Revit & 3rd party software

[Scott Tyler]

Hello all you happy people!!

My company is looking into making the leap into Revit Architecture from Autocad Architecture. From what I am reading, I believe, and please tell me if I'm wrong, that you really need some 3rd party software for things like running interferance checks, fully integrating consultant 2d & 3d files (models or not) into your revit model, running daylight models and even document redlining or checking. I have been reading and researching a great deal and am geting tired of the sales pitches out there from the software creators. I would like to hear from the actual users out there about what they are using, how they are using it and if they like it or not. I realize this is a pretty complex question but I need figure out just what our office is going to need to have a productive and complete software solution to produce Architectural Construction Documents. I certainly don't want to get Revit in the office and then discover that I need software x, y & z to use it properly.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience.

Scott Tyler

[TroyGates]

I've been using Revit to create CD's for 6 years and haven't had a need to use any 3rd party applications. Projects ranging from residential, multi-unit housing, commercial, retail, government, etc.

Not sure who is telling you that you need all these 3rd party applications, but they are wrong.

Edit: Re-reading your post, you might be thinking of Navisworks. If you need a coordination tool that works with several different file formats, this is it. But if you are working with purely Revit and DWG files, you don't really need anything other than Revit.

[dbaldacchino]

Ditto. Spend the time learning Revit properly, push the envelope and then figure out what you're not satisfied with. Only then start considering other software (I'm thinking 3D Max for example). But for documentation, you should be good to go with just Revit. Redlining? You can do it in Revit. You could also use the free Design Review from Autodesk.

[STHRevit]

Ditto. Spend the time learning Revit properly, push the envelope and then figure out what you're not satisfied with. Only then start considering other software (I'm thinking 3D Max for example). But for documentation, you should be good to go with just Revit. Redlining? You can do it in Revit. You could also use the free Design Review from Autodesk.

Hi Dave, can you eloborate on the redlining in Revit. I am curious as to how you do this.
Thanks.

Oh yeah, I agree with both previous posts. We are an outsource company who work with serveral clients and we only use Revit to produce the documents. From Design Development through to Con docs. No need for 3rd party programs.

[Mike Sealander]

If I were to choose one software application to use, it would be Revit. But I think fundamentally a firm needs to have a strategy and vision for what it does, and to think that Revit can be the conduit (or orifice) through which an entire office's creative output flows is a little limiting. Excel, Photoshop, Internet Explorer: these are all parts of a firm's software arsenal. Adding Max, GBS/Ecotect, bunch of other stuff only improves the value of your human resources.
So yes, Revit is stand-alone, but ultimately is part of a whole design analysis and documentation strategy.

[twiceroadsfool]

Revit DOES function as a standalone, for basic architectural needs. Working through Design, development, and construction documents can BASICALLY be done in Revit. Now, before everyone gets their panties in a bunch, i am NOT saying Revit can only do basic things. Im saying, there ARE a lot of sales pitches out there, so heres the thing:

Yes, you can design and do great construction documents in Revit... No other software needed. Some of the OTHER things you mention, will need other software.

Working with consultants not in Revit? Not a problem. No other software needed, if youre using their files as referenced backgrounds, and thats it. If you plan on seeing their stuff in a MODEL, thats another story. Even then, you have some options for how you can proceed, and sometimes you can do it just in Revit. Is that the easiest solution? No. Something like Navisworks/Solibri may be better suited for running clash detections. Revit has interference checking, but Navisworks is much better.

Redlining? Depending on how much you want it "integrated" there are tons of options. Plenty of people do just fine with a print and pen setup, LOL. Some people PDF and Tablet. Some people use Design Review. Some wares let you pull in markups, some dont.

Daylighting / Energy analysis, etc... Well there are plugins that do a lot of this stuff, but it depends on how far you want to go. Your first paragraph had a lot of topics in it, so you are best served outlining your process as it is now, and what you want that process to be. We can certainly list every add on under the sun (there is one for making your own UI, one for batch rendering, one for door renumbering, etc) but then there is also the Basic Revit UI, Basic Revit Rendering with Mental Ray (and no batch), and Revit door numbering.

[dbaldacchino]

That's what I was trying to convey. Sure, you can always buy more software for specialized needs, but with Revit you don't need to buy a bunch of plugins and supporting software to get the job done (ex: your coordinated 2d documentation). You can do presentations within Revit, but without Photoshop/Ilustrator, it will be limited. Hey, you couldn't do it with DeadCad!

If you're a Subscription customer, Impression is a presentation software freebie. That's why I said learn Revit properly and push the envelope before letting a reseller tell you what you need. In most cases, you'll be the best judge of requirements once you have a thorough knowledge of a particular software and know exactly what your process is.

[dbaldacchino]

Forgot to elaborate on redlining...well, you can easily add a text-style to be used for this purpose with a unique color to note changes. Same applies for annotating linework..make a unique linestyle and color it red. You can cloud areas to be fixed too and use a "redlines" revision for this purpose.

A printed set marked with a red pen still works ;) Or to be more green, mark up a pdf or dwf digitally (latter option is preferable as you can link the markup set back into the Revit project and it's FREE!).

[Jun Austria]

Forgot to elaborate on redlining...well, you can easily add a text-style to be used for this purpose with a unique color to note changes. Same applies for annotating linework..make a unique linestyle and color it red. You can cloud areas to be fixed too and use a "redlines" revision for this purpose.

A printed set marked with a red pen still works ;) Or to be more green, mark up a pdf or dwf digitally (latter option is preferable as you can link the markup set back into the Revit project and it's FREE!).

Hehehe, I did start this in the firm I'm working with 6 months ago. And its already part of our workflow.

[clog boy]

Hehehe, I did start this in the firm I'm working with 6 months ago. And its already part of our workflow.
Have to look into that - anyway a printed drawing shows just so much more in a glance than a CAD drawing on any display. I usually redline myself and notice things that wouldn't show as well for me on display.

[STHRevit]

Forgot to elaborate on redlining...well, you can easily add a text-style to be used for this purpose with a unique color to note changes. Same applies for annotating linework..make a unique linestyle and color it red. You can cloud areas to be fixed too and use a "redlines" revision for this purpose.

A printed set marked with a red pen still works ;) Or to be more green, mark up a pdf or dwf digitally (latter option is preferable as you can link the markup set back into the Revit project and it's FREE!).

Thanks Dave,
I will look into this.
We typically use a hard copy to red line, but the electronic form is a great way to convey queries and info to our clients. We used to use a similar method in cad form.

Thanks again