Best Revit Class of AU

[Steve_Stafford]

No slight intended to all the instructors who "delivered the goods".....drum rolllllll please!

The "QuoteMaster" Award for Excellence goes to Mr. Balding's class, "The New CAD on the Block". Mr. Balding was entertaining, informative and relevant throughout and his "lovely" assistant Mr. Zoog was a great sidekick. The costume changes and all the dancing girls really added to the Vegas flair (okay, I imagined that part). I was even miraculously healed! I can't speak for everyone, but those I spoke too agreed that the B/Z team deserves a repeat performance next time around. (no, BeeGee...this is not ole "Q" trying to cozy up to my new best buddy Jim, they really were THAT good!)

The Autodesk message regarding future direction delivered by Phil Bernstein (member #601...very cool) was, Revit, Revit and a little more Revit (my biased ears anyway). No ADT isn't "dead", the message is clear that they will continue to develop the current lineup. But the future is clearly bright and sunny for those who use, plan to use and hope to use Revit.

Hiroshi (creator of www.RevitCity.com) is a lucky guy, working at Occulus. Owner, Ron Reim (spelling?) gave a stirring story of his experience using Revit as a key tool to push his company ahead of his competitors. It is very refreshing to see Revit "pushed" from the top down instead of the all too common "bottom" up. He did tell me it isn't really any easier to do though...

I enjoyed meeting so many Revit users and it was a great treat to finally meet those that I've been trading messages with for many months now on this forum. Special thanks again to Jim Balding and Autodesk for putting a nice spread out for our Monday night get together.

Kudos, to our own Wesley Benn for "driving" all the way from Sidney, Australia to make it to AU and show off some cool work at our Monday night party. I'm sure the salt water won't have a lasting effect on your car?? Shame BeeGee couldn't have helped with the driving though, guess he's afraid of those sharks?

Many of us were able to meet and even spend some quality time with all the (attending) Revit staff that helps make our work day so much more enjoyable now. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for making it so. Now get back to work so I can start driving 6.0 myself please? :D

[beegee]

Nice to hear that the Jimn'Chris show is maintaining the high standards we strive for here at ZDBB.
Some meaty detail about the content of the class, and other classes, would be good when you guys recover from your jetlag ( it is jetlag were talking about here isn't it? Not partay'n , boozing, etc etc, cos we know your bosses shelled out a lotamula for AU, and on their behalf we are expecting a good return.)

Wes did offer me the backseat of his car for the trip, but as it's a Holden V8 Ute, I had to decline, since the backseat is notoriously non-shark proof.
Greg's promised to lend me his snowboard next year. If I can get a good clear run down Mt Warning, I could just make the jump ?

[jbalding48677]

Mr. Stafford -

You are too kind, thank you. (That was $20 right, who do I make the check out to? :wink: )I think AU was an absolute success in all areas.

Follow up soon -

[gregcashen]

Greg's promised to lend me his snowboard next year. If I can get a good clear run down Mt Warning, I could just make the jump ?

Actually, it's a wakeboard, so no need to getting a "running" start. Just hook that rope on the back of a cruise ship and hang on...or better yet, buy a kite and kitesurf over!

[Cathy Hadley]

I whole heartedly agree.... but coming in a close second was Richard Taylor's Free Form class... its all about the Void baby...

I really also wanted to thank Jim for the preparation he put into the class and the Bonus CD ... it is great to actually have something we can look at NOW and not have to wait for the download to be named later...

Oh and to address the jet lag issue... it ain't all jet lag.. also throw in a little bit of my brain is just fried ...
:?
CZH

[sbrown]

Jim and Chris's class contained examples of how to do things in revit that have been deemed undoable in revit by those against revit. For example CD's can't be done in revit, well after taking their class I'm sure everyone knew this was just a myth. Jim and Chris did a great job of entertaining as well as teaching, it was basically a demo, showing scheduling, detailing, and annotation tricks(how to swap out all of one type of tag or dim style and update the whole set) These kind of real world examples of documentation, that are typically lacking in the "dog and pony" shows of the past.

