Revit Basics: Closing All Open Views Except the Active One

One click button to close all the open views and leave only the active one open.
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Switching from view to view in Revit means almost always that you keep on opening new views without closing the other ones. This can make navigating from view to view using the ALT+TAB shortcut a bit cumbersome after a while (because we might end up with 20 views open). At the same time, I read somewhere that having many views open can make Revit slower. So closing all hidden views is useful, and easy. One of those basics we tend to forget.

I was reading some old training material and found this tip. Click on the "Close Hidden" button located on the Windows section of the View Tab on the Ribbon. This will close all the windows that are not visible. THat's it, one of the basics that makes your life easier. Cheers.

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List of Free BIM Object Libraries

Where can you get BIM Content online? Here.
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I do not use very often online BIM libraries, but they can be very useful to avoid having to model all parts of your families/objects. I think that if you really want to have families/objects that serve your specific BIM Process, you will have to either create these families/objects by yourself, or adapt those that you download from an online library, so there is not too much or too few information/detail in them. Either way, having a list of available Free BIM Object Libraries is useful, so here come the ones I have found that have (or seem to have) at least around 1000 Free BIM Objects:

NAME	ORGANIZED BY	# OBJECTS*	Last Checked	REGISTRATION
BIM OBJECT	Manufacturer	2229	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not needed
ARCAT	Masterformat 95 / 12	8852	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not needed
NATIONAL BIM LIBRARY	Object Type / Manufacturer	5000+	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
SMART BIM LIBRARY	Object Type / Manufacturer	10000+	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not Needed
REVIT CITY	Masterformat 04 / Manufacturer	14549	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
AUTODESK SEEK	Object Type / Manufacturer	65000	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not Needed
BIM STOP	Object Type / Manufacturer	Unknown	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
BIMETICA	Manufacturer	1161	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
FAMILIT	Object Type	8181	2013111414 Nov 2013	Not Needed
SWEETS NETWORK	Manufacturer	Unknown	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
ARCHICAD TALK OBJECT DEPO	Object Type	Unknown	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed
BIM COMPONENTS	Object Type	Unknown	2013111414 Nov 2013	Needed

*Aproximate number of Free BIM Objects on the date stated in the column "REVISED"

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Transfer Revit Schedules from Project to Project

Easy guide to copy Revit Schedule Views from one Project to another
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If you need to copy a Schedule (or a Sheet) form one project to another you can do it. You simply need to click on the "Insert" Tab, then select "Insert from File", and there select "Insert VIews From File".

You will then be prompted to Browse for the File you want to copy from, and once you select it, you will be able to see all the views on that file that can be copied to your open Project. That's it.

Just consider that this can not be done if you are on a Schedule View, you have to do it from a Plan, Elevation, 3D view, etc.

Solution found here.

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Revit IFC Exporter Update

New version of the IFC Exporter Available.
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Just got the email from autodesk mentioning the new update for the Revit IFC exporters. Here it comes:

Revit 2013:

IFC Exporter 2013 (v2.15.1)

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2013 (v1.13)

2014:

IFC Exporter 2014 (v3.7.1):

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2014 (v2.5):

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Revit Add-In: Creating Topography the Standard way or from Lines in Revit

Awesome Plugin from Harry Mattison (Boost your BIM) to create Topography from Lines in Revit.
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In Revit with out of the box functionality you can create topo surfaces by picking points and specifying their elevations or by importing 3D data (the topo lines in a cad file) or a points file.

This means you can actually not create a topo surface from lines that you have drawn in Revit.

This is no longer so, thanks to Boost your BIM's Add-in. With it, you can simply click on the Add-ins Tab, select Topo-From Lines, Select the lines and click Finish.

Bingo, topo created from lines in Revit.

The Add-in is available here for Free

You can say thanks to Harry on his blog post about it.

Great Job!

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Revit: Don't Use Parts if You Want to Use Groups. Don't Use Groups if You Want to Use Parts

Exactly what the post title says. Tried it in many projects, always with problems.
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I've been trying once again to use parts and groups together and I have been having problems as usual, not much improvement from previous releases (I am using Revit 2014). As stupid as it might seem, Revit really struggles if you break walls into parts and then group the walls in a Group that you need to repeat / rotate / mirror. The resulting parts on the copied groups behave independently from one instance of the group to the other, making it really not efficient to work with them because a lot of rework in each instance might be needed (I am working on a 30 story building, with 25 equal floors, so imagine how nice it would be if Revit could handle this properly).

