Keep Your Job Using Revit (With a Good Pasta Meal)

The insignificant little things that affect the way you use Revit eventually add up. They hover unseen in the background of your drawing file, multiplying until they start to take chunks out of your productivity – chunks that can really hurt your next performance evaluation. Protect the integrity of your model and data to enhance your productivity.

Drawing file issues:

Lasagna is good. Cabernet is good. But you probably don’t import lasagna into your cabernet and try to drink it. By the same token, a top-10 problem with Revit drawing files – one that’s easy to avoid – is imported DWG files. The advice of experts is DON’T import DWG files. Users often do this in order to get AutoCAD details into Revit so they can save some time over starting from scratch.

If you decide to import DWG files anyway, DON’T explode them. The AutoCAD elements will violate the Revit standards. Instead, if you’ve already imported the DWG, create Revit elements from the things you need and then get rid of the DWG file promptly. Convert the AutoCAD details to Revit details. You may or may not be aware that Revit has different line styles, text types and fill regions. So if you import AutoCAD elements, Revit doesn’t know what to do with the bogus stuff. This can cause corruption of your drawing(s) over time. If you believe it’s necessary to import for AutoCAD to Revit conversion, use the portions you need and jettison the DWG as quickly as possible.  

A much better plan is to link the DWG so new line styles are not automatically created by Revit. Then trace over the portions you want (it’s easy to trace). At least this way, the DWG won’t cause you problems. Linking is safer than exporting. Then when you’re finished, you unload the link, and everything is clean. Since Revit can’t find the link, there will be no corruption issues.

Warning issues:

Address warnings as quickly as possible. When you’re cooking spaghetti, and you set the timer to be sure you don’t boil it to mush, you turn off the heat when the timer goes off. Same with using Revit. Those dialog boxes that pop up in the center of your screen are like timers telling you something needs attention. Don’t put it off. Resolve the situation.

Click on the warning to expand it and decide if it’s a benign message or not. The warning will highlight the affected portion of the drawing. With the affected portion selected, check the “Review Warnings” tab in the ribbon at the top of the screen. Revit will show you the issue, and, if it’s not benign, the warning stays attached to the object. Every time you open the drawing, Revit goes through all the pending warnings (thousands can accumulate over time) which aren’t resolved yet and will check the database regarding each one. This will slow you down. Use “Show Related Warnings” on the Manage ribbon to review a list of your pending warnings. There are always going to be a few warnings pending – railing transitions are an example of warnings that can typically remain outstanding – but you should strive to keep that number below 100. Bookmark and use this Google search: “How to understand and address Revit warnings.”

If you’re not a Revit power user yet, contact the experts at Applied Software for Revit training or Revit optimization services. Manage the little issues in your drawings, and take back your productivity. With each enhancement, your value on the project will increase, whether it’s with your team manager, the contractors or the project owner. A Revit model with integrity will be your reward, making you more impressive to the people who influence your paycheck. Then you can treat yourself to a big plate of pasta.

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