Revit Structural Beam System

I discovered a new tool today, or more accurately, used an existing tool for the first time. I have to be honest, I haven't spent a great deal of time on the MEP & Structural ribbons, not sure why either, so today I thought I would have a bit of a poke around!

First on the list was the 'Structural Beam System' tool on the Structural Ribbon, found on the Structure Panel. It's a goodie! 

Simply sketch the shape of your floor and boom, instant array of floor beams! 

Once the sketch is complete, click finish. Only the beams are shown, but I have hovered my cursor over the beam so you can see the boundary of my sketch, highlighted in green above. 

So I sketched a typical 25mm yellow tongue floor on timber floor joists, completed in seconds... 

The properties provide you options for things like elevation, layout, spacing, justification and of course, the family or beam type. 

I recently modelled a ceiling with timber battens (not to mention lots of timber decks) and this tool would have really come in handy! Serves me right, you should never stop trying new tools in Revit! 

Now, what other hidden gems are on these ribbons...