The Complete Beginners’ Guide to

® ®
Autodesk Revit Architecture

Revit 2020 & Revit LT 2020 Edition

Sample Units
bimscape.com
Navigating this Ebook
Copyright information
The entire Table of Contents contains hyperlinks for each Module and Unit. Simply click on
the Module or Unit you wish to access and you will jump straight to it.

Each Unit has a corresponding Video Tutorial on my YouTube Channel. Just under each
Unit’s title, there is a live hyperlink directly to it’s video.

If you find the videos useful, please Subscribe to the Channel by clicking on the button below

This Ebook is independent of Autodesk, Inc., and is not authorised by, endorsed by,
sponsored by, affiliated with, or otherwise approved by Autodesk, Inc. Autodesk, the
Autodesk logo, and Revit are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.,
and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All Autodesk
screen shots reprinted with the permission of Autodesk, Inc.

All text is the sole copyright of BIMscape Ltd and is not to be reproduced without
permission.

© BIMscape, 2020

Click here to purchase the complete Ebook

bimscape.com
 Table of Contents

Denotes Sample Unit

Module 1 Introduction
Unit 1: Welcome to the Course......................................................................................................5

Unit 2: What is Autodesk Revit Architecture? ................................................................................7

Unit 1: The Launch Screen..........................................................................................................10

Unit 2: The Ribbon Menu.............................................................................................................14

Module 2 Interface & Navigation

Unit 3: The Properties Palette .....................................................................................................20

Unit 4: The Project Browser.........................................................................................................25

Unit 5: The Drawing Area ............................................................................................................28

Unit 6: 2D Navigation ..................................................................................................................33

Unit 7: 3D Navigation ..................................................................................................................37

Module 3 Key Concepts

Unit 1: It’s all about Parameters! .................................................................................................40

Unit 2: Instance & Type Parameters............................................................................................43

Unit 3: Model vs Detail Elements ................................................................................................46

Unit 4: Levels...............................................................................................................................49

Unit 5: Views and how they relate to Levels................................................................................53

Unit 6: Reference Planes ............................................................................................................55

Unit 7: Drawing Aids ....................................................................................................................58

Table of Contents

Unit 8: Structural Grids ................................................................................................................61

Unit 9: Projects, Templates & Families ........................................................................................66

Module 4 3D Model Elements

Unit 1: Walls ................................................................................................................................68

Unit 2: Wall Openings..................................................................................................................73

Unit 3: Doors and Windows .........................................................................................................76

Unit 4: Curtain Walls....................................................................................................................80

Unit 5: Floors ...............................................................................................................................94

bimscape.com 1
 Unit 6: Creating Sloped Floors ....................................................................................................99

Unit 7: Shaft Openings ..............................................................................................................103

Unit 8: Ceilings ..........................................................................................................................108

Unit 9: Adding Fixtures to Ceilings ............................................................................................117

Unit 10: Roof by Footprint .........................................................................................................121

Unit 11: Roof by Extrusion .........................................................................................................129

Unit 12: Stair by Component .....................................................................................................135

Unit 13: Stair by Sketch .............................................................................................................139

Unit 14: An introduction to Railings ...........................................................................................144

Unit 15: Ramps..........................................................................................................................149

Unit 16: Columns .......................................................................................................................153

Unit 17: Model Lines & Model Text ............................................................................................156

Unit 18: Components.................................................................................................................160

Unit 19: Creating an Assembly ..................................................................................................164

Unit 20: Creating Parts ..............................................................................................................166

Module 5 Editing & Modifying Elements

Unit 1: Selecting and Filtering Elements ...................................................................................168

Unit 2: Moving Elements ...........................................................................................................171

Unit 3: Copying Elements ..........................................................................................................175

Unit 4: Rotating Elements..........................................................................................................178

Unit 5: Mirroring Elements .........................................................................................................184

Unit 6: Creating Arrays ..............................................................................................................187

Unit 7: Aligning Elements ..........................................................................................................192

Table of Contents

Unit 8: Splitting Elements ..........................................................................................................196

Unit 9: Trimming & Extending Elements ....................................................................................198

Unit 10: Offsetting Elements......................................................................................................202

Unit 11: Pinning Elements .........................................................................................................205

Module 6 Creating Views

Unit 1: Duplicating Views...........................................................................................................207

Unit 2: Elevations ......................................................................................................................211

Table of Contents bimscape.com 2

 Unit 3: Sections .........................................................................................................................215

Unit 4: Callouts ..........................................................................................................................218

Unit 5: Drafting Views ................................................................................................................221

Unit 6: The Default 3D View ......................................................................................................224

Unit 7: Camera Views................................................................................................................226

Unit 8: Legend Views.................................................................................................................229

Unit 9: Section Boxes ................................................................................................................233

