The Big Update - A List of Updates from Revit 2016 to Revit 2019

Are you using an older version of Revit? Perhaps you are using a version going all the way back to Revit 2015 or Revit 2016? The question I have been asked numerous times over the last month is, why should we upgrade?
The release of Revit 2019 last month is well worth consideration and the argument to upgrade from older versions of Revit, in my opinion, just got a lot stronger. 

This decision also needs to be weighed against signing up for a subscription licence. Autodesk hasn't been doing so well introducing subscription to it's business model. There are endless discussions in the forums and unhappy customers. The ever increasing cost of licences has made it a hard (& bitter) pill to swallow. That together with the long and well documented history of Autodesk's fairly slow development in general, has left many people happy to settle on there final perpetual licences of 2016 / 2017. (The new "Collections" don't help either).

There has been some improvement though, more transparency from the development team and since the Revit Ideas kicked off, more interaction with customers about what we want in the software. The Revit Blog also posts a roadmap, to let you know where development is heading.
So I think, for many offices, Revit 2019 may be worth a closer look in considering a possible upgrade as I believe the list of enhancements and day to day productivity gains since Revit 2016 to the now current Revit 2019, is too many to be ignored.

I have had to go back to using Revit 2016 for a number of months now in one of my jobs. I still use Revit 2018/19 regularly so going backwards so many versions has really made it obvious to me some of the updates and performance improvements I have taken for granted.

Out of interest, I decided to compile a list of all the note worthy Architectural & multi-discipline updates & enhancements to Revit since the 2016 "Release 2" update that was only available to subscription customers at the time. 

I enjoyed compiling this list, it was a good refresh and reminded me of a few minor updates that I had forgotten about myself.  

This turned out to be a lengthy post, so in an effort to keep it as concise as possible, I have simply listed the change/enhancement and only in some cases a short explanation. If you need more info on the update as well as a list of all minor, MEP & structural updates, I have provided all the links to the "What's New" articles as well as links to my past posts on new features. 

What's New in Revit 2016 - Release 2 

Detailed explanation of the R2 updates by the Revit Cat

• Global parameters
• Cancel print / export jobs (rather than previously only being able to cancel one sheet at a time)
• Family editor - Visibility preview
• Family editor - Filter voids & solids
• Revit Links - Unload 'for me' option allows you to unload a link without effecting others when syncing
• Worksharing - When detaching models, "_detached" is now appended to the file name instead of just a blank file name
• Underlay - New properties and terminology has been created in the properties to make it more clear of the underlay conditions
• Filters Dialog - Now listed alphabetically and sorted in a tree structure for rule-based and selection-based filters
• Reference plane names can now be added directly in the model area
• Perspective views - More tools becoming accessible while in perspective views
• Wall joins can be nominated in the options bar prior to placing walls
• Railings "preview" option added
• Rendering - Autodesk introduces "Raytracer" a faster rendering method than the old Mental Ray. This now moves towards CPU rendering instead of previous GPU rendering. 
• Energy Analysis tools improved & expanded
• PDF Links - When you create a combined PDF in Revit, the references in PDF's create live links to the corresponding sheets

Noted Performance Improvements:

• Occlusion culling / Draw visible elements only - Best in 3D views
• Colour fills now completed as background process

What's New in Revit 2017 

Important Upgrade Information

My previous post on the Revit 2017 release.

My previous post on the Revit 2017 text issues.

Detailed post by Revit OpEd 

• Text editor & Text measurement - This was a big update. I wrote several posts following the 2017 release and they are well worth a read as there were many issues at the time relating to text measurement in particular.  
• Depth Cueing - New graphic display option for elevations & sections
• Rendering - Raytracer becomes the only method of rendering
• Schedules - Combined parameters & full view templates for schedules
• Family editor - Calculated values in annotation tags
• Family editor - Sub categories for reference planes
• Reference plane category for filters added
• Keynote Legends - Only shows keynotes visible in the view
• Global parameters - Further enhancements after the 2016 R2 release.
• Hosted railings on components - Ability to host railings on faces of floors, slab edges, walls or roofs
• Dynamo - Now included as part of the Revit application install
• Worksharing - With the new inclusion of *'Collaboration for Revit' (C4R) the method to enable worksharing has changed. You now need to click the 'Collaborate' button on the collaborate ribbon. More info here. 

