Revit 2017 - New Features and Enhancements

Long Post Warning, worth it I hope.

Edit: (April 17th) - The BIM Thoughts episode #30, is a podcast with Bill Debevc (it's Bill's podcast), Carla Edwards, Paul Aubin and me. We recorded it on Sunday (April 17th) and discussed some of the new features described below.

Last night I was able to download and install Building Design Suite 2017 from my Autodesk subscription account. You might like to read Tim Waldock's blog post (The Revit Cat) about installing it.

With little fanfare Revit 2017 is here, brandishing a slightly changed big R logo.

In past years I've proposed a What's New in Revit session for RTC Australasia. It has usually been accepted and then I often presented it for RTC North America too. Creating a session like that is a great way to get better acquainted with the new features each year. Last year I promised myself (and family) I wouldn't submit for any speaking engagements in the coming year (2016). Besides, after more than ten years of this, I feel like I have less I need to stand up in front of people and say.

As a part of the crew for the Revit Technology Conference (RTC Events) I also see class proposals for a great many people who really want to say what's on their mind. I'd rather they all take their turn at the microphone and I'll sit down, listen and learn from them.

That written I decided to compile my own review of the new features and enhancements in a blog post. I'll still do what I've done in the past and tackle features with dedicated posts as the new Revit season progresses. I think that individual posts make features a bit easier to digest; hopefully they compliment a summary post like this one.

In my RTC sessions I've repackaged the new stuff into my own three categories of Stuff; Big Stuff, Other Stuff and Subtle Stuff. Autodesk has their own interpretation of what are big new features and sometimes I agree.

Before I get on with it, I need to mention that a fair portion of what is new has already been seen, and put into play by Autodesk customers with active subscriptions. Autodesk released Revit 2016 R2 like they did with Revit 2015 the year before. The special R2 version gives us early access to some of Revit 2017 features that were code complete and did not require a file format change, which necessitates an upgrade of files. We'll see a need for upgrading from 2016 to 2017 files but not from 2016 to 2016 R2 files. Okay, on to the list!

BIG STUFF

New Features Videos - Start with these videos provided as part of the help documentation if you prefer watching videos to reading my blog post.

Help Documentation links for What's New in Revit 2017

Architectural Enhancements in Revit 2017
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing Engineering Enhancements in Revit 2017
Structural Engineering Enhancements in Revit 2017
Multi-Disciplinary Enhancements in Revit 2017 (called Platform in the past)
New in Revit 2016 R2 (features released with R2 late last year)

Text Editor - A top ten wish list item since Revit 1.0 has finally been tackled. It's apparently a lot harder to create a full featured text editor than we users think. We'll have to see how it is received.

We'll be able to create indented lists with a bit more control now and we can place just a leader (empty text). Look for tomorrow's post, I'll cover this feature more then. You'll definitely want to look closely at this change.

Depth Cueing - This is another frequently requested concept. In Architectural and Coordination discipline views this allows you to apply a gradient override to make it more obvious which elements are farthest away compared to the elements that are closest to the cut plane of the view.

It applies to model elements, and graphic display effects, such as shadows and sketchy lines. It is not applied to annotation elements, line weight, line work, background images, or background color. When you've turned on and adjusted the settings you can export the view to an image file, print the view (uses raster processing ONLY) and/or add the view to a sheet (print/export that instead).

Try it out before you decide raster printing isn't going to cut it for you.

Occlusion Culling (2016R2) - The Graphics tab in the Options dialog offers the new setting: Draw visible elements only. It will be most noticeable in 3D views.

Color Fills (2016R2) - Any processing required to update or display these are now a background process (see next item).

Background Processess (2016R2) - A new Status Bar icon by the Selection options will let us review active background processes.

At least one Update (patch) for 2016 R2 was released to patch issues with this feature (Color Fills) recently. They are one of more tasks that Revit is changing to avoid making us overly aware of things happening, slowing us down.

Display of walls - Revit will regenerate walls only for those visible within the drawing area. In addition, if a wall appears very small in the drawing area, it displays as simplified lines, regardless of the detail level assigned to the view. MEP users will see that they are doing the same thing with Duct.

Rendering - The change over is complete, Mental Ray is out. Autodesk Raytracer is now used for all rendering functions so the option to select a rendering engine has been removed. When you export a walkthrough, if Visual Style is set to Rendering, the Autodesk Raytracer rendering settings specified for the walkthrough's view are used for export. Rendering settings are saved with each view's properties.

Autodesk Raytracer is used when you render a material preview. You can select draft or production quality. When you upgrade a model, the rendering settings that were specified for the NVIDIA mental ray engine are mapped as closely to the appropriate settings for the new engine as possible.

There is a new Background style in the Rendering dialog called Transparent. You'll want to use that when exporting to PNG or TIFF formats for further processing in Photoshop.

Global Parameters (2016R2) - This permits us to create a parameter at the top of a project and then associate it with individual element's parameters. They can also be associated with dimensions similar to assigning a parameter to a dimension in the family editor. For example, a standard corridor width requirement can be associated with any dimension we use between corridor walls, like this.

We can associate global parameters with a type property for an element and with instance or type project parameters. They can also be assigned to a group (parameter group in Properties Palette). They can be moved and sorted within their assigned group(s). A schedule can be Filtered by a global parameter to find all elements that have a global parameter association or are missing that association. Like other constraints, use right-click Show Label in a view to see how the parameter is related to elements in the project. We can transfer global parameters between projects.

Reference Planes - We can now create different Reference Plane sub-categories which can be given different graphic properties. This is an example of it in the Family Editor.

In a project it might look this if we create a unique subcategory for Building Edges and Roof Drains.

One thing to be VERY careful about is that Reference Plane subcategories created in a family are added to projects if they aren't already in the Project. That could create quite a mess if/ (or more likely when) family editors go nuts with this feature. This one scares me quite a bit.

In 2016 R2 we can provide a Name for a Reference Plane directly in-canvas after selecting it, it looks like this.

Reference Planes and Filters - Like Grids and Levels we can now use Filters to manage Reference Planes because the category has been added to the available categories they see.

In-Place Stairs: This opens the door to creating custom stairs that don't use the stair tool itself. They have added Stair related categories to the list of available family categories for In-Place geometry.

Combine Parameters (in Schedules) - This is the often requested ability to concatenate parameters values into a single column. The schedule Properties dialog has seen some cosmetic changes, note the new Combine Parameters button.

We see the new smaller buttons replacing the larger and clearer buttons of old. It's a cleaner interface but I miss the clearer labeling of such things. Now if I'm not sure what something is I have to pause for a tool tip to appear. I also get the New and Modify buttons confused with each other ALL the time. When we use Combine Parameters the dialog looks like this for a Room Schedule.

This is combining width and height into a single size parameter for a Door Schedule.

Another very interesting possibility is to combine different parameters for the same values when different families are displaying the same information but have different parameter names, because they came from different family creators. Here's combining three versions of width parameters into a single column, three families using three different shared parameters for the same thing, you can see I left each parameter's name in the heading.