Unit 10: Schedules ....................................................................................................................236

Module 7 Graphics & Visibility Settings

Unit 1: View Scales....................................................................................................................240

Unit 2: Detail Levels ..................................................................................................................243

Unit 3: Visual Styles...................................................................................................................246

Unit 4: Crop Regions .................................................................................................................250

Unit 5: Hide / Override Graphics in View ...................................................................................254

Unit 6: Reveal Hidden Elements ...............................................................................................257

Unit 7: Temporary Hide / Isolate ................................................................................................260

Unit 8: Visibility / Graphics Overrides ........................................................................................263

Unit 9: View Templates ..............................................................................................................267

Unit 10: View Properties ............................................................................................................270

Unit 11: View Range ..................................................................................................................273

Unit 1: Dimensions ....................................................................................................................276

Module 8 Annotation & Detailing

Unit 2: Text.................................................................................................................................281
Table of Contents

Unit 3: Detail Lines ....................................................................................................................284

Unit 4: Symbols .........................................................................................................................287

Unit 5: Detail Components ........................................................................................................290

Unit 6: Repeating Details...........................................................................................................293

Unit 7: Filled Regions ................................................................................................................296

Unit 8: Rooms............................................................................................................................299

Unit 9: Tags................................................................................................................................304

Table of Contents bimscape.com 3

 Unit 10: Using the ‘Path of Travel’ tool ......................................................................................307

Module 9 And Finally

Unit 1: Phases ...........................................................................................................................309

Unit 2: Design Options ..............................................................................................................314

Unit 3: Working with CAD files...................................................................................................318

Unit 4: Placing Views onto Sheets.............................................................................................322

Unit 5: Printing ...........................................................................................................................326

Unit 6: Putting it all together ......................................................................................................328

Ebook Release Notes................................................................................................................331

Click here to purchase the complete Ebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents bimscape.com 4

 Module 1 Unit 1: Welcome to the Course

Welcome!

My name is Ian Nichols and over the course of the

next 84 Units, I am going to provide you with a
comprehensive introduction to Autodesk Revit
Architecture.

Who is this course aimed for?

This Course is aimed at total novices to Autodesk Revit Architecture. Predominantly, it will be of
interest to both students and practitioners of Architecture. However, many other construction-
related disciplines will find great benefit in getting to grips with Autodesk’s premier BIM-
Authoring software. No matter if you are an Engineer, Interior Designer, Contractor or Estimator;
Revit offers many advantages both to your Workflow and how you collaborate with others.

What will I learn by undertaking this course?

This Course is designed to give you a comprehensive introduction to Autodesk Revit

Architecture. It contains all the learning material you need in order to start being productive with
the software. Rather that just teaching you how to produce attractive visuals, I am going to give
you an holistic overview of how the software is actually used in practise. So we will cover 3D
modelling, view creation, 2D detailing, printing, etc. Rather than just describing what each tool
does, I am going to also explain the fundamental concepts of Revit to help put the use of those
Module 1: Introduction

tools into context.

What experience of Revit do I need in order to take this course?

Absolutely none at all! That’s why I’ve named it The Complete Beginners Guide to Autodesk
Revit Architecture. All you need is a basic familiarity with Windows and a copy of Revit
Architecture.

The format of the Course and how to take it

This Course is split into a number of Modules, each Module containing a number of Units. The
order of the Modules and Units has been very carefully considered in order to present the
material in a logical sequence. This order broadly relates to a typical construction projects- ie
producing the 3D model, creating some views, adding the 2D detail. Bolted onto the front of this

Table of Contents bimscape.com 5

 are some fundamental concepts. And to finish off, there is some supplementary topics as well
as suggestions for further learning.

I sincerely hope you enjoy the Course

Kind regards,

Ian Nichols
Module 1: Introduction

Table of Contents bimscape.com 6

 Module 4 Unit 4: Curtain Walls

Watch the video

Introduction

In Revit, Curtain Walls are a very special type of system family. Please don’t confuse them with
the “Basic Wall” type of system family. It is very tempting to start with a “pre-defined Curtain
Wall”. However in this tutorial I am going to show you how to build your Revit Curtain Wall from
scratch. That way will you how they go together and consequently, be able to back-ward
engineer a pre-defined one should you need to.

What constitutes a Curtain Wall in Revit?

Module 4: 3D Model Elements

In Revit, a Curtain Wall is (and more accurately “can be”) comprised of the following elements
(please refer to the image above in conjunction with the text below):-

1. The overall “Curtain Wall” itself. You can think of this as the primary host. You cannot have
the other elements listed below if you don’t have a piece of “Curtain Wall” to start with.

2. Curtain Panels. When you subdivide your Curtain Wall (1) using Curtain Grid Line (see 3,
below), then Curtain Panels are created automatically.

