ABOUT

My name is Veng Leong. I graduated from Virginia Tech with an Architecture degree and am currently working in an Architecture firm, HGA. I have many years of AutoCad experience and am about to start learning the BIM software from AudoDesk – Revit.

I have been reading lots of blogs, tutorials, forums, etc., and realized how difficult it is to understand some of the tutorials. After spending hours trying to resolve some issues that could have been resolved in minutes, I came up with the idea of writing a blog from the perspective of a new Revit user. That is how this blog is born. This blog documents everything I have learned and discovered throughout my Revit learning journey. I wanted to share them with everyone who came across the same questions I had during the learning process.

23 Comments

  1. Hi, I took a course on revit Dec 2013, stopped & now trying to learn from scratch again.Could you direct me to your link on how to start using revit & implementing BIM.Came across your blog by chance & i find your blog explains the process in simple term. I will be your faithful student cos i am freaking out now!!.

  2. Thank you for your support. I understand your fear because I had the same fear before, but if you have the determination to master it, you will succeed. I think practice is the key to learning Revit. I am not a believer of those step by step Revit course. I found following instruction to building a fake project is useless since we have all the freedom to do whatever we want and not serious about it. However, doing an actual project has all the constraint and design criteria that needs to be met, that forces me to think for a solution to meet the goal. This is how I learn Revit. The post I posted are tips and tricks I found useful to share with everyone. Most of the post are things that you will come across in a typical project, I hope they can help you resolve some of the daily Revit problems you have.

  3. Hie, thanks for the blog; i’ll be trying out the project in a few weeks’ time and wanted to do some research before. I have no prior knowledge of autocad or anything like that. Do you think it will be rough to pick it up?
    I will definitely be a regular visitor of this blog! thanks again!

  4. Amy, thanks for your support! I think it will be easier for people with no AutoCAD knowledge to learn Revit. As an AutoCAD user with 10+ years experience, there was always this AutoCAD concept floating in my head when I started learning Revit. It was very easy to get the two mixed up and get frustrated. It took me quite a while to detach my mindset away from AutoCAD. Since you are like a piece of white paper, I think you have all the advantage. Revit might looked complicated at first, but once you get the hang of it, it will be so easy. Speaking from my experience as both AutoCAD and Revit user, I can tell you I will never want to go back to AutoCAD again. Feel free to send email if you have any questions. Enjoy Learning Revit! 🙂

  5. Hi Veng

    I have just read your blog and found I am at the same point as when you started Revit.
    I have similar back ground, but mature years and struggle to get a good position has driven me to learn Revit with a view to Freelancing.
    I would be truly in debt to you if you can assist me in a good knowledge base and study area in order to get going on the road to success

    Kind Regards Paul

  6. Paul, I am very happy you found this blog helpful. I took Revit courses before, but I found it easier to learn when working on a real project. I would suggest you to find a real project and build it with Revit. You are always welcome to email me with questions. Good luck on Learning Revit!

  7. Hi,

    I appreciate the resource you have here.
    Just wondering if you have a tutorial to be able to convert a Revit file to Autocad 2013 file?

  8. I don’t have a blog post talking about this topic. I will put this in my to do list. To convert Revit file to Autocad is pretty easy. Click on the “R” icon at the top left corner > Export > CAD format > DWG. Choose the sheets you need to convert to CAD file, click Next when you are done. In the next window, browse for the location and format of file you want to save as. There is a little check box “Export views on sheets and links as external references” at the bottom of this window. Check this box ONLY if you want the view to be saved as reference file. What does that mean? Say if you have 5 views on your sheet, Revit will create a sheet file and 5 individual view file that will be xref into the sheet file. If you want only one file for each sheet, do not check this box. Hope this help.

  9. Hi Veng, what I’ve seen tonight seems like a great site. Your .pdf on True North saved me from having to digest about a dozen other sources. However I haven’t been able to fully appreciate your blog due to a lack of navigation. Most WordPress themes use categories, tag clouds, and archives in their sidebar to allow access to posts. I believe you can also install a plugin to give you a book hierarchy similar to Drupal. Hope this is of use, and feel free to get back to me with any questions. Thanks again for what you’ve done.

  10. Hi Weng,
    I am a teacher and instructor of AutoCAD, trying to get knowledge about Revit to teach it too. My site: http://www.irancad.com is dedicated to AutoCAD (and if I be able to learn Revit deeply, to Revit).
    I found your site and tutorials very useful. Thank you very much.

