Revit 2018 - Insert Ribbon Search Field is Removed

When Autodesk Seek gave up on their mission and handed it over to BIM Object Revit 2017 started to redirect us to that site instead whenever we did a search. Prior to that it would take us to Autodesk Seek.

Notice anything missing from the 2018 Insert Ribbon image above? Well the post title gave it away but the search field has been stripped off. Remember this following image from way back when?

I realize it didn't make sense to leave references to Autodesk Seek in play. Now it's even less helpful to find external content. I guess it's more incentive to install BIM Object's Revit app? Probably what they intended.

No you're not imagining things, it's gone gone gone...

-- EDITED 5/2/2017 --

I installed the BIM Object Revit app.

Holy smokes that's a heck of a ribbon for the primary button I really want, Browse on the far left. Note if you launch any of the tools you can't do any work back in Revit until you finish interacting with their app. If you find that frustrating you could just open a separate browser.

It would be nice if there were some user settings to reduce the number of buttons to just those you're likely to use. I added the browse button to the QAT to get around accessing the ribbon tab each time.

View Reference User Experience Inequality

The View Reference feature reveals information differently according to how you access the feature. A post at RFO yesterday, and subsequent reply by pivoarch, made me see this subtlety finally.

When you create a new view and choose the Reference Other View option you get the sheet and detail number value (when the view is on a sheet) in the description in addition to the view name, like this.

When you want to fix or change a View Reference the sheet and detail number values are not presented to us, like this.

It would be very helpful to include the sheet and detail number values in every instance that it is displayed to us.

Pre-Selection and Selection Color

I always change the default color that Revit uses for selected elements. I use Red.

The default setting is the same blue that is assigned to Pre-selection. I don't recall when that changed but somewhere in the fog of time it used to be assigned to red. I happen to like the visual confirmation, the difference between what is highlighted and what is selected. To each their own.

If you want to change it too: Application menu (Big R) > Options > Graphics page

View Range Dialog

I hinted at this change when Revit Sunrise became available at the end of last summer. In 2016 R2, when you open the View Range dialog box and click the Show button this version will appear.

It's intended to provide more information about what the settings within View Range mean.

Fwiw, I still think this version would be better for View Range and Ceiling Plans.

Oh Project Browser and Properties Palette Where Art Thou

It is easy to close the Project Browser and Properties Palette, just click the little X in the top right corner of each window.

It is a little less obvious how to restore them. The formal Front Door is via the View ribbon tab > Windows panel > User Interface.

A bit less obvious is the access to Browsers via the right-click context menu, for the Project Browser at least.

I'm sure you noticed that the Properties Palette can be restored via the right-click context menu too.

It is also available on the Modify ribbon tab > Properties panel > Properties.

The Properties Palette also has two keyboard shortcuts: PP and CTRL+1, at least that's true of my configuration (stock install). There isn't one assigned to the Project Browser but we could opt to do that too.

Oh, Revit MEP users can close and open their System Browser with F9 as well as access it in the same way the Project Browser can be (described above).

Revit 2016 - Project Address

In past releases the Project Address parameter that is baked into Revit has always required using the Project Information dialog to enter a proper address format. The usual techniques to force a hard return (like CTRL + Enter or CTRL + M) fail to deliver (for me they've never worked).

In 2016 (using R2 now) when I click on the Project Address parameter within a title block family a special dialog appears to add/edit the information, much more bettererer.

Stretching Schedule Properties Dialog

When we stretch the schedule properties dialog only the Available Fields list gets wider. The side dedicated to the parameters assigned to the schedule gets no love.

It's been this way for quite awhile but it still seems strange to me...

Spacebar and Titleblocks

Titleblocks are families. The Spacebar will rotate a selected family (90 degree increments by default). Remember that when you have a titleblock selected. Today that startled a person when they thought they were tapping the space to insert a space in a text field but it was no longer selected. The titleblock spun out of view. What the...? OH...

Revit 2016 - Licensing Access has Changed

Prior to Revit 2016 we could either take the Application menu > Licensing or the About Revit route to review our licensing information. Here's the first in 2015.