3. Curtain Grid Lines. These are used to subdivide your Curtain Wall (1) into a number of
Curtain Panels (2). You can place Curtain Grid Lines both horizontally and vertically. They
can be equally spaced, but don’t necessarily need to be. (Please Note: The Curtain Grid
Lines can be at other angles apart from strictly horizontal or vertical- but this is a slightly
more advanced topic)

4. Mullions: In Revit, the term “Mullion” refers to the real-world element that runs along the
Curtain Grid Lines. In some countries the term “Transom” is also used- however in Revit, the
term (and element) “Mullion” is used in both the horizontal and vertical orientation.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 7

 Building a Curtain Wall from scratch

SO let’s go ahead and build a Revit Curtain Wall from scratch. Start off in a Plan View (this is
the easiest view orientation by far in which to create Revit Walls). Go to the “Architecture” menu
and select the “Wall” tool.
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

From the Type Selector (in the Properties Palette) go ahead and select the “Curtain_Wall-
Empty” Type from the “Curtain Wall” Group- see above image.

With this Type selected, go ahead and place a straight length of it into your model. Don’t worry
about the exact length- it makes no difference for the sake of this tutorial.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 8

 If you now switch to a 3D View you can see the piece of Curtain Wall that we have just placed- it
should look (broadly speaking) like the one in the above image. Just to clarify: What we have
here is one single piece of Curtain Wall, hosting a single Curtain Panel (which just happens to
be the same size as the Curtain Wall itself. And this is because we haven’t yet subdivided it into
small panels using Curtain Grid Lines. And that is exactly what we are are going to do next.

Curtain Grid Lines

OK. Se we have our basic Curtain Wall element. What we would normally do now is to
subdivide it using Curtain Grid Lines. Now to do this next step, you are probably best viewing
your Curtain Wall in Elevation- i.e. face-on. You can do it in a 3D View (as in the image below)-
but (trust me on this one), it’s far easier in an Elevation View. So let’s go ahead and add some
Curtain grid Lines. On the “Architecture” tab (& “Build” Panel), select the “Curtain Grid” tool (see
image above). Now (and this is the important bit) you need to hover over one of the “EDGES” of
your Curtain Wall. As you do so, you will see Revit offer you the opportunity to place a Curtain
Grid Line. I have stressed the word “EDGES” in the previous sentence because you can ONLY
place Curtain Grid Lines by having your cursor over one of the edges of your overall Curtain
Wall. Hovering anywhere inside the perimeter will NOT allow you to do so.
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Go ahead and click a few times to place some Curtain Grid Lines onto this particular Curtain
Wall Elements. Remember, I am showing you how to build up a Curtain Wall from scratch- once
you are used to this, you can “pre-define” your Curtain Walls as a “Curtain System”. This will
allow you to set the spacing between the Curtain Grid Lines both horizontally and vertically
(different spacings for each if you wish) and then all you need to do is start defining where you
want your Curtain Walls to be in your model and they will be created with the Panels and Grid
Spacings that you have set previously.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 9

 Anyway, let’s get back to the Curtain Wall we are creating in this tutorial. So we’ve just placed
some Curtain Grid Lines onto our Curtain Wall. Let’s just take a second to reflect on why we are
doing this. We do this for for 2 main reasons:-

1. To subdivide the single Curtain Panel(we initially started with) into a number of small Curtain
Panels.

2. To create a Host on which to place Mullion segments (more on this later in the tutorial).

Curtain Panels

There is no command to specifically create Curtain Panels. They are “automatically” created just
by placing “Curtain Grid Lines” onto the face of your Curtain Wall. Another way to explain this is
that Curtain Panels are simply the space occupied inside the perimeter of Curtain Grid Lines.
NOw here’s the slightly complicated part- Curtain Panels can be either System Families or
Component Families. System Family Curtain Panels are fairly simplistic- they can comprise of
(basically) a material and a thickness for it. Conversely “Loadable Component Family Curtain
Panels” can be quite elaborate and contain 3D fixtures and fittings such as the typical “Spider
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Connectors” at the corners. For the purpose of this Beginners’ Guide, I am going to keep with
the System Family Curtain Panels. If you want to change the Type of one of your Curtain
Panels, you first need to select it. Now this can be tricky to the uninitiated. By far the easiest
way to do so is to place your cursor over one of the perimeter edges of the Curtain Panel you
wish to select. Then (BEFORE clicking your mouse) use the TAB key on your keyboard to cycle
through the nearby elements that Revit can select. Just take a few seconds to keep hitting TAB
and see how Revit cycles through the following:-

1. The overall Curtain Wall element itself (ONLY if you happen to be on a perimeter line
common to both the panel and the overall Curtain Wall)

2. The Curtain Grid Line (or a segment of it)

3. The Curtain Panel- to one side of the perimeter line

4. The Curtain Panel- to the other side of the perimeter line (as long as you’re not on an overall
perimeter edge to the Curtain Wall)

5. The Mullion segment (if you have one at this location) that is being hosted on the underlying
Curtain Grid Line.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 10

 So you can see from the above that there is a lot going on all in the same space when it comes
to Curtain Walls, Curtain Panels, Curtain Grid Lines and Mullions!

