Revit 2019 – it’s here – some great reasons to upgrade.

In case you haven’t seen it, Revit 2019 is well and truly here.  There should hopefully be something for everyone in this new version. Every user will benefit from the new user-interface enhancements (Dual screens are now really supported!). What’s more, there is a major enhancement to filters in Projects too. The visual display of the model gets a few tweaks and there are further refinements for users who want to link in with MEP Hydronic Systems and structural steel models.

Let’s have a look at the new features in no particular order.

Multi-monitor support and Tabbed Views.

Simply grab a View and drag it any where on your screen. You can tab views into groups to make navigation easier too. It takes a bit of practice but soon you’ll be dragging viewports around like a Pro 😉

“OR” in Filter Rules (BIM NERD alert):

We have always been able to make Filters that support “AND” so we can make a Filter that asks to modify or hide elements that have 2 or more specific Parameter values. Anyone who has played around with View or Selection Filters has quickly realised that the “OR” rule was missing and we’ve had to work around this. Being able to use an “OR” test means we can make a very efficient rule that tells Revit to  change the appearance or hide elements if it complies to a range of values in their Parameters.

Built in access to BM 360 Document Management (the evolution of Collaboration for Revit).

Autodesk has had several cloud based technologies that were designed to assist people in the design and construction industry and these have all now been unified into the 360 DOCs technology (based on Forge). Existing C4R customers will have their licenses from the older C4R technology to the new 360 Doc’s one. You will still have access to C4R projects from within Revit 2018.

Levels visible in 3D Views:

Whilst on first glance this might seem to be a purely aesthetic enhancement, it does have some practical implications. Levels will now show in Axonmetric and Perspective Views. You can control the way they look or whether they display in the Visibility Graphics settings for each View. This can be quite nice for presentations but also will serve as a means for clients or even consultants to get a better  grasp on the framework of the Project. (HINT: Lock those Levels!)

Uncropped 3D Views:

Not a massive feature perhaps but if you are exploring your design in a 3D viewport, especially as part of a real-time demonstration or discussion of a design, this will be a nice enhancement. In previous versions of Revit, a perspective view had to always have a crop region around it. That’s no longer the case so whilst exploring the design in the 3D viewport you can see your design top to bottom and side to side which is the natural way you would expect to look at things. Another neat little trick is that you can change a view back and forth from a Perspective to Axonometric and vise versa.

Double Fill Patterns:

We can now create Fill Pattern Families that have a combination of 2 fill patterns laid on top of each other. This might add a bit more flexibility in Projects where you need to use a wide range of fil patterns to represent materials or other design elements graphically. Previously you would have to generate a new fill pattern and you could import a custom fill region but that can be time consuming.

Splits in Railings:

You can now use the Split tool to create a break in a Railing. This function works on vertical runs of Railing on Stairs too but it will result in what Revit refers to as a non-continuous Railing.

Custom Steel Connection:

Revit 2019 now has a new Tab on the Ribbon called “Steel”. Amongst other functions, you can now create new customised Steel Connections:

Hydronic Systems – Standby option for pumps (reduntant systems). Complex piping system analysis (primary and secondary pipe systems):

Autodesk have improved pressure drop analysis for complex Hydronic networks, supporting primary/secondary separation these systems. You can now run analyses on pumps in parallel in hydronic piping networks and compute flow from duty and standby (backup) pump quantities.

Rebar – enhanced functionality for custom shapes:

Creating schedules of Rebar was problematic in previous versions. 2019 now has an option to generate a new Rebar Shape for a custom shaped element which allows you to quantify them in your Schedules.

This is not a full list of all the features so feel free to install and explore!