What's New Video in Revit MEP 2008

What's New In Revit MEP 2008

Mechanical Systems

Mechanical systems features have been enhanced with the integration of heating and cooling analysis tools, new fire protection system tools, and improvements to piping and plumbing system tools.

Heating and Cooling Loads
Revit MEP integrates IES heating and cooling load analysis tools to let you quickly evaluate loads and help you create energy efficient designs.

When you install IES , you can use the Heating and Cooling Loads tool to open IES , where you can create an analytical model from a Revit building model. Then you can use the expanded features of IES to calculate loads, create reports, and import the results back into Revit MEP.

Using the Heating and Cooling Load Analysis Tools

1. Prepare for heating and cooling load analysis by placing room components in every space in your design. See Prepare for Energy Analysis.
2. On the Mechanical tab of the Design Bar, click Heating and Cooling Loads.
3. In the Heating and Cooling Loads dialog, click the Calculate button.
   

Load Analysis Reports
The resulting IES load analysis report is placed in the Reports folder in the Project Browser. Each time you run a IES load analysis, a time-stamped report is saved under Reports. So you can make adjustments and rerun the analysis to view the impact of your design changes.


Fire Protection Systems
This release of Revit MEP introduces the ability to easily add NFPA 13 compliant fire protection systems to your designs. Place sprinklers throughout spaces, and use the automatic layout tools to lay out piping for these systems.

Sprinklers
Revit MEP provides a variety of sprinkler heads to meet the needs of your fire protection systems. Wet and dry, pendant and upright mounted sprinkler heads can be specified to meet your requirements for flow-rates and coverage. You can create schedules for your fire protection systems showing flow rates, location, elevation, temperature ratings, and so on.

Improved Layout Path Tool
In this release, you can use the Layout Path tool to automatically apply slope to plumbing and piping systems. Specify a layout, and enter a value for Slope. When you’re satisfied with the routing, click Finish Layout. The slope is applied to the entire routing solution.

Enhanced Slope Management
You can adjust the slope for sections in existing piping or plumbing systems.

1. Select a section of piping containing segments of pipe and pipe fittings.
2. Click to open the slope editor on the Options Bar.
3. Enter a slope value, and click to specify the end of the section to be used as a reference for the slope. An arrow is displayed at the reference end of the section.
4. Click Finish to apply the slope.
   

Piping and Plumbing Systems
Volume calculations for piping and plumbing have been added to show the inside volume of all pipes and fittings in the system. Volume can be expressed as imperial (US) gallons or metric liters. Volume is not calculated for equipment.

Electrical Systems
Two new features enhance Revit MEP’s electrical design tools.

• Circuit Information on Wires
• You can add Wiring Tags to the wiring in your electrical systems to show the circuit number on the panel where the circuit is connected.
  

• Lighting Switch Topology
• You can assign lighting fixtures to specific switches in your designs.
  

1. Select one or more lighting fixtures in a view, and click .
2. Click , and select a switch in the view.
   

■ disconnects a switch from a lighting system.
■ opens the Edit Switch System tab on the Design Bar, where you can add and remove lighting fixtures, view system and switch properties, and select a switch.

Family Editor
Two new features let you manage connectors in the family editor.

• Discipline-specific Connector Tools
• You can now place a connector without having to specify its discipline as a separate task in the Element Properties dialog.
  

• Improved Connector Graphics
• Connectors are now easier to visualize. The Family Editor displays connectors showing direction, primary or secondary, and their shape as either round or rectangular.
  

System Browser Improvements
Formatting and viewing enhancements add to the utility of this indispensable Revit MEP tool.

Column Settings
You can now select the information that is displayed for each discipline in the system browser.

Auto-Fit Columns
You can use the column settings to auto-size all columns, or just double-click a column heading to auto-size individual columns.

Easier Handling of Stacked Connectors
This release lets you select a connector from a list that is displayed whenever you attempt to select a connector and there are two or more connectors directly over one another in the view. A Connector Selection dialog displays a list of connectors, so that you can specify the connector to use.

Embedded Schedule Improvements
You can embed schedules for mechanical and electrical systems. Now, whenever you create a schedule for rooms or electrical, air, piping, or plumbing systems, you can create an embedded schedule to show information about components that are members of these systems.

Project Views
This topic describes the new and enhanced features for project views in Revit MEP 2008.

