BIM One have released a new automatic color filter addin for Revit. It is very simple to use, and its free:

  1. Install the addin using the install tool (refer here for steps on using the addin manager)
  2. Open a Revit project
  3. Go to BIM One ribbon
  4. Click on Color Splasher
  5. Click on a Category
  6. Click on a Parameter
  7. A color set is automatically generated
  8. Click on Apply color set

If we check the element VG, we can see that this addin basically runs through and applies a By Element override to each element in the view:

Note: a nice added bonus to the above functionality is that if you open Color Splasher and click “Clear Set”, every Element visibility override in the current view will be removed. Might be handy for QA and model management?

They have also provided a Element GUID tool. It works like the Select by ID tool in Revit, but instead of using the Element ID, it works on the GUID parameter inherent in all Revit elements:

I previously posted about the BIM One NWC Batch Exporter here:
NWC Batch Export from Revit – multiple Revit views to multiple NWCs with one click

via
http://us8.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f58c55b9516e3ecd984b6ff84&id=95df102b3a&e=3729ed9af6

This is one of the most exciting new addins to appear for visualizing your Revit model. It is simple to use, powerful and intuitive, and I recommend you try it out.

Go ahead and click here to Download it now

Use coupon code whatrevitwants to receive 30% off

EDIT added video by Greg Demchak:
 

Follow these steps after clicking the above link:
1) Scroll down to ColorByNumber trial and add to cart

 
2) Checkout

 3) Place Order

 4) Download file

5) Install the file and open Revit

6) Click on the Color button on the Addins ribbon

7) Put in your email and the license key that you were emailed during checkout process

Here is a quick how-to on using it:

  1. Open a 3D View and open ColorByNumber
  2. Switch to the Colors tab and click on the New icon. This will make a new Colour Scheme. 
  3. Give the new scheme a name.
  4. Select a Category and a Parameter
  5. A list of all available values in the project will appear, with some preset colours
  6. Click Apply

These colours are now applied to your view. The colours will be visible in all display modes in 2014: Wireframe, Hidden Line, Shaded, Consistent Colors, Realistic and even Raytrace. Its easy, functional and overall very impressive…

Switching to the Schemes tab will now show this new scheme as an option. If we switch to a completely different Revit project, we can instantly re-use this scheme in the other project. We don’t have to transfer the scheme or anything.

Just when you were thinking how great this all is, there is a humble little button at the bottom of the main ColorByNumber dialog – Isolate. This will isolate the coloured objects, making it very easy to navigation and view your Revit model based on Category, Parameters and values.

Let’s try another example: colour all Walls by their Structural Material. In about 8 clicks, it is done.

So, who is Greg Demchak, you may be wondering? Well, he was this guy:

so you can see why he knows a thing or two about Revit and UI design 🙂

Some dot points:

  • A schedule is a good tabular view of the model data… With ColorByNumber, we make accessing information easy and visual, which can lead you to new insights on your model
  • quickly select and isolate elements by their parameter values–something you can’t do with Revit out of the box. 
  • user research found that ColorByNumber is on the order of 100 times faster than using built-in Revit tools that accomplish similar results.

Some other links:
How to Use ColorByNumber with Revit | BIMrayBIMray

What’s Next? | BIMrayBIMray

ColorByNumber “free 30 day trial” version now supports multiple users. | BIMrayBIMray

Helping search: this post is about Color By Number, otherwise known as ColorByNumber