So keep cycling through (slowly) using the TAB key until the perimeter of the “Curtain Panel”
highlights. NOW you can left-click your mouse to select this element. If you’ve selected the
wrong element (eg the Curtain Grid Line)- just cancel out of the selection and use the TAB key
to cycle through again.

Once you have the Curtain Panel selected, you will see it’s current Type in the Properties
Palette. So you can go ahead and select a different “Type” from the drop-down selector. You
can see in the image above that the current type shown here is called “System Panel: Glazed”
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Mullions

Most real world Curtain Walling Systems have an extruded section between the panels. These
hold the panels in place and provide a degree of rigidity and structure to the composition. In
Revit, these elements are called “Mullions”. Mullions (in Revit) can ONLY be placed (or
HOSTED) onto Curtain Grid Lines. So you’ll need some Curtain Grid Lines on your Curtain Wall
elements in order to host your Mullions- unless you’re simply going to add Mullions just to the
overall perimeter of the Curtain Wall itself- as the perimeter edges count as Curtain Wall Grid
Lines.

So let’s go ahead and add some Mullions. On the “Architecture” menu and “Build” panel, select
the “Mullion” tool- see the image above.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 11

 Once you have selected this tool, hover over the Curtain Grid Lines you placed in the last step.
When you click on one of these Grid Lines, Mullion segments are added (by default) to the
entire length of that particular Curtain Grid Line. Now before you go any further, take a look at
the right hand side of the Ribbon Menu (make sure you still have the “Mullion” tool selected).
The end of the Ribbon menu should look like this….

Here you have some option as to how you add your Mullion segments. By default you add
Mullion segments to the entire length of the selected Curtain Grid Line- hence “Grid Line” is
highlighted in blue, in the above image. But you do have 2 further options- “Grid Line Segment”
and “All Grid Lines”. Let’s discuss each of those in turn:-
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

1. Grid Line Segment: This will apply a single Mullion segment to just a portion of the Grid Line
in question. A segment of a Curtain Grid Line is the length along a Grid Line between the
points where it is intersected by other Grid Lines. So if you look at the image below , there is
a vertical Grid Line running between the numbers 1 and 2. This is made up of Grid Line
segments- each one being the vertical distance between each section of the intersecting
horizontal Grid Lines.

2. All grid Lines: This is a really useful option- just one click on any of your Curtain Grid Lines
and Mullions are instantly applied to ALL the Curtain Grid Lines on that particular section of
Curtain Wall.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 12

 Combining Curtain Panels

So what if you want to actually combine 2 adjacent Curtain Panels and (in doing so) create just
one single panel. Let’s take a look at the image above. I have identified 2 Curtain Panels-
numbered 1 and 2. What we want to do is make these into a single panel. I’ll take you through
that now. First of all we need to delete the segment of Million (assuming we have applied
Mullions to our Curtain Wall). Go ahead and select the Mullion segments- remember the trick of
hovering over it and using the TAB key to cycle through the available elements. Once selected,
go ahead and hit the “Delete” key…
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

But we still have 2 separate Curtain Panels adjacent to each other- see the image below. What
we need to do is actually delete a segment of “Curtain Grid Line’. So go ahead and select the
vertical Curtain Grid Line between the two Panels- remember to use the TAB key to make this
selection process easier.

Once the vertical Curtain grid Line is selected, take a look at the far right hand side of the
Ribbon menu- you will now see the option to “Add/Remove Segments” from this Grid Line……

Table of Contents bimscape.com 13

 Go ahead and click on the “Add/Remove Segments” tool. And then simply click on the segment
of Curtain Grid Line that you wish to delete. SO in the image below, you would click on the Grid
Line at the point where the arrow is pointing to.

