Navigate - Essential Skill

Learn how to open a view and navigate to different areas of the model.

A Revit file is a 3D model of your building. The 2D views are slices of the model showing a floor plan, elevation, section, or detail view. The Project Browser lists and provides navigation to the different views. To better understand the spatial relationships between the elements, work with multiple open views of the model by tiling the view windows.

Within a view, use the middle mouse button to zoom, pan, and orbit. The Navigation Bar at the right side of the drawing area, and the ViewCube in 3D views, offer alternate methods of navigating in the view.

Terms and Concepts

Term/Concept Definition
View Isolates a specific portion of the model so it can be more easily worked on. For example:
  • A floor plan cuts a model a specified distance above a level datum.
  • A section view cuts the model where the section line crosses model elements.
  • An elevation view does not cut the model, but provides a plane where model elements are projected.
  • A 3D view shows the model elements in an isometric or perspective view.
Project Browser Lists all of the views contained in the model. Double-clicking a view title opens the view in the drawing area. The Project Browser also lists all of the family content currently loaded in the project.
Tiled Views Displays multiple views at once, allowing you to see elements from different angles simultaneously. Using tiled views can help when designing in 3D space because the relationship can be more easily understood without the need to change from one view to another.
Navigation Bar Provides access to navigation tools based on the currently active view (2D or 3D).
ViewCube Provides a quick way to orient a 3D view to a particular viewing angle.

Video

In this video, you will learn how to:
  • Use the mouse wheel to navigate in a view.
  • Use the ViewCube to navigate a 3D view.
  • Open views from the Project Browser.
  • Display open views in tiled windows.