In 2016 they've removed the Application menu path leaving just the About Revit route.

Not a real hardship, just a big confusing if you were expecting to find it under the Application menu like in the past.

Thanks to Dave for the prompt!

Revit 2016 R2 - Changes to Underlay

They've reconfigured the Properties Palette and changed how they describe and provide access to the Underlay concept.

As you can see above, the Underlay concept now has its own Group Header in the Properties palette. They've renamed the Underlay parameter itself to Range: Base Level. The new Range: Top Level is a read-only value that just reports the next level above the Base Level. That can be helpful when it isn't the one you expected, for example when there is an intermediate level for a stage .

Keep in mind that if a view is created for a level we can't prevent that level (like Stage above) from being the next one, the one that appears in Range: Top Level. I think it could be better if a Level's Building Story parameter could influence this condition so a view could exist for the level but not be factored into the Underlay's display process, allowing it to skip past or ignore the Stage level.

The Underlay Orientation parameter kept its name but the words used to describe its choices are now Look up and Look down. The plainer language seems to help people understand what Underlay is really doing. At the very least Look up is more accurate than implying it is really generating what we have learned is meant by Reflected Ceiling Plan.

Also very worthy of a mention is that new plan views have their Underlay - Range: Base Level assigned to None instead of the Level Below like in earlier versions.

Hmm, writing that last section, it occurs to me...this feature used to just be called Underlay, a parameter AND concept on its own with a second related Underlay Orientation parameter. Now we have a concept of Underlay with three parameters.

Experienced users will now confuse new users by asking them, "What's the view's Underlay assigned to?" or telling them, "You need to change your Underlay setting."  ...ah progress...

Oh, and Hat Tip to Niklas Strannefors, an Autodesk Application Engineer in Sweden, for prompting me to write about this subtle change.

Revit 2016 R2 - Detach from Central Filename

When you use the Detach from Central option Revit will append the word _detached to the filename if you decide to save the file.

You'll also find that the Titlebar shows the original file name with _detached appended to it instead of the blank description it displayed in the past.

How's that for subtle? Thanks to Jean-Marc for the push to post this.

Revit 2016 R2 - New Family Types Dialog Format

My friend Rolly sent me a screen capture of the new Family Types dialog. It's been revised to use similar buttons as some of the other dialogs, like the Filters and View Templates dialog for example.

It is slimmer now. I liked the larger buttons with words personally. I struggle (a little) with the tiny pictures (see what I did there) on these icon only buttons. At least I can rely on muscle memory to click on them after awhile. It will be helpful require less screen real estate for the interface and allow for more practical editing of those really long pesky conditional formulas...if dabble with those.

It seems I have a growing number of friends who are concerned about my lack of new blog posts :) Thanks Rolly! It's so much easier when you send me pichurs :)

Title Bar and Recent Files List

Galen shared this User Interface quirk with me the other day. He thought of my Dept. of Subtle and thought this qualifies. I agree.

When you decide to turn off the Option: Enable Recent Files page at startup the Title Bar seems to lose its will to show the software name and version.

It's happy to do so when it is enabled. Galen sent me this screen capture of Revit 2015.

My quick test shows it's happens in Revit 2016 too. It seems the lack of an active window to display shuts off the title bar's information. Certainly subtle and not a big deal really, just quirky.

Save Icon Diskette

This is just one of those things that runs through my head as I use and teach others to use Revit. We've been using this icon for Save in most if not all of our software for a long time.

When was the last time we really used one? Does your computer even allow for its use now?

If that's so 1980-90's then what icon would be better for Save these days? A life preserver? I know one product that uses it now, a product called Workspace from Union Square. It looks a bit like these.

If the icon was a $ would people use it more?

Windows 10 and Revit 2013 UI Glitch

I know it is a bit unfair to suggest or expect that 2013 should support Windows 10. With that in mind I offer this as something to watch out for if you must use 2013 and Win10. I needed to work on a family that must stay in that version so I installed 2013 yesterday. I thought I was successfully past it but it keeps dragging me back in.