And that’s it. Once you deselect the vertical Curtain Grid Line, you will see that the 2 Curtain
Panels have now been replaced by a single Curtain Panel. Please Note: The vertical Curtain
Grid Line remains in essence- and that’s why it can still host Mullion segments above and below
your new single panel. It’s just that a “segment” of the Curtain Grid Line has been removed. And
you’ll recall from the start of this tutorial that it is only the Curtain Grid Lines that actually form
the Curtain Panels.
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Now you have a single Curtain Panel, you can go ahead and change its type as appropriate.
Just select it and choose a different type from the drop-down Type Selector……

Table of Contents bimscape.com 14

 Loading additional Curtain Panel families

Depending on the Revit Template that you are using, you probably just have a small selection of
Curtain Panels to choose from in your current project. At some point you will need to load
additional Curtain Panels into your project. Doing so is easy. Just navigate to the “Insert” menu
and the “Load from Library” panel- and choose “Load Family”……

When the File Browser opens, navigate to the “Curtain Wall Panels” folder……

and choose from one of the many Curtain Wall Panel families included in your default
installation Library. A single click on each one in turn will bring up a thumbnail preview to see
what they look like.
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Doors and opening lights in Curtain Walls

Quite often you will need to form openings in your Curtain Wall. These could be in the form of
doors or opening lights (i.e. opening windows). Conventional Revit Doors and Windows cannot
be directly inserted into a Curtain Wall- because this is a special type of Wall- i.e. a “Curtain”
wall. So what you need to do is use a Curtain Panel that has been modelled as a door, window
or other type of opening. A number of these “custom” Curtain Panels have been included for you
in the installation Library (see the step above). It is quite possible to model your own custom
openings (as Curtain Panels) but this is beyond the scope of a Beginners’ Guide.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 15

 Embedding Curtain Walls

Quite often a Curtain Wall is part of a larger, solid wall. In Revit we have the ability to embed
one wall into another. Let’s take a look at a simple example. First of all I’m going to place a
single length of Basic Wall- it doesn’t really matter which “Type” it is, as long as it’s from the
“Basic Wall” Group……

Now I’m going to place a shorter length of “Curtain Wall-Empty” directly on top of the Basic Wall
I have just placed. Go ahead and have a go at that now and see what happens….
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Referring to the image above…..

1. I placed the shorter section of Curtain Wall directly over the section of Basic Wall

2. As soon as I did, I instantly got an Error Message. This is NORMAL. It basically just says
that the two walls are overlapping and if you want to embed one into the other- you need to
use the “Cut Geometry” tool. Which is what we’re going to do now!

Table of Contents bimscape.com 16

 Switch to the “Modify” menu (1) and find the “Cut Geometry” tool (2), located on the “Geometry”
panel- see the above image for reference. Go ahead and select the “Cut Geometry” tool. This
tool operates with 2 clicks- The 1st click is to select the object that you want to cut (so the main,
longer wall in our example). The 2nd click is to select the object that you want to cut “with” (so
the Curtain Wall element in our example). So after you have (firstly) clicked on the main wall
and then (secondly) on the Curtain Wall- your plan view should look similar to the image
below…..

You can see in this image (and the one below) that the Curtain Wall element is now embedded
in the main “Basic” Wall. If you do not want to have to use the “Cut Geometry” tool each time,
you can always Edit the Type Parameters for the Curtain Wall in question- specifically the Type
Parameter named “Automatically Embed”. This is switched off by default- hence needed to
manually “Cut” the Main Wall with the Curtain Wall.
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Going around corners

So far we have just concentrated on straight runs of Curtain Wall. Obviously at some point you
will need your Curtain Walls to go around Corners. If you go ahead and create a length of
Curtain Wall and (make sure you have “Chain” turned on, on the Option Bar) and then
immediately draw another segment at ninety degrees to the first. Your 2 walls should look like
this in Plan View….

Table of Contents bimscape.com 17

 Notice how the Curtain Panels don’t meet at the corner. This is because they are sitting proud of
the centreline of the Curtain Wall itself. You can adjust this Offset in the Curtain Wall’s Type
Parameters. If we add Mullions to both instances of Curtain Wall- we end up with a duplication
of Mullions at the corner. This can be seen in the image below……

In order to rectify this we first need to delete one of the Mullions- it does not matter which one.
The crucial thing is that there is just one Mullion at the corner. So go ahead and delete one of
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

the vertical Mullions at the corner. Your Walls should now look like this….

The final step is to change the “Type” of this Mullion to one that is specifically suited to a corner
condition. So go ahead and select the current Mullion and then expand the drop-down Type
Selector in the Properties Palette…..

Table of Contents bimscape.com 18

 Notice (in the image above) how some of the Mullion Types have the word “Corner” in their
name. These Types are specifically made for corner conditions. Go ahead and experiment with
these by selecting each Type in turn and seeing what it looks like in the model.
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Pre-defined Curtain Walls

So what we have looked at so far in this tutorial is how to create a Curtain Wall from scratch-
complete with Curtain Grid Lines, Mullions, Combined Curtain Panels, etc. In reality there will be
many instances where you don’t want to go through this process each time. This is when we
would look to a “Curtain System”. This is where we pre-define the composition of our Curtain
Wall in terms of Panel Type, spacing of the Horizontal and Vertical Grids, Panel Offsets, etc. We
can set that up once in our Office Template and (consequently) have it available for each new
Revit Project we start.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 19

 Depending on your specific Revit Template that came with the software, you will probably have
a couple of example Curtain Systems within it- see the image above.

