Revit Practical Tips and Tricks

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  • MP4978 - Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    Do you have a lot of Gee, if I only knew this one moments while working with Autodesk Revit MEP? Come to this class and learn how to take your interaction with Revit MEP to the next level. No matter where you stand in the learning curve, you will be able to take something out of this class. We are going to dive into some fast drafting tips and tricks as well as the usual quirky things that you need to know how to get around. We will be looking into new ways of controlling graphics visibility, specifically the architectural background. We will also cover how schedules and various views can make your life much easier when it comes to designing and managing your model. We will also be looking into some real-world problems and how to overcome them. And of course, we are going to check into the latest tips and tricks about Revit MEP template creation. This will be a very fast-paced class because there is a lot to be covered, so come along and enjoy the ride.

    Learning Objectives At the end of this class, you will be able to: Describe family editor facts and secrets Learn design productivity tips and tricks Learn tips and tricks for BIM managers to ensure quality drawings Discover new ways of managing visibility graphics, specifically for architectural background display

    About the Speaker

    Plamen Hristov Capital Engineering Consulting, Inc

    In the past several years, Plamen has been developing Autodesk Revit implementation strategies, techniques, and procedures for architectural and MEP companies. He has been actively establishing and updating company standards and best practices, assisting project teams with pilot projects, implementations, on-site project consulting, and custom content creation and training. Currently, Plamen works as the virtual design manager for Capital Engineering Consultants, leading the implementation of Revit MEP. Plamen is also an Autodesk Revit implementation certified expert.

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    2

    Introduction The goal of this class is to help you learn/remind a few of the most common Tips & Tricks that every Revit MEP user should know. My focus was to select the most simple tips that are used every day and help you become more efficient at what you do.

    Learn design productivity tips and tricks

    Shortcuts 1. Switching Between Opened Views - Using CTRL+Tab can switch between any

    opened views. This is a really handy little tip that helps you navigate through any open views in your project without wasting time to looking for them in the "Project Browser"

    2. Zoom Shortcuts - Zoom shortcuts can be very helpful when working in a large Revit model. Some of my favorite are Zoom Extents (ZE), Zoom Region (ZR), Zoom Previous (ZP)

    3. Repeat Last Command - You can repeat the last command you used by pressing "Enter". If you press the "Enter" button twice it will get you to the command before the last. In the cases where the last command requires selection (Move, Rotate, etc) the combination is slightly different but it still works - "Enter", , "Enter"

    4. Placing Tee and Wye Fittings - Most people know that they can place Wye fitting at the end of the pipe. But also most people don't know how to choose which of the 3 ends of the Wye will connect to the pipe. Using the "Pipe Fitting" command, select the desired fitting. Press "Spacebar" to switch between connectors. But here is the tricky part... when clicking the "Spacebar", nothing seems to happen. Right after you click "Spacebar" move the mouse a little bit and you will see that the cursor position in relationship with the fitting has changed. So, the key is to move the mouse after every time you press "Spacebar".

    5. CTRL + Drag = Copy - In most cases people discover this feature after seeing they have two architectural backgrounds all the sudden. Here is how it works. You can copy objects by holding Ctrl and dragging the object. The object will not get moved but copied instead.

    6. Shortcut for the "Copy Checkbox on the Options Bar - Most people know that while in the "Move" or "Rotate" command they can check the "Copy" checkbox from the "Options Bar" and that will copy the object instead of moving it. But did you know that if you hold down CTRL that checkbox will get checked for you without wasting the time to move the mouse all the way to the top of the screen

    7. Rotating Objects at Odd Angles With Spacebar - While placing equipments or light fixtures you can press "Spacebar" to rotate the object at 90 degrees. While placing objects, hover over an edge of an object (ceiling grid intersection, wall corner, cabinet, etc.) press the "Spacebar" and the object will orient parallel and perpendicular to the object. Pretty handy, huh?

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

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    8. Hiding Objects Temporarily This is one of my favorite and I use it absolutely every time I am in Revit. Very often when you design or looking at a model, other objects are on the way. The easiest way to hide them is to simply select them and type "HH". When you are done you can bring them back by typing "HR". Both commands are available from the "View Control" bar under the "Temporary Hide/Isolate" command. And if you forget to unhide the elements... don't worry... the command is temporary as the name suggests, so nothing hidden gets saved.

