Revizto - 5 Hidden Features

If you use Revizto, there is a great and short video on 5 Hidden features. https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/play/uJ0ocryuqD03TtKX5ASDAPEtW9S6La-s2nQa-vcFyUbgV3QGN1umbrYTNOQJLf6l6TN5ngaxWSJP1Ugg?startTime=1590080609000&_x_zm_rtaid=KNSJCJIjRoKcZDGoIHNoqQ.1590449571858.5384fe47746640fcf95fcc20dd93eec4&_x_zm_rhtaid=737

Navisworks - Multiple Iterations and Locked Files

While working in Navisworks and you find that you are updating your models frequently, you have probably ran into the issue of having to close your Navisworks model in order to update your appended model. There is a quick way to get around this.

In the Options Editor > Model > Performance, make sure “Close NWC/NWD Files on Load” is checked. This will now allow you to overwrite NWC files without unloading them in your NWF file. So when you have an updated NWC that has overwritten the existing file, you just need to refresh Navisworks for the new model(s) to load.

CAD Shack: Top 20 Revit Tips, Tricks, and Handy Tools

CAD Shack: Top 20 Revit Tips, Tricks, and Handy Tools: Here are some of my favorite Revit Tips and Tricks. 1)   Previous Selection Set Ctrl + the left arrow key on your keyboard will re-sele...

Curved Gridlines in Section

Very clever solution from the Revit Elemental on Curved Gridlines in Section.

Pressure Drop Calculation

From: Revit MEP

I got an call from a client last week asking about some of the calculations that Revit MEP does.

I am trying to get results for Duct Pressure drop in Revit MEP.



Can you please share your ideas, as how can I achieve this?

This post has some additional information but is based on the Revit MEP calculation white paper from Autodesk. Revit MEP Duct Sizing calculations

Revit MEP computes pressure losses in ductwork based on the geometry and roughness of the ductwork, air

density, and air viscosity. Values for Air Density and Air Viscosity are specified in the Mechanical Settings.

Roughness is specified in the type properties for duct/duct fitting component families.

The following example shows how Revit MEP calculates the pressure drop for a 100 foot segment of 36"x24" duct carrying air flow of 12,000 CFM. Pressure drop is defined as:

This values checks with the Hydraulic Diameter parameter shown in the Properties of the Duct in Revit:

The velocity is based on the cross sectional area:

After determining the friction factor, the pressure drop can be calculated:

The value for the calculated pressure drop matches the value found in the duct’s properties in Revit MEP.

Revit and Memory (RAM) Management

First things first and giving credit where credit is due. I do not recall who provided me with this tip. It may have been Randy Anderson, Phil Read, Daniel Hurtubise or someone else. I do not have that information in my notes. But if I inadvertently have not given credit to the real culprit, please let me know.

If you have used Revit, you probably are well aware that it is a memory hog. I found that I can open a new project and zoom in and out and watch Revit grab more and more RAM. One method to get Revit to release that RAM is to simply minimize the Revit application, wait a second and then maximize it. You can verify this by opening 'Windows Task Manager' and monitor RAM resources used by Revit.

No one from Adesk has been able to explain this to me, including my new boss, Phil Read, but I thought I would pass it along. It has come in handy from time to time when Revit throws up the dialog indicating that RAM is low.

Fake Dimensions - Update

For those who have asked, Daniel Hurtubise has graciously provided a sample faux dimension. Once loaded into the project, the faux dimension is a Detail Component.

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This post started an interesting discussion with a fellow Revit user (No, it was not Daniel Hurtubise) about using fake dimensions. My friend does not work in the design community, he works for a GC that also self-performs and they use Revit. Is opinion is that you should never "fake" anything, anytime. In a perfect world, where fees reflect the amount of work that goes into creating and documenting a design, I would agree.

But we don't live in that perfect world and sometimes design team members need to be creative in order to save time (and money) without sacrificing accuracy and detail. Take the example below. A detail could be created for each option, but if conditions changed, each detail would have to be updated. Creating a detail like what is shown that utilizes a table to represent different conditions or options, is a time saver. If those values in the table need to be adjusted, they are adjust once in this single detail, rather than in a detail for each option.

































I am not suggesting that a design team use fake dimensions to override dimensions of a room, rather then changing the actual locations of objects to get the correct room dimensions. What I am suggesting that you do need the ability sometime to use a different dimension value. With Revit 2008 and prior, we did not have a built in option in Revit 2009, the development team has now provided us with the ability to override dimension text.



I would like to hear what you think (including Daniel Hurtubise).

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I just started teaching an Introduction to Revit class at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas and a student who is taking a similar class at KU in Lawrence, Kansas asked me if it was possible to either override or fake a dimension in Revit. The answer is:

Override dimensions: No. Revit does not have a method that allows you to override a dimension. The parametric nature of Revit requires that dimensions be accurate.

Fake Dimensions: This is definitely possible.

Why use a Fake Dimension?
1. For one, you may want to be able to add descriptive text when the length may or may not be important.
2. You may have a project that you need to break up to place on multiple sheets. If your plans have an overall dimension, those will not display because when you crop a view, you will lose that overall dimension. With the fake dimension family, you can add an overall dimension, even though the view has been cropped.

The downside to this is that you are using a fake dimension, which requires you to manually enter a dimension value, be it a text string, numerical value or combination of both.

I'll upload the fake dimension family as soon as I figure out how to do that.

Level of Detail and Project Performance

Today I was conducting a project review of the BIM and I came across something that was having an impact on the performance of the project that I thought I would share.

Several views in the project were set to either 3/32" or 1/16" scale with a detail level set to Fine. The problem with this is that the views in question did contain and information in elements that required a Fine level of detail. Setting the level of detail to Course made an immediate impact on loading those views. So, something you might want to look at.

You might also want to consider looking at the level of detail in your families. That can be a performance killer.

Daniel Hurtubise of RevitIt has also suggested that ou also might wanna consider seting the view to coarse or medium but overwrite the display of CERTAIN elements to be fine through Visibility/Graphics.