I really wanted to talk about Phil Reads classes, worksets and large projects. In my opinion and for my needs these were the most valuable. Phil has a great way of looking outside tha box to come up with solutions to get large projects done in revit in a clean and powerful way. I think all the class notes will be available so I'm not going to attempt to retype all the great concepts, but if they don't show up, I'll share later.

Some highlights..

1. use linked files inside of the in-place family editor to allow correct display properties and ease of duplication, repeatition and revision.
2. use linked files for structure and furniture applications. for example instead of placing a living room set/dining room set etc in every unit, create them in a sep. project, then link, copy, rotate, etc into all the rooms, this will keep file size down and avoid the all to well known limitations of groups.
3. Use a structural framin family for a complex floor plate that repeats, ie lets say you have a 50 story building, if you make the floor in the project and copy it 50 times and then need to edit it, you have to edit it in each floor or group it(no no) but if you make it a family and need to edit it you just edit it in the family editor and reload and all instances will update, again keeps file size low and flexibility high. This also allows you to swap out options easily.

more later.

Scott

[beegee]

1. use linked files inside of the in-place family editor to allow correct display properties and ease of duplication, repeatition and revision.
2. use linked files for structure and furniture applications. for example instead of placing a living room set/dining room set etc in every unit, create them in a sep. project, then link, copy, rotate, etc into all the rooms, this will keep file size down and avoid the all to well known limitations of groups.
3. Use a structural framin family for a complex floor plate that repeats, ie lets say you have a 50 story building, if you make the floor in the project and copy it 50 times and then need to edit it, you have to edit it in each floor or group it(no no) but if you make it a family and need to edit it you just edit it in the family editor and reload and all instances will update, again keeps file size low and flexibility high. This also allows you to swap out options easily.

Thanks Scott,

Good tips !

Can you expand some more on item 1 when you get a chance ? I'm not sure I follow that.

[Scott D Davis]

The other tip I remember from the linking class was to link a 3D AutoCAD model into a family, then place the family into your project. Now, sections will actually cut the 3D AutoCAD geometry, showing the thickened profile line at the cut! If you link 3D DWG directly into Revit, sections wont cut the geometry.

[beegee]

Thanks Scott D,

I think that must be what Scott B was referring to in item 1 of his list.

[gregcashen]

I wholeheartedly agree with Scott's assessment of Phil Read's classes...and even the tips he relayed between classses. Steve Stafford and I were able to spend a bit of time with Phil after the classes were over one day, and it is truly amazing the things he has been able to do that are not "possible" in Revit. He really looks outside the box.

As an example, although the family editor is easy enough to use, for some applications, it is more cumbersome than necessary. Phil's example of importing 3D data from Autocad into an in-place family can be extended to any other tool as well. For instance, a quick model can be easily sketched up in Sketchup and imported in to the in-place family and it will cut properly, etc. Or a roof can be modelled in Rhino/Inventor/Autocad/whatever and imported into an in-place family...it knows its a roof and will cut properly.

Also, applying another tip that one of the big retailers used, you could then attach additional info to the model via Shared Parameters and schedule off them. Examples of the uses include inventory management, construction phasing...

[Clyne Curtis]

Oh man what a great conference! Jim and Chris, you guys rocked as the New CAD's on the Block! 3 1/2 hours...no hands on lab...and you still kept me riveted to Revit! That bonus CD was a great idea! A close second was Phil Reads class on worksets and managing large projects. Kind of a grey area for me and he really opened my eyes to the possibilities! It was great to meet all you fellow Zoogsters and finally put faces with names. I can see why this is such a great forum. I wear my "Z" proudly!! Now if I can just stay focused until D-Day (download day) for 6.0...Thanks again to all who made this the best conference yet IMHO!

Clyne Curtis

[Steve_Stafford]

Scott, Greg, Clyne...you guys are absolutely correct about Phil's classes. His perspective was enlightening and the "outside of the box" comments are "spot on". I will go back to work with a new perspective having been part of his classes. If only he had the costume changes and dancing chorus line, it would have required a tie.

