Contents
Contents................................................................................................................. 1

Welcome to Autodesk Revit ....................................................................................... 3

About This Guide ..................................................................................................... 3

Autodesk Revit Terms............................................................................................... 3

Whats New for 6.0 .................................................................................................. 4

Multi-user Element Borrowing ................................................................................. 4

Design Options ..................................................................................................... 4

Baluster Patterns .................................................................................................. 4

Stair Improvements............................................................................................... 4

Ellipses ................................................................................................................ 4

Plan Region .......................................................................................................... 4

Project Browser Customization ................................................................................ 4

Spell Checker ....................................................................................................... 4

Detail Views ......................................................................................................... 5

Schedule Formulas and Filtering .............................................................................. 5

Repeating Details .................................................................................................. 5

The User Interface ................................................................................................... 5

Design Bar ........................................................................................................... 6

Dialog Boxes ........................................................................................................ 6

Project Browser .................................................................................................... 7

Autodesk Revit Help .............................................................................................. 7

The Autodesk Revit Project........................................................................................ 8

Creating Drawings............................................................................................... 11

Manipulating the View Display............................................................................... 11

Calculating Cost Information ................................................................................. 13

Importing and Exporting Information ..................................................................... 13

Exporting to ODBC .............................................................................................. 13

Preview Guide

Autodesk Revit 6 Preview Guide
www.autodesk.com/revit
2
Creating the Building Information Model.................................................................... 13

Adding Components to Your Model......................................................................... 13

Sketching in Autodesk Revit.................................................................................. 14

Dimensioning in Autodesk Revit ............................................................................ 14

Locking Dimensions and Alignments....................................................................... 15

Starting Your Project .............................................................................................. 15

Project Sharing...................................................................................................... 17

File Linking......................................................................................................... 17

Using Components to Build Your Design .................................................................... 18

Creating Walls .................................................................................................... 18

Compound Walls ................................................................................................. 19

Curtain Walls ...................................................................................................... 20

Modifying Walls................................................................................................... 21

Windows and Doors ............................................................................................. 22

Floors and Ceilings .............................................................................................. 23

Roofs ................................................................................................................ 23

Stairs ................................................................................................................ 25

Rooms............................................................................................................... 27

Area Analysis Tools ............................................................................................. 28

Structural Elements ............................................................................................. 28

Creating a Site.................................................................................................... 28

Using Elements to Annotate Your Design ................................................................... 29

Room Color ........................................................................................................ 29

Dimensions ........................................................................................................ 30

Levels................................................................................................................ 30

Grid .................................................................................................................. 30

Reference Plane .................................................................................................. 31

Text and Symbols ............................................................................................... 31

Creating Your Own Component Families .................................................................... 31

How to Get Started ................................................................................................ 33


Autodesk Revit 6 Preview Guide
www.autodesk.com/revit
3
Welcome to Autodesk Revit
Thank you for your interest in the Autodesk
®
Revit
®
building information modeler. We hope
you enjoy using this powerful tool. We believe you will find Autodesk Revit easy to use, fast,
and fun. This document provides details on the tools available to help you create great
designs better and faster than ever before.
About This Guide
The Autodesk Revit 6 Preview Guide provides a quick overview of the product. The
philosophy of designing in Autodesk Revit is stressed throughout the guide so that you can
start to see how you may want to create your designs. Key advantages of the product are
also stressed so that as you begin using Autodesk Revit you have a basic knowledge of the
functionality and how to apply it.
This document is not intended to be a user guide. Autodesk Revit has a complete help
system that includes context-sensitive help. For specific product questions, please refer to
the online help.
We encourage you to complete the training that is available for Autodesk Revit users. A
complete set of self-paced training tutorials is available in the Autodesk Revit program or
referenced from the Training section of the Revit Product web page at
www.autodesk.com/revit
. Or you can attend live, web-based training classes from the
comfort of your own desk. For a schedule of classes, visit the Training section of the
Autodesk Revit website at
www.autodesk.com/revit-training
.
Autodesk Revit Terms
Most of the terms used to identify objects in Autodesk Revit are common, industry-standard
terms familiar to most architects. This section defines the basic terms used in Autodesk
Revit.
The first term you need to know is project. In Autodesk Revit, the project is the single
database of information for your designthe building information model. The project file
contains all the information for your building design, from geometry to construction data.
This information includes components used to design the model, views of the project, and
drawings of the design. By using a single project file, Autodesk Revit makes it easy for you
to alter your design and have changes reflected in all associated areas (plan views,
elevation views, section views, schedules, and so forth). Having only one file to track also
makes it easier to manage the project.
When creating your project, you add Autodesk Revit parametric building elements to the
design. All elements are considered categories. Autodesk Revit classifies elements by model
component elements and annotation elements. A model component element, such as a
door, desk, or roof, represents the actual 3D geometry of the building. An annotation
building element, such as a door tag, elevation symbol, or room tag, helps document the
model.
Families are classes of elements in a category which group elements with a common set of
parameters (properties), identical use, and