I found it interesting that I can even combine parameters assigned to different Types of Parameter, like length and text. This is an example where I've combined two text parameters and one length parameter all intending to say the same thing, however impractical it will be to deal with the units of that mixture, or lack thereof.

This means we can create a VAV Schedule based on different families from different manufacturers and combine their different manner of Horsepower (or similar) parameter value into a single column. VERY interesting!

Duplicate marks - Revit will no longer incrementally assign a mark value when placing elements for the following MEP categories: Cable Trays, Cable Tray Fittings, Conduits, Conduit Fittings, Ducts, Duct Fittings, Duct Placeholders, Duct Insulations, Duct Linings, Flex Ducts, Flex Pipes, Pipes, Pipe Fittings, Pipe Placeholders, Pipe Insulations, and Wires.

That should help reduce unnecessary Warnings!

Calculated Values in Tags - This permits us to do the same thing to tags that we've been using in schedules. For example, in a tag I'd like to show the difference between the client required area and the actual area of a room. That wasn't possible without some export/import or Dynamo shenanigans. Now it is possible, right in a tag.

This starts in the Edit Label dialog via a new button, then it is the same as the dialog we've seen in Schedules.

Calculate Options for Columns (in schedules) - You can display minimum values, maximum values, or both minimum and maximum values for calculations in columns.

Auto - Project Base Point to Project Base Point (2016R2) - This positioning option gives us a new way to reconcile files that are started without agreeing in advance how to create our models relative to our own project's origin. We can un-clip the Project Base Point and move it to mark a specific location in our own model. Anyone linking our model can use Auto - Project Base Point to Project Base Point instead. This way our un-clipped PBP location will be used to align their model with our own PBP.

It may be necessary to also move our PBP un-clipped if it isn't already where we've agreed it should be. Keep in mind that Shared Coordinates are still very relevant with respect to survey, site and landscape models and drawings.

Move to Project Base Point - The Move to Project Base Point command moves the link back to the host model Project Base Point in the same manner as the original (project base point to project base point) positioning method. This command is available for any RVT link, regardless of the original positioning method.

Move to Internal Origin - The Move to Internal Origin command moves the selected link back to the host model's internal origin in the same manner as the original (origin to origin) positioning method. This command is also available for any RVT link, regardless of the original positioning method.

Per-User RVT Link Unload (2016R2) - This is relevant to projects using worksharing. When a linked file is unloaded that status is passed along to the central file and then on to other users when the use Reload Latest or Synchronize with Central.

This option will allow us to choose to make this a personal change that does not get passed along to other users. It is one reason we started to use a Workset to manage linked file loading and unloading. With this change the only significant reason to continue using worksets for linked files is for the demand loading of links when we open a project.

Cancel Export and Printing (2016R2) - It has been quite frustrating in the past to be unable to cancel printing when we realize too late that something is wrong. Now a Cancel button allows you to cancel the entire print job or export operation for all selected views and sheets.

Project Browser Scrolling (2016R2) - The project browser scroll location is now remembered when we switch between different projects and families. This should mean we won't have to scroll as much to get back to the same location after switching windows.

View Templates and Schedules - They have expanded how much influence a View Template has over schedule views.

They've added control over Fields, Filters, Sorting/Grouping, and Formatting. I've noticed that the stock templates (project) don't have a View Template for a Schedule (true of 2016 too) which makes it less than obvious how to make a View Template because the Create button is disabled in the View Templates dialog.

The trick is to use Create View Template from View on an existing schedule. Once at least one schedule View Template exists more can be created from within the View Templates dialog, however only for schedules associated with the same category as the original.

If you select a View Template and don't see the new items they can control it means the schedule and the View Template you've selected are incompatible, related to a different category.

Hosted Railings - This is a welcome addition. We can now sketch railings onto the top faces of floors, slabs, slab edges, walls, or roofs. Balusters and railings will adjust to the slope of irregular surfaces, for example a wall that's had Edit Profile used on it. NOTE: They recommend we check railings after upgrading projects.

Generic Connections (Structure) - To facilitate the exchange of information between engineers, detailers, and fabricators about a connection between steel framing elements, Revit supports placing generic steel connections. You can place these to define the relationship between elements which can be used, via parameters, to supply information about the connection, including pictures and links to connection requirements or other information. They can display in drawings and use colors based on approval and/or code checking status parameters for an easier review/approval workflow. If required, they can also be replaced later with detailed steel connections created using an add-in (see next item).

Steel Connections for Revit - This is similar conceptually to what has been done for MEP Fabrication. It is an Autodesk add-in which allows us to view detailed structural connector geometry and to modify additional parameters within the Revit modeling environment.

Reinforcement connectors - Reinforcement connectors are new kind of family. Structural engineers can use schematic connectors to define requirements. Detailers can use them to produce shop drawings. Manufacturers can go into full detail, precisely modeling and representing reinforcement connectors to create installation instructions.

Rebar connectors interact with the rebar that they connect to, facilitating change management. You can add the connectors to groups, assemblies, and partitions with unique coupler numbering. You can also export connectors to various formats.

Variable Rebar Distribution - To fit rebar within complex shapes, you can use rebar sets that can vary along inclined faces. Documentation should be easier with multi-rebar annotations, customizable numbering settings, and accurate schedules that display varying lengths. You can also define inclined rebar sets.

Split columns - The Split Element tool can now split vertical columns at the desired points too.

Wall Joins (2016R2) - We can decide if we want walls to join prior to placing them.

We can also select multiple wall joins and change the configuration of all selected joins to Butt, Miter, or Square Off at the same time.

OTHER STUFF

Preview Family Visibility (2016R2) - The family editor lacked full respect for visibility features like Detail Level and Yes/No parameters associated with a form's Visible parameter. It only made those elements a lighter color (gray). A new View Control Shortcut button allows us to show families they way they will appear in a project setting, all while creating the family in the family editor.

Family Types Dialog (2016R2) - The family types dialog now has a data entry field that allows us to supply criteria to filter the family's parameters. This works on both parameter names and formulas. You'll also find that the text buttons for adding/modifying/deleting types and parameters have been converted into image buttons.

Toposurface Edge Calculations - For conditions where sloped building pads meet other building pads you may recall a sliver of surface might appear between them. Toposurface edges are now calculated based on the building pads, not the overall toposurface. The resulting toposurface should now be more accurate, and hopefully the slivers of toposurface we've seen in the past won't be there.

Keynote Legends - These legends, when set to By Sheet, will now be aware of whether or not a keynote is visible in the view as a result of View Range settings, Design Option settings or Depth Clipping/Far Clipping settings.

In the past Revit displayed a keynote even if it was outside of the View Range, assigned to a different Design Option than the one currently displayed in the view or actually outside of the view’s Depth Clipping / Far Clipping range. Now they won't be included in the schedule if these conditions are true of a given keynote.

Vector Printing for Consistent Colors - They've worked to make Revit more willing to print using the Vector option instead of requiring Raster when we print views that are using the Consistent Colors visual style.

Tangency Lock - This permits us to lock in a relationship between line segments that are tangent to arc's with new icon's that appear when such a condition exists. This should make it easier to deal with arc/line relationships than it has been in the past. We discussed trying to control this series of lines in a thread at AUGI a few years ago. This IS much easier to pull off now.