There are a range of Instance and Type Parameters that you can configure- including how the
Curtain Grid Lines are set out (or Justified). I cover this particular aspect of Curtain Walls in a lot
more depth in The Ultimate Guide to Revit Walls Course.

1. Curtain Walls are their own special Group in the Type Selector

2. Curtain Walls are required in order to Host Curtain Grid Lines

3. Curtain Grid Lines are required in order to Host Mullion segments

4. Adjacent Curtain Panels can be combined by removing the segment of Curtain Grid Line
that separates them
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

5. You can pre-define the composition of Curtain Wall types rather than building each one from
scratch

Table of Contents bimscape.com 20

 Module 4 Unit 20: Creating Parts

Introduction

The “Parts” tool in Revit allows us to do two fundamental things:-

• Divide an element into separate parts- such as you wish to show how that actual element (in
reality) would be composed of distinct parts, modules, etc. An example of this would be a
floor slab that needs to be poured in different sections.

• Peel back layers of an element (such as a wall, floor, etc; in order to better explain how it is
composed.

The Parts tool can be found on the modify menu.....

Dividing an element into separate modules / parts

Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Let’s take this floor slab.....

Let’s go ahead and divide it into separate panels that can be poured (on site) at different times.
First select the slab and then select “Parts” from the Modify menu. As soon as you, you get
some tools on the Ribbon that allows you to work with the parts of this element.....

Table of Contents bimscape.com 21

 After selecting the “Divide” tool, go ahead and sketch on lines that represent the division
between the different ‘pours’ that will make up this concrete slab (see above). Hit the Green Tick
when you have added all the dividing lines. Revit will then divide your slab into these separate
parts....

Notice that you can select each of your Parts as a

separate element. However, the integrity of the
original host element (the Revit Floor slab element in
this example) is maintained. You can switch between
showing the original element or it’s newly created
Module 4: 3D Model Elements

Parts- simply by toggling a Property of the current

View you are working in....

You can also peel back layers (that are Parts) in order to show how the construction is built-up.
In order to do this, select the Layers / Part and then check “Show Shape Handles” in the
Properties Palette. You can adjust the extents of each layer , thus revealing the one’s bellow....

Select a Part and then activate it’s Use the Shape Handles to adjust the Stagger the footprint of each
Shape Handles footprint of each layer in the structure layer to visually expose the
one below

Table of Contents bimscape.com 22

 Module 5 Unit 6: Creating Arrays

Watch the video

Introduction

In this Unit I am going to show you how to use the Array tool to create both Linear and Radial
Arrays. If you’d like to watch the video version of this tutorial(before reading the article), you can
do so by clicking in the box below…..

Before we get stuck into creating our Arrays, let’s first explain the difference between the two
types of Arrays we can create with this tool. When you got to create an Array in Revit you have
the choice between forming a Linear Array or a Radial Array.

• Linear Array: This is where you take an element and repeat it (i.e. array it) along a straight
path.

• Radial Array: This is where you take an element and repeat it (i.e. array it) around a pivot
point- i.e. in an arc.

In this tutorial I will show you how to create both types. Let’s start with a Linear Array first. In the
Module 5: Editing & Modifying Elements

image below you can see (in a Floor Plan View) we have a single desk at position (1). Let's say
we want 4 more desks, equally spaced to the right hand side. Now we could simply copy the
desk 4 times. But the scenario we have here is ideal for creating an Array.

Go ahead and select the desk. This is our source element. Now select the “Modify” menu (1)
and then nested within the “Copy” drop-down menu (2) you will find the “Array” tool (3). Go
ahead and click on this….

Table of Contents bimscape.com 23

 Now before we go any further, let’s take a really good look at the Options Bar….

Taking each of our options in turn (with reference to the above image)….

1. Linear / Radial Array toggle: This is where you tell Revit whether you wish to create a Linear
or Radial Radial. Click on the left hand icon for a Linear Array, or the icon on the right for a
Radial Array.

2. Group and Associate: This checkbox allows you to decide whether the final set of elements
(AFTER you have completed the Array operation) acts as a unified Group. The vast majority
of the time you will want them to- hence this option is checked by default. More on what this
actually means later.

3. The total number of elements you want in your finished Array. Note: This “includes” the
original source object in the total number.

4. Move To: You can toggle this between “2nd” and “Last”- it’s one or the other. Are you going
to specify the “overall” distance between the first and last object in your linear array, OR are
Module 5: Editing & Modifying Elements

you going to specify the distance between the first and second object- if you do so, all the
other distances between each object will match this.

5. Constraints: Do you want the movement of your cursor to be constrained when setting the
distance between objects- see (4) above.

