Month: May 2010

Direct Jump to Sheet from Section Mark

Luke Johnson

I just found a very interesting trick. Have you ever wanted to jump directly to a sheet in Revit, from a section or elevation reference mark? Usually, if you double click a section mark, it will take you to the relevant View, not the Sheet that the View is on.

However, IF the Sheet is open AND the View is ‘activated’ on the Sheet (right click, Activate view), then when you jump to the View from the Section mark, Revit will actually take you to the ‘Activated’ view on the Sheet!

Pretty cool huh?

Locking Parameters in the Family Editor

Luke Johnson

A new feature in Revit 2011 allows you to ‘lock’ or ‘unlock’ parameterised dimensions in the Family Editor.

In practice, this allows you to instantly flex a family without having to open the Type Properties dialog box.

‘Flexing’ means to test the relationships and parameters in a family by adjusting the dimensions within that family. If something breaks, you know that you have a problem. You should always flex families within the family environment, before unleashing them on a project.

How to Reset the 2010 User Interface

Luke Johnson

If you are having problems related to the Ribbon or the dockable palettes in 2010, you should start by resetting the user interface:

You would like to reset the Autodesk® Revit® Architecture 2011 user interface (i.e. the Ribbon, Quick Access Toolbar, and Project Browser) back to the out-of-the-box version and remove any customization that has been applied.
Download and run the following script on your computer:

 autodesk_revit_architecture_ui_reset_2011.vbs (vbs – 6Kb)

More instructions here

Superfast Project Browser Sorting

Luke Johnson

A sure-fire way to become more productive when using Revit is to utilise the Project Browser effectively. It can allow you to quickly find and navigate your project, instead of laboriously searching for views or families.

In Revit 2011, you can use the persistent Properties Palette to quickly sort the Project Browser views.

  1. Click on top-level of Browser (Views…)
  2. Click on Properties Palette and choose option.


This method also works when sorting Sheets in the Project Browser.

The above post assumes that you know how to create new sort groups for the Project Browser. If you don’t, have a look at this page.

Revit 2011 Secret #13 – Replicate Window

Luke Johnson

There is a sneaky command in Revit 2011 called ‘Replicate Window’. It is NOT the same as Duplicate View. Instead, this opens another instance of the current view in a new window. It is on the View Ribbon, Windows panel:


I actually thought this was new in 2011, but when I checked Revit 2010 it was there too. However, the 2010 documentation did not show anything when searching for ‘Replicate’. The 2011 documentation is a little more helpful:

To open a second window for the current view, click View tab, Windows panel (Replicate). This tool is useful if you want to pan and zoom on certain areas of the design, while also viewing the entire design in another window. (Use the Tile tool to see both views at the same time.) Any changes that you make to the project in the new window also display in other windows of the project. (Expand the Manage Views part at this link).

Revit In Work Fast Now You

Luke Johnson

Productivity tip for loading families:

  1. Open a new Explorer window and browse to the location of your Families (or the Metric Library)
  2. Use Vista ‘Search’ to quickly find the family you want to load.
  3. Multi-select (using Ctrl) the files you want to load and drag them to Revit.
  4. Release your mouse button while over the Revit window.
  5. Revit has now loaded your families (and upgraded them if necessary)!