Column base attachment - The Attach Top/Base command can now attach structural columns to isolated foundations and footings. Adjustments to the foundation height cause the length of the column to adjust accordingly.

Structural foundation parameters - To achieve consistency and use more recognizable terminology, several reporting parameters have been renamed or changed for wall foundations, isolated foundations, and slab foundations.

• Isolated foundations - The Offset instance parameter is now Height Offset From Level.
• Slab foundations - The Default Thickness parameter for filters, tags, and schedules is now Foundation Thickness.
• Elevation reporting - Top/Bottom Elevations parameters are now measured in relation to the Project Base Point.
• Elevation at Top/Bottom Survey -  The Elevation at Top/Bottom Survey parameters for filters, tags, and schedules are measured by the shared Survey Point elevation.

New parameters for slab documentation - To improve tagging and scheduling of floors, two new parameters allow you to specify the default (total) thickness and core thickness of floor types. Use these parameters for schedules and tagging. When one floor layer is set to "variable" and the sub-element has a variable thickness, the parameters display the value "Varies."

Energy Analysis - This is a hot topic these days but I don't see a lot of real action regarding these features in offices. Perhaps my own perspective is limited. Regardless Autodesk continues to put a lot of effort into it. To simplify the initial effort (settings we have to manipulate) required to generate an energy analytical model they've made a number of changes.

The Energy Settings dialog has been redesigned so that you only need to specify a location for the model, at the outset. Revit defaults to assigning all other parameter values to arrive at an optimal analysis with minimal input. Many parameters that used to be found in the Energy Settings dialog are now part of the Advanced Energy Settings dialog. You can adjust these settings after performing an initial analysis once you understand the results and decide to refine the analysis.

They've renamed quite a few parameters.

• Analysis Mode is now Mode
• Core Offset is now Perimeter Zone Depth
• Divide Perimeter Zones is now Perimeter Zone Division.
• Conceptual Constructions is now Conceptual Types
• Building Construction is now Schematic Types
• Include Thermal Properties is now Detailed Elements

They also added Help links from both dialogs to provide quick access to supporting information.

Export to gbXML - The Export to gbXML tool now allows you to choose whether to export the energy analytical model created using energy settings or the model using volumes based on rooms or spaces.

Electrical Settings - We can specify a default rating to use for creating circuits in a model.

Assigning a Distribution System - If there is only one distribution system applicable to an equipment instance, the distribution system is now assigned automatically

New annotation families for MEP - To improve annotation for generic and fabrication parts, several annotation families are now available for tagging ductwork and pipework. (Electrical containment is not currently supported.) You can use tags for offset, elevation, spot elevation, invert elevation (pipework only), set up, and set down to tag generic and fabrication elements. Use the Mechanical Settings dialog to customize the labels for the tags.

Electrical settings - You can specify the load calculation method for how Revit sums electrical loads: Sum True Load and Reactive Load, or Sum Apparent Load and True Load. When upgrading a model, Revit uses the Sum True Load and Reactive Load method as the default.

Temperature Difference family parameter type - The type of parameter is now available for HVAC, Electrical, and Piping families.

Calculate pressure drop for taps - To improve the existing task of calculating pressure drop in a duct system, you can associate an ASHRAE table for duct tap fittings.

Volume calculations - To improve performance pipe system volume calculations are a background process now.

Display of ducts - Revit will regenerate duct layouts only for what is visible in the drawing area. If duct appears very small in the drawing area, it will display as simplified lines, regardless of the detail level assigned to the view. (similar to what they are doing for walls now too)

Dynamo Integration - You'll find this installed as part of Revit and it's not on the Add-Ins tab anymore, it is on the Manage tab. I find that choice confusing personally.

After installing Revit Dynamo reports version 0.9.1.4062 (up-to-date). However the icon for Update available turned green while I was looking at the dialog. When I returned to About Dynamo it reported a different build number available as well as the green cloud icon that changed a moment earlier.

You'll just need to pay attention to this after installing Revit. Dynamo is dynamic, it's changing and improving on a daily basis.

Revit Fabrication They've made quite a lot of changes to this ongoing integration between design and fabrication. This is a list of the information they've provided in the what's new documentation at the help site.

• Convert design intent to fabrication parts - You can convert generic, design-intent Revit parts to LOD 400 fabrication parts.
• Route and Fill - To simplify the process for completing a fabrication model, use the Route and Fill command to step through possible routing solutions.
• Quick Connect - To simplify the process for filling a gap between a fitting and a straight, use the Quick Connect command.
• Trim/extend - To simply the process for filling a gap between two straights, use the Trim/Extend tool.
• Swap fabrication parts - Use the Type Selector to quickly swap fabrication parts.
• Fabrication parts optimization - To help optimize fabrication ductwork layouts, you can use in-canvas controls to reposition short straight segments and to extend fitting extensions. Additionally, you can review warnings to find fittings that are longer than specification-defined lengths.
• Hanger bearer position -To avoid clashes in the model, use the hanger controls to modify the length and position of the hanger bearer and its corresponding rod location.
• Hanger placement - You can place a fabrication hanger on the straight portion of a fitting extension. Hangers can be placed on other hangers to model trapeze conditions or in free space.
• Tag fabrication parts - To support workflows for construction documentation for fabrication, additional fabrication parameters are available for tagging fabrication parts.
• Fabrication parameters - To improve tagging, scheduling, and filtering capabilities for MEP fabrication modelling, several parameters are now available for fabrication parts.
• Fabrication family categories - To improve annotation, scheduling, and filtering capabilities for MEP fabrication modelling, family categories have been added for MEP Fabrication Containment, MEP Fabrication Ductwork, MEP Fabrication Hangers, and MEP Fabrication Pipework.
• Hidden lines for fabrication parts - To improve documentation, fabrication parts now display hidden lines.
• Insulation and lining - To improve documentation, fabrication parts now display separate sub-components for insulation and lining for duct and pipe elements, allowing more control of display properties.
• Rise drop symbols - This enhancement supports coordination between fabrication models in Revit and the Autodesk Fabrication products (CADmep, ESTmep, and CAMduct). Rise drop symbols for a fabrication run in Revit are defined in the Autodesk Fabrication products, and are mapped to the rise drop symbols used for duct, piping, and electrical containment systems in Revit.
• Tool Tips for fabrication parameters in the Properties palette - Tool tips now provide descriptions for fabrication parameters in the Properties palette.
• Fabrication settings - When you specify a fabrication configuration, you can also specify a fabrication profile.
• MEP Fabrication Content for Revit - This fabrication configuration is now available as part of the Revit installation.

Bent fabric reinforcement - Sketch bent sheets to accommodate different shapes of concrete hosts. You can edit them later to adjust to any change.

Constrained Rebar placement - A new graphical constraints manager enhances precise rebar placement. You can place standard rebar shapes that snap to adjacent standard rebar, or you can constrain them to host faces. The user interface highlights each rebar segment that can be constrained, along with available targets. You can modify dimensions to adjust the rebar position. The snap constraint maintains its relationship when you place, move, drag, or copy rebar.