Duplicate Dependent Views
You can create multiple copies of a view. These copies are dependent on the primary view. All copies, known as dependent views, remain synchronous with the primary view and all other dependent views so that when view-specific changes (for example, view scale or annotations) are made in one view, they are reflected in all views.
Creating dependent views may be useful in the following scenarios:
■ You are working on a large project with an extensive floorplate, and you want to crop the view into smaller segments so you can place them on sheets. When you make changes to dependent segments of the view, you can quickly see how they effect the view as a whole by looking at the
primary view.
■ You need to place a view on more than one sheet. Dependent views display in the Project Browser under the primary view. You can insert matchlines (to indicate where the view is split) and view references (to link views) in dependent views.

Annotation Crop Region
In addition to the model crop region, there is an annotation crop region for all graphical project views except perspective 3D views. Annotation elements are fully cropped when the annotation crop region touches any portion of the element.

Panning Views on a Sheet
You can pan views that have been added to a sheet. When you pan a view on a sheet, the crop region does not move.

Section Box Enhancements
In Revit MEP 2008, when you enable a section box in a 3D view, you can modify its extents from other views (for example, a plan or elevation view). In addition, section box extents are no longer cropped by the view’s crop region.

Legend Views
You can now enter the legend name and view scale when you begin creation of a new legend view.

Rotating Viewports on a Sheet
When you select a viewport on a sheet, the rotate options are now available on the Options Bar.

Visibility and Graphics
This topic describes the new and enhanced features for visibility and graphics in Revit MEP 2008.

Overriding Visibility and Graphic Display of Individual Elements
You can override visibility and graphic display of individual element instances in a project view.

Overriding Cut and Surface Lines and Patterns
In the Visibility/Graphics dialog, you can now override cut and surface lines and patterns for model categories.

Applying Transparency to Faces of Model Elements
You can apply transparency to faces of model element categories, or to individual model element faces.

Hiding Elements in a View
You can hide individual elements or categories of elements in a view. When you hide an element that is used as a reference for a tag or dimension, the tag or dimension is also hidden. Hiding a revision cloud does not affect the revision table. Hidden elements can be revealed and unhidden in a view.

Temporary Hide/Isolate Enhancements
A blue border displays around the drawing area to indicate when you are in temporary hide/isolate mode. In addition, when you temporarily hide an element or element category, you can make it permanent.

Group Editor
The workflow for creating and editing groups has been improved. When you create or edit a group, you use the group editor. In addition, while you are creating or editing a group, you can use the element creation tools on the Design Bar to place additional elements (such as a window or door). Elements that you place while in group edit mode are automatically added to the
respective group.

When you edit a group using the group editor, the background color of the drawing area is pale yellow, and the group editor toolbar initially displays in the upper left corner. The pale yellow background color is ignored when you print from the group editor.

Loading a Revit Project or Family File as a Group
You can load Revit project files (RVT) into a project as a group, and you can load Revit family files (RFA) into the Family Editor as a group.

Editing Groups Externally
You can now edit groups independently of a project or family and then load (or reload) the group into the project or family.

Excluding Elements from Group Instances
Excluding elements from a group instance may be useful when, for example, you place a hotel unit group defined with 4 bounding walls adjacent to a similar unit, and the walls overlap. You can exclude the overlapping wall from the group instance. If that wall is hosting any elements (for example, a wall-hosted tub or door) Revit MEP attempts to rehost those elements on the remaining wall.
You can exclude an element from a group instance in one of the following ways:
■ Exclude an element from a group instance. The element remains in the group but is not visible in the project view for that group instance. If the excluded element is hosting any elements, Revit MEP attempts to rehost those elements.
■ Move an element from the group instance to the project view. The element is visible in the project view, and it can be edited from the project view. The element is also excluded from the group instance. When elements are excluded and are not visible in the project view for that group instance, they are not included in schedules. Excluded elements can be restored to their group instances.

Enhancements to Swapping Instances of Group Types
When you swap an instance of a group type for an instance of a different group type, Revit MEP attempts to replace any attached detail groups from the old group instance with attached detail groups of the same name from the new group instance. For elements in attached detail groups that were not replaced, and for all other elements that depend on elements in the swapped group instance, Revit MEP attempts to find references within the new group instance. If new references cannot be found for these dependent elements, Revit MEP posts a warning to indicate the dependent elements for which it could not find references. In addition, the origin of the new group is placed at the position of the first group.

Converting Groups to Linked Revit Models
You can convert groups to linked Revit models. You can also convert linked Revit models to groups.

Saving Groups
You can save a group as a Revit project file (RVT) if you are working in a project, or as a Revit family file (RFA) if you are working in the Family Editor. Because groups are saved as RVT or RFA files, they can be edited independently of the project in which they are loaded.

Groups are no longer saved as Revit group files (RVG). You can still load existing RVG files into projects for use as groups.