  11. I like the subject matter that you are covering. Most tutorials seem to go on er the basics and the glamorous elements of modelling or rendering. I think auto desk could much more to explain the finer points of things like parameters. Your tutorials seem to tackle the day to day tasks that are encountered in offices, such as your article on revisions. Don’t the auto desk people know that practices have office standards. A simple 1, 2, 3,or A ,B, C just will not do. This causes practices to abandon parametric revisions and they go back to simple text boxes.
    I will look forward to reading your future articles.

  12. Hello Veng,

    Thank you for this valuable Revit tutorial blog. I’m currently pursuing an Architectural Drafting degree (CAD for the Building Professional Certificate) at Montgomery College in Rockville, MD (please see my Academic-Professional portfolio on my Google Drive – http://bit.ly/1cHd6fX. I consider myself as an “Intermediate” Revit user. However, I was wondering if you offer any tutorial or consulting services for individuals (i.e. a student) using Revit for architectural projects?

    By the way in my advance Revit II course at Montgomery College, my instructor (a licensed Architect) is teaching my class how to create customized parametric doors. I’ll be happy to share some valuable tips/procedures with you and your audience on this complex subject.

    ~ Darren

  13. Hi Veng

    Where have you been all my (Revit) life, I love your site keep up the gret work.

    Billwill

  14. Hi VENG LEONG,
    My name is Sullivan
    I have been using Autocad now for more than 20 years now and I find it hard grasping at revit do you have any suggestions my line of work is miscellaneous steel stair cases steel beams etc. I would appreciate any help thank you

  15. Sullivan,
    Welcome to joining our world of Revit! I suggest you to know some of the basic stuff such as Project Base Point & Internal Origin (build your model close to these points), how to create Level lines (Elevation level is important in Revit, elements are placed relative to the Level), Stair modeling (Revit has very limited flexiblity in stair modeling, there are still a lot of room for improvements), how to bring in the Structural Steel families in Revit, some basic family modeling of structural steel, how to create custom parameters for your project, and setting up sheets for production.

  16. I’ve been using Revit for two years. I have to say Revit is a totally different program than AutoCAD or other 3D program. It has everything in its own way. Your past experiences won’t help you in Revit. I’s not flexible at all. Somebody says it’s a great 3D modelling tool. I have to suggest them to use other 3D programs. It’s really hard to make parametric models in Revit if you want to build some component families with different configurations.

  17. I need more deeper how Revit works in a working environment. Filtering, phasing, applying view template etc. Is it necessary you have a Revit manual or BEP is your adherance to standards?

  18. Poch, I don’t have a Revit manual to follow, I learn Revit by myself and also through daily use of Revit at the office. When you start a new project, it is always good to start a BEP or check with your firm if they have already developed a BEP. This is very important to serve as a guidelines between consultants, client and general contractor to know how you will exchange/distribute models between each party, how often will you exchange, how much information will be provided in the model at each phase in the project, whether Shared Coordinates is used in the project, Worksets, Phasing, how to name the project model, sheet numbering system, consultant discipline order as appear in the drawing index, etc… About setting up the project, yes, it is always good to setup filter and view template for each type of view, for example, view template for floor plans, RCP, Exterior Elevations, Building Sections, Enlarged details, Interior Elevations, etc… You will also need to setup the levels and create plans for each levels, start the model at the origin so you are not just building your model anywhere in the space. It is advisable for one person to complete the entire setup of the project before your team start working in the model. Create a Family folder in your file directory for your team to store Families specific for the project. Also, keep in mind everything is included when you send the model out, you are basically send out the whole project, including all the sheets and details your team has created. In certain cases, you might need to purge all the sheets and details before sending, depending on the contract. Make sure to request the party receiving the model to sign a digital release form before sending the model. These are my advise for you based on my experience. I hope this help. Thanks.

  19. Learning Revit would definitely add up to your skills but practicing it would retain your knowledge. Also, try making self notes for your clear interpretation. My personal experience says that. Also, before learning customize the topics by referring a lot of resources available on the Internet.

  20. Veng – I just discovered your blog and I want to thank you for providing such necessary information to those of us just getting started. I work for a Cost Consultancy and we are using the Revit models for quantity takeoff as much as possible, but sometimes we don’t receive the .rvt file correctly so your ‘Proper Way to save a Revit model for Consultants’ topic is most helpful. Thank you and I look forward to reading more Revit tips.

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