Revit - Where to Start?

[sroy]

I have been working with Revit in our office for a while, but we have not had any formal training to this point. I have been working on some of the many tutorials that I have found, but I am wondering if there is a specific progression of things to learn in Revit.

Any thoughts on specific items to learn/master prior to some of the other items in Revit? Or do I keep working on each of the many many parts of the program?

Thanks in advance.

[Rick Houle]

People learn at different rates and by different means.
Some people need to be spoon fed everything, some people need books to touch... others just need a day or two of instruction and they're running strong.

We have all the books, tutorials, online resources we can find -- but the ultimate resource is someone on staff who can answer a Revit question, or knows how to find the answer quickly.

For each studio we have, we found our ultimate success after we pushed ONE PERSON to be a step or two ahead of the rest... It's all a team effort, but having someone to help right here and right now is key... you need some "Yes, Revit can do that" people.

[cdatechguy]

Does your reseller not offer training classes? Ours has basic, intermediate and advanced. I ditched the basic and tried the intermediate and still undecided for the advanced. I took a look at the advanced training book and it seemed I already knew everything in there.

Other options for training is CAD Camps, AU and the AUGI Training Program (Hint: you can find courses for AU in the ATP!...oh, and take a look at past AU information too at au.autodesk.com)

[nsinha73]

There are many resources, AUGI is one of my most visited site. This is where I come for all my help.....and People have always been willing to help or to point me in the right direction....
To Learn Revit my friend, you gotta have a learning Spirit!!. Our Office switched to Revit in 2007, never regretted. However some of us did complain (as we thought of it as a CAD software) , only to find out that the solution was just easy....
When you are not able to achieve something, your only friend is calmness and positive attitude and willingness learn.
Remember Revit is not CAD, you have to think a bit ahead of time, so when you pull your 'sections', you will be satisfied.
I myself made a lousy mistake of using "Detail Lines" thinking I wanna just "get it done"....but it came back to bite me.
In the last moment of CD's, I was asked for Interior Elevations and Sections. I was so frustrated and angry with myself that I should have modeled it "RIGHT" in the first place.

So now....our entire office wants to make sure the Model is done correctly in the begining. Because they have seen the fruits of this software.
It may be a little suffering in the begining...but Worth it dude.....
You will be up and running in couple months

REVIT RULES!!!

[Mike Sealander]

I want to chime in because I think learning Revit is actually a difficult, yet ultimately very rewarding experience.
Being in eastern Maine, we don't have a lot of nearby resources, so I learned Revit on my own. I did purchase a book, but did not like it because it just scratched the surface.
My biggest resource has been this forum. A lot of really bright people hang out here, including developers of the program. I surf the forum for about 10 minutes each morning, every morning.
Human resources are the best, and if you have that responsibility, then this forum is a good proxy to experienced co-workers.
We have also been developing our own Revit families for walls, lab casework, doors and windows. This has let us really think through our process with Revit, and what we want for output.

[Brian Myers]

Assuming you understand Revit basics then:

1. I would suggest learning the basics of massing.
2. Create some basic families.
3. Develop an understanding of Parameters.
4. Create more complex families.
5. Develop schedules that can pull data from those families.

In short... learn how to leverage the information a BIM model can contain from creation to deliverable.

If you have yet to learn phasing, design options, and keynoting then I suggest investigating these things as well. (Just a few thoughts....)

[sroy]

At this time we are not able to send anyone to any formal training, but I hope that we can in the future. There are 2 of us signed up for AU this year, but this may change depending on several factors if we go or not.

Thank you all for your input on this subject.

Shawn

[dgreen.49364]

Shawn...AU is really not formal training. It is helpful and you can learn some things but it is not formal training. I don't know what the issue is for you not being able to attend formal training but I believe it is a must. Several years ago our company went down the ArchiCAD path...with no formal training. Company couldn't afford it. We were stuck with learning it on our own. After about a year we abandoned ArchiCAD as a failure. I put the blame on those who said we couldn't afford the proper training. About 3 years ago, we took on Revit and I insisted to the higher ups that proper formal training be a part of it and was able to use the ArchiCAD experience as ammunition. Everybody in our company who uses Revit gets formal training and it has paid off. There are other resources, sure, but nothing will replace hands on, instructor taught training for a program like Revit. Do it right. Get the right training. It is worth the investment. My .02 worth.

By the way, what we do is have people go through the provided tutorials PRIOR to attending training. We find that it helps by not going into training "cold".

[patricks]

When I first started working at my firm in 2004 (we were on 6.1 back then), I just dove into the Revit tutorials. I think those are very good because the first thing it does is take you through the entire process of modeling and documenting a building, pretty much from start to finish. Then after that it goes more in-depth into various aspects or Revit, and then finally gets into more advanced stuff. I recommend going this route. If you have a fast laser printer and can spare the paper and toner, you might want to just print out the whole thing and bind it into a big binder or folder. Or if you have dual monitors, you can run the tutorial on one side and work in Revit on the other side.