I tried many different options, parts constrained, unconstrained,etc. No way Groups work efficiently as they should (as AutoCAD blocks). So my solution to solve this has been to use Groups only on relatively small elements were I don't use the create parts feature, and for the other elements (like the repeating typical floor plan) I use a linked file. I don't like it and it is also not very efficient when you have to edit it (Unload -> Open -> Save -> Reload) but it does allow me to repeat the floor where I have edited all walls using the Create Parts feature.

For more infor on what to do and what not to do with Groups check this post at AllaboutCAD.

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BCF Add-Ins for Revit

If you need to use the BIM Collaboration Format and you are using Revit this Add-Ins might be what you are looking for.
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I wrote recently about the BIM Collaboration Format [BFC]. It is (probably) the soon to be Standard to communicate Issues in BIM Models. If you are using Revit and want to be able to work with BCF, you'll need some Add-in to do it. I found 3 of them and tested 2. Here they are:

Number #01: Matteo Cominetti's BCF PLUGIN FOR REVIT (currently at Version 2.2.2)
Easy to use, Free and With a lot of easy to use Options.
The best one of the two I tried.
You can download it here: http://matteocominetti.com/d/BCFPlugin2.2.2.exe
Check more info at Matteo's website or watch the video below:

Number #02: KUBUS' BCF MANAGER for Revit (there is also an ArchiCAD Version)
Now on free trial until Nov 30th. Apparently at a cost from December 1st.
Less options than Matteo's Plugin, but still easy to use.
Download the Windows x64 version here: http://www.kubusinfo.nl/downloads/BCF_Manager_Revit_x64_r2.msi
Download the Windows x86 version here: http://www.kubusinfo.nl/downloads/BCF_Manager_Revit_x86_r2.msi
You can also use this if you are an ArchiCAD user:
ArchiCAD windows version download here: http://www.kubusinfo.nl/downloads/BCF_Manager_AC17_r2.msi
ArchiCAD MAC version download here: http://www.kubusinfo.nl/downloads/BCF_Manager_AC17_r2.dmg
More info at the KUBUS website.

Number #03: AUTODESK'S MODEL REVIEW Add-in
I haven't tried this one, according to its description is more than just a BCF Add-in, but a full Model Checker:
"Check the accuracy and consistency of a Project or Family against standards set by your firm, your clients, or industry best practices. Correct inconsistencies with a single click or with instructions provided when manual fixes are required".
It is only available if you are a Subscription Customer. More info here too

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Revit: Copying an Element Multiple Times

Copy an Object Multiple Times in Revit
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If you've come to Revit from AutoCAD, you probably noticed that the copy command behaves slightly different by default. While in AutoCAD if you use the copy command you can copy an object multiple times without calling the command again, in Revit, by default, it doesn't work the same way. It probably happened to you for a while as it did to me, that you kept copying an object and typing CO again to copy it another time. That is what it seems you have to do in Revit, so you might get a bit frustrated. Well, it doesn't have to be like this.

If you want to copy an object multiple times, select the object, type CO (the Revit keyboard shortcut for Copy) and before copying the object go to the ribbon and check "Multiple". It is that simple, once you've checked this, Revit will behave like AutoCAD and will let you copy an object multiple times.

Very simple. Now I am wondering how much time I did loose long time ago when I didn't know about this...

UPDATE 01: You can also copy objects multiple times (or just one) by using the MOVE commamnd and holding the Ctrl Key while you move it, this will actually copy instead of moving the object.

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Revit: Control the Number of BackUp Files that Revit Saves.

It is quite annoyint and space consuming to have up to 20 backup files in your folder. Luckily, this can be changed quite easy.
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If you are tyred of having 20 backup files in your folder and don't want to manually delete them every once in a while,do the following:

Click the Revit Icon on the upper left corner of the screen and select Save As.

In the Save As dialog, click Options.

In the File Save Options dialog, for Maximum backups, specify the number of backup files to save.

Click OK.

Click Save.

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Splitting Up Revit Models

What criteria would you use to decide if you are going to split or not your Revit Models? And if you decide you are going to do it, how are you going to do it?

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I just have started working on the biggest Revit project I have worked to date, and as the BIM Manager of the project I had to make certain decisions concerning the protocol to follow in terms of model splitting up. So far, all the projects I worked on where relatively small, so this decision was not so relevant (we basically decided to split models by discipline: Arch - Str - MEP) and it worked good enough. This new project is way too big to work only with this discipline based division, so I wondered what "the experts" would think is the best to go for such a project (and what criteria to follow on future projects).
The project I am working on is a residential complex with a total of around 158.000 m2, and it has 7 residential towers and a common basement, plus some other minor buildings. After looking deep into blogs, forums and linkedin groups, I found this advice by BIM Manager Brendan Smith that I found was exactly what I needed.