As soon as I got started working I noticed that the Title Bar of the UI is missing the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) and the Help/Info Bar.

Then I noticed that hovering over where they should be caused tooltips to appear. They ARE there but just not visible. I was able to get the QAT below the ribbon by hovering and clicking carefully where that button should be. I don't really need the Info Bar that often so I should be okay for now, plus I know the buttons are there, just bashful.

Via a Twitter reply and @mark_labell_jr He suggests a Windows theme hack described HERE. It worked for me.

Adding Callout to Quick Access Toolbar in 2014

If you're using Revit 2014 and have tried to add the Callout tool to your Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) you've been turned away, rejected, sorry no you can't do that here... Sorry, applying Web Update 3 doesn't fix it either.

Subtle and minor it may be but stuff like this frustrates users. ...and I was sure it was possible. Oh right, it's working in Revit 2015. One more subtle reason to upgrade.

Revit 2015 R2 - Load into Project and Close

Have you ever edited a Revit family and then used Load into Project? Only once or twice? Yeah you're like me then. Have you ever thought it would be nice if you could close the family without having to return to it or having to close it first and then use Load from Library > Load Family? Yeah, me too.

Apparently we've got someone from Autodesk listening in on our thoughts (or blog posts/tweets/wishlists/support requests) because Revit 2015 R2 thinks we are on to something and it has a new button called Load into Project and Close

Just keep in mind that you DON'T want to use this when your family is using a Type Catalog! If that's true you also DO NOT want to use the Edit Family feature from a project either. Using Edit Family creates a version of the family that includes all the types that are loaded into the project. The same is true when you use the Right-Click > Save As feature on a family from inside a project. If a family is using a Type Catalog then the family doesn't need the burden of all its types defined inside it too.

Ribbon Panel Titles are Missing

The ribbon User Interface will let us turn off the ribbon's panel titles. I've never bothered to do this and today I was asked why a user's ribbon was missing them. I blanked...uh, um, graphics driver issue? While I was trying to make my brain work, he decided to right-click and saw this...

Add another troubleshooting saying to add to our collection, "When in doubt right click"!

Dockable Windows

Revit has supported docking the Project Browser, Properties Palette, System Browser(for MEP) and Reconcile Hosting for a few releases now. I find new users often struggle with the actual task of docking them because the UI interaction isn't entirely intuitive. There are graphic cues offered but users don't seem to recognize them right away. I find I have to make a point of stressing that the location of the cursor is paramount and that while they should be looking for the visual cues, the cursor is what drives them.

I made this short video (Two Minutes) to help capture the subtlety I'm talking about.

While I am at it, personally I find Reconcile Hosting hard to find. It has a button on the Collaborate ribbon > Coordinate panel but I also expect it to be lurking on the View ribbon > User Interface. That's because the Properties Palette, Project Browser and System Browser are there and Reconcile Hosting is the same sort of thing. At least I think so since it can be docked among the others. I also find it quirky that, since there is a button for Reconcile Hosting, there isn't a button for the System Browser on the Systems and/or Analyze ribbons.

Revit INI UI Calculator

When Revit 2014 offered a single installation (just called Revit) with all of the discipline specific Revit features included (aka "one box") the development team provided a calculator to determine the correct variable to assign a parameter value in the Revit.ini. This value is used to configure the user interface according to the disciplines that we want users to see listed on the Ribbon tabs. Since there are numerous combinations that are possible they are using "bit" logic to arrive at a single unique value that defines how the ribbons should be configured. The calculator provides a simple way to arrive at that number. Check the boxes and use the value at the bottom.

When the help documentation team began migration to the present online help delivery software (moving from the previous WikiHelp format) they decided to abandon the calculator since it seemed few people were really interested in it or using it. I complained that as software developers they ought to realize that it was already serving a niche among niches in the first place. It remains a niche item and I'm grateful they've recently taken the time to restore/re-code it to work in the new help documentation system. It's subtle but every little bit helps.

It can be seen HERE.