    9. Component Command - If you type CM (shortcut for Component), you will see all component family types in your type selector. Doesn't matter if they are fittings, light fixture, mechanical equipments. This can be handy when you are not sure what category the family was assigned to and you don't see it in the one you were expecting. Example: You load a medical equipment and when trying to place it with mechanical equipment, plumbing fixture, it is not available because it was created as a specialty equipment.

    Design Tips 10. "Trim/Extend" Commands - Most people know those but they have such huge

    productivity, that I would like to mention them for the very few that may not know them. Using "Trim/Extend to Corner" you can easily connect pipes/ducts and form 'elbow' connection. Using the "Trim/Extend Single Element" you can connect pipes/ducts and form 'tee' connection. Using the "Trim/Extend Multiple Elements" you easily connect as many branches of pipes/ducts to the mains forming 'tee' connections.

    11. Space Pipes Evenly with Dimension Command - Architects are very familiar with this functionality and use it all the time in their design. But it doesn't seem to be so popular

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

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    among the MEP designers. When you have a bunch of pipes that are running parallel and you want them to be equally spaced out, you can do that by using the dimension command. Dimension> select all pipes and place the dimension> Escape> select the dimension and click on the crossed EQ sign.

    12. Avoiding Unintentional Scrolling Through Pipe Sizes - I was very pleasantly surprised to see that this little annoying thing was fixed in 2012. But for those of you still working on projects requiring older versions of Revit, here it is... When you start the "Pipe" command, change the pipe size and you try to draw... but wait... you just realized you need to zoom in to get a better snap... and here you go... instead of zooming you ended up scrolling through the pipe sizes. Not cool, actually really frustrating! Now you have to start over... So, how do you avoid it. I got in the habit to either avoid zooming after modifying any 'scrolling' settings (size, offset) from the "Options" bar or simply perform a quick pan (holding down the wheel) and after that zoom in/out. After awhile the little pan became part of the way I use the "Pipe" command. What am I going to do now in 2012 :)?

    13. Having Problems Extending or Shorting Pipe/Duct? - I have seen this one many times. Revit wants to delete all kinds of stuff when I try to extend a duct using its grip connector. I see that the condition has plenty of room and there is no reasons to misbehave, but it does. The workaround I found is to simply use the "Split" command. After you split it you can adjust the location of any other objects and then use the "Trim/Extend to Corner" to reconnect.

    14. Aligning Objects Using Their Connector Grip - A lot of the families that come with Revit don't have strong reference planes at the connectors, therefore making it challenging to align and connect existing duct. If the duct is not aligned just a fraction of an inch from the equipment connector, you won't be able to connect it. In those cases you can use the equipment connector by clicking on it with the left button of the mouse and dragging the entire equipment. Revit will show you green dashed line when it is aligned with nearby connectors.

    15. Default Fittings Orientation When Drawing Pipe/Duct - I was sitting in one presentation and the presenter was talking how Revit will automatically orient the waste Wye fittings based the direction of the flow. Well, this can't be further from the truth... Revit doesn't know how to do that yet. But it is important for you to know what drives the current behavior, so you can take advantage of the current functionality. The orientation

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

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    of any fittings is determined by two things. First, which connector is set to be the "Primary" connector (this is controlled in the "Family Editor"). And second, the direction you are drawing the pipe (left to right, or right to left).

    16. Plane Based Families I am not a fan of face based families, but since we are talking about the importance of the direction of drawing. I would like to mention that this behavior applies to face based families that are placed on a plane. They can either go in the right orientation or upside down if you draw the host reference plane left to right, or right to left. And to make things even more interesting I remember that the 'right' orientation in the family editor is the opposite compared to the one in project environment...

    17. Connect Into Command - Another great little command that I think is not used often enough. So, it made its way into this list of tips and tricks (more of a reminder perhaps). If you select objects with connectors the "Connect Into" will appear on the "Ribbon" under the "Modify" tab. You can use this command even with fittings.