We have already said we want 5 desks in our array- so go ahead and enter “5” into the
“Number” box on the Options Bar (see 1, in the above image). For the purposes of this tutorial
we are going to set the distance between the FIRST and LAST elements in our array,; and then
let Revit space the remaining elements equally in between. With this in mind, ensure the “Move
To” toggle is set to “Last” (2). We are now ready to set the distance between the FIRST AND
LAST element positions. With reference to the image below, first click on the lower right hand
corner of the source element (1) and then move your cursor to the right and click at a point (2)
to set a distance of 11,000mm, The distance between the two points is always presented to you
by the blue temporary dimension….

Table of Contents bimscape.com 24

 As soon as you click the second point (2, in the image above), Revit creates the Linear
Array……

Notice that the total number of elements in the array is 5. This is confirmed by the value in the
type-in box, hovering over the line of desks- see the image above. You can change this value
and Revit will add or remove elements as appropriate- always keeping them equally spaced.
Click anywhere else in the window to deselect the Array. Once deselected, the array icon (the
horizontal line linking the elements) disappears and you are just left with the resultant
elements…..

Once your array is created you can come back to it at any time and change the number of
elements and even it’s orientation. We are going to do that now. Go ahead and reselect the
array be clicking on it…..
Module 5: Editing & Modifying Elements

You can change the number of elements in the array simply by entering a new value in the type-
in box that hovers just above the elements- (2) in the above image. You can change the
positional relationship between the elements- they do NOT have to be in a straight line. Go
ahead and click on the fourth desk in the array (1, in the above image) and drag it upwards in
the view….

Notice how Revit then maintains the spatial relationship between all the elements in the array.
You created a “step” in the layout of the elements- so Revit applies this “step” between all the
elements. Let’s now move onto “Radial” Arrays. We are again going to use a desk for this
example. In the image below you can see the single source element at position (1). We are
going to create a Radial Array of desk- creating a total of 8 elements…..

Table of Contents bimscape.com 25

 As before, first pick the element you wish to Array and then choose “Array” from the “Modify”
menu. This time you need to toggle the array type to “Radial” on the Options Bar….

In the image above you’ll notice that the right hand side of the Options Bar changes to give you
options that are only applicable to Radial arrays- the “Angle” you wish to arrayed elements to
inhabit; and an option to change the location of the “Centre of Rotation”. More on this right now.
Module 5: Editing & Modifying Elements

If we take a look at the selected element you can see that it looks just like an element that is
about to be “Rotated”- i.e. it has a Pivot Point (or “Centre of Rotation”) and an “Rotation Angle
Reference Line”. However in this case, these control the Array as a whole.

In the above image you can see that the Pivot Point for the proposed array is in the centre of
the source object. This is no good to us. All that would happen (if we formed this array) is that
the desks would all be superimposed upon one another- just at different angles. What we need
to do is relocate that Pivot Point. Either drag it to a new location with your cursor OR hit “Place”
on the Options Bar and then click in your View to choose another location. Either way, relocate
the Pivot Point to the right of the desk….

Table of Contents bimscape.com 26

 You can now set the rest of the parameters on the Options Bar. Set the number of elements in
the array to 8. And set the angle through which the array will be created to 360 degrees. This
tells Revit that we want the arrayed elements to make a complete circular pattern….

After you have entered “360” into the “Angle” box, go ahead and hit “Enter” on your keyboard to
accept this value. Revit immediately creates the Radial Array- and leaves it selected in the
active view….
Module 5: Editing & Modifying Elements

Notice how the radius of the array is displayed (1)- you can click on this value and enter a new
radius if you wish. Also the number of elements in the array is displayed, just as with the Linear
array type. Again, just click in here to change the number of elements.

• Arrays can either be Linear or Radial- you choose the type on the Options Bar once you
have activated the Array tool

• Linear Arrays: Either set the distance to the SECOND element, OR set the overall distance
between the total number of elements.

• If you wish to make future adjustments to your Arrays, ensure you check the “Group and
Associate” option at the time of creation

• If you wish for your arrayed elements to act independently of each other (once the array is
complete)- UNCHECK the “Group and Associate” option at the time of creation

Table of Contents bimscape.com 27

 Module 8 Unit 5: Detail Components

Watch the video

Introduction

In Revit, Detail Components are 2D elements that you add to your views in order to embellish /
enhance your model. Take the following example….

In the above image you can see a Callout view of a junction between an external wall and a
sloped roof. The Detail Level for the Callout is set to Coarse. This is obviously not detailed enough
to construct from. So let’s turn the Detail Level up to “Fine” for the Callout….

