Revit Hunting Season
It is often asked, “How can I learn Revit®?”
That question freaks me out. Has no one ever gone to school, read a book, or attended lectures?
“But I want ‘hot tips,’ secrets…”
Oh, you want “The Magic Wand” method of learning (LOL).
Well, there are no “secrets”—just undiscovered possibilities. But because this issue of AUGIWORLD focuses on Tips & Tricks, I will indulge you a tip and offer you a challenge.
Before the challenge, let’s look at a super (IMO) button that since its introduction made me think it would be in 99 percent of Reviteurs’ playbooks after about 10 seconds. Seeing that I keep finding the opposite appears to be true, let me present “Section Box” (Figure 1).
Figure 1: This is an example result. Nothing terribly special until you see the tool in action ;)
Simply select the objects (at least two) that you want to focus on—that you want to create an Isometric View of and look up (see Figure 2).
Figure 2
When you do click the little button, it will turn your default 3D View into a cleanly sectioned Iso, just a bit bigger than your selected objects. Beautiful! Don’t forget to immediately rename (etc.) these and all views upon creation: Quality in = Quality out ;).
A year or so ago, for another AUGIWORLD tips and tricks issue, I wrote about how to find every tip known. That is still in play and I feel holds true, so Google it up.
Rather than forcing any other tips on you, I will challenge you to find your own. Try to inspire more folks to realize that only those who master their tools can create amazing masterpieces. Are there amazing artists, architects, and engineers who do not keep up with current tools and the expertise in them—both technological and philosophical? If they don’t, they have hired others to lead that charge, so by default they do keep up. That said, if you have to get projects executed and you desire to rise above the fold, you have some work to do!
Let’s continue with a question:
Do you know every button, flyout, parameter, command, etc. in Revit by heart?
What, what, what? Have you looked? At every one?? If so, you probably don’t need to continue with this article. But if you didn’t answer, “Yes, every single one,” then I say WELCOME! It is an exciting journey you are about to, or perhaps continue to, undertake. Namely, actually learning the tool you spend a predominant part of your day using!
With that in mind, the challenge is that you spend 30 minutes to one hour every work day exploring Revit from the top left to the final item bottom right and everything in between. Open every tiny flyout, whether it points down, to the side, or is buried seven levels deep within a set of dialogs. Start to learn what you don’t know you don’t know. Don’t forget both the standard family, the adaptive family, and massing environments, too. :)
Do this and then capture and share what you keep learning (yes, all of you!). In a short enough period of time you will find yourself well beyond any currently expected (Revit) greatness.
I guarantee that if, after reading these 500 or so words, you actually take on this advice—as a challenge, a way to learn, a way to teach, or a way to inspire—you will find every command exposed in the Revit environment.
If that isn’t enough for you, then you can find there is even more under the hood, exposed using Dynamo and/or the API.
Happy Hunting!
