Rhino.Inside.Revit version 1.0 was released mid-August of 2021, containing all of the features that Robert McNeel and Associates wanted to include in the initial release, including the much awaited Element Tracking. Since this release, more users and firms have begun adopting Rhino.Inside.Revit into their workflows.
Additionally, there have been minor updates and improvements provided in the release of Rhino.Inside.Revit v1.1 and the latest release of v1.2, currently available as an update from within the Revit toolbar. This article will cover some resources for learning, as well as cover the best features of Rhino.Inside.Revit, updated to the latest release (v.1.2) that is available.
Capabilities
Rhino.Inside.Revit has been around for a couple of years, but here’s a recap, at a high-level, of the capabilities of Rhino.Inside.Revit:
Read Revit Model Elements
Read access to the properties and parameters for a given Revit model element
Edit Revit Model Elements
Edit access to the parameters for a given model element
Create native Revit Elements
There are a variety of Create components that allow for the creation of new Revit elements with provided inputs. The following Revit elements can be created with the Create components in Rhino.Inside.Revit:
Beam, Column, Roof, Wall, Floor, Level, Grid line, Adaptive components, Family instance, DirectShape, Topography, Building pad, 3d view, Form / loftform, Model line, Sketch plane, Model group, Material, Physical asset, Thermal asset
Note: due to the new feature of Element Tracking, many more Create components should now be possible, so keep an eye out for updates in the Release Notes.
Convert Revit model element geometry to Rhino geometry
By specifying a particular view, the visible geometry for an element can be converted into Rhino geometry. The resulting geometry could be Points, Lines, Curves, Meshes, Surfaces or Polysurfaces.
Features Overview
Within the nearly 300 different components that are available, Rhino.Inside.Revit has a great deal of functionality. The components are grouped into various panels across the ribbon in the Revit tab:
Build
Create native Revit building elements
Category
Access Category info
DirectShape
Create Revit Directshapes from
Document
Access and edit document information
Element
Access and edit elements
Family
Access, edit, and create Family components
Filter
Logic filters to apply to different elements
Host
Work with element hosts
Input
Input components, with dropdown menus containing various Revit options/settings/types
Material
Access, edit, deconstruct and create new materials
Model
Access, edit, and create datums and model lines
Parameter
Access, edit, and create Parameters
Room & Area
Analyze Instance Space
Site
Access and create top
Type
Access types and type instances
View
Access, edit, and export Views
Wall
Access, Analyze, and Create Walls
This is a short summary of the many components that are available. I recommend giving the full list of Components a review, and as always, make use of the tooltips in Grasshopper by hovering over the middle of the component.
Element Tracking
One of the nicest new features Rhino.Inside.Revit is the introduction of Element Tracking to all of the Create Components, which allows the Grasshopper script to remember the elements it created between sessions.
Previously, in Beta versions, Grasshopper script would have no memory of having created elements between sessions, so if the script was opened in a new Revit session, it may create duplicate elements.
In the public release, there is flexibility for users to define how they want the Grasshopper components to remember the Revit elements that they created:
Disabled will not track the elements, so will create new (and possible duplicate) elements upon solving.
Enabled : Replace deletes any existing element and creates a new element, generating a new Element ID.
Enabled: Update will check to see if it can edit the existing element (maintaining the Element ID). If it is unable to edit or does not detect any existing element, it will create a new element. This is the default setting.
In addition to the Tracking Modes, users can Highlight (elements will be selected within the Revit window), Unpin, Delete, or Release the elements by right-clicking the Output of the component.
Version 1.2 Updates
Version 1.2 brought a dozen new components for Views, Sheets, and Assemblies.
Rhino.Inside.Revit Resources
When considering implementing a new software or update into a firm’s standard practices, it is good to test and understand any changes made in each release. Here is a shortlist of some of the most useful links for learning about the latest releases of Rhino.Inside.Revit.
This page contains reference guides for users, developers and BIM Managers, including the Release Notes, which are a quick way to get up to speed with the latest changes so that any existing Grasshopper definitions will continue to work as expected, or can be planned to be revised accordingly.
This blog contains great information about the Forge and Revit APIs, which can be helpful to understand how Rhino.Inside.Revit is able to work, and how the functionality can be extended through scripting.
Summary
As a reminder Rhino.Inside.Revit is free to download and use, and the source code can be found on Github. You just need a license of Revit and Rhino 7 and you should be up and running! Email rhino@microsolresources.com to purchase new or upgrade to Rhino 7.
As of September 23, 2021, Autodesk has released the Revit 2022.1 update. With it, are many improvements and added features To Design Productivity, Interoperability, and Documentation Efficiency.