Graphical Rebar Constraint Editing - A new in-canvas editor replaces the Rebar Constraints dialog.

Revit - Robot Integration - Using the Revit - Robot link, the new results for required reinforcement: transverse density can be exported to Revit. You can display diagrams of transverse density using Results Explorer.

SUBTLE STUFF

Annotation Tags - If you choose to pin an annotation tag, then its text box will remain in the same location if its host element is moved. The text of a tag will not move when you switch the leader on and off when it is using Free end. When you switch from Free end to Attached end the leader will not change its shape.

Filter voids and solids (2016R2) - You can specifically isolate void and solid geometry when using the Filter tool in the Family Editor.

Editing Commands in Perspective Views (2016R2) - We can use Copy to Clipboard with Paste Aligned and the Copy command in Camera Views that are using the perspective option.

Spot Slope (2016R2) - You can now place a spot slope annotation that is referencing an element in a linked model.

View Range - A keyboard shortcut is assigned now: VR. If you select a Plan Region first using VR will open the view range dialog for it instead.

View Range Dialog (2016R2) - It has a Show/Hide option to expand to show a graphic explanation of the separate sections of View Range. READ the POST.

Underlay User Interface (2016R2) - I wrote about this change earlier this year when it became available with R2. They changed the language associated with describing the settings for Underlay. They also moved it into it own section (Group) in the Properties Palette.

Point Cloud Visibility - We can control the visibility of individual scan locations and scan regions in each view. This allows us to hide point cloud information that is not relevant in a given view. It should also help improve performance.

Revit.ini setting for CaBaGGe - A new setting in Revit.ini allows you to control the CaBaGGe framework, which improves the performance of Revit when navigating views. That stands for Camera Based GRep Generation (CaBaGGe) and it is intended to allow us to navigate highly detailed Revit models more quickly, by not spending time on things that we don't see. They recommend disabling CaBaGGe if you find that the pan/zoom/view-manipulation time is distracting.

Revisions (2016R2) - When Numbering is set to Per Project, you'll see a new Revision Number column displays the actual revision number that will be generated based on the Sequence, Numbering scheme, and Numbering options. Naturally this won't work if the project is using numbering Per Sheet.

When you open the Revisions on Sheet dialog there is now a Revision column which includes both the revision sequence information and the revision description. A new Date column displays the revision's date.

Filters Dialog (2016R2) - The Filters dialog has been changed a bit. You find filters are listed alphabetically and sorted separately using headings for rule-based and selection-based filters. Earlier I mentioned that we'll find Reference Planes are in the list of categories a Filter can see too.

Detach from Central File (2016R2) - Revit supplies _detached suffix to the file's name when you use Detach from Central and save the file. I wrote about this earlier.

Modify Patterns Dialog - It is re-sizable now, nuff said.

Object Styles (2016R2) - In the Object Styles dialog, you can select and delete multiple subcategories at once. Use CTRL or SHIFT keys to add or remove (select/deselect) subcategories, and then click Delete.

UI Assign Labels - When we want to assign a label (parameter) to a dimension string the user interface has moved to the ribbon now. I think this further undermines the significance of the Options Bar to our workflow (good or bad?). Click the little button (looks like an old Mac) to create a new parameter or choose and existing one from the drop-down list. Even the check box for Instance Parameter is here now instead of the Options Bar.

Upgrade Information - There is a dedicated section in the Help Documentation for Upgrade Information. It will be helpful to see which features we need to watch closely during and after the upgrade to make sure it completed successfully and the results are satisfactory.

Export to FBX - When exporting a 3D model view to FBX, select one of these formats to ensure import compatibility: FBX Files for import in 2016+ version products, or FBX 2015 and Previous for import in 2015 and earlier version products.

FormIt 360 Converter - This add-in is now installed with Revit and available on the Add-Ins tab. It can be used to convert FormIt 360 files for use with Revit or the reverse, Revit files for use with FormIt 360.

Collaboration for Revit (C4R) - This is installed in Revit 2017 automatically. This eliminates the need to install something if/when a user then subscribes to C4R. It is intended to reduce the need for IT effort and involvement.

Software Product Package Changes - Revit Arch, Revit MEP, or Revit Structure are no longer sold as individual products. All Revit users now get Revit in one Box which contains ALL of the features of the separate versions.

That's a lot to sink your teeth into, have fun getting acquainted with 2017!

P.S. There are many changes and additions to the API for Revit. You'll need to refer to the related SDK (software developer kit) for those details, sorry.

Levels and Story Above

Listening to Bill's BIM Thoughts podcast with Carla Edwards and Paul Aubin (Session 29), Carla reminded me of a parameter associated with levels I wrote about in 2013 but it was buried within a post of a different title. So I decided to clip it out of that post and give it some air again.

Levels have a parameter called Story Above; and a related parameter called Building Story.

This is the current description for the Story Above parameter from Autodesk.

"From Revit Help"

Used in conjunction with the Building Story parameter when exporting to IFC with the export option Split walls and columns by story, this parameter indicates the next building story for the level.

By default, Story Above is the next highest level for which Building Story is enabled. To access a list of all building stories above the current one, click in the field. The Story Above does not need to be the next higher level or building story. If the selected level is deleted later or if Building Story is disabled, any levels with this level as their Story Above will revert to default behavior.

Unfortunately what Carla described about how it is used isn't entirely on track, sorry Carla. The first sentence in the help documentation description didn't include the information about IFC initially. It was revised at some point after the feature was introduced. The two parameters Building Story and Story Above only factor in if we export to IFC. They don't influence anything else. It might be useful if they did.

Leak - Revit 2017 Help Documentation

A little birdie posted a link to this earlier on the interwebs...it's a live Autodesk page...so it must be okay? I see some things to look forward to.

I guess I have an answer to my earlier complaint about the SNU... :(

Space Naming Utility for Revit 2017

Hi Autodesk Revit Team! It's me Mr. OpEd again. Imagine me with a pointy stick, I'm poking you in the eye...metaphorically...with words on a blog.

Since the AutoCAD team just made 2017 available I can infer that we'll be seeing a new release of Revit in the very near future.

Let me just go on record now.

The Space Naming Utility SHOULD be built into Revit 2017 so that it is installed automatically or better yet, it's just on the Annotation ribbon as a native feature, NOT an add-on.

I might as well let ya'll know now, and AGAIN, that it is utterly reeeeee-freeeeeekin-diculousssss if it isn't!!!!!

If the rationale for keeping it separate is that not many people use it perhaps that's because it is a separate application??!! If the ribbon UI is supposed to improve the odds of discovering features it sure would help to be ON the ribbon. Built IN.

Capisce? The berating will continue until the SNU is part of Revit. I know there are much more important things in the world to be upset about. Yet, someone must continue the fight for equal status of the SNU!

If I take a pessimistic stance, you could, at the very least, make sure it is available for download from the Exchange Apps site as soon as we can actually download and use Revit 2017. Yeah. That would be good...