    18. Pinning Plumbing Fixtures to Prevent Unintentional Movement - If you have done Plumbing design you probably have noticed that Revit "likes to challenge" your skills set every time it can. One of the most common is that when you try to move a plumbing fixture connected to a 'sloped' system of pipes, all the sudden it decides that it is appropriate to move all of the connected plumbing fixtures as well... To prevent that I suggest that you ALWAYS pin your plumbing fixtures that you are connecting to. This way, you will at least be notified with a message that things are trying to get disconnected because of the move. But more importantly you will know what is about to happen!

    19. Moving Plumbing Fixture in a Sloped Piping Layout - The previous tip was talking how to take control of unintentional object movements. This tip tells you how to go around the message that the objects need to be disconnected... Instead of moving

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

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    plumbing fixtures, move the connected pipe and the plumbing fixture will move indirectly. Just make sure to "Unpin" the plumbing fixture before the move

    20. Annotation Scale Parameter - Using the Annotation Scale of a fitting you can toggle between the real size of the fitting and a scaled version. This can be very helpful when fittings appear too big or too small.

    Describe Family Editor Facts and Secrets 21. Define Origin Parameter - Very often families downloaded online or even out of the box

    don't have an appropriate insertion point. You can change that by selecting the family; clicking on Edit Family button. In the Family Editor, select any two reference planes that you wish to be the new insertion point and from the Properties check the "Define Origin Parameter". Use the "Load Into Project" command to load back the family.

    22. Creating Reference Planes "The Right Way" - Always draw your reference planes in the family editor clockwise. This will allow you to place connectors on those reference planes. If you don't pay attention to how you draw the reference planes, your connector may be oriented in the wrong direction. And unfortunately you can't "flip" them like if they were placed by face.

    23. Let it Flow - There is quite a bit that can be discussed when it comes to managing connectors in Revit MEP. But I would like to point out a really quick tip for you. Out of the box there are some families that are not setup appropriately in order to calculate the air flow (VAV Unit - Single Duct.rfa). In this particular family, the two connectors are "linked" and this prevents the data from flowing properly between the connectors. In order to fix the issue simply select one of the connectors and click on "Remove Link".

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

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    List tips and tricks for BIM managers to ensure quality drawings 24. Do NOT Use Plan Regions in Revit MEP - Plan Regions can be very powerful,

    unfortunately, they don't work with many MEP objects. For that reason I recommend avoiding them in your MEP design

    25. Setting Up a Roof Plan for Multilevel Roofs - Setting up roof plan for a building with multilevel roofs doesn't sound as complicated... until you try to do it in Revit MEP. The challenge is that in order to see the lower roofs, you will need to lower your View Depth Plane in the "View Range". When you do this, any ductwork below the highest roof will display as well. This is because views are setup to a "Mechanical" discipline, which makes all MEP objects to show through any architectural objects (roof, walls, etc.). If you change the discipline from Mechanical to say Architectural, you will resolve the problem with the visible ducts but then all the sudden the background is no longer grayed out. I can keep going on and on, what other implications you can be running, but instead I will tell you how we are going around them... When we modify our "View Range" we lower only the "View Depth" plane.

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    This will make sure that all objects between the "Bottom" and the "View Depth" will be drawn with the Linestyle "Beyond". If you change the Linestyle "Beyond" to white color. None of those elements will be visible

    26. Organize Project Browser with Plot and Work Viewscompanies that are just starting with Revit. When you work design in Revit you will see that you are constantly tweaking view settingsinconsistent display between views. Setting up Plot views and Work views helps separate your sheets from your "design" views. This way you can change anything you want to your Work view in terms of settings without Work views should be set up to Wireframe which would increase overall performance. In order to setup this environment, you would need to add two parameters. In our case we

    Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    This will make sure that all objects between the "Bottom" and the "View Depth" will be drawn with the Linestyle "Beyond". If you change the Linestyle "Beyond" to white color. None of those elements will be visible. They also wont plot or export.

    Organize Project Browser with Plot and Work Views - This tip is really just for the companies that are just starting with Revit. When you work design in Revit you will see that you are constantly tweaking view settings. Ultimately, this will result in a very inconsistent display between views. Setting up Plot views and Work views helps separate your sheets from your "design" views. This way you can change anything you want to your Work view in terms of settings without affecting your sheets. In addition Work views should be set up to Wireframe which would increase overall performance. In order to setup this environment, you would need to add two parameters. In our case we

    Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    8

    This will make sure that all objects between the "Bottom" and the "View Depth" will be drawn with the Linestyle "Beyond". If you change the Linestyle "Beyond" to white color.