Design Productivity
Duplicate Sheets
Project documentation gets even easier and faster with the ability to duplicate sheets in Revit 2022
In the Project Browser, right-click any sheet and select Duplicate Sheet in the context menu.
You have three options:
Duplicate a sheet as a new empty sheet using the same title block;
Duplicate a sheet and any detail elements on the sheet, such as legends, schedules, keyplans, and sheet-specific linework; or
Duplicate a sheet with views.
Here, you can choose to duplicate all placed views as independent copies, include view-specific elements in the copied views, or create dependent copies.
Note: This option will be disabled for view types that do not support dependent copies.
Dynamo for Revit 2.12
Revit 2022.1 installs the latest release of Dynamo; this update includes many new features and user-requested improvements to help streamline your automation workflows.
User interface enhancements- The Dynamo user interface offers several improvements in this release. A new Dynamo tab provides general information about your installation. A new Extensions top-level menu controls the display of default and custom View Extensions. And a new collapsible Export menu is now available.
Preferences panel- Control your Dynamo settings faster with the new Preferences panel. The General settings control language, number, and scale formatting. The Features settings define the default Python engine and enable experimental packages.The Visual Settings control rendering precision and display parameters. And the new Package Manager allows you to explore the properties of installed packages and select a default save location for custom package content.
Node AutoComplete – Learn Dynamo faster with the enhanced Node Autocomplete UI. Enable it under the preferences’ Experimental subpanel. This feature helps you build Dynamo workflows more quickly by automatically finding nodes to connect for you when you double left-click on node ports. These nodes will also display a link to the Documentation browser, providing an expanded node description and instructions for use.
Graph Properties Extension – Annotate your workflows and share better information about your graphs with the new Graph Properties extension. Save a custom description, a thumbnail image, an author name, and URL links together with your graph
Generative Design in Revit updates
Revit 2022.1 installs the latest release of Generative Design in Revit, featuring a new set of powerful enhancements:
Export outcomes – You can now share study results in other applications by exporting data in the CSV file format. Use this exported data in applications such as Microsoft Excel, Power BI, Tableau, or DFM software.
Outcome thumbnails – Navigate faster through generated outcomes with thumbnail images. This will help you navigate outcomes more quickly and easily.
File path input nodes – You can now load custom files as inputs. Browse and select a CSV or XLS file directly from the Create Study dialog. You will no longer need to build these attachments into your Dynamo scripts.
Include file dependencies – You now have the option to include file dependencies when saving your Dynamo graph. This allows you to package up your custom files and definitions together with your study files, making it easier to share your study types with others.
Easily open a study type in Dynamo – Access study types faster in Dynamo. You can now review and modify a study type directly from the Create Study dialog by clicking on the new “pencil” icon.
Display input updates in real time – Your updates to Dynamo graphs will now be displayed instantly under the Create Study dialog, expediting your design process.
Edit multiple rebar set constraints at once
Model and details rebar sets in Revit more efficiently in Revit 2022.1. The improved rebar modeling and detailing for structural engineers and detailers, make it easier for you to move from disconnected CAD workflows to BIM, and enabling you to model and detail faster and more accurately. You can edit the rebar constraints to adjust the bar lengths or distances to the concrete faces of multiple rebar sets at the same time.
Automatically match coupler size to rebar type
Connect Revit rebar with couplers more quickly and easily. The rebar coupler size is automatically adjusted to match the bars you are trying to connect or match the sizes you set for the already connected bars. A matching coupler type is selected from the same family, if it exists, or from another family loaded in the project. If a matching coupler type does not exist in the project, a new coupler type is created.
Couplers are no longer deleted when they do not match the connected rebar, and you can quickly place couplers between bars of different diameters without errors.
Adjust Slope
Autodesk Revit 2022.1 offers several improvements to sloped layouts using fabrication parts, including new slope adjustment tools. When detailing a sloped layout, it is now easier to control how branch connections are made. Detailed fabrication parts now use similar controls to design intent elements, providing a consistent modeling experience for detailers working in Revit. You can slope branch work into the main using the Change Slope tool, or you can connect your branches horizontally and drop them into the main using the Add Vertical tool.
The improvements to sloped layouts using fabrication parts, also includes better alignment behavior for pitched pipe offsets, and improved connectivity when modifying layouts.
Maintain alignment of pitched pipe offsets – In previous versions of Revit, rigid fittings did not allow main and branch work to maintain perpendicular alignment automatically when modeling a sloped layout. The user needed to take the extra step of manually aligning the branch in plan views. With this release, wye fittings automatically adjust to maintain perpendicular alignment for sloped layouts using fabrication parts, saving you time and effort when detailing.