Warning Messages and Profile Families

Profile families are loadable (component) families but they don't exist on their own in projects. They are either used to create solid and void forms in the family editor, in-place families in projects or applied to System Families in projects. For example, a Railing, Sweep, Reveal and Floor Slab Edge can all use a Profile family.

Occasionally I'll get a generic sort of warning regarding the system family I'm trying to make, telling me "Sorry Steve, I can't make this thing for you".

Quite often the reason Revit is complaining is because I was sloppy making the Profile family. You may recall I've written about good sketches and bad sketches in the past.

Regardless the error message could certainly be written better; to mention that such an error may be related to a profile that isn't created properly. At this time, the error trapping process may not be able to reach deeply enough into the sketch mode process, for example like we use to create a Floor Slab Edge. Regardless, there is no reason the error message couldn't mention a common culprit, something to prod us to look more deeply for.

Technically the error is in a component family and then evaluated as part of a system family that references it. In a sense it is too far removed from the active operation for Revit to properly recognize what's wrong precisely. Therefore I think it would help if, while saving a profile family type, Revit tested it for proper closed boundaries to help us catch errors while editing the family. Revit does this when we attempt to finish a sketch for a solid or void form. Perhaps it could be a button on the ribbon? Something like Test Profile.

Help us help you Revit!

Smaller Grid Bubbles

I wrote about one way to achieve using smaller grid bubbles in different views HERE. That written I can't help but wonder how much smaller is appropriate. A user recently complained they need a smaller grid bubble in a 1:1000 (metric) view. My gut reaction was "really?...maybe the grid bubble is just too big to begin with?" For example, this is what 1:100 and 1:1000 scale views look like side by side for a tiny footprint of grids using a stock grid family (6.5 mm radius/4.5 mm text).

That image is captured after using Zoom to Fit. How effective are grid bubbles at that scale to begin with? In imperial units that's equivalent to a view scale of 1"=120'-0". Keeping in mind that Revit's bias is to maintain the printed size of annotation, how much smaller does the bubble and text need to be to be better but still useful? This next image is the same sheet with grids bubbles that are half as big, text half as high (3.25 mm radius circle and 2.25 mm text).

I could argue that if the 1:1000 scale size is acceptable it might as well be the standard for all the views? This is how it (the smaller size grid bubbles) looks if I use Zoom Sheet Size and pan the view to show the grids side by side. This is more representative of what it will look like on the printed page.

Having the ability to turn off the bubble graphics only leaving the Grid name's text only might be a nice option. It seems to me that decreasing the size of the text means it is likely to no longer be legible. That's never good for documentation. For example, quite a few standards dictate a minimum text size of 1/8" which is larger than the 2.25 mm text I've shown in the images above.

Using a smaller font than what is shown above is going to start being too small to read on half-size prints; which is what I see getting printed more often these days. Fwiw, it's my understanding that 1/8" text as a requirement was decided upon because half size documents are printed so often and the resulting 1/16" text is at the brink of no longer being legible so standards set it accordingly.

Regardless, it's a frequent enough request that the development team ought to see what they can come up with. Something that is easy to implement and provides more flexibility for documentation.

Did you Load a Family - Synchronize NOW

ALWAYS use Synchronize with Central (SwC) immediately after loading new families or types (or duplicating system family types). Don't place any instances until you have!

This post is tagging on two earlier posts on the subject of loading content, restating the punch line to emphasize it on its own. If you're inclined to just take my advice just reread the first two sentences and behave accordingly. If you're a bit curious, need more convincing, you can read the FIRST and SECOND posts for more background info.

A Case for Worksets - Opening Linked Files

It is common to choose to avoid enabling Worksets when we don't need to let more than one person access our project at the same time. If we rely on using linked files then we can benefit from not avoiding them. For example, if you've ever wanted to open a linked file at the same time as the file you are currently working in you've seen this warning message.

Revit doesn't like opening a linked file in the same session, without unloading the link in the current model first, but it won't mind doing so if you open a second session of Revit. Revit uses separate memory allocation for each session. That means it isn't possible to use Copy to Clipboard with Paste Aligned when we are using two sessions. If you let Revit unload the link instead you won't see any changes in the host project until you save, close and reload the linked file. A good many users regard that cycle of steps to be annoying.

When we enable Worksets we have a Central File but work in a Local File. If all the project files we use have enabled Worksets then when we open any of the Linked Files we are creating a new Local File. Here's the tricky part...technically that's not the SAME file we Linked. The Linked File is (should be) based on the Central File (it's name and location)...the Central File is linked, not our Local File.

Yes this means you can now open a linked file in the same session of Revit. You can make changes in either file and use Synchronize and Modify Settings to store the changes in the Central File(s).

Now before you get too excited, you still have to use Reload on the Linked File that's been changed. That's not really any different than having another user making changes to the Linked File and having to use Reload to see their changes. It does make it easier to go back and forth between models quickly; eliminates the open/close part. Eventually you have to use Reload to see any changes regardless.

If you are a sole user and still intimidated by Worksets; just remember you only have to have one Workset for it to be enabled, for Revit to work. Revit creates two default Worksets for us to use (Shared Levels and Grids and Workset 1) but we don't have to be too concerned with assigning elements to any but Workset 1. That's assuming we don't really need Worksets for its fundamental purpose; allowing concurrent access to the same data by more than one person.

Something to consider if open/closing and unloading/reloading links is annoying.

Oh, I should mention that this starts to disintegrate if you are opening more than two files that are inter-related, linked into each other. For example, imagine a Host Model, Linked Model 01 and Linked Model 02. The Host Model has linked both of the linked models. If Linked Model 01 is also linked into Linked Model 02 and we then open both of them as well as the Host Model we will encounter this kind of message when we make changes to Linked Model 01 and then attempt to reload it in the Host Model.

The file in question is also present in the other open Linked Model and that is what Revit is objecting to. We'll also find that the file is unloaded automatically. We'll have to close the other file that it is visible in before we can successfully reload it. As such my habit is to limit my use of this technique to two open files at a time.

Purchase Advice for a Fellow Revit User

I received a message the other day asking me for advice; that classic conundrum Mac or PC? I don't have a Mac and rarely get to use one. I do know quite a few people who love their Macs, likewise for PCs. I thought I'd share some of the message here and see what sort of comments it might spur, advice or otherwise.

He writes:

I am hoping to get some advice from a fellow a Revit user about a pending purchase decision.

I have been using Revit now for almost 4 years, even somewhat addicted in spite of it's occasionally awkward ways. A client has offered to buy my next computer and has offered up a spec for an Intel PC. I'm using a 2009 iMac w/ 8 GB RAM, Intel 2 Duo 2.93 with 6 MB L2 NVIDEA MCP79. I run Revit using Parallels. I recently found out about maximizing the RAM in parallels and accessing the 2nd core processor and it has helped to speed up Revit.

I was having some performance issues (slow response) using materials palette. It could take 30-40 seconds to open up and I did have some wicked crashes. But after making the adjustments I have found it quick, responsive and stable. I was having 45 minute restarts but now it works smoothly. I have heard of people running bootcamp but I can't at this point because my partition is too small and I'm not eager to reformat my current setup.

