Drafting Tools?

[Archimac]

I am trying to quickly draw an octagon which I will later turn into a wall and discovered the glaring omission of a polygon tool.

I am also looking for the divide tool like in Autocad. Can't figure out how to quickly divide a line.

Thanks :?:

[aaronrumple]

Attached is a Revit "Helper"... I made a bunch of these basic egometry families to speed layout. So you can make whatever tool you need for geometric layout using the family editor.

There is no break command, but you can array a series of line for spacing and then split at the intersections. Or again, maybe a family is what you need. There is also the repeating detail tool.

[Archimac]

Thanks for the file, Aaron. I am still not sure how to use it. I thought I might be able to scale it up, but find no scale tool.

I am realizing I am just missing a hugh conceptual piece of what Revit is all about and how to work in it that is not covered in the basic tutorials. It is impeding my birth into Revit and almost makes me want to loose heart.

I'm just going to get the new Revit book and see if I can get my mind around it after it is explained in a wholistic way! Picking up the bits and peices on the forum remains fragmented in my mind.

Thanks for your help!

[aaronrumple]

The file is a parametric shape. You can either size it through the properties dialog or you can use the tab key to grab an edge and move a side. It will scale as the edge is moved. You can also use the align tool to place it in the design and lock it to other objects. You can then use this geometry to snap to and design around.

[Archimac]

Oh, I see! I'm sure I will find it useful! Do you think polygons should be added to the wishlist?

[Wes Macaulay]

I am realizing I am just missing a hugh conceptual piece of what Revit is all about and how to work in it that is not covered in the basic tutorials. It is impeding my birth into Revit and almost makes me want to loose heart.What do you feel you're missing? Do you not have an overall perspective on what Revit is and does? That would be a good thread in itself!

[Archimac]

Well, I think Revit is amazing and aparently simple to use. At first you get a big bang for little effort - like when you first see the walls in 3d. Then when you add default windows and doors in 3d it's like - this is amazing!

But, when you start actually doing real projects and working drawings you realize you have to stop and consult help and the message boards at every step. There are all the hidden tricks and techniques that everyone needs to know in order to do a real set of working drawings. The process of really mastering Revit is actually just as big of a transition from hand drafting to learning autocad for the first time!

I think this is why more firms don't adopt it quicker. Their thirty day trial is over before they get a chance to delve deeply into Revit. And if they do, they realize that this is going to require a real time consuming commitment. That is when they fall back into the familiar arms of Autocad and get a glimmer of hope that maybe we can just make this old dog do new tricks. Then there is the confusing marketing by Autodesk that is makes it appear that ADT has the same features. This has done much harm. Woa to Autodesk! A house divided against itself cannot stand!

I have posted this to a new Thread. 'The Transition to Revit'

I am lucky to be somewhat independent and I am determined to make this work. I think Revit is still so revlolutionary even in the complexity. I guess you have to go by the old wisdom that if it's worth using it's worth fighting hard for. I still can't help but feel that this is somewhat a software design failure, but I am no computer programmer.

I just get a sense when I ask questions on the forum that there are differing opinions as to how to do things. Many of them require work arounds. All of the training materials are focused and not whollistic.

I think I would benefit from someone sitting down with me who knows Revit. But, I am cheap and a classic american DYI. So, I just ordered the new book from Amazon and hope this will help me become a Revit master!