about SVG? From the wiki page:

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) is a family of specifications of an XML-based file format for describing two-dimensional vector graphics, both static and dynamic (i.e. interactive or animated).
The SVG specification is an open standard that has been under development by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) since 1999.
SVG images and their behaviors are defined in XML text files. This means that they can be searched, indexed, scripted and, if required, compressed. Since they are XML files, SVG images can be created and edited with any text editor, but drawing programs are also available that support SVG file formats.