Viewing Groups in the Project Browser
In the Project Browser, attached detail groups and nested groups now appear under the group to which they belong. Nested groups also appear in the group list with other model or detail groups.

Scheduling Wall Sweeps
You can now schedule wall sweeps. When you create a new schedule, there is a wall sweeps category in the New Schedule dialog. Integral wall sweeps, which are part of the wall type definition, are not independently schedulable.

Masking Regions
Masking regions provide a way for an element to obscure other elements in a view. Masking regions may be useful in scenarios like the following:

• You need to obscure elements in a project.
• You are creating a 2D detail component family or a 3D family and need the background of the element to mask the model and other detail elements when it is loaded into a project.
• You need to create a 3D family from imported 2D DWG files that will obscure model elements when placed in a view.
  

You can create 2D and 3D masking regions. 2D masking regions can be created in a project and in the Family Editor when you are creating a 2D family (annotation, detail, or titleblock). 3D masking regions can be created in the Family Editor when you are creating a 3D family.

Filled Regions
In a project and in 2D families, you can create a filled region that has a solid fill pattern and a transparent background.

Upgrading Projects or Families that Contain Filled Regions
When you upgrade a project or family to Revit MEP 2008, all filled regions that have the Background Type parameter set to opaque and the Pattern Type parameter set to no pattern, or all "solid white" filled regions that have the Pattern Type as solid, Background as Opaque, and Color as White, become masking regions.
In addition, the following options are no longer available for filled regions:

• The Filled Region : Solid White type is no longer available as an option in the Type Selector when you select a filled region in the drawing area.
• The No Pattern fill pattern.
  

To obscure an element with a region, use Masking Regions.

Dimension Line Tick Mark Display Behavior
When you set the tick mark for a dimension as an arrow type, dimension arrows recognize when a dimension segment is too small to accommodate the arrows on the interior of the dimension line. When this occurs, dimension arrows automatically flip to the exterior of the dimension line. This occurs for linear, angular, and radial dimensions. For radial dimensions, arrows flip when the dimension line (the radius) is shorter than the length of the arrow.

Spot Dimension Enhancements

• You can place spot dimensions (spot elevations and spot coordinates) on non-horizontal surfaces and non-planar edges.
• When you place a spot dimension, the value of the spot elevation or spot coordinate appears in the drawing area before you place it.
• The leader parameter is now an instance parameter, rather than a type parameter. This means that you can have different values for the leader parameter for every instance of a spot dimension type. The leader parameter is available in the Element Properties dialog for the spot dimension.
• When you place or select a spot dimension, you can modify the leader parameter and the relative base parameter (for relative spot elevations) on the Options Bar.
  

Keynote Leader Option Persistence
When you place an element or user keynote, you can indicate whether you want a leader for the keynote. Leader options are Attached and Free End. Now when you select a leader option, the selection is retained for the Revit session. For example, you place an element keynote and select the Free End option for the leader. If you exit the Keynote command and make other changes to
the model, when you activate the Keynote command again, Revit remembers your leader selection (Free End), so it is not necessary to specify it again.

Color Schemes
The Color Fill command has been renamed and enhanced. To apply color fill to a room or area, you now create color schemes and apply them to a plan view. Previously, color fill and color legends were combined in the Color Fill command. Now, color schemes are a view property, so you can apply different color schemes to different views. Color scheme legends are an annotation tag. If you are working in Revit MEP, you can apply color schemes to ducts and pipes in addition to rooms and areas.

When you apply a color scheme to a plan view, you can include a color scheme legend. You can resize a color scheme legend, resize the swatches (the color boxes that appear in the legend), modify the order of items in the legend, and change the graphic appearance of legend swatches.

Number Instance Parameter for Areas
The area element has a new instance parameter called Number. This parameter is accessible from the Element Properties dialog for areas.

Including Linked Revit Model Instance Names in a Schedule
When you have multiple copies of linked Revit models in a project (for example, multiple identical buildings on a site, or multiple identical floors in a building), you can specify a different name for each instance of the linked model and then include the name in a schedule. Names for linked model instances are automatically generated, and you can change them through the linked model properties. If you enter a name that is already in use in the project, a message appears to indicate this.

You can also, as in previous releases, include the file name of a linked model in a schedule. File names do not include the file path or file extension.

Applying a Color Scheme to Rooms and Areas in Linked Models
You can apply the host model color scheme to rooms and areas in a linked model.

Showing Areas and Area Boundaries in Linked Models
You can show (or hide) areas and area boundaries in linked Revit models.

Showing Nested Linked Models
When you import a Revit model that contains a linked model, links become nested. You can show (or hide) nested linked models in the host model.

