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Thread: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

  1. #31
    All AUGI, all the time J. Grouchy's Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    Quote Originally Posted by Allen Lacy
    I've been using Revit for 3 1/2 years. I don't use AutoCad often at all and when I do, it's ADT2000 (yikes ). Why would I want the UI to change to something that I've never seen before? Granted, I think some improvements could be made (I see some nice ones coming with 7.0), but I am dead against a complete overhaul of Revit's UI. As the old addage goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", and I for one do not think it's broke.
    That is a good point. It's not just a question about changing to an ACAD-friendly interface...but WHICH version? Our office has ADT3 on 2000i. I'm not familiar with what changes have taken place on later versions of ADT and ACAD. If they changed to something similar to 2005, for all I know I'd have to learn an entirely new interface...or at least one that is significantly different from any I am currently using.

  2. #32
    I could stop if I wanted to Nic M.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    UI is not on the top of my wish list. Sure there's always room for improvement but I find the current things very zen like, there minimalistic and I like it that way. I also think that a UI of a BIM program is a totally different than a UI of CAD program it would be wrong to make Revit more acad like (on the UI part of things)
    All the possibility's to adjust and manipulate a programs interface is nuts. Currently you can turn a word processor in a CAD program and vise versa.
    It's the user that has to adopt the program not the other way around

  3. #33
    Revit Forum Manager Steve_Stafford's Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    Offizah Davis!!!...of all people to start posting a compilation of wishes ... in the General forum!! The UI discussion is fine in General as it started out...but let's put the wishes for UI improvements where they belong eh? You'll handle that right? Scott?

    (oh...and I like the UI the way it is now , but I like many of the suggestions made here too.)

  4. #34
    I could stop if I wanted to TroyGates's Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    The way I see it is that Revit was built by another company upto version 4.x. So Autodesk has only had it for 2-3 versions. I'm sure when Autodesk purchased Revit they probably had discussions about its interface. I don't think they could justify redesigning a program after its been established for so many releases. Sure they can modify it and evolve it over time, but a drastic change would cost lots of money, not only from Autodesk but from its users as well (think training / downtime).

    I generally like the interface, but it needs more customability for the user. For instance I use it on a laptop and on a dual 19" monitor system. On the laptop, sometimes I can't see all the options on the Option Bar. On the dual monitor system I can't really use the 2nd monitor effectively.

    What I would like to see is the Design bar, Project browser, and most dialogs to be dockable toolboxes like Visual Studio .NET. They can dock on left, right, top, or bottom, turn into tabs when multiple toolboxes are docked together into a container, and can be pinned or allowed to slide away.

    I would also like an option to have tabs showing the different windows opened when they are maximized. This allows quick ways to switch back and forth between open windows. I know this can be done with the Project Browser, but if you dock the browser into the Design Bar like I do to get more room for the modeling windows on the laptop, you have to scroll and click + signs constantly.

    Another thing that happens when you dock the Project Browser above or below the Design Bar, you can't get to all of the buttons on the Design Bar. There needs to be a clickable arrow to scroll the buttons up and down similar to the Outlook bar.

    The most far fetched idea I have is to go into a SDI Environment like Visual Basic IDE can. This is the best interface I've seen for a program in which you want to have many windows, toolbars, toolboxes, etc open on multiple monitors. I can drag any window or toolbox to anywhere on any monitor. Its wonderful.

  5. #35
    Revit Technical Specialist - Autodesk Scott D Davis's Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve_Stafford
    Offizah Davis!!!...of all people to start posting a compilation of wishes ... in the General forum!!
    Yeah, I just wanted to get them going.....I plan on copying all 'wishes' over to the Wishlist forum!

  6. #36
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    Let the Revit UI remain the same as it is for God's sake !!!. Add something else useful in the wishlist to improve the functionality of Revit. I was so afraid when Autodesk took over Revit and my worst fear was that it is going to be another Autodesk tool with all those 'legacy support' and other stuff like keyboard shortcuts, function keys etc...

    I hate to see those old R10/R12 Autocad users still using the same methods to enter the commands even in AutoCAD 2005, trying to break the keyboard with one hand permanently on it and making a big noise in the office as if sitting in a 'typing pool' of an old government office in 50's and 60's when there wasn't many computers around. AutoCAD 2000 was one good release which incorporated 'icon based' commands for 'Heads-up' working environment and to release those tied and locked 'left hand' to the keyboard.

    I have been using Revit from 4.0 onward and am used to it now. I have been an AutoCAD user from Release 10 and a Microstation user from Version 5. and I am still using these tools occasionally. I didn't find any major trouble in adopting to the new Revit user interface and I didn't have to relearn anything to pickup another CAD tool. You might find it little uneasy if you switch from one to another quite often but it is all in the mind.

    I have been teaching and training CAD tools like AutoCAD, ADT, Revit, VIZ and Microstation to the users of all age group with or without prior CAD/computer knowledge. I always insist on them on the first day to "Let all their inhibition and nostalgia to go !" Keep an 'open mind and ready to accept mindset' before attempting to learn something new in life.

