Revit Tip - Revit 2012 Purge Unused (Revit Clinic)

This is a nice new little gem added to 2012... The ability to purge materials and property sets...  I do have to warn you that purging a project early and handing it off to someone else to use could cause some hostile environments haha.  Even if all the families, tags, etc... are in your content library it could make someone very angry to not have them already in the model. =X

In 2012, the Purge Unused commanded has gotten a little help.  Now, it is possible to delete out of your project all the unused materials and property set definitions.  I really like the ability to delete out all the unused materials. 

One thing to know about this new ability is that it may take up to three purge Unused to fully clear everything from a project. .... Click here to see the rest of the post...

Revit Tip - 5 Revit 2012 Timesavers (Revit Clinic)

A few nice little tips from Revit Clinic...

5 Revit 2012 Timesavers

I've organized some of my favorite enhancements below with the 2012 release which either save a few clicks, or make displaying something in the project more efficient…
1.  Project Browser right-click Shortcuts
In the Project Browser you can now right-click on Legends, Schedules/Quantities and Families as a shortcut to the tool.  This is similar to the previous right-click Sheets > New Sheet functionality.

2.  Semi-transparent Selection
By default Semi-transparent element selection is active [you can disable or change the color under Options > Graphics].  This creates a dynamic approach to select an element and automatically view it transparent.  Quick method for viewing through an exterior wall into the project, without overriding any element settings…





3.  3D Connexion Support
If you have a 3D Connexion device, you can now utilize it to navigate in Revit 2012.
For many users this may be one of the best new features for 2012, which opens up some great shortcuts for navigating the model.

Click here to see the rest of the tips...

Revit Tip - Exporting Ambient Occlusion (Revit Clinic)

I am not sure how I missed posting this one last year... I am fiddling with Ambient Occlusion and different views when I rememberd a tip over at the Revit Clinic... I decided to repost it with a link here for my readers that might have missed it too...

Exporting Ambient Occlusion
You can include Ambient Occlusion in an exported image. However when exporting an image from a view with Ambient Occlusion enabled there is a threshold related to the pixel size of the export and whether or not the effect can be included. Typically once you go above 2000-2100 pixels in the horizontal direction the effect will be excluded.
For example; you have a monitor resolution of 1600 X 1200. You are exporting a shaded view with Ambient Occlusion enabled, at 300 DPI, to a TIFF image. If you keep the R > Export > Images > Images and Animations > Image > Image Size, around 2000 pixels, Ambient Occlusion should be included.

Click here to visit The Revit Clinic and see the rest of the post with more images and explinations...

Purge Imported Categories

Courtesy of The Revit Clinic

Purge Imported Categories

At some point or another you've probably had some leftover imported categories in a Revit project and couldn't seem to delete them.


In most cases you can remove these using Manage > Purge Unused, or by deleting the last instance of the import in the project.  However if a detail or model group is using an import instance you will be unable to purge the instance from the project.
If some imported categories remain and they don't appear to be in use, check the project for the following:
1.  Under Project Browser > Groups > verify if the project contains any detail or model groups.
2.  If so you can expand to highlight a group > right-click > Select all Instances > In Entire Project.  Then temporarily delete the group instance[s] > Manage > Purge Unused.
3.  See if the import instance now appears under Families > <Import Instance Name>.
If not you can undo and test selecting \ deleting another group to isolate which one may contain the import instance.

Revit 2011 - Visualization Tips (Revit Clinic)

Great set of tips over at Revit Clinic:

10 Revit 2011 Visualization Tips

Some of these are new to the Revit 2011 release; other tips have been around for some time.  I’ve included a number of items to keep in mind for renderings, presentations, materials and more…
1.  Consistent Colors

The advantage to this visual style is that the shaded color always matches the material setting.  Regardless of how the object is oriented to the light source, the color will be the same from view to view.  I’ve included a comparison image fromshaded with edges and consistent colors below:

 

2.  Ambient Occlusion
Ambient occlusion can be enabled under the view properties > Graphic Display Options.  Keep in mind at this time you cannot print ambient occlusion, per thistechnical solution.

3.  Override View Graphic Display Options

For each view you can modify or create new Properties > Graphic Display Options.  This allows you to create or tweak modified sun, sun intensity, indirect light, shadows, and ambient occlusion settings.  I’ve included a quick video example below [no sound]:

Video Example

Continue to the post for seven more great tips...

Revit 2011 Graphic Issues and Questions

The Revit Clinic put together a nice little list of what I garuntee will be FAQ's:

Revit 2011 Graphics Q&A
I've compiled a list of some of the common questions \ answers on graphics related issues. I hope this helps organize this information in one place:

When launching Revit 2011 I receive a Some features may not be fully supported by the video card and driver on this computer message

See the following technical solution, Some features may not be fully supported by the video card and driver on this computer.


When using remote desktop to connect to my workstation why is hardware acceleration disabled?

Hardware Acceleration will be disabled for remote desktop clients. Software mode will instead be utilized. You should receive the following dialog at startup if launching Revit over a remote connection... Continue to the post for more Graphics Inquiries....

Tutorial - Sweeps and Swept Blend (Revit Clinic)

Great little video over at Revit Clinic that might help some of you out:


Sweeps and Swept Blends and Profiles along a Curved Rising Path

I’ve created a quick video tutorial [with sound] which I have included below:

Video Tutorial

You may have an issue when you have specific curves and rising paths for sweeps. Depending on the geometry of the slope, a profile may not sweep along and maintain the same angle from start to finish.

One approach which typically works well is to instead use a Swept Blend, and specify the same profile at both ends. This will additionally give you angle and offset dimensions at each end.

I hope this video helps!

Tutorial - Roof Dome - Conceptual Massing

Cool tutorial over at Revit Clinic with a great video.

I want to go through an approach for creating a domed conceptual mass in Revit 2010, with parameters attached for height and width.

See the tutorial here.