I'd prefer to stay with a Mac but I get that Revit doesn't run on the Apple OS. Should I stay or should I go?
Btw, I also got a quote for a Boxx PC but it's expensive.

Looking forward to your thoughts.

What say ya'll?

Warning Message - Highlighted Elements are Joined but do not Intersect

Revit is telling you that someone used the Join Geometry feature on elements but now they no longer touch each other, intersect. When they were moved apart a warning appeared but the user didn't click Unjoin Elements (see image), they clicked OK so now Revit is keeping track of the joined relationship; doing what it was told to do.

If they/you/we do this enough we'll end up with a lot of warnings to review here.

You/they need to fix the problem, Unjoin the geometry, no warning anymore. The Warnings dialog even gives us a way to fix it, click Unjoin Elements. Fixing accumulated errors like this will improve performance. Please don't regard the warning as irrelevant, it's not!

Better still, avoid the problem in the first place, click Unjoin the first time the message appears instead.

Oh, I should also mention that clicking Unjoin Elements in the Warnings dialog does Unjoin them BUT it doesn't clear that warning from the list until you close the dialog and open it again. That's a little confusing.

Hold Off Warning Rescinded

Kyle wrote in a more recent reply:

The Cloud Worksharing reliability issue associated with the Revit 2016 UR4 update has been resolved. The issue was resolved on the service itself, so no updates to the downloadable files were required.

Teams are encouraged to download and install the latest update, as it contains valuable enhancements to reliability and workflow.

Hold off on Revit 2016 Update Release 4

If you are using Revit 2016 and Collaboration for Revit (C4R) then you'll want to hold off installing the most recent update. Kyle shared the following in a post at RFO.

We have identified a compatibility issue with the latest Revit 2016 UR4 update, which is causing degraded Sync with Central (SWC) reliability for those that installed it. We have confirmed this issue internally, and are working to resolve the issue within our services.

Teams are advised to defer installing the latest Revit 2016 UR4 until we have resolved the matter on the Cloud Worksharing service. We apologize for the disruption this may be causing, and are urgently working to resolve the matter.

Revit Incompatible with Custom Display Scales

Revit appears to be incompatible with custom display scaling greater than 150%. If you've got a relatively new computer you may have a display that exceeds what Revit is currently designed to support, though I've seen reports of AutoCAD having difficulty with it too, FWIW.

I've been encountering complaints from people getting bizarre graphic display behavior when attempting to use scaling between 150-200%. It seems to be happening a bit more in the Apple camp of users that are running Windows via Boot Camp. I've even heard about a few that won't work above 100% at all.

If you're in this boat then I advise taking some Dramamine, set it back to 100%, and check your video card, settings, and drivers.

Revit 2016 Missing Content after Installation

If you've installed Revit and then found your library was empty you're not alone. I haven't figured out who is to blame for this yet because the people I've encountered with this problem so far haven't been very computer savvy, haven't been able to recall what they did during installation or they didn't install it themselves. When the Revit installation is underway it is important to select which content is installed. I suspect that this is either overlooked or something has prevented that task from being completed. During installation it is important to make sure you visit this section.

The content is a separate section below the Revit application itself. It is important to review the settings lurking within the Content section too.

Assuming that was done then we should find the content installed in the default location or where we decided to put the content ourselves. This is the default location with individual sub-folders within it for each unique library you've selected:

C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2016\Libraries\US Imperial or US Metric etc

Still no content in this location, or the one you chose instead?

Revit downloads the content libraries you've selected to install so perhaps this task is being blocked by anti-virus, user permissions or internet access/restrictions? That's quite a conundrum for many people.

Making it a little more difficult, when you visit a related help document at Autodesk's Knowledge Network it describes the situation for 2015 and tells us to use the Control Panel Add/Remove feature. Fair enough for 2015 but for 2016 I find no such option for Content, despite the article specifically claiming it is similar for 2016. In fact I don't find such an option for 2015 either on my computer. FWIW, I only see an entry for Autodesk Content Service.

RAND IMAGINiT has made some of the content available via a blog post of theirs. It might help to try downloading it from their FTP site.

Autodesk Seek also hosts Revit content including its own library. If you visit the site, at the bottom of the page they have links for each disciplines library.

While I can download specific families and templates from that location I don't see an easy way to just download the entire library. They used to provide a page where we could just browse for and download a library bundle, for any of the localised versions too. I've not found its equal yet.

Temporary Dimensions and Activate Dimensions

I've written about Temporary Dimensions and the Activate Dimension button in the past (2007-9), these are some posts that discuss them.

Space Bar Subtle Effect on Temporary Dimensions
Dept. of Reviteristics - Activate Dimensions
Activate Dimensions
Activate Dimensions - Redux

Temporary Dimensions don't appear when two or more elements are selected. When that happens you should see the Activate Dimensions button appear on the Options Bar.

Temporary dimensions also don't respond to families that host nested shared families. That's because these families are also regarded by Revit, under the hood, as a selection of two or more elements.

Revit Updates for 2015 and 2016

New updates are available for both Revit 2015 and 2016 now. The latest for 2015 is Update Release 13 and we're up to Update Release 3 for 2016. Hopefully the Autodesk Application Manager let you know already, it did for me this time. Visit your Autodesk Account page to download them if not.

These are the three related release note files that The Revit Clinic shared the other day.

Revit 2015 Update Release 13 readme and release notes

Revit 2015 Update Release 13 for R2 readme and release notes

Revit 2016 Release 2 Update 3 readme and release notes

Type Catalog - Family Type Parameter and Missing Spaces

This is for the Department of I could kick myself or Dept. of why can't I remember this.

These are two images of the same Type Catalog, one works and the other doesn't. The key location of the issue/difference is marked in yellow. This first one won't work.

Two little spaces on either side of the colon, like this: Family Name : Family Type.

Note to self, remember this next time around knucklehead!

Line Styles Embedded in Families

Reading a thread at AUGI tonight prompted this post. Line Styles aren't a thing in Revit families, the option is disabled if you attempt to review them while in the Family Editor UI.

The family discussed in the thread seems innocent enough until it is loaded into a project file. These are the line styles that are in the default template (imperial).

This is the same dialog after loading the family; nearly 100 more (98) line styles show up.

The culprit is Transfer Project Standards (TPS). It is easy to transfer line styles from a project to a family. We need Object Styles in families not Line Styles. Make sure you don't select Linestyles when/IF you use TPS.

If you've already got many rogue Line Styles you can delete them from the project and in Revit 2016 you can select more than one at a time and click Delete. Just remember if Delete is disabled then you've got a built-in (system) line style selected.

What about cleaning out the family itself? They don't give us a tool to do that. Purge Unused doesn't see them unfortunately. Robert Bell, in the AUGI Thread, offers a solution though. Load the bad family into a empty template (choose the None option for example). Delete all of the line styles you don't want. Then Save the family and overwrite the original. If the family is already loaded into your project just do the same thing, delete the line styles (it's just a little harder to tell) and Save the family to overwrite the original.

While you're at it, don't use TPS on Line Patterns, like shown in the image above. You'll probably get many more than you really want too. Those can be deleted a bit more easily though.