    What if we have to learn to use MS office Tools, Macromedia tools, Adobe Tools, Autodesk tools, Bentley tools and modeling tools like MAX, Maya etc for my CAD and multimedia usage? Do we expect to change all these interfaces to be the same for our convenience?

    We are in the world of IFC as for as CAD is concerned and these UI issues are pretty much rudimentary.

    My 2 cents worth!!!!!

  7. #37
    Revit Guru gregcashen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    Great suggestions below, Troy. I wish you would split each of your wishes below into individual wishes in the wishlist so we can vote on them for the next release!

    Thanks!

    Greg

    Quote Originally Posted by TroyGates
    The way I see it is that Revit was built by another company upto version 4.x. So Autodesk has only had it for 2-3 versions. I'm sure when Autodesk purchased Revit they probably had discussions about its interface. I don't think they could justify redesigning a program after its been established for so many releases. Sure they can modify it and evolve it over time, but a drastic change would cost lots of money, not only from Autodesk but from its users as well (think training / downtime).

    I generally like the interface, but it needs more customability for the user. For instance I use it on a laptop and on a dual 19" monitor system. On the laptop, sometimes I can't see all the options on the Option Bar. On the dual monitor system I can't really use the 2nd monitor effectively.

    What I would like to see is the Design bar, Project browser, and most dialogs to be dockable toolboxes like Visual Studio .NET. They can dock on left, right, top, or bottom, turn into tabs when multiple toolboxes are docked together into a container, and can be pinned or allowed to slide away.

    I would also like an option to have tabs showing the different windows opened when they are maximized. This allows quick ways to switch back and forth between open windows. I know this can be done with the Project Browser, but if you dock the browser into the Design Bar like I do to get more room for the modeling windows on the laptop, you have to scroll and click + signs constantly.

    Another thing that happens when you dock the Project Browser above or below the Design Bar, you can't get to all of the buttons on the Design Bar. There needs to be a clickable arrow to scroll the buttons up and down similar to the Outlook bar.

    The most far fetched idea I have is to go into a SDI Environment like Visual Basic IDE can. This is the best interface I've seen for a program in which you want to have many windows, toolbars, toolboxes, etc open on multiple monitors. I can drag any window or toolbox to anywhere on any monitor. Its wonderful.

  8. #38
    Revit Guru gregcashen's Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    Quote Originally Posted by Steve_Stafford
    Offizah Davis!!!...of all people to start posting a compilation of wishes ... in the General forum!! The UI discussion is fine in General as it started out...but let's put the wishes for UI improvements where they belong eh? You'll handle that right? Scott?

    (oh...and I like the UI the way it is now , but I like many of the suggestions made here too.)
    1. That's MY job!
    2. I already done it

  9. #39
    100 Club Bill McLees's Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    I am certainly guilty of comparing Revit to Autocad and ADT. However, the point of interface concerns is primarily ease of use. There should be no particular desire for Revit to work more "like Autocad." Just that it should be easy to learn and to use.

    We can just as easily say "I wish Revit were more like Photoshop, or Dreamweaver, or Excel" or any program a given user feels is easy to use. Of course, the SketchUp interface has been cited in many posts for its ease in entering 3D data.

    Any architect can easily grasp the Revit basics in days if not hours. It's that second week with Revit that presents the problems. There have been posts concerning how to create a wall schedule, how to show door and frame elevations, and how to indicate rated walls. (I understand much of this will be fixed or improved by R7.) However, these are not newbie posts. And these are fairly basic problems for architects.

    Second, in non-BIM cad programs, it is possible to draw virtually any stair regardless of complexity. It may be drawn largely in 2D and it may be labor intensive. But the drawings transmit the required information to the contractor and the stair gets built. As of now, there are stairs that Revit and other BIM programs can't quite produce. Granted, these can also be drafted in 2D within Revit, but that seems to defeat the whole concept of BIM.

    With each release of each BIM program, we hear that "stairs are improved," "curtain walls are improved." The problem is that I need to draw those things now -- not when R8.1 finally adds the ability to draw "my oddball stair," whatever it might be.

    This goes a bit beyond simple interface. But related to ease of use, it's a killer. It is fairly easy to fake something or use a work around in a 2D drafting program. However, when you are creating an accurate 3D building model, you can not "fake" anything without compromising the model.

    If Revit were my only possible tool, I would make it work for me as many of you already are. However, if "interface" is broadly defined to mean the manner in which I interact with the program to produce a building model that describes my intent accurately, the Revit interface doesn't allow me to enter that information without more pain than I want to expend. As I said before, I already own the program, I want to switch, and I'm just explaining why Revit is not there yet for me.

  10. #40
    I could stop if I wanted to TroyGates's Avatar
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    Default Re: Overhaul the Revit UI to mimic AutoCAD

    Quote Originally Posted by gregcashen
    Great suggestions below, Troy. I wish you would split each of your wishes below into individual wishes in the wishlist so we can vote on them for the next release!
    Four new polls added to the wishlist forum. Go vote!!!!

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