Controlling Visibility and Graphic Override Settings for Nested Linked Models
Nested linked models can use the visibility and graphics override settings specified for the host model, the parent linked model, or the top-level nested linked model.

Viewing Linked Revit Models in the Project Browser
Linked Revit models (including visible nested linked models) are now listed in the Project Browser. You can add links and access basic link functionality from the shortcut menu in the Project Browser. You can also drag a linked Revit model from the Project Browser into a project view to create a new instance of the linked model.

Converting Linked Revit Models to Groups
You can convert linked Revit models to groups. You can also convert groups to linked Revit models.

Copying Linked Revit Models Between Projects
You can copy a linked Revit model to the clipboard and paste it in a different project file. The link path, shared positioning settings, visible nested links, and the link instance name are copied to the new project. If the link instance name already exists in the project, the link is automatically renamed. Partially loaded files are maintained as partially loaded. Visibility and graphic override settings are not preserved.

Copying Elements from Linked Revit Models
You can copy elements from linked Revit models to the clipboard and then paste them in the host model.

Creating Constraints Between the Host Model and Linked Models
You can now create constraints between elements in the host model and elements in a linked model.

Revit MEP View Templates

One of the advantages of Autodesk Revit is that each view has individual graphic, scale, discipline, phase and view range settings; and changes to these parameters only affect the selected view. The view visibility of categories and subcategories can be set and saved to a view template (similar to layer states in AutoCAD). Two examples of different views of the same level are shown below.

These view specific settings can also be a disadvantage when you have to use the same settings on another view. When you duplicate floor plans to create furniture, fire safety or area plans for different levels, you change different view settings for each type of plan. Instead of repeating the effort of changing each parameter every time you create these views, you can save them as View Templates. These can then be applied to other views. They can also be applied to new views as the default view template.

To create a View Template, set your desired view parameters, then from the View pull down menu, select Save As View Template. A dialog box will appear to let you apply a name to the view template. Additionally, you can set it by right mouse clicking (RMC) on the View name in Project Browser.

Note that Autodesk Revit 9 has slightly different terminology on the pull down and RMC menus. Instead of Save as View Template, it has the more descriptive, Create View Template from View.

You can also duplicate and rename existing View Templates from the Settings pull down by picking View Templates. All methods will bring up the View Templates dialog where you can review and change the parameters that you want applied to other views.

Within the Autodesk Revit Help is a list of the modifiable settings that can be saved to View Templates. However, it leaves out some of the parameters illustrated above that can also be set. Even though the crop region settings aren't shown in the View Templates dialog, I noticed that if the View Property Crop Region is checked on in both views, the crop region visibility state can be saved and set with a View Template.

The Autodesk Revit Help screenshot list of modifiable View Template Properties is shown below.

You can apply these saved view settings (View Templates) to other views by using the View pull down and selecting Apply View Template. This can also be done by RMC on the view name in the Project Browser and selecting Apply View Template. Multiple views can also be selected and set at once in the Project Browser.

Another way to apply a view template to multiple views is to RMC on a sheet and selecting Apply View templates to all Views. This will apply it to all the views that have been placed on the sheet.

The Apply View Template command opens up the Select View Template dialog where you will see all the View Templates that have been saved.

In the Select View Template dialog, you can also check a box to show Existing views, which will display existing views and also the view templates. Another option is to turn on All view types, which will show all view template types in the project. These existing views and view types can be used as a template to apply their view settings to other views. The third option is to Apply automatically to new views of the same type.

The View Template can also be applied through the Element Properties dialog for a view.

You may first use View Templates for plan views to control object visibility, lineweight and screening, but it is also useful for saving model graphic and shadow settings for 2D and 3D presentation views, as shown below.

Changes to the parameters in a View Template are not automatically applied to views that were assigned the View Template. There is no live link between them. If you change settings to the View Template, you need to reapply the modified template to those views it was set to originally. It will overwrite previous view property settings. The best location to change or create new View Templates based on others (duplicate) is by accessing View Template in the Settings pull down menu. You can also set parameters in a current view and save with the same name as an existing View Template. You will see a dialog stating that the template exists and asking if you want to replace (overwrite) it.

View Templates can be embedded in your Project Template and they can also be copied between projects by using Transfer Project Standards from the File pull down menu.

Deletion of view templates is only available in the View Options dialog. Deleting a View Template will not affect any existing views that it had been applied to previously.

Autodesk Revit 8.1 can only create and apply View Templates for geometric views. Autodesk Revit 9 allows View Templates for schedules as well, as shown below. The formatting of the schedule can be saved as a View Template and applied to single or multiple schedules at one time.

View Templates not only help standardize the look of construction document sets, but they also help you achieve it with less work.