Noted Performance Improvements:

• Display of walls - Revit now regenerates walls only for those visible in the drawing area. If a wall is very small, it displays as simplified lines allowing for faster navigation. 

*Note: As of Revit 2019, C4R is now replaced with BIM 360 Design

What's New in Revit 2017.1

• Dynamo Player - Run dynamo scripts from the dialog in lieu of opening the application
• Model in perspective views - More Modify commands available
• Repair Central Model - New tools to attempt to fix corrupt central models

Noted Performance Improvements:

• Support for 4K monitors
• Model in perspective views

What's New in Revit 2017.2

Minor fixes, nothing major in my opinion. See the 2017 article. 

What's New in Revit 2018

My previous post on the Revit 2018 release.

• New File tab - This replaces the application menu button (a.k.a "the big R")
• Railings host to topographic surface (fantastic feature)
• Multi storey stairs - Multistory stairs automatically adjust if level heights change (Stairs by sketch no longer available)
• Schedule model groups & RVT links
• Add parameters to model groups, RVT links and schedules - You can now create custom project parameters for these new categories. 
• Coordination Models - Ability to link Navisworks models into Revit for coordination as an underlay
• Railings & Type Properties - Dialog improved to allow access directly to top rail and handrail properties
• Worksharing Monitor & Transmit a Model addins now installed with Revit 2018
• Project Sub-categories for reference planes
• Parameter tooltips expanded throughout the interface
• Symbols in text notes now available
• Print command added to the quick access toolbar
• Labels now use rich text formatting, consistent with text notes 
• FormIt Converter - Improvements in the FormIt converter all transfer of materials into Revit

Revit 2018.1

• Browser organisation for schedules - Ability to sort the schedules list in the project browser, similar to views and sheets. (Still can't do this for legends)
• Dynamo Player Upgrade - Dynamo player now supports running scripts with inputs. 
• Railings re-hosted - The sketch of Re-hosted railings will now appear on the new host

Noted Performance Improvements:

• Updated graphics & hardware options - This includes a new Hardware tab.

Revit 2018.2

• Expand/Collapse Project Browser via new right-click commands
• Fill Patterns dialog - The dialog has been improved including a new search feature and ability re-scale imported patterns. 
• Section Box shape controls - Functionality has been improved to make selection of shape handles more reliable, resulting in less miss-clicks (of geometry behind)
• Family loading - Revit remembers the last folder from which you loaded families during the current session. 
• Family editor - Column widths in the family types dialog are now maintained in the current session. 

Revit 2018.3

• Mainly fixes of reported issues and the introduction of Revit Cloud Worksharing (formerly Collaboration for Revit)

What's New in Revit 2019

My previous post on the Revit 2019 release.

• Tabbed views - Faster and easier navigation of multiple windows over single and dual file use
• Multi-monitor support - Many offices run dual monitors, now the primary software in your office can maximise this investment.
• Levels in 3D views (grids still not available in 3D views unfortunately)
• OR in filters - More complex and flexible filtering rules can now be created
• Uncropped perspective view - Allows you to work in full screen perspective views
• Scope boxes can be applied in 3D views
• Double fill patterns - You can now combine drafting and model hatch patterns. This change has been pushed through-out the Revit interface including the materials browser. 
• Renaming level for corresponding views - This dialog box can now be turned off (Finally!!!)
• Delete level warning dialog - If you attempted it, deleting levels was very time consuming. This simple dialog makes life much easier and deleting levels can now be done a little more confidently with a full list of effected elements. 
• Slow double click to rename views available
• Railings can be split outside of sketch mode
• Software version of files now visible in Open dialog
• Dimensions for curved objects in section views (perpendicular) now available
• Materials & Physical assets - The improvement to the physcial assets in Revit will see your render quality get an upgrade courtesy of the factory. Enscape have also been quick to update their software to take advantage of these new materials. 

It's a long list isn't it!? Sadly, many would still not be impressed. This is always going to come down to how everyone uses Revit differently. 
One item of development that is typically overlooked though is performance. Whilst there are key performance updates that are noted above, it is the performance updates "under the hood", that have also had an impact in ensuring models remain speedy as the software improves (and hardware) improves. 

