How to Filter Walls BY LEVEL in Revit

 

This "Community Quick Tip" talks about one approach to filtering walls by their levels.

File this one under, "why can't Revit just be able to do this?!".  In this tutorial we mix a little Revit and Dynamo to show you how you can filter a Revit wall by it's host/base level.  Something that is NOT possible out of the box...

I know, crazy... Right?  

Well, hopefully this tutorial will help!

Continue reading to see my approach to this out of the box Revit limitation...

Adding a Detail Item in a Wall Sweep in Revit?!

 

Here is a great little tip on how to embed detail component items within your profile families in Revit.  For example, if you had a metal coping profile that was a wall sweep and you wanted to see 2x6 blocking when you cut a section (but don' need to model it) then this is a great solution for you!

This tutorial was inspired by a question from Emil, a member of the BIM After Dark Community.  Thanks for the inspiration, Emil!

Continue reading to view the "Community Quick Tip" tutorial...

Dynamic Data Images with Revit and Power BI (Synoptic Panel) (Replay w/Links)

 

On this episode of BIM After Dark Live I demonstrated the process of connecting Power BI visual data to 3D model images created in Revit... Essentially, this is the next best thing to actually having your models IN Power BI... We'll get to that next week... ;) If you are wondering what this could look like, check out this link and click the images of the building on the top right... See how you can interact with the image and the data dynamically?! That is what I will show you in the episode... Topics Covered: - Exporting Images - Exporting Revit Data for Power BI

- Making a "smart" layered SVG file (Adobe Illustrator) - Using "Synoptic Panel" in Power BI -Importing Revit Data into Power BI - Tying it all together...

Continue reading to view the replay and links mentioned...

Residential Revit - Under Construction (Replay + Links)

 

In this episode of BIM After Dark Live I gave an update on my ongoing home addition project ("Split Level Redux") and talk about some of the ways Revit has helped during the construction phase. 

So often in residential construction, as the architect, we spend countless hours working with a client to design their dream home (or addition).  However, there isn't always a connection between that effort and the efforts in the field.  

I have been using my own personal project as an opportunity to explore how Revit (and "BIM" in general) can add value to residential contractors, too.

In this episode we explored:

- General construction updates on the project (with some cool footage).

- How I am using Revit to track progress.

- How Revit is helping me place material orders.

- Real-time diagramming and problem solving using the model..

- And of course, some of the head-aches along the way....

Continue reading to view the replay and all of the links mentioned (there were quite a few links mentioned!)... 

Behind the Scenes "BAD" Office Hour (Topics: Revit Curtain Walls & Placeholder Links)

 

Over the last few days I have received some emails asking about what an "Office Hour" within the BIM After Dark Community actually is...

Instead of simply responding to a bunch of emails, I thought I would make a video!

In this video I take you behind the scenes of an actual "BIM After Dark Community" office hour. I hold these private office hours about every other week for members of the community.

The topic of this sample office hour is Revit Curtain Wall Systems (a couple specific questions from member, Jerry) and placeholder links in Revit (a great tip and discussion for anyone dealing with links!).

So, this video can serve as an example of an Office Hour, but also give you some valuable tips and tricks... Win win!

Click here (or the image above) to view the office hour sample...

Want to see more Office Hour examples...?  

Check out this episode of BIM After Dark Live (Top 5 Ways to Use Design Options in Revit) where I hosted a Community Office Hour WITH a YouTube lice audience... 

Revit Numbered Note Block Hack - Adding a "Period" (Community Quick Tip)

 

In today's "Community Quick Tip" I show you an interesting "hack" when using generic annotations and numbered note blocks in Revit.  It has to do with adding a "period" as a suffix to your note block (or list) while NOT having the period show in your annotation symbol on your plans...

This tutorial was inspired by a question from Reggie Holt.  Reggie is an architect and an active member of the BIM After Dark Community.  Thanks for the inspiration, Reggie!!

Click here (or the image above) to view the tutorial...

AMA Replay (Plus, a 30% Off Discount!)