In his post, Brendan describes several Revit model divisions according to the project type and size. In my case, I will work with something similar to his last option: "4. On a Large to extremely large job with two or three buildings". I will not follow literally these divisions (to me the divisions between Architecture and Interiors makes no sense and following something more similar to the Uniformat division might be more logic too) but it is a good start point conceptually for the divisions. My actual chosen division system will follow this criteria (see that the abbreviations are based on Spanish, so you could use something similar with English abbreviations):

Architecture
PROJECTCODE-T01-ARQ-ENV-R01.rvt (Contains all Architectural elements of the façade of residential tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-ARQ-ENV-R01.rvt (Contains all Architectural elements of the façade of residential tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-ARQ-INT-R01.rvt (Contains all Architectural elements of the interior of residential tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-ARQ-INT-R01.rvt (Contains all Architectural elements of the interior of residential tower 02)
...
Structure
PROJECTCODE-T01-EST-CIM-R01.rvt (Contains all Structural Foundations for residential tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-EST-CIM-R01.rvt (Contains all Structural Foundations for residential tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-EST-ESP-R01.rvt (Contains the Floor Structure for residential tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-EST-ESP-R01.rvt (Contains the Floor Structure for residential tower 02)
...
MEP
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-SAN-R01.rvt (Contains waste/grey and rain water piping for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-SAN-R01.rvt (Contains waste/grey and rain water piping for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-CLI-R01.rvt (Contains AC for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-CLI-R01.rvt (Contains AC for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-CPR-R01.rvt (Contains Ventilation / fire escape pressurization for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-CPR-R01.rvt (Contains Ventilation / fire escape pressurization for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-CPR-R01.rvt (Contains Ventilation / fire escape pressurization for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-CPR-R01.rvt (Contains Ventilation / fire escape pressurization for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-GAS-R01.rvt (Contains Gas Piping for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-GAS-R01.rvt (Contains Gas Piping for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-ELE-R01.rvt (Contains Electrical Systems for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-ELE-R01.rvt (Contains Electrical Systems for tower 02)
...
PROJECTCODE-T01-INS-HID-R01.rvt (Contains Water Supply and Distribution for tower 01)
PROJECTCODE-T02-INS-HID-R01.rvt (Contains Water Supply and Distribution for tower 02)

For now, this is our starting point. Thanks to Brendan Smith for the inspiration. After the project is over, i'll share the changes i make to this apporach if there are any.





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New version of IFC Exporter for Revit (v2.14/v3.6) available

Update available for the Revit IFC exporters
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Just got this email from Autodesk, thought I'd share in case you downloaded the IFC exporters for Revit I posted about last June.

"You are getting this message because you downloaded a version of IFC Exporter for Revit or IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit prior to September 27, 2013. We have posted an update to the exporter only, which you can get using the links below.

NOTE: There have been reported issues with the earlier Revit 2014 exporter and UI installers. In particular, these could cause a crash on startup for users other than the user that installed the add-int. The latest versions fix this issue, and the IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2014 v2.5 installer has had a hotfix. If you or your company have had this issue, please make sure to update the 2014 UI also.

2013:

IFC Exporter for Revit 2013 (v2.13): *NEW*

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2013 (v1.12):

2014:

IFC Exporter for Revit 2014 (v3.6): *NEW*

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2014 (v2.5): *Hotfix for installer crash*

Updates from the previous versions are listed below. Please upgrade to the newest version!

(...)

What’s new for IFC Exporter for Revit v2.14/v3.6:

General

- Minor cleanup to remove extraneous arguments from some functions.

- Remove some obsolete code for old IFCDoorStyleOperation and IFCWIndowStyleOperation.

New Functionality

- Add support for Force properties (Newtons).

Bug Fixes

- Correct flow direction calculation for some connector domains, that would abort export of connector information.

- Export Authorization field in header as a null string ('$') instead of an empty string if it is not set.

- Export correct values for IfcDoor operation.

- Export internal ElementId Revit properties as IfcLabel, not IfcText.

- Export respects visibility settings of curtain panels if exporting elements in the current view.

- Fix export of some schedules with non-exportable fields that would prevent export with exporting of schedules as property sets on.