I checked the Autodesk Exchange Apps site to see if any offer a way to purge line styles from families. I found one that does it for projects but none that claim to do it for families; at least not based on searching for that criteria. It might be something Dynamo can be used to resolve; I'll have to check into that.

---------------------

Update 08/22/2016: Dale Bartlett has shared an app to purge these embedded line styles.
Update 05/09/2017: The file is no longer where Dale shared it, I don't know where it is now so I've removed the link.
Update 05/15/2017: Dale provided a new link to a 2017 compatible version VIA THIS URL.

Worksharing Display - Owners

The first thing I do when a project is open, to get a sense of things going on around me in the model, is to toggle on Worksharing Display - Owners (see image). That gives me a quick snapshot of who else is working on things around me.

If I see a color on anything I thought I'd start working on then there is no point attempting to edit those, I'll just get a warning from Revit in response. The mere presence of colors indicate other people are around, in this context. Hovering over one element brings up a larger tool tip than the usual information we get, including which person is currently editing it.

I use the Worksets option for Worksharing Display just to see if things are obviously assigned incorrectly. Again, hovering over any element tells me what workset it is assigned to in either the normal tool tip (first thing displayed, unless Design Options are involved too) or the expanded one for Worksharing Display.

I think most people forget about or overlook the Gray inactive worksets option too. That helps me cope with my nemesis Active Workset because it reminds me which workset is active because the things around me are either bold or not (see image).

Prompted by a reply to a thread at RFO.

Detach from Central and the Specify Worksets Option

When we use Detach from Central (DfC) this message may pop up from time to time.

It can be a confusing to see it because quite often the very notion of using DfC is to deal with the fact that the Central File has been moved or copied, like when a consultant sends us a copy of their project file. We use DfC to create our own copy of their project on our server and project folder.

My initial reaction to it is, "Yeah...duh...why do you think I'm using DfC Revit?" Well to be fair, the reason the message appears is that the Central File was saved using the Save As > Options... Open Workset default: Specify (see next image). Revit is attempting to open that dialog before actually beginning the DfC process (technically).

Taking advantage of this concept means that we don't have to remember to choose Specify Worksets when we open a project, it is the default choice.

This is one instance where cavalierly clicking Close, thinking yeah whatever...is okay.

Clearance Subcategory in Linked Files and Families

You've linked a model that has families which include clearance elements. That's excellent for doing clash detection. However you may not really want to see the graphics they've provided for this in all of your own documentation views.

Hopefully the clearance elements have been assigned to a unique subcategory that you can control by overriding the link's Visibility/Graphics.

If so and you'd like to control the subcategory without overriding their linked file you can use Copy to Clipboard on one of the families (TAB to select it) with the clearance elements in them. Then paste a copy somewhere in your model. Now the family's subcategories are part of your own model. You'll be able to control it via V/G without overriding the link, assuming the link is assigned to By Host.

You probably realized that doing the above is a shortcut to creating a matching subcategory assigned to the correct category in Object Styles ourselves. It is a shortcut because we probably won't know what subcategory the family is using without examining the family more closely, by opening the linked file and editing the family directly. Using Copy and then Paste provides us with a copy we can interact with directly instead and any subcategories it has are brought into our project for us.

Families are prone to inconsistency because they can be obtained from a variety of sources. Consider that even the families from Autodesk aren't entirely consistent from one to another. It may still be necessary to crack open a family to find out how their clearance elements are controlled. For example, the lines that form the "X", and the "box" around them, in this family are assigned to the Hidden Lines subcategory, not Clearance.

In 3D there are forms to indicate clearance requirements and they are assigned to a Clearance subcategory but they also have their Visible parameter unchecked which means we can't see them in the project at all, anywhere.

This family does not intend for us to turn off the clearance "X", at least not via its Clearance subcategory. It has a subcategory called clearance and the solid forms for its clearance zones are assigned it but then it was decided they shouldn't be visible at all. By the way, doing so does not prevent Revit from seeing the clearance forms when using its own Interference Checking. However in Navisworks they don't show up. That might be considered bad form (pun intended). From a family editor perspective (and user), it would have been more flexible if the Visible parameter had been associated with a Yes/No parameter to allow us to turn it on or off if necessary. Unfortunately, keeping in mind that this post began about families in a linked file, it wouldn't make any difference for us.

Consistency is easier to manage and achieve when it is your own content library and your project files. It can be a bit trickier dealing with the content that is part of the linked files you need from other disciplines. It's easy to create a family that makes me happy, or my team. It may not make the other consultants happy though. Something to think about while you're being happy making content.

Keyboard Shortcut and View Template Conflict

It is obvious when you think about it but when you are trying to use a keyboard shortcut and it doesn't work you might be tempted to think, "That's strange it used to work?!". Off we go to check our keyboard shortcut settings...then..."OH, the view has a View Template assigned to it!"

When a View Template is Assigned to a view, via the view's properties (yes, that's different from applying a view template), the template blocks our access to those settings it is in charge of. When we open Visibility/Graphics we see the categories are disabled (gray). Any keyboard shortcut we attempt to use that involves one of those settings is likewise affected.

In my case tonight I was trying to use keyboard shortcut VH (Hide in View > Category) but nothing happened. Yes, it was just a View Template being bossy. Had me going for a second...

Revit MEP - Silly Revit - We Don't use those Pipe or Duct Sizes

If you don't take the time to fine tune your project templates then you'll find Revit will offer you all kinds of pipe and duct sizes. These are available in the drop down lists during placement and then later if you run Duct/Pipe Sizing.

If you don't take the time to fine tune your template you'll find Revit gives you a duct size of 11" after completing its Duct Sizing, regardless of the fact you only choose from even sizes. It's easy to blame silly Revit...but it's our fault. The Duct and Pipe Sizes are controlled via Mechanical Settings, the duct sizes for Rectangular are shown below.

We need to either delete sizes we never want or just un-check them in either column or both, Set it and forget it.

Oh, the same is true of conduit and cable tray.

Group Exclude Element and Rooms

We can use the Exclude Element feature on the parts of the model we assign to groups, like this for example (a workstation with chairs).

We can also include rooms in groups. Just be careful if you use Exclude Element on the room(s). If you do you'll see a hint of a room when you pre-select (highlight) the group but you won't find it among the rooms in a room schedule...because it/they is/are excluded.

A potential gotcha for users.

Revit Extension and the Big Pause

I've noticed that when I start sketching walls in a new project that at the third segment Revit decides it needs to PAUSE before continuing. It seems it has something to do with having Revit Extensions installed. It thinks needs to add some parameters and interrupts my sketching to do that. Bill (Mr. BIM Thoughts) helped point me toward this bugger the other day when were discussing a few workstations that were pausing to install/update the extension...much worse pause.

If you experience this too...might be the same situation for you.

Revit Version Build Update and Service Pack Naming

Bill (Mr. BIM Thoughts) shared this subtle bugger with me the other day.

Oooh boy... so Revit 2016 R2 is called Update3 behind the scenes if you look at the Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features > View Installed Updates and Revit 2016 R2's update is called Update 1 for R2...

Phew...just when I think I understand the naming...

