New Revit User Looking for Info

[housedifferent]

Hello;

I just installed Revit yesterday (demo version); Have been using ACAD 2004 and Sketchup 5. I'm looking for several things:
- Is there a good book or printed source of info for Revit that people are using?
- What's the easiest way to draw a decorative column (think residential - cultured stone, etc) that tapers and has some misc. trim pieces on it?
- What's the easiest way to draw an arched opening (ie arched lintel between the columns). I tried this last night and succeeded but it took forever and was imprecise.

Thanks,

Jason

[jbalding48677]

Jason -

Welcome aboard. Quick answers are:

There are a few good books out there see: http://www.delmarlearning.com/browse_product_detail.aspx?catid=11963&isbn=1401850499 OR http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1418020567/qid=1122652975/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-2016379-4461564?v=glance&s=books this is the 8.0 version due out next week. Also see: http://www.cdvsystems.com/courseware.asp Also see: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1932709053/ref=pd_sr_ec_ir_b/104-2016379-4461564?v=glance&s=books&st=* There are others but these are the few leading sources.
For tapering columns use the blend command when adding a solid.
For the arched opening I would create a wall based family void, you could then make it "parametric" and use it for all different size openings.

[mlgatzke]

If you decide to purchase a license for Revit, I would suggest the online courses (if they still have them). Besides that, I'd agree with Jim: Either Chris and his book, "Implementing. . ." or Cyril's courseware are all excellent choices. Although, if you work within the residential arena, only Cyril's first book would be of interest to you - until the v8 books. Also, make sure you continue coming to this forum. What type of architecture, specifically, do you do? This will help us all get an idea of who can, and how to, help you.

[housedifferent]

Thanks for the replies! In response to mlgatzke's inquiry, I do all kinds of work but it tends to be split into several categories:

- Design and contract docs for residential
- Drafting for architects (I do CAD consulting for several architects here who do everything by hand, ie. drafting table.)
- Shop drawings for contractors (ie. millwork drawings)

I'm looking at Revit for #2 on that list; as it's basically only me doing drawing of something that is already designed. Seems that Revit could save a big chunk of time (ie, all the time I spend doing door schedules...)

Residential is a different story; but I think if I can get Revit set up to a point where I have all my wall types & building components set up then It could cut down drafting time... however using AutoCAD it only takes me 15-20 hours to do a complete set of house plans.

One thing I've just noticed is that Revit seems to like typical English capitalization instead of the Architectural standard of ALL CAPS. On a titleblock with views at different scales, the scale filed says "As indicated"; is there a way to change it to say "AS INDICATED" to match the rest of my titleblock?

Again thanks for the help & advice so far.

Jason

[iru69]

One thing I've just noticed is that Revit seems to like typical English capitalization instead of the Architectural standard of ALL CAPS. On a titleblock with views at different scales, the scale filed says "As indicated"; is there a way to change it to say "AS INDICATED" to match the rest of my titleblock?

I don't think so out of the box. I believe you can change the font - and if you had a special font that used uppercase for both uppercase and lowercase, that might be a work-around (but don't ask me where to get such a font that matches the font you want to use). Check out this thread (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=19619) for some suggested work-arounds.

BTW, welcome to revit and the forums. A couple of tips:

If you haven't already, do the revit tutorial that comes with the program. Many new users skip it because it seems like a drag after the first few lessons - but it's really a great way to get comfortable with how things work and it gives you just enough working knowledge to know how to ask for (or find) further information.

Try a search of the forums first to see if your question has already been addressed.

If you can't find an answer, post a question here on the forums. Having one topic per post - with a clear subject line and a clear question or comment and pictures or a model if applicable - is really helpful all around. Not only are you more likely to get a helpful answer, but it's helpful for other users who might being looking for information on the same topic.