As I always say though, participate in the Revit Ideas forum and Autodesk Feedback Community if you want to have a say!

Enscape 2.0 Released!

Enscape 2.0 was released a few days ago! Some fantastic new tools to play with. 
Checkout the latest blog post and version update details here!

Revit Roadmap Update

The release of Revit 2018 last month saw the Revit Roadmap also get updated. Some things have changed since the first edition, mainly due to feedback and ideas posted in the Revit Ideas Forum. Knowing that multi-monitor support is on its way, can't wait!

To see the latest Autodesk Revit Roadmap, click here. 

What's New in FormIt - v16.0

Autodesk FormIt v16.0 was released last month. The update is a big one with some significant updates to the material editor & performance improvements. You can now import DWG files too. 

Visit https://formit.autodesk.com/ to get the latest update and read more about new features. 

I would also recommend watching episode 24 of FormIt Friday which covers some of these new features. One thing to also note is when you create a formIt file, instead of an RVT file being created in 2015 format (within your A360 account), it will now be created in 2018 format. Don't worry though, because you can still use the FormIt conversion tools if you need a previous version of your FormIt model. 

Oh yes, and you may notice, they have removed the '360' name, so now it is just FormIt. I believe we may see a similar change to the Insight plugin in the future too.  

Reported Issues Resolved with Revit 2018

A few weeks ago Revit 2018 was released with some great new features. You can read more about it in my previous post here. (There is already a 2018 hotfix released. 2018.0.1 should be available through your Desktop App).

There was a discussion in the Autodesk Revit forums recently about a user trying to obtain the release notes, in particular, a documented list of 'resolved issues' for Revit 2018. Someone from Autodesk came to the party and provided a link to a list of 'Reported issues resolved with Revit 2018'. Well, here it is, and it's a loooong list!

In reading through this list, I noticed there were a few minor "fixes" or "improvements" that I thought were worth highlighting as they result in new behaviour.

In no particular order here are a few that stood out to me...

"Added the ability to use the middle mouse button for manipulating the view when a warning dialog is open"
Previously, if reviewing warnings in a 3D view, you could only zoom the model when the warnings dialog was open. We can now pan and orbit to help us see warnings in 3D views.

"Fixed an issue with view templates so that the 'view orientation' is not editable when a view template is assigned to the view"
In 2017, the view orientation (True North/Project North) was editable, even when a view template was applied. In 2018, this has been fixed and now appears greyed out when the view uses a view template.

"Fixed an issue so that floors, ceilings and roof elements can now have 0-thickness membrane layers, similar to wall elements"
Self-explanatory, which now means the membrane is also accepted as a "face layer". So you shouldn't see this warning anymore...

"Added a warning message when two floors occupy the same place".
Ever notice when you had duplicate floor elements you didn't get a warning message like walls? Well, now a yellow warning dialog pops up if you have 2 floors on top of each other. It will also now appear in your warnings dialog.

"Fixed an issue so that subcategories in the Object Style dialog can be deleted and renamed using the default keyboard shortcuts (Delete and F2)"
This was a welcome fix. Previously object styles could only be deleted and renamed using the buttons in the dialog box. In 2018, they have fixed it so the 'delete' and 'F2 keys' work as expected to delete and rename object styles.

"Removed the positioning option 'Manual - Base Point' from the Link CAD Formats dialog".
I never used this. It never worked. Seems Autodesk couldn't get it to work either? So they just removed the option entirely! ("Too hard" basket perhaps or maybe lack of complaints that it didn't work highlighted how few people used it?). Steve Stafford at Revit OpEd documented the problem back in 2015!

Link DWG in Revit 2017 

Link DWG in Revit 2018

"Enabled the activation of the right-click content menu through the context menu key on Windows keyboard. The context menu key is to the right of the right-Windows key".
I don't use it. Someone out there must have asked for it? Unless they read this blog, they will never know!

"Improved the performance of the Type Selector and Structural Connection Settings dialogs in steel connections context".
I documented this in a previous post last year explaining how you got a 'no matches' result in the type selector after placing a steel connections component. This has now been resolved. (This was resolved in the 2017.1 update)

Suite workflows: Showcase removed
If you didn't already know, Autodesk Showcase has been discontinued as of this year. Therefore, the 'Suite Workflows' for Showcase in the application menu no longer appear. A lonely menu now.