Well, it’s “better” At l;east we can now see some layers to our
elements. Both the wall and the roof elements are “System Families”-
Module 8: Annotation & Detailing

so Revit is now simply showing us the layers in these elements- as

defined in their respective “Structure” settings. However, I would argue
the view is still not resolved to a sufficient level of detail. This is where
“Detail Components” come into play. Using the Callout as a “starting
point” we can now overlay it with accurate, 2D elements to represent
things like bricks, blocks, wall ties, etc.

Switch to the “Annotate” menu (1, below) and then activate the
“Component” drop-down menu (2, below). Now choose “Detail
Component” (3, below) from the list….

Depending on the Revit Template

your current Project used, you
should have a basic range of
Detailed Components to choose
from. Click on the “Type Selector”
in the Properties Palette to view
your choice of Detail
Components….

Table of Contents bimscape.com 28

 I am going to place some “blocks” onto my wall section. So I am choosing the family & Type:
“Detail_Items_Block_Sec / 100mm_Block”…

A 2D “block” is now appears on the end of

my cursor. I can simply click in my view to
place it. I can continue to click in order to
place multiple instances. You can of course
use all the standard “Modify” tools such as
Copy, Mirror and Align in order to aid
placement.
Module 8: Annotation & Detailing

In the image to the right you can see the block that I
have placed on top of the blockwork layer in the wall
element. The view is slightly confusing because we are
seeing both the Detail Component and the underlying
Model Component (the wall). We do have an option to
make the view easier to read. Ensure no elements are
selected, which will bring up the View Properties for the
Callout….

Change the “Display Model” property to “Halftone”. This

will display all the model elements in a light grey halftone
manner. Your Detail Elements are unaffected. This makes
it MUCH easier to see where you have placed the 2D
Detail components…

Table of Contents bimscape.com 29

 Notice how if we change the View Scale, the “Detail Hatch
Pattern” changes accordingly (1, below). In the image below
I have now placed 3 instances of the block. I have also
placed a “Wall Tie” detail component (2, below)….

You will almost certainly want to load additional Detail

Components into your Project. The out-of-the-box
Autodesk Library contain hundreds of generic Detail
Components. To load some in, select “Detail
Component” from the ribbon menu and then choose
the “Load Family” button…

When the File Selector box opens, you need to

navigate to the “Detail Items” folder. In there you
will find many sub-folders containing a wide
Module 8: Annotation & Detailing

range of Detail Elements that you can use to

embellish your views.

Aside from loading in the Autodesk

components, you can of course learn to
create your own using the Family Editor.
You can add Detail Components to most
view types- i.e. Floor Plans, Ceiling
Plans, Elevations, Sections, etc.

• Revit Model Components are intended to be embellished with 2D Detail Components

• Detail Components only exist within the view in which they are created

• Consider setting your Model Display to “Halftone” to make it easier to see where you have
added Detail Components.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 30

 Module 8 Unit 10: Using the ‘Path of Travel’ tool

Introduction

The Path of Travel tool is arguably one of the most useful additions to Revit 2020.

As you develop your building design, quite often you will need to calculate the travel distances
from certain points to fire exits, etc. In AutoCad you have most likely undertaken this exercise
my means of creating a polyline and then interrogating it’s properties to find it’s length.

We can get Revit to work out the shortest route between two points!

Not only does the new Path of Travel tool calculate the length of the path- it actually works out
the path for you! All you need to do is specify the start and end points and then let Revit do it’s
thing.

Let’s see this in action....

Module 8: Annotation & Detailing

Take the floor plan in the image above. Let’s say we wish to calculate the travel distance
between point 1 and point 2. This is where we would use the Path of Travel tool. It can be found
on the Analyze menu

Go ahead and click the Path of Travel tool....

Table of Contents bimscape.com 31

 Revit will now ask you to pick the Start point
(1) and then the End point (2).

As soon as you confirm the end point,

Revit then calculate the shortest
distance between them, whilst
navigating around objects that are in the
way.

Go ahead and select the Travel Path that has been

created. Upon doing so, you wil, see that you have
some options, on the Ribbon.
Module 8: Annotation & Detailing

You can change the Line Style that is used to display

the Travel Path.

You can also add Waypoints to the path. You would do this to manually edit the path- maybe you
need the path to actually pass through an intermediate point before it arrives at the Finish point.

Click the small arrow (1) on the Route Analysis panel and
you will access the Route Analysis Settings panel. Here
you can tell Revit which elements to ignore when it
calculates the actual route.

With the Path of Travel

selected, you can refer to
it’s properties to check out
the length of the path and
the time it would take to
traverse at a given speed.

Table of Contents bimscape.com 32

 Ebook Release Notes

Release Date Ebook Document Ref. Release Notes

31/03/2020 BGRA_2020_01 Initial release
01/04/2020 BGRA_2020_02 Changed to single page PDF format / Resolution set to 300DPI

Click here to purchase the complete Ebook

bimscape.com 33