Improved connectivity when modifying layouts – Prior to Revit 2022.1, if you adjust the elevation of a primary branch in a complex sloped layout, you might observe a shift in the centerlines of connected elements. This release improves element connectivity when modifying sloped layouts, resolving this issue for most scenarios.
Electrical Performance Enhancements
Response times when working with electrical content have been dramatically improved on large and/or complex projects:
Edit Circuit Performance – See performance gains of up to 30x when editing a circuit.
Select Panel Performance – See performance gains of up to 20x when selecting a panel.
Re-hosting Electrical Families Performance – See performance gains of up to 4x when selecting a new host for an electrical family.
Category Name Search
Find categories and subcategories faster while working in Revit. You can now search for categories in many dialogs using keywords without navigating through the entire list. These dialogs offer this new functionality: New Schedule/Quantity, New Material Takeoff, Parameter Properties, Loaded Tags and Symbols, Object Styles, Visibility/Graphics Overrides, and Modify DWG/DXF/DGN export.
You can also use a partial input. For example, if you type the letters “duct”, all results that include those letters will be shown.
Duplicate Existing Family Parameter
In Revit 2022.1, this new feature helps you create and modify family type parameters more quickly. While editing a family, you can create a duplicate of an existing parameter by selecting the new “Duplicate Parameter” icon in the Family Types dialog. Family parameters and built-in parameters can be duplicated, and the duplicated parameter may be edited later.
Import or Link CAD Formats at Any Level
With this new release, you can pick any level when importing or linking CAD formats. During insertion of a file via the Import CAD or Link CAD commands, you will now see an option to select any level in the current model from the “Place at” pull-down list.
Note: This feature is available in plan, section, elevation, and 3D views—making it easier for you to insert CAD content wherever you need it.
Zoom to Fit Work Plane Viewer
Save time and better understand the context you are working in. When using the work plane viewer to make edits, the window automatically opens zoomed to the extents of the model. Once opened, you are still able to use zoom tools to focus on the area of work.
Note: This feature also applies for Revit LT
Compatible Shared Parameters
In past releases of Revit, you might encounter the error message “Shared Parameter File Cannot Be Read” when loading a shared parameter file created in a newer version of the software—a result of unrecognized category information in the file. This behavior has been improved in Revit 2022.1. If the issue is detected when loading a shared parameter TXT file, you will now receive a detailed explanation and guidance to create a copy of the file that will work properly with the current version of Revit.
Family Load Error Message
In Revit 2022.1, the “Cannot Load Family Files” message which can occur using the Load Family command after starting to place an element, has been enhanced to provide a better explanation why some families were unable to be loaded.
Load Multiple Autodesk Families
Load the right family content more quickly. The Load Autodesk Family tool now allows you to load more than one family at a time into your model. Click each family individually or use Shift+click to select multiple adjacent families.
Open Any Synced Version of a Revit Cloud Model
Revit 2022.1 enables you to open any synchronized version of a Revit Cloud Model.
From Revit Home, locate the cloud model you are interested in and click on the ellipsis menu. You will see an option for Version History. Selecting this option will open a list of all previous syncs for that cloud model. The version history panel displays the number of syncs, the name of the user that synced each version, and a timestamp for each version. After finding the desired version, you can open (with or without auditing) that version of the file. The model will open as a detached copy of the project file with the version number and timestamp in the file name.
Performance with Complex Sketches
See faster response times when working with complex sketches. Here are some areas when you will see significant improvements in performance:
– When selecting a complex sketch
– When clicking the “Edit Boundary” button for a complex sketch
UI Enhancements
In Revit 2022.1, a couple of dialog boxes that were formerly fixed in size are now resizable, making it easier to work with long lists and names at any resolution.
Developer Tools
Additional enhancements to Revit 2022.1 includes new API functionality for custom add-ins.
You can delete worksets in a project via the API
You can split a schedule across sheets via the API
Interoperability
OBJ and STL File Format Support
Connect BIM workflows to CAM and 3D printing with STL and OBJ file format support. Revit 2022.1 supports new file types, expanding your ability to connect your model with a broader set of CAD formats.
You can now import stereolithography models directly into Revit, making it easier to connect your documentation with computer-aided manufacturing and 3D printing workflows.
You can also import and export OBJ files. The OBJ format is a simple and open format that preserves both color and texture information and is the preferred format for precise, multi-color 3D printing.
Import and Link Rhino 7 and SketchUp 2021
Revit 2022.1 now allows you to link and import Rhino 7 and Sketchup 2021 files. Streamline your documentation process with improved support for SubD shapes in Rhino 7 files, as well as support for Sketchup 2021.
