Architecture and Platform Enhancements in Revit 2015

Learn about software improvements for architecture, performance, and the Revit platform.

Architectural Enhancements

• Sketchy lines: Use the new Sketchy Lines feature to apply a hand-sketched graphic style to the current view, or define the settings in a view template to apply the style to multiple views. See About Sketchy Lines.
• Anti-aliasing: In the Options dialog, the Use Anti-Aliasing option has been changed to Smooth lines with anti-aliasing. You now have the ability to enable anti-aliasing for all views in the project or for selected views. Corresponding settings in Revit.ini allow you to predefine these options for users. See Smooth Lines with Anti-Aliasing.
• Ray Trace usability improvements: The Ray Trace interactive rendering visual style for views has been enhanced to provide a faster, higher quality, smooth rendering, improved color accuracy, and improved shadows with all backgrounds.
• Formulas:
  • exp(x) -- In formulas in prior releases, the software evaluated exp(x) as 10^x. Starting with this release, the software evaluates exp(x) as e^x.
  • ln(x) -- Starting with this release, you can represent natural logarithm (logarithm base e) in formulas as ln(x).

Revit Platform Enhancements

The following enhancements apply to all editions of the Revit software.

• Hidden lines:
  • You can now display all hidden lines automatically in 3D views.
  • In view properties, use the new Show Hidden Lines parameter to control the display of hidden lines in the current view. You can also define this parameter for view templates. See Show Hidden Lines by View.
  • To support the new Show Hidden Lines parameter, the Hidden Lines subcategory has been added to the following categories: structural connections, structural rebar, and structural stiffeners.
  • In previous releases, the Discipline view parameter controlled whether hidden lines displayed in a view. In the 2015 release, the Discipline parameter and the Show Hidden Lines view parameter can act independently of one another. See About Hidden Lines and View Discipline.
• Revisions:
  • You can now delete revisions. Deleting a revision removes the revision and all of the revision's associated clouds and tags from the model. See Delete Revisions.
  • Use standard draw tools, such as a line or rectangle, to sketch the revision cloud shape. Press the Spacebar to flip the arc direction in the cloud shape. See Add a Revision Cloud.
  • Specify the minimum arc length for revisions clouds in a project on the Sheet Issues/Revisions dialog. See Specify Arc Length for Revision Clouds.
• IFC imports:
  • Link IFC: To link an IFC file to the current project, use the new Link IFC tool on the Insert tab. If you later change the IFC file and reload the project, the project updates to reflect the changes. See Link an IFC File.
  • Open IFC: When opening an IFC file, you can specify whether elements join automatically (walls to walls, or walls to columns). In the Open IFC File dialog, the Auto-Join Elements option is turned on by default. Turning off this option provides more control over the results, and may improve performance during the import process. See Open an IFC File.
  • In the Import IFC Options dialog, column headings have been revised to improve clarity.
  • Enhancements to improve the quality of linked IFC data result in increased visual fidelity and improved performance during the import process.
• Schedules/material takeoffs:
  • The following parameters can now be included in a wall schedule or material takeoff (see Select Fields for a Schedule):
    • Base Constraint
    • Base Offset
    • Top Constraint
    • Top Offset
    • Unconnected Height
  • You can specify custom text to display for the Grand totals title in the Custom grand total title field on the Sorting/Grouping tab of the Schedule Properties dialog. See Add Grand Totals to a Schedule.
  • You can now create schedules that include images to convey graphical information for elements.
    • An Image instance property and Type Image type property have been added to many elements to allow you to associate an image with an element instance or type. These images can then be included in schedules and will display when the schedule is placed on a sheet. See About Creating Schedules with Images and Workflow: Schedules with Images.
    • A new parameter, Shape Image, is available when creating a Rebar Shape family to allow you to associate an image with the rebar shape type to enhance your rebar schedules. See Rebar Shape Family Parameters.
    • The Manage Images dialog has been enhanced to support managing the images in the model. This includes images associated with families and elements. See About Managing Images.
• Views on sheets: After working with an active view on a sheet, you can now double-click outside of the view to deactivate the view, and display the viewport. See Modify a View on a Sheet.
• Duplicate views: When you duplicate a view, the default name for the copy is <view name> Copy 1. When you duplicate a view as a dependent, the default name for the copy is <view name> - Dependent 1. The copied view has focus in the Project Browser (so you can easily rename the view), and the copy of the view is open in the drawing area.
• View references: You can now change the referenced view after a view reference has been created. You can also change the view reference in reference callouts, reference sections, and reference elevations after the reference has been created, as needed. See Place a View Reference.