So, there you go, minor things? Sure. Worth knowing? I think so, it can't hurt and it all goes towards improving your experience with Revit. 

Revit 'Purge' Dialog Needs Updating

Autodesk have in recent releases started attending to dialog boxes in Revit, to allow us to adjust the sizes dialog sizes. Distinctive dots in the lower right corner of the dialog indicates it is resizable. The warnings dialog is another example of a dialog box that is currently not resizable. 

The purge dialog is yet to get this treatment, but something I haven't noticed before is when you slide over to see the full type name, it's cut off, completely. The graphics don't refresh and we can't scroll to the side anymore. 

Time for an update me thinks!?  

Revit User Interface: The Filters Dialog Box

I am not sure I could model without filters. How do Revit LT users work without them? (Revit LT doesn't have filters). As good as filters are, there is certainly room for improvement. For example, do we really need the 'Add Filters' dialog box you see when you access filters through the visibility graphics? To add a newly created filter to the visibility graphics, you click 'add', then you have to click Edit/New to actually create the new filter. So you create your filter, go back to the 'Add Filter' dialog box, find the new filter in the list and click 'add'. It's just not as simple as it could be. The separate Edit/New button in the visibility graphics dialog box is even more useless.

So, it got me thinking, why don't I come up with my own?? Did you notice anything different about the filters dialog box in the image above? 

My Proposed New Filters Dialog Box Explained

A good interface is an intuitive interface. Relevant tool, all at your finger tips.

Revit suffers from too many hidden settings, behind layers & layers of dialog boxes. (Yes, stairs & railings, I am thinking of you!)

I kept this in mind when creating this new filters dialog box interface. The intention was not to redesign the style of the interface, but to simply add more functionality & tools I felt are relevant when using filters.

My Proposed Filters Dialog Box

1. Add Filter: As mentioned earlier, I have proposed to delete the little 'Add Filters' dialog box we get when working through the visibility graphics. This new icon adds the selected filter/s to the visibility graphics. It is only active when you access the filters via the visibility graphics.

2. Save Graphic Overrides: We have all wished for it. There are add-ins to help us with it. The ability to save the graphic overrides with the filter so when we apply it to a view, we don't have to manually match overrides with previously setup filters.
Click this new icon to open the 'Global Filter Graphics' [3]. Assign your overrides and they will save to the filter. When you add the filter to the visibility graphics, if there are overrides applied they will automatically populate. To easily identify which filters have global graphics saved to them I have borrowed something from the family environment when using instance parameters. When we assign an instance parameter in a family, we see the word '(default)' in the type settings, so we can easily identify instance parameters whilst building a family. In this case, we get the word '(graphics)'. 

3. Global Filter Graphics: You will recognise these tools from 'View-specific element graphics', We want consistency with familiar interfaces. This panel is a fly out panel, similar in operation to the view range or editing wall assembly dialog boxes. This fly out opens (if closed) when you press [2] Save Graphic Overides.

4. Reset: This is not a new button, but Reset will not only reset the overrides, but prompt you with a warning asking if you wish to 'reset' the overrides globally. If you click No, the overrides already applied in other views will remain, but no longer be controlled globally throughout the model.

5. Show / Hide Graphics Panel: A simple button to open or close the Global Filter Graphics.

6. Add Filter to selected View Templates: Sometimes we have to create a new filter that we would like to apply to multiple view templates. After creating the filter, this icon opens the View Templates dialog box, allowing you to select one or multiple view templates to apply the new filter to. 

7. Find views with the selected filter:  Click this icon to get a simple panel listing all the views your filter belongs too. The panel looks exactly the same as the 'Go To View' panel we get when using the 'Find Referring Views' tool. The same function is also available, select a view and click 'Open View'. 

8. Show All Categories. In my opinion, when you open the filters dialog and select a filter, you want to see everything that makes up that filter. At the moment Revit requires you to select 'Hide un-checked categories' if you want to see which categories the filter applies too. To me, this is backwards, I want to see the categories that apply to the filter first. If I want to choose additional ones I select 'Show all categories'. When creating a new filter, Show all categories is automatically ticked.