[mlgatzke]

I agree whole heartedly with all of you. IMHO, the Jim & Chris Show was absolutely the best of the conference. I never thought that a non-hands-on class could keep me so interested for 3.5 hours. However, since the two 3.5 classes were the R6 updates class and the Jim & Chris show I had no problem staying glued to every word.

Steve, yes, I too felt that the industry session with Phil was a lot of pumping for Revit. As a matter of fact, by my watch, 70 of the 90 minutes were testimonials and promotion of Revit and projects completed in Revit.

I too enjoyed Phil (Reid's) class (I only attended the Large projects class). His presentation wasn't the step-by-step live tutorial that has become such common-place at AU. Phil was able to speak in concepts (what David called "Thematically"). Discussing ways to save time by using families and linking them into the drawing during schematic design for a multi-story building. Thereby saving time on revisions and granting yourself the ability to "swap-out" varying design options throughout the entire model VERY easily and VERY quickly.

I also enjoyed David's presentation on Retail design using Revit. Richard's 45 minutes were good for concrete examples of the step-by-step solution and David's 45 minutes of the "thematic" discussion of the powerful tools within Revit that can be utilized for Retail design interests.

I absolutely loved meeting you all. It was wonderful to meet the faces that go along with your names and avatars. I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with all of you and hearing (and seeing) the wonderful things you're doing with Revit and how your firms are using it.

However, I must say that Jim & Chris' idea to distribute companion cds at their presentation was amazing. In the 6 AUs I've attended, this was the first time that I've EVER received such a wise and VALUABLE handout. Bravo.

I look forward to continuing to speak with all of you in this wonderful forum that Chris has SO graciously provided. I'm already looking forward to next year. And Steve, I'll try to work on my "virtual" sarcasm a little more carefully.

[rodneyf]

I agree whole heartedly also with everybodies comments. It was also great hearing what other people are doing with Revit that I was truly amazed. It sure was great meeting all of you. And as Mike said it is nice to finally put faces to the names.

[Rols]

It was so amazing to meet you all at AU! I have to admit, I hadn't heard of ZoogDesign prior to AU. I'm here now, though!
The Jim and Chris show was the highlight of my first AU! I went up to Jim at the first break and told him that I wish we could just continue the class for the rest of the day. I've never seen 3 1/2 hours fly by so fast! I wanted more! The live demo made it possible to cover so much more material than a lab (as demonstrated by Chris's tip class on Friday). Chris and Jim made it so entertaining and insightful, it was a real joy to watch.
I'm looking forward to next year's AU and I look forward to sharing some great info here in the forums!

[Griff]

:D I'm new to this forum and very new to Revit. I went to AU with my class schedule being All "ADT Classes". By Tuesday morning after talking to a couple of Revit users, I changed all my classes to Revit.

I am sooo Jacked about Revit!! The classes were soo good especially the "Jim and Chris show". I've got all the prices and I'm about to head into the managers office to discuss transfering our subscription from ADT to Revit. Thanks to all the Revit users at AU and especially to the instructors. I've gone to AU for 10 years and this was by far the best!

[Steve_Stafford]

That's exiciting, hope I got to meet you too? Anyway, we've got your back when you get going...

[Wes Macaulay]

I didn't get to see the "Jim and Chris show", so I'd have to say that Phil's class on handling large projects confirmed some of my suspicions on how they ought to be handled. It also goes to show that there's more than one way to approach a problem!

One notion that certainly fell out of Phil's class is giving Revit every opportunity to "think" less about the objects and relationships between them in its database. Whether it's a linked file representing a whole floor or a structural framing family object becoming a floor slab, making objects more "inert" if you will, seems to be the order of the day.

I'll probably take a stab at presenting next year, even -- though it's hard to imagine that there's anything I can bring to the table!

My schedule didn't keep me in Vegas past Thursday afternoon, so there's lots I missed and many of you that I didn't get to meet. Perhaps next year!