• Trim/extend multiple elements: You can now use a selection box to select multiple elements to trim or extend to a boundary defined by another element. You can also still click to select individual elements to trim or extend. See Trim and Extend Elements.
• Manage Links dialog: Using the Add button on the Manage Links dialog, you can now link Revit models and CAD files to the project without having to exit the dialog and select another tool. See Tools to Manage Links.
• Keynoting settings: (See Keynoting Settings Dialog.)
  • This tool is now available on the Annotate tab directly from the Keynote drop-down, rather than from the Tag panel drop-down.
  • The keynote file can reside on a local server or a remote server.
  • Icons display in the Keynoting Settings dialog to indicate whether the keynote table is loaded or needs to be reloaded.
• Family parameters: (See Creating Family Parameters.)
  • By default, new family parameters are now added in ascending alphabetic order to the parameter list, within the group that you selected when creating the parameter.
  • When creating or modifying a family, you can now control the order of the family parameters in the Family Types dialog. In the Family Editor, open a family, and open the Family Types dialog. Use the Sorting Order buttons (Ascending and Descending) to sort the parameters alphabetically for the current family. To further modify the order, select a parameter and use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change the order of the parameters within a group. This parameter order is maintained in the Properties palette (instance parameters) and Type Properties dialog (type parameters) for the family when it is loaded into a project.
    Note: The Sorting Order and the Move Up and Move Down buttons are not available when editing Rebar Shape family parameters.
  • When you create a family parameter, you can add a tooltip description, up to 250 characters.
• Tag leaders: When you move a tagged element, or drag the tag head, the tag leader and elbow adjustment behavior is now consistent with that of text leaders. When you move or adjust the tag, the portion of the leader from the element to the elbow is flexible, while the portion from the elbow to the tag remains fixed.
• Pinned elements:
  • To avoid cases where you could accidently delete elements without realizing they are pinned, the warning messages when you attempt to delete pinned elements have been updated. Instead of permitting the deletion and providing a warning, Revit will now warn you that the element is pinned and instruct you to unpin the element before using Delete.
  • If you select multiple elements (some pinned and some not pinned) for deletion, Revit deletes the elements that are not pinned, and warns that you must unpin the pinned elements before deleting them.
• View title families: When creating a label for a view title family, you can now use any parameters from the View category; you are not limited to parameters in the Viewport category. You can also add shared parameters to the label if you want to display custom information. See Modify a View Title Type.
• Attached detail groups: Attached detail groups now behave as clipped instead of pinned. When you select an attached detail group, a paperclip icon displays. Because these groups are not pinned, they can be deleted, and they can be selected even if the "Select pinned elements" option is turned off. The only case where the attached group cannot be selected when "Select pinned elements" is turned off, is if the model group that the detail group is attached to is pinned. See About Editing Elements in Groups.
• Assembly code file: Under Additional Settings on the Manage tab, you can now specify the assembly code file to use for assigning a Uniformat code to the Assembly Code type property of model elements. The file can be stored on a local server or a remote server. See Assembly Code Settings. A Uniformat 2010 Classification text file is also now installed, and located by default in %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Autodesk\<product name and release>\Libraries\<locale and language>.
• Energy analysis using building elements: The algorithm that automatically creates an energy analytical model directly from Revit building elements and sends it to Autodesk Green Building Studio for analysis has been improved to provide greater analytical surface precision, handling of certain Revit elements, and better recognition of ceiling void spaces. See Energy Analysis using Building Elements - Model Validation.

Performance Enhancements

• Faster drawing of elements in views: Revit now consolidates the drawing process such that many elements are drawn in larger batches to improve performance. For example, when drawing 100 walls, Revit would previously require 200 drawing calls. In this release, Revit can now draw the same walls using only 2 drawing calls. As a result, views are redrawn more quickly, making view navigation faster.
• Faster selection graphics: When you select a large number of elements in the model, Revit uses a new process for displaying the selected elements, so that software performance is improved.
• Improved performance in MEP views: The underlying technologies used to display MEP elements in views have been enhanced, improving performance when opening and manipulating views that involve large numbers of MEP elements.