    This tip is really just for the companies that are just starting with Revit. When you work design in Revit you will see

    . Ultimately, this will result in a very inconsistent display between views. Setting up Plot views and Work views helps separate your sheets from your "design" views. This way you can change anything you

    affecting your sheets. In addition Work views should be set up to Wireframe which would increase overall performance. In order to setup this environment, you would need to add two parameters. In our case we

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    call them "View Group" and "View Type". "View GroCoordination views. And the View Type is like a subcategory (HVAC, Plumbing, etc.)

    Once you create the parameters you will need to configure the Project Browser to use those parameters and group views by them.

    27. Template Modifications in 2012which is still relevant, except this little change. In Revit MEP 2012 Autodesk introduced "Pipe Systems" and "Duct Systems". This allows us to globally control color, linestyleand lineweight. Which previously were controlled by the Filters in the Visibility Graphics. So, make sure to update your Revit template by creating the necessary "Piping Systems" and addressing all needed settings. In addition you would need to remove alcolors associated with "Filters" under "Visibility Graphics". This will allow you to take advantage of the global color association, which means when you create any new views

    Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    call them "View Group" and "View Type". "View Group" separates our Plot, Work, Coordination views. And the View Type is like a subcategory (HVAC, Plumbing, etc.)

    Once you create the parameters you will need to configure the Project Browser to use those parameters and group views by them.

    Modifications in 2012 - In 2010 I did an AU class on Revit MEP templates, which is still relevant, except this little change. In Revit MEP 2012 Autodesk introduced "Pipe Systems" and "Duct Systems". This allows us to globally control color, linestyleand lineweight. Which previously were controlled by the Filters in the Visibility Graphics. So, make sure to update your Revit template by creating the necessary "Piping Systems" and addressing all needed settings. In addition you would need to remove alcolors associated with "Filters" under "Visibility Graphics". This will allow you to take advantage of the global color association, which means when you create any new views

    Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    9

    up" separates our Plot, Work, Coordination views. And the View Type is like a subcategory (HVAC, Plumbing, etc.)

    Once you create the parameters you will need to configure the Project Browser to use those

    In 2010 I did an AU class on Revit MEP templates, which is still relevant, except this little change. In Revit MEP 2012 Autodesk introduced "Pipe Systems" and "Duct Systems". This allows us to globally control color, linestyle, and lineweight. Which previously were controlled by the Filters in the Visibility Graphics. So, make sure to update your Revit template by creating the necessary "Piping Systems" and addressing all needed settings. In addition you would need to remove all colors associated with "Filters" under "Visibility Graphics". This will allow you to take advantage of the global color association, which means when you create any new views

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    10

    like sections, pipes will be properly colored.

    Discover new ways of managing visibility graphics, specifically for

    architectural background display 28. Driving the Worksets of Linked Files Globally - In Revit 2011 Autodesk introduced

    the Workset tab under Visibility Graphics, Revit Links.

    This gave us another "hidden" functionality as well. The ability to globally control any Workset in linked Revit files. Example: Very often we want to see only the architectural grids and levels. I would work with the architect to call his Workset let's say "A-Shared Levels and Grids" and everyone else keeps that workset as it is by default (Shared Levels and Grids). By having two separate names for those I can create both Worksets

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    11

    in my project and turn off all grids and levels for all linked files (except Arch) for all views with a click of a button. Now that's powerful.

    29. Hiding Individual Objects from the Architectural File - In many instances turning on and off objects from Visibility Graphics for the architectural background is simply not enough. Example: HVAC want to display plumbing fixtures like sinks and toilets but not the floor drains. Disabling the Plumbing Fixtures category is not an option. One way to manage this is through filters. But for smaller projects the fastest way is to: Hover over the object> click on the Tab key to highlight the object from the entire background>left click to select it, then right click and chose Hide Object

  • Practical Tips and Tricks for Autodesk Revit MEP That I Wish Someone Taught Me on Day 1

    Plamen Hristov - Capital Engineering Consultants, Inc

    12