 

To wrap up 2020 with a bang, I thought it would be fun to host another "Ask Me Anything (AMA)" style episode of BIM After Dark Live.  The last time I did an AMA style episode was almost 20 episodes ago.  

That day, I hosted a double header and couldn't even keep up with all the questions I got!  (Check out the replays here.)

Yesterday, there were so many questions is was hard to keep up!  Thank you all for joining, asking questions, and making this live show thing... well, a thing!

Topics the we Covered:

- Building a wall under a ramp (and other ramp options).

- Creating Door Window and Curtain Wall Elevations (touched on it).

- Revit Backup File Management

- Creating a Concrete Mass in Revit

- Using the overhead line trick ... sort of ...

- 3D Details and When to Model versus draft (hint, MODEL MODEL!).

- My middle name...

Continue reading to view the episode...

Filters in Revit - The Ultimate Guide (w/Aaron Maller)

 

Last night, Aaron Maller from Parallax Team joined me on the latest episode of BIM After Dark Live.  As usually, Aaron dropped a bunch of great Revit knowledge.  The topic was "view Filters". 

If you have not used View Filters in Revit yet, or if you are trying to figure out the best way to use them for your projects or templates, then this episode is for you.  I, for one, discovered view Filters late in my Revit journey and they have truly changed my perspective on the program.

Topics Covered:

- What is a View Filter?
- Best practices to implement view filters in your templates and projects.
- Using "INCLUDE" filters and parameters.
- Hiding different section and elevation types.
- Using the View Filter Manager Plugin
- Filtering casework concepts.

...and so so much more...

...continue reading to view the replay and links mentioned...

Ductwork for Architects - An Introduction to Revit MEP Systems (with Sample Files!)

During this weeks live happy hour I demonstrated how to make ducts and piping in Revit.  As an architect, it took me a long time to realize how much I could gain from understanding how to properly model MEP systems in Revit.  If you've ever attempted to model a duct in Revit and got the "the routing solution failed"... This tutorial is for you!

Continuing reading to view the tutorial and download the sample file...

What Does "VDC" Mean? - BIM and Construction

During what has become a weekly ritual here at TheRevitKid.com, I held another live happy hour last night.  I had a few different ideas for topics this week based on conversations happening in the chat of the previous week. So, I took a Twitter poll and the overwhelming winner was "BIM and Construction"...

During the Happy Hour I demonstrated a bunch of examples that illustrate how Revit (and adjacent software) is used throughout the typical process of a construction management company.  We went on for almost 1 hour and 10 minutes thanks to some great questions by you all!

Keep reading to check out the replay and additional links/resources....

Revit Coordinate Systems with RevitPure

During last night's happy hour I was joined by Nicolas from RevitPure. We ended up chatting and answering questions for well over an hour!

We had an in-depth discussion about coordinate systems and Nick demonstrated the differences between internal origin, survey point, shared coordinates, and so on.  We also touched base on a few new features in Revit 2021 and gave our opinions on them.

Revit Tutorial - Parking Striping the Follows Topography

I was pretty excited when Autodesk introduced the ability to host railings to topography a few releases ago... But, I didn't realize the possibilities a simple new feature (albeit, one that should be applied to more than just railings) would open up.

The ability to host a railing (which contains swept profiles (rails) and repetitive families (balusters)) can be "hacked" to created other types of objects that host to topography.  To date, I have taken advantage of this feature to make things such as earth retention, utility piping, site fencing, retaining walls, curbs, and guard rails...

Today, I want to demonstrate how to use the railing tool to overcome Revit's limitations in parking and road striping.

Continue reading to learn how to "hack" the Revit railing and make parking / road striping that will actually follow your tomography.

Revit Tutorial - Streamlined Topography (Auto-Clicker Update)

Way back in 2011 I posted a tutorial showing how you can use a simple little tool to streamline your topography creation.  This is especially valid if you don't have a CAD file and are using an image file of contours, etc... If you are still making topography by clicking every little contour point, and giving yourself carpal tunnel in the process, you need to see this tutorial.

