What Revit Wants
So I got a nice email from Avatech yesterday saying that I could download the full Avatech Utilities for Revit 2010 for free!
If you are signed up with Avatech, you may have got a similar email.
Otherwise, look into it at:
http://www.avatech.com/solutions/building-design/product-details.aspx?product=44
There is a ‘Lite’ version that anyone will be able to get for free.
We recently invested in some new workstations for our office. After doing some research, the following specification was settled on:
Gigabyte X58
Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition Processor, 3.33 GHz
12GB (6 X2GB) Corsair DDR3 (1600MHZ) 9,9,9,24 Matched Triple Kit, 1.65V, TR3X6G1600C9
Quadro FX-580, PCI-E 2.0, OEM, 512Mb, GDDR3, 128-Bit
WD Caviar Black 1000GB / 1TB SATA-II, 7200RPM, 32Mb
Genuine Microsoft Windows VISTA BUSINESS 64-Bit DVD OEM SP1
I am also running dual monitors, one being a Samsung 740B 17 inch monitor, and the other a beautiful Samsung 2443BW 24 inch HD monitor.
And Revit loves it!
So, what inspires you?
In any field, there are those who work primarily for money, and those who work for passion (and many are somewhere in between 🙂 When it comes to the field of architecture, many graduates would say they are inspired by ‘design’ or ‘the environment’. But what about those staff members acting as support staff for Architects?
As a CAD Technician / IT Manager at Dimond Architects Pty Ltd, and in a role that is rapidly evolving towards a BIM* focus, what motivates and inspires me? Well, I am a very inquisitive person that enjoys learning. I also enjoy the feeling of a ‘job well done’. In that context, I am inspired by accurate, rich and aesthetically pleasing architecture. I am thus motivated to create an electronic, digital version of that architecture that will enhance the building delivery process at every stage.
It really excites me to see some lines on a page become an intelligent, precise, beautiful building model, that can be easily viewed, navigated and altered. The full benefits and amazing uses of this technology are not yet fully explored. However, I am deeply interested in BIM and where it is heading. I aim to keep in touch with the many facets of building modeling that I encounter here at Dimond Architects.
As a practice, we are continually taking steps to enhance our practice through electronic means. We take regular steps to keep pace with technology, and our Clients are reaping the benefits. One major factor in our current technological advantage has been our adoption of the Revit BIM Platform. I am keen to see where this technology can take Dimond Architects in the future.
One final thought – don’t divorce passion from your career.
*Building Information Modeling (obviously!)
So, you try and print a view with an image in it, and Revit 2010 just decides to crash…and you can’t figure it out!
Well, Revit wants you to choose ‘Raster’ instead of ‘Vector’ under the ‘Print’ dialog – ‘Setup’ button…
There you go, no more crashing!
I have reported this to Autodesk (see below 😉
| Summary: | Printing ‘linked view’ with image – crashes |
| Description: | When printing a host view with a linked RVT view that contains a high res image.
The same problem occurs if printing the drawing from the linked file (the image seems to crash revit). However, changing the print type to ‘raster’ solves the problem. Revit should realise that ‘vector’ is going to crash, and switch to ‘raster’ automatically. Please correct this problem as it is irritating. |
So, someone has inserted images into your file, and you can’t save them out!
Sure, you can go to File – Raster Images, but that doesn’t really help.
Try this:
The answer is simply to ‘export’ the view to DWG, and Revit will make the images you need.
For a nice, clean, step by step:
1. Make a new drafting view.
2. Select the image / images you want to ‘save out’
3. Copy to Clipboard
4. Paste them into the Drafting View
5. Export to DWG
6. Have a look at the folder that you exported to – there are your images!
Autodesk is getting very, very serious about DWFs. They will not replace PDFs overnight, but it is looking like DWF will become the exchange format of choice in the future. Particularly in the BIM / building delivery industry anyway.
Revit wants you to adopt this technology. Well, Autodesk does 🙂
So, why not try the DWF printer driver from Autodesk? Check it out at:
http://www.autodesk.com/dwfwriter
Without breaching confidentiality, I can’t tell you much…but…there are some very exciting developments in the PDF vs DWF war coming up soon!
Thanks to Shaan Hurley
If you are on Subscription with Autodesk, you HAVE to try the new Subscription Bonus Pack, which includes advanced PDF tools for use with AutoCAD.
You can import, clip and even SNAP to PDF files (if they contain vector data).
And the new PDF printer driver is excellent – far better than the previous one, and it rivals CutePDF for file size. You can also include layer information with PDFs.
Get onto the Subscription site and download the Bonus Packs now!
One of my fellow staff members was recently doing some work in AutoCAD (after using Revit), and he said something quite profound:
“It’s a way of thinking, isn’t it”
And it really is. Using Revit properly is not a matter of ‘why can’t Revit do xxx’, its a matter of ‘why does Revit do xxx this way?’ And there is usually a very good reason.
Keep cultivating the Revit ‘way of thinking’!
So you are using the ‘grips’ to try and stretch instance parameters on a family, but it is a pain – sometimes they snap, sometimes they don’t, you can’t dial in a certain value to ‘move’ the instance parameter…and when you try and ‘align’ that instance to something, the whole family moves!!! What to do?!?
Revit wants you to ‘Tab’ select the Ref Plane inside the family. Now you can use the ‘move’ command to move that instance element accurately. The process again – you have a family with an instance parameter. Use Tab to select the Ref Plane associated with the instance parameter. Now hit ‘Move’ (or your Keyboard Shortcut :-), and you can put that ref plane exactly where you want it.
Awesome!
Got this great tip from Aaron Rumple:
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?p=257292&mode=linear&highlight=instance+align+move#post257292
Revit has a nice GUI, and it is okay to use the mouse at times.
But to truly be productive, you must use shortcut keys! This is vital for commonly used commands.
I have set up my shortcut keys to primarily use my left hand – in this way I can have one hand on the mouse at all times. If you assign only one key to a shortcut (in the Keyboard Shortcuts file), you can then use that command by pressing ‘spacebar’. For example, open your Keyboard Shortcuts file, then set the shortcut ‘C’ to ‘Copy’. Restart Revit. Now, to start the copy command, just press C-Spacebar. Very fast indeed!
Another example – you want to edit two objects, but your view is obscured. First, set the shortcut key for ‘Temporarily Hide Element in View’ to ‘TE’. Set the ‘Reset Temporary Hide/Isolate’ to ‘AR’ (and restart Revit). Now, when attempting to edit just a few objects, select them using Ctrl, then press T-E. You now have a clear view of these objects. When you have done what you need to, press A-R.
Revit’s very nature inspires us to be productive. So, increase YOUR productivity by giving Revit what it wants, and use Shortcut Keys!