Link Rhino or Sketchup files in Revit and expedite your documentation updates.
IFC ODA Toolkit Update
Experience improved IFC support through integration of the IFC ODA Toolkit. The integration of the ODA-based IFC SDK in Revit 2022.1 allows for a consistent data mapping in IFC file. The toolkit allows Revit to translate data from a wide range of applications, without the need to write complex code.
Revit Levels in FormIt
Improve your iterative design exploration workflows with the support for Revit levels in FormIt Pro. Using 3D Sketch, you can launch a FormIt session directly from Revit and include all or selected Revit levels into the FormIt layers palette. Continue your design exploration in FormIt using Revit geometry as your background context. Apply imported level data to new geometry groups in the FormIt Levels palette to display gross area and volume calculations.
Documentation Efficiency
Snap to the Middle of Two Points
In Revit 2022.1, you can use snaps to select a midpoint between two selected points. This temporary snap override is available when placing a component, during sketching, and while using Modify tools. You can access this feature using a keyboard shortcut or from the in-canvas context menu.
Right-click in the drawing window, expand the Snap Overrides sub-menu, and select “Snap mid between 2 points” to enable the temporary snap override. Choose your first point and then hover over the second point to view a temporary line and midpoint indicator. Click on the second point to place a component at the midpoint between the two selected points.
When drawing a wall, floor, stair, or similar elements, the “Mid between 2 points” temporary snap override is available at each point of sketching.
When using tools from the Modify menu, such as Copy, Move or Rotate, the “Mid between 2 points” temporary snap override is available to help you easily relocate your elements to the desired position.
Select All Instances Enhancements
The Select All Instances functionality has been extended to include more element categories and permit the selection of multiple element types simultaneously. The “Visible in View” and “In Entire Project” options are retained. New categories supported by the Select All Instances command include Rooms, Areas, Spaces, Model Lines, Detail Lines, Reference Planes, Revision Clouds, and more.
Find in Project Browser
In Revit 2022.1, you can select elements in your model and right-click to locate those elements in the Project Browser. This new feature connects your drawing canvas to the Project Browser and helps you find elements in your project faster. With nothing selected, the active view (or sheet) is highlighted in the Project Browser.
Split Schedule Across Sheets Improvements
Introduced in Revit 2022, the possibility to split a schedule into multiple segments and place each segment on sheets has been enhanced in Revit 2022.1.
Contextual information displays in the “Split Schedule and Place on Sheets” dialog box, to help you make better decisions about the schedule segments. This also has an impact on the Split & Place button which gets updated dynamically, keeping it greyed out in case of incorrect definition.
Another improvement is about keynote legends, you can now use the Cut and Paste functionality to cut and paste the legend to multiple sheets.
Automatic Lock for Align Tool
When using the Align tool, all settings have been moved to the contextual tab of the ribbon. Checkboxes are available for “Multiple Alignment” and “Lock”. The latter locks elements automatically when you align them; you will no longer need to click the lock icon to lock elements one by one after aligning them. You can also select your preference for “Wall centerlines” or “Wall faces” from a pulldown menu.
Performance with Large Numbers of Views
Revit 2022.1 comes with improved performance when working with projects containing large numbers of views. Here are some areas when you will see significant improvements in performance:
– When using the toggle reference view checkbox in the contextual tab
– When opening a plan view containing a large number of section views
– When clicking the “Schedule/Quantities” button for the first time
Autodesk Assemble enables construction professionals to condition, query, and connect BIM data to key workflows including design reviews, takeoffs, estimating, change management, and value engineering to reduce risk and improve efficiencies during project planning and execution.
Instant Access to BIM Data
Provide the entire project team with access to the model and drawings to quickly group, sort, and filter quantities and associated meta-data.
Instant Access to Quantities
Instant access to complete project inventory to easily organize project data by user defined parameters such as bid package, location, phase, WBS, or work activity codes.
Real-time Project Updates
Improve work in place (WIP), lookahead, status tracking, and inventory management workflows when accessing specific model views by trade or scope.
Increase Access and Accountability
Access specs and other project documents from BIM 360 directly in the Assemble model to identify, track, and resolve project issues quicker and with greater transparency.
Leveraging model data for quantification has resulted in significant cost and time saving. With the use of Assemble, our takeoff time has decreased by up to 40%.
Features the latest informative and technical content provided by our industry experts for designers, engineers, and construction firms and facility owners.
Project documentation gets even easier and faster with the ability to duplicate sheets in Revit 2022