Well, that tutorial is still relevant today, but, the Auto-Clicker software I link to does not work on Windows 10...

I still use this technique today when modeling topography from image files so I thought it would be helpful to re-post it and add the Windows 10 download link...

Keep reading to view the tutorial and download "Auto-Clicker" to streamline your topography creation in Revit....

Revit Tip - The "Site Settings" Dialog

Well, I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks...

Last week, I posted about missing secondary contour lines.  Until now, my solution was to simply move the topography up so that there were no "negative" contour values.  Ivan (from BIM Level) commented on the post and flipped my world upside down.

After over ten years of using Revit, I found a dialog box that I have honestly never even seen before...  I can admit it.  Ivan, you've humbled me.


Continue reading to learn about the "Site Settings" dialog and where it is located...

Revit Tutorial - Missing Secondary Contour Lines (Topo Tip)

File this post under "random things that are good to know about Revit".  Although, it seems to come up more than you would think...

Have you every had a topographic model within Revit not display the secondary contour lines?  Look closely at the two topographic images above.  What is different?  Notice that the model on the left is missing three sets of secondary contour lines (the dashed lines that represent 1'-0" of elevation change).

Why?

Keep reading to find out....

Revit Tutorial - Line Weights and Silhouettes

There area  few things to keep in mind when creating "illustrated" graphics with Revit.  What do I mean by "illustrated" graphics?  I mean anything exported out of Revit as an image file for use in presentations or other mediums.  For example, diagrammatic images (like the one below) or maybe images like the exploded axons in this post...

Example Diagrammatic Image...

I thought I would put together a simple post that helps shed some light onto how you can control line weights and "vector" looking graphics in Revit.  Believe it or not, one of the best ways to control your graphics is using the view scale...  

Continue reading to find out what the heck I am talking about...

Revit Tutorial - Align Views on Sheets (Tips and Tricks)

Today's tutorial can be one of those tips that seems rudimentary.  Well, it is... But, the amazing thing about Revit is how many different ways users go about accomplishing the same task.

I have seen hundreds of different Revit files from hundreds of different companies and users and the variety of techniques used to align views on sheets is astounding.  I decided to make a quick video that demonstrates the way I align views from sheet to sheet in Revit....

Continue reading to view the tutorial ... let's see how many other ways you come up with!

3D Printing and Revit - Yes, It's Possible, and Here's How ...

When I was given the opportunity to purchase and use a LulzBot Taz 6 my first reaction was, "awesome".  Until I started doing research on 3D printing an actual Revit model, "not so awesome".  With a deadline for printing a project approaching my feeling of excitement turned to anxiety.

I found out that you just can't "press print" on your every-day Revit model and expect it to 3D print.

I also found out that there is very little information regarding the processes required to actually 3D print your working Autodesk Revit building models... So, I will save you the trouble of searching and do my best to break down the quickest and most effective method I've found to printing ANY of your Revit models.... Step 1 is the key...

How are Contractors Using My Model? Full Live Presentation!

I was fortunate enough to speak at the Construction Institute's BIM Council "BIM Breakfast" meeting a couple of weeks ago.  For those of you who joined me, thank you for coming!  There were some valuable discussions at the end and I enjoyed chatting with you all.

For those of you who didn't get a chance to join us, I recorded the entire presentation.  Unfortunately, the audio is a bit lacking (I used a GoPro in the back of the room with hopes of using my computer audio but that didn't quite work out).  Either way, I think you will find the presentation, information and discussion both thought provoking and informative.  Feel free to comment below with your thoughts on the discussion...

Revit Tip - Tagging and Noting 3D Views

Here is a simple little trick that I know will come in handy for many of you.  Did you know that you can tag, note, and dimension elements in a 3D view?  Think about how beneficial it would be to see your model in 3D and see the wall tags, door tags, keyontes, etc...

Notice in the image above you can see a door tag, a text note, and a curtain-wall tag...

Continue reading to find out how to start tagging and making 3D views with details....