It was also good to be there and get a sense of where the excitement is in the Autodesk realm. Does Revit have a bright future, or should we all be buying seats of ADT? It's very important to us as resellers since Revit might be doing well here, but floundering everywhere else. That would not seem to be the case. I sat in on an ADT class with Matt Dillon on scheduling and my brain hurt by the end of it!

It was also good to talk to the Revit development team and see where they're headed. They were up front and frank about where the software is going, what they like about Revit, and what they don't like, and how they might fix it. Honesty from the people who make your tools certainly builds trust.

So AU looks like it was successful - and I'm probably more open to going next year than I was this year.

[Clyne Curtis]

Hey Griff! Welcome to the Zoog group! I am from Rexburg originally, good to see the folks in Idaho goin' to Revit! FYI, I hear they are teaching it at BYU Idaho, ya might check into it. Hold on and have fun!

[Griff]

Thanks for the welcome Clyne. I just talk to the manager and he gave me the go ahead to order a copy of Revit. We are going to try it on our next small project and if it works out we'll buy more. He understands that it may take a couple of projects to get up to speed, but I think he sees the vision on how Revit can help us. Kind of scary but exciting too. I'm glad I found out about this newsgroup at AU. I'll try not to be too much of a pain.

I'm planning spending the next couple of weeks working on setting up our standards in Revit before we start the next project.

Thanks for the info on the class. My brain is still registering FULL after a week at AU but it's nice to know that resource.

[Melarch]

I posted my Overview and Review of all the Revit sessions I attended and included some side bars for parties, events, exhibitors and travel to fill out the burgeoning 4,000 word post in the AU Update message threads authored by Jim Balding during the AU 2003 week. Check it out!

I could have said more, but I kept getting paper cuts after I completed 4300 words overall and the bandages on my fingers and tongue prevented me from writing much more.

I do have to thank all the Reviteers I met at AUGI's and Autodesk Revits Gathering organized by Jim Balding and for the tag team in future referred to as BaldZoog for their entertainment in both bouts they fought "The New CAD on the Block: AutoCAD Revit" and Autodesk Revit Tips and Tricks: Real-World Solutions". Sitting through their 3 1/2 hour session was almost painless due to their reparte while playing project Lord-CADette.

Another Overlord with the powers to mesmerize the audience was Richard Taylor in his "Free-Form Design Studies with Autodesk Revit", which certainly liberated my spirit and will influence my designs in Revit on future projects.

But I think Richard's class on "Using Legacy Data in Your CAD Project" when he demonstrated how easy it was to take DWG or DGN existing plans, bring them into Revit and trace over them. This broke through a mental barrier that I had fabricated in my virtual cranium and know I am convinced that retracing existing DWG/DGN legacy data is neither difficult or time consuming. This is were Richard, while importing plans and elevations into a Revit project would draw building model walls and in the imported elevations setup his levels and establish heights. Then skillfully import the same elevation to create a profile of any sweeps or reveals in the exterior wall. After creating the reveal family, load that family into the Revit project and assign it to his walls to duplicate the DWG/DWG drawn 2D elevations. This process makes duplicating any DWG/DGN legacy data efficient and productive in transfering 2D CAD into Revit 3D building models.

To all the other presenters I tip my hat, clap my hands (or left over coconuts) and express my gratitude for all the great presentations and useful information on using and working with Revit features and tools. Certainly David Conant's session on "Unlocking the Full Potential of the Autodesk Revit Family Editor" was the KEY (unlock - get it) to understanding many of the mysteries of Families and nested families.

All of the sessions were well worth the price of admission, but the frosting on the cake was meeting so many ZOOGers I have spent the last four plus months reading their threads of wisdom or folly and offering my own myopic views and experiences to this group. Also, the AUGI Bash and Movie Night party added icing to the cake. Now that AU 2003 has past and many if not all (due to east coast weather) have return home or traveled on: I want to see you all again next year at AU 2004 with the pending release of Revit 7 or maybe Autodesk will rename it Revit 2005.

In any event, let me wish you the best of Luck and fun with Revit 6.0. Also, let me extend to you and your family a Happy Holiday and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year.
May all the Nations find Peace and all the People be free from Strife and Hunger.