Worksharing - Loading Content Part 2

In my previous post I recommended a point person be assigned to manage the loading of content for a team. That might sound like a beauracratic minded recommendation. Not me at all. It is more a matter of self preservation, wishing to avoid having to fix the resulting duplication before it becomes a bigger problem. As such there is a another minor measure we can take to help catch the issue when it occurs and fix it.

Always use Synchronize with Central (SwC) immediately after loading new families or types (or duplicating system family types). Don't place any instances.

If we can't get a single person to manage this loading then using SwC immediately afterward will increase the odds that a warning message will appear as soon as the transaction is completed. This does assume that we all develop this habit. If the warning appears than we need to examine the new family(ies) and or type(s) in the Project Browser and resolve the issue.

The goal is to avoid creating the duplicates and even more importantly using them in the project.

Worksharing - Loading Content

I read Jason's post this morning and he describes a classic worksharing gotcha. Unfortunately he hasn't identified the true culprit. I'm referring to this part of his post specifically.

One of our most notorious examples is the infamous Break Line. Each drafting view we imported had a copy of the break line family. By the time anyone noticed, the project model had “Break Line (1)” through “Break Line (22)”.

What he describes is the result of worksharing and multiple users loading the same family in their own local files. Revit sees multiple versions of the same file being loaded from different local files (users) and seeks to protect them by renaming the other versions it encounters. We see this sort of message when it happens.

This error and situation is easy to replicate.

• Two users open local files for the same project
• Each user loads a new family and the same type
• Each uses Synchronize with Central (SwC)

The first person to sync will be successful without an issue but the second person will receive a warning about the family being renamed. If this is repeated enough, and by enough users at the same time, we could end up with family22 like he described.

For example, if eight people all introduce the same new family to the project then by the time the last person uses SwC there will be eight versions of this family listed in the Project Browser. This is what the Project Browser looks like after just two users think they both need to load a new double door and type.

Jason's post is focused on cleaning up after oneself and it IS important but it is also important to manage the loading of content and harvested details. It is equally important that people understand why these extra versions show up in the first place. Each time someone uses Load Family or Insert from File they must reconcile the warnings that appear before anyone has a chance to begin using the wrong version of the families that are duplicated.

I think it is worth restating that the subtlety of this issue is that this only happens when more than one user is introducing the same new family to the project (via their Local Files).

Once the family is part of the project (defined in the Central File) Revit doesn't get confused anymore. Here's what happens when I introduce the Break Line family he mentioned to the project via two users. Keep in mind that there is no Break Line family defined in the Central File at the moment. Each user loads the family, into their Local File, unaware the other user is doing it too. The first person to use SwC is fine but the second user sees this message (I expanded the warning to see the family description).

When the first user uses Reload Latest or SwC they'll both be able to see this in the Project Browser, listed beneath Detail Items.

Subtlety compounded with yet another subtlety...if the family is already defined in the project (Central File) but a new TYPE is loaded by more than one user then we end up with this situation in the Project Browser.

How do we avoid this situation?

As soon as we think we need to load a new family or type...STOP.

Who (on our team) is responsible for ensuring the content we need is available to us? There ISN'T any ONE person assigned to this? There should be. All new content should be requested, requests sent to or asked of this person. That person can delegate the task.

The goal is to avoid the situation where more than one user is loading the same new content.

Only ONE person needs to load the family(ies)/type(s) and then use SwC to make it available to everyone else on the team (they use Reload Latest). We are working on the same project after all.

To close and return to what inspired my post, Jason went on to write that they've abandoned using Detail Components in their details because of this issue. Tragic. They (the detail families) aren't the problem; Revit's worksharing behavior and user habits are. I hope he'll revisit that decision.

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

Revit Version and Build History

Philip and Luke both mentioned this on their blogs so I'm just echoing their mentions of this recent development. Autodesk put together a list of versions and builds going back to Revit 2012.

It's important to keep everyone that works on the same Revit project(s) on the same version/build, perhaps this will help?

It was fun discussing (while talking to a friend on the phone) the version/build/service pack/update naming yesterday, he'd missed the recent Update Release 1 for 2016 R2...damn it gets confusing.

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.

Text Box Boundary Quirk

I read a thread at AUGI describing an issue where the Show Border option to create a box surrounding text fails to completely surround the text it contains. First, if you weren't aware of it, each Text type has a type parameter called Show Border.

The Show Border feature worked fine until I used the Underline override to put a line under the NOTES: heading. It also happens if I use any of the other overrides; Bold or Italic.

I created the following video to show what happened.

Seems easy enough to resolve, just use separate text for the heading. Unfortunately I found that Show Border fails to work properly if the text is altered later too. Just adding a new line to the text is enough to confuse the border/box. Sadly this means the concept of Show Border is fatally flawed...

Revit MEP System Browser - Systems and Families

When you examine the information in the System Browser there are separate items for Systems and the Families that are related to them.

We can delete a System if necessary via a Right-Click.

Be careful though, you can also delete a family the same way!

Doors and a Sliver of a Room

Following on my post yesterday regarding Doors and Rooms, if you happen to have a room that is NOT at least 14 inches deep you will find that Revit is unwilling to report either its To Room or From Room parameter. If you've been reading this blog a long time you may remember a post I wrote which included a short video that mentions this issue?

A room like pictured below will work because it is 14" deep.

However the room pictured below won't be recognized and the corresponding parameters will be blank, in this case the To Room parameters.

If you are familiar with the Room Calculation Point (I call it RcP) feature it can be used to influence this issue.

Keep in mind it will also negatively affect which room you can regard as the To Room, if not for this door specifically any other doors that need the opposite behavior.

The Room Calculation Point (RcP) feature was added to doors to provide a way to change how the To Room assignment is controlled. Originally the To Room value for a door was (still is without the RcP being enabled) decided based on the side of the wall the door swings in toward.

There are doors which must swing out of a room but still belong to the room they swing from. For example a classroom's door (like shown in the images above) often swings outward to the corridor (often set into an alcove), for exiting requirements usually. However we still think of and document the door as belonging to the classroom, not the corridor.

If the door is placed so that the panel swings into the classroom (using stock doors) then the To Room parameter is assigned to the classroom. If we then flip its orientation so the panel swings out of the classroom the To Room value remains associated with the classroom (check out the post I mention above for a video of this behavior).

The RcP feature changes that behavior to alter the To Room value to follow the flip of the door orientation regardless, which means in my example, and the images above, the To Room value would change to reference the Corridor instead.

May you have sliverless designs...

Doors and Rooms and Rooms and Doors

In the year 2016 we find Revit is still utterly clueless about the relationship between doors and rooms. We have this quirky documentation habit of using a room's number to derive a door number, not to mention it's room name to define its location in a building. I know they've noticed because each door has a From Room and To Room parameter.

Recently Elon Musk and his SpaceX team sent a rocket to space and returned the first stage to an upright position back on earth. A feat engineers have long dreamed of accomplishing.

Yet after 15 years Revit continues to rely on third party applications to bridge this feature crevasse.

Don't get me started on the Space Naming Utility being a separate application...grumble grumble...