What Revit Wants

Misery really does love company – check out the link below:

Revit Hate – 31% People Agree (58 opinions) (on 6 June 2011)

Purge command in Revit 2012 eliminates Elevation Mass transparency

June 3, 2011May 8, 2017 Luke Johnson

In previous versions of Revit, a common workaround to generate some ‘depth’ in elevation views was to use transparent mass planes. This created an effect like this:

Here is what was actually happening behind the scenes:

However, something has been changed in Revit 2012. This no longer works properly. In fact, you CAN open up a 2011 file that has the effect in 2012 – and the effect will remain. However, if you purge the file, it simply disappears! See example video of this ‘Disappearing Act’ and file download link below:

Example file download link

The only way I have been able to retrospectively ‘add’ the effect to 2012 is:

Open a 2011 file that has the effect.
Rename any relevant masses or materials in the 2012 file so that you can cleanly ‘paste’ the 2011 mass.
Copy one of the mass planes from the 2011 file and paste it into the 2012 file.
This ‘might’ work for you…
You can’t EVER purge this file in 2012, or the effect will break.

If you want to follow the discussions on this issue, here are some forum links:
http://forums.augi.com/showpost.php?p=1130343&postcount=41

http://revitforum.org/showthread.php/1958-2012-Kills-the-Elevation-Mass-Transparency-Workaround

Let me know if you have any comments or workarounds for this.

Share parametric family information from Inventor to Revit

June 2, 2011 Luke Johnson

using the Autodesk Labs Utilities BIM Family Toolkit.

By downloading both the Inventor add-in and Revit Add-in you will be able to export the family data directly from Inventor and import it into Revit. You do not need to have both Inventor and Revit on the same machine.

Go to
Autodesk Labs Utilities BIM Family Toolkit:

File Upgrader for Revit 2012

June 2, 2011 Luke Johnson

This plugin can be used to batch upgrade previous versions of Revit files to the Revit 2012 format.

Autodesk Labs Utilities Plugin of the Month:

Fillet Tool for Revit 2012 – download

June 2, 2011May 8, 2017 Luke Johnson

Ever wanted to fillet between 3D edges in Revit? Some of the limitations of 3D modelling in Revit were discussed at RTCAUS, so I thought I would try a little ‘tech demo’ of sorts…

Revit 2012 gives us an opportunity to do some nice things with in-project voids. Below, you see corners of a Wall, Floor, and Generic Model being filleted and chamfered (chamfer is the word we use in Australia for a ‘diagonal’ or triangular fillet).

Basically, I have created two line-based Generic Model families. These are called:
Chamfer line based void and solid family D.rfa (the triangular form)

Fillet line based void and solid family D.rfa (the arc fillet form)

I then load these into a project. When placing these families in 3D, if you place them when two perpendicular planes are highlighted at the same time, you get some nice control. If you do this, Revit places the item ‘on’ one plane, and ‘aligned’ to the other plane.

These families can do two things to the edge – cut a void, or add a fillet. You use the ‘Flip’ Yes / No parameter to get it in the right spot, and the ‘addition’ Yes / No parameter to choose if you want the item to show the ‘fillet’ solid part.

Feel free to download the example and have a play with it. Sure, there are some limitations to this method, but some of you may find it useful.

Do you have a more elegant solution to this? Feel free to comment…