- Fix some caching issues with some parameter values.

- Protect against abort of export when trying to export some invalid systems in the Revit file.

- Set 2D representations of families to "FootPrint" representation, not "Annotation".

- Use IfcMaterial, not IfcMaterialList, if there is only 1 material in the list.

- Use IfcMaterialList, not IfcMaterialLayerUsage, for more BRep-based host objects.

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Revit 2014 Update Release 1

Available since last August an update for Revit 2014 to fix some issues
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Autodesk Released an Update for Revit 2014 that improves several features of Autodesk's main BIM Authoring Tool:

• Allows Stairs, Railings and Wall Sweeps to be individual entities when exporting to FBX format.
• Improves data integrity of projects which contain RPC elements when exporting to FBX format.
• Improves categorization of parts when exported to FBX format.
• Improves performance when utilizing Render in Cloud functionality.
• Improves appearance of material textures when Rendering in Cloud.
• Improves graphics integrity of linked models when Rendering in Cloud.
• Allows Point Clouds to be visible when unchecking “Show Imported Categories in this View” display option.
• Maintains display order of filled regions which overlap solid hatches in projects that are upgraded to the Revit 2014 format.
• Corrects visual fidelity of objects in printed output which show as “Thin Lines” in drawing canvas.
• Improves consistency of displaying revisions within schedules.
• Improves data consistency of keynote legend when un-checking ‘Filter by Sheet’.
• Allows schedule footer text to follow column alignment.
• Improves stability when pasting elements between two Generic Model adaptive families.
• Improves stability when exporting project to Navisworks 2014.
• Improves stability during the loading of a family when utilizing either “Delete Element” or “Delete Type” option.
• Improves stability when placing details.Improves stability when a crop region is moved while the disjoin option is enabled.
• Improves data integrity during “Save As”.
• Improves stability when creating form elements.
• Improves stability when exiting Revit.
• Improves stability when printing Elevation and Detail views.
• Improves stability while editing groups.
• Improves stability when adjusting the elevation value of Levels.
• Improves stability when navigating in a project which contains linked point clouds.
• Improves stability when using the type selector within the properties palette.
• Improves stability when editing the layout of a schedule.
• Improves stability when adding a schedule to a sheet which has an active view.
• Improves stability when upgrading previous release projects.
• Improves stability when place a view on sheet.

To download the Update go to the following links:

• Revit 2014
• Revit Architecture 2014
• Revit Structure 2014
• Revit MEP 2014

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Revit: Changing Family Type

How to change a family type? Easy and simple.
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Last week I needed to change a family from window type to door type. Why? Well, I had a door to model that actually looks like a window, but I needed to report it as a door on schedules. So I basically wanted to reuse a window family, and was wondering how to change the family type. I got the answer through revit forum on this thread.

The steps are very simple. You just need to open the family file, either by browsing to where you have it stored or by using the Edit Family function from a project when you have that family selected.

Once you are have the family file open, simply click on Family Category and Parameters on the Ribbon.

Here you will be able to see the family type and change it.

Once you've done that, you can reload the family in the project. Now, you will be able to insert it as the new family type you have set.

Easy and simple.
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Revit: Calculating and Scheduling Gross Wall Area

Revit wall area is incorrect if you want it including the openings area. This add in allows you to get the gross area (including openings) correct.
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The way Revit calculates wall areas that have openings (doors, windows, etc) in them is by giving you the wall area minus the opening area. While this might be of some use, if actually you need to get accurate quantities I doubt this will do. The way the areas of the walls should be quantified according to, at least, our local standards is by including the opening areas that are below certain sq meters. Revit can't give you that by default (as far as I know) it just gives you the wall area minus the openings, see the example:

We need to be able to schedule the area of those openings (hello Autodesk??). Recently found an Addin, that allows to do that. It is called AutodeskWallOpeningArea (updated link)and gives you the chance to get this done right. After downloading it and installing it (simply run the .msi file) you will have a new button on your Add-ins tab in the Revit Ribon:

Once installed, simply go to a 3D view and click on the button. It will add 2 shared parameters on your wall families that will account for the openings Area.

The results you get are divided according to an area value you can set. All the openings below that Maximum value are stored as Opening Area Smaller Max, and the total openings area are added to the Opening Area Parameter. Now, you can schedule this parameters and get the Gross area of the wall by playing with calculated parameters. In this case I simply Added wall Ara + Opening Area to get the Gross Total that would be used on a project estimate.