9. Help: You may have noticed I have removed the text at the top of this section of the palette. I think the first time I read that sentence of text was when I wrote this blog! So whilst I think it is important, it is only relevant to beginners, once you know it, you never read it again. I have therefore removed it and in its place added what I think should be in many areas of Revit, a help icon for users. It will provide a short-cut to the knowledge network page on creating filters. 

10. Width of the categories window: This has been increased to remove the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom. I don't like horizontal scroll bars in dialog boxes. Just make it wider so we can see everything. Thank you. 

11. Invert button. Consistency, it's one thing that lacks a little in Revit in my opinion. For example, visibility graphics and object styles have 'Check All' & 'Check None' buttons, next to these is an 'Invert' button, so why not in filters? Added.  

12. Discipline Filter Checkboxes: We want quick and easy tools that aren't hidden. A drop down menu hides items. In my dialog, I want to easily see and filter my categories list. So I have brought them to the front so we can quickly use them. 

13. Select all categories with parameter: Sometimes we want to create a filter that applies to all categories. The problem is you can't just select all categories in the list because then the parameter you want, won't display due to some categories not containing that parameter. The work around has been to select one category, then select the parameter you want, then check remaining categories. Every time you check a category without the parameter, you get this warning:

This subtly indicates the category doesn't hold the selected parameter, so you skip it.
I want to make this process more intuitive. So I have created a check box for 'Select all categories with parameter'. This allows you to select a parameter you wish to filter by, then if you tick 'Select all categories with parameter' it will automatically search the categories in the list and select them for you if the parameter is available. Simple & fast.

14. And / Or function: This needs little explanation, we all know what it does and we all want it. It is probably the longest unanswered wish list item of all time. Finally with the Revit Ideas forum Autodesk have listened and we will hopefully get an 'Or' function in the near future. 

So that's it, that is my proposed filters dialog box. What do you think? Did I miss something you would like to add? Feel free to leave a suggestion in the comments! 

Revit Ideas Forum

If you haven't already heard, back in May this year, at the Revit Technology Conference, Autodesk made an announcement regarding the new 'Revit Ideas Forum'. Essentially an official Autodesk space for everyone to post their product feature wishes! 

As expected, there are plenty of wishes being posted. As ideas gather support, Autodesk have recently marked a number of ideas as "Under Review", due to their popularity. As of today, the ideas marked are:

• **"OR" function in filter rules
• PDF linking support
• **Dual monitor support
• **Double patterns
• Separate family browser
• Sloped walls functionality
• Ability to sort schedules in project browser
• Topography improvements
• Ability to create blank tables
• Auto spell check
• Improved stair functionality and control
• Shared parameters in key schedules
• Non-rectangular scope boxes
• Improved view placement on sheets
• Spell check in schedules
• Autodesk Revit Viewer improvements
• **Multiple selections in dialog boxes (such as filters)
• Worksets in templates

Not a bad list so far. I have posted a couple of my own as well, (3D measuring, wall type reporting in doors & improved warnings dialog) so head over and vote or make a wish! 

In the forum, Autodesk have provided some options to filter the ideas, to make it easy to see all those under review. I noticed "Implemented" is one of those options. Obviously, as this is all fairly new, there aren't any currently marked as implemented, but no doubt Autodesk will be looking to change that fairly soon! I am quietly confident we can expect to see some of the above possibly as soon as 2018 release. Fingers crossed!! 

Update 17/08/2016
**As of this week, Autodesk have started marking ideas as 'Accepted' and added the idea to their 'road map'. Woo!! I have therefore updated the list above with asterisks for items marked as 'Accepted' at the time of writing.

Revit 2017 SP1 Released (Some Text Issues Resolved)

Autodesk have released Service Pack 1 for Revit 2017. Check your Autodesk Desktop App or you can download the service pack from HERE. 

If you have been experiencing text issues as described in this Autodesk forum discussion, then this pack sounds like it will address those issues. The "Reported Issues Resolved" document can be found HERE. 

I installed the update and the steel connections 'No Matches' error mentioned in my last post, appears to still be an issue.