What’s New in Revit 2020 for AEC

Autodesk begins its business year on February 1, so the release year that started on February 1, 2019 was the 2020 release year. This was an important year for a number of technology products, and Revit was one of them. All disciplines got new features and functionality in Revit 2020. One of the sources for Autodesk updates and upgrade features is user input on the Revit Ideas page, and Autodesk keeps users in the loop on the software’s development through its Revit Roadmap.

Following are some of the new Revit 2020 features for the architectural, engineering and construction industry that the Applied Software staff found noteworthy.

Architectural/general

PDF underlay is now supported.  Import 2D data to coordinate and have a base to start your designs.

• Manage PDFs with the “Manage Images” dialog box; Add, Place Instance and Reload PDFs.
• Use multipage PDFs with “Import PDF,” and select a page or pages to import.
• When importing PDFs, you can set the resolution to ensure quality and reduce file size.
• Enable Snaps for PDFs to trace underlays to quickly complete designs.
• Arrange PDFs like images. The “Bring to Front” and “Send to Back” display order options work with PDFs.

Copy and paste legends across sheets.  A legend can now be copied from one sheet view to another sheet view. Use the clipboard to paste in the same place so legends stay in the same location on all sheets.

Tag, Schedule and View Filter for Elevation.  An “Elevation from Level” parameter is now available. Height or elevation can now be displayed in various families. 

Engineering/MEP

Enhanced features include:

• Nested MEP family connectors that will define origin at a user-defined location, not by default.
• The location of some face-based elements can be retained when linked model walls change.

New features include:

• Renamed multiple parameters for Offsets and Elevations in the properties palette.
• For equipment, fittings and accessories, “Elevation from Level Parameter” can be used for schedules, tags and view filters.
• “Offset from Host” is now available for non-hosted Revit elements.
• The “Level” parameter is now available for terminals, fittings and accessories.

Construction/MEP fabrication

Enhanced features include:

• Change Service improvements.
• Changing duct and pipe types has improved when different shapes and groups are involved.
• The dialog interaction of “Edit Parts” is improved when opening and previewing large models.
• Slope pipe improvements have been made for identical parts. The Revit API recognizes the difference in slope deflection in parts.

New features include:

• CSV exports of items can be generated and exported to multiple formats. The exports can be imported into other external databases or spreadsheet programs.

• Location parameters can now be set for “Middle Elevation” on both pipe and ductwork.

Check out the Applied Software Guide to Revit for the full spectrum of information about BIM and Revit. To learn what Revit 2020 users are discussing, you can visit the Autodesk Revit blog site, which covers BIM for architecture, engineering and fabrication. For Revit help on dozens of topics, see the Autodesk Revit 2020 Help site.

If your firm is not using Revit, or not using it to its fullest capacity, and you think it might be time to find out more about the power of building information modeling, contact Applied Software today for a discovery call with one of the industry-trained Revit experts at Applied. Find out how Revit will help your AEC teams generate consistent, coordinated, model-based building designs and documentation and profitable jobs.