Problems and limitations:

1. The parameters are not dynamically updated, which means that the command must be executed in order to updated the parameter value. Is is a major problem, actually and goes completelya gains the BIM approach of an integrated database, let's be serious, this sucks badly.
2. The Addin must be executed from a 3D view with all relevant elements (walls, doors, windows, openings, etc) visible. Second Major HUGE flaw.

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Revit: Rotating the Section Box

You can actually rotate Section boxes in Revit to cut the model in a non perpendicular angle. How to do it is simple
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If you need to use the section box feature but you want to do it at an angle not perpendicular to the view, you can actually do it. There are some limitations, but you can do it.

If you are on a 3D view, click on the top of the View Cube. When you select the Section box from this position, you will see a rotation symbol on one of its corners. Simply click and drag it to ratate the Section Box.

If at any point you want to reset the section box, you can simply go to the properties of the view, uncheck Section box, and check it again to get it back to be NS oriented.

The limitations of rotating the section box is that you have to be on a Plan view (the top or bottom view of a 3D view works)

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New IFC Exporters for Revit Available for Download

New IFC exporters for Revit available
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New versions of the IFC Exporters for Revit have been published and are available for download. They seem to improve the IFC export for some types of elements, haven't tested them though. Here are the links

2013:

IFC Exporter for Revit 2013 (v2.11)

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2013 (v1.11)

2014

IFC Exporter for Revit 2014 (v3.3)

IFC Export Alternate UI for Revit 2014 (v2.3)

via What Revit Wants

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Revit 2014 Books

Revit 2014 Books are now available
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If you already updated to Revit 2014 or if you are starting your BIM modelling path using 2014 Revit Software, you might want to consider some of these books that have been recently published. All of them focus on Revit 2014. Some are more intended for beginners, others for more advanced users. The focus of the books is also split by Specialty. If you know of some more good Revit 2014 books, please do share in the comments and I'l add them to the table.

COVER	TITLE	LEVEL	SPECIALTY	BUY FROM
	Autodesk REVIT Architecture 2014 Essentials	Begginer	ARCH	.
				AMAZON US
				AMAZON UK
				AMAZON DE
				AMAZON ES
				.
	Mastering Autodesk REVIT Architecture 2014	Advanced	ARCH	.
				AMAZON US
				AMAZON UK
				AMAZON DE
				AMAZON ES
				.
	Autodesk Revit Architecture 2014: No Experience Required	Beginner	ARCH	.
				AMAZON US
				AMAZON UK
				AMAZON DE
				.
				.
	Mastering Autodesk Revit MEP 2014	Advanced	MEP	.
				AMAZON US
				AMAZON UK
				AMAZON DE
				.
				.

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Revit 2014 Download Links

Revit 2014 is finally available for download
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I posted recently about the new features of Revit 2014. Tried to download a trial, but it seem that Revit 2014 was not available for download. Now (as of April 18th) it is. So hurry up and go to the download page to get your trial and test the new features.

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What's new and enhanced in Revit 2014

Introduction to the new features of Revit 2014
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Revit 2014 was released last March 25th. A great review was written the day after by David Light. Read that post if you are interested and check the Autodesk video below expleining new features. Oh! And check the cool new design of the Autodesk website and logos, starting by the Revit one itself!

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Book Review: Instant Autodesk Revit 2013 Customization with .NET How-to

A brief review on this book that introduces you to .NET programming to create Revit Add-ins
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The people at Packt Publishing have published a book about customizing Revit using the Revit API and .NET programming language. The title of the book is Instant Autodesk Revit 2013 Customization with .NET How-to by Don Rudder.

The book is a very packed guide to creating your first Revit Add-ins. It is actually the type of book that is a bit hard to follow, but in a good sense. It does not waste time explaining you basic stuff you would already know (or that you can easily find online) if you want to create Revit Add-Ins. So from the first lines you have to pay attention to what you are reading or you get lost after two pages.

I have not had the time to try the code samples provided but the book (many), but overall it seems to me as a good introduction to the basics of Add-in programming, its logic, language and basic steps. If I had a say on the book editing, I must confess I would have given it a bit of a more refined look and a bit less intense pace, for it seems a bit intense to me, jumping from one example to the next one without much time to assimilate what you are learning.

If I end up finding the time to actually program something, then I'll update this post with that experience.

Book is very affordable, selling for $11.99 at the Publishers Page for the Ebook version. Yo can also buy hard copies of the book at Amazon (links below).

or or

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