by Dennis Collin
Revit’s out of the box tools are fine most of the time, but there are certain areas where these functions could be developed to boost users’ productivity and efficiency. One such set of Tools is T4R (Tools 4 Revit) tool suite. This tool suite has many additional commands, too many to cover in one post, and so this blog will just focus on a selection of the suite with the remainder to be covered separately in Part 2. These additional tools which are available to Arkance subscription customers will be of benefit when performing certain tasks.
The T4R suite can be accessed from here.
Once installed some additional tabs are added with some useful extras.
Fig 1. T4R tools panel showing both silver and bronze level tools, with the Extended Filter function highlighted.
One of the main useful functions is T4R’s Extended Filter tool. Revit’s standard Filter selection tool is limited to Revit Categories, however with the extended filter tool it is possible to refine a selection to Level, View or a Selection
Fig 2. Revit’s standard filter selection tool is limited to selecting at category level, whereas with the extended filter elements can be selected down to a specific element instance property.
Once the selection is made, these filters can be saved to named selection sets.
Other useful tools include some project related tools which will provide users of all linked Reference files, including Revit Projects, CAD data and Keynoting information. This can be displayed as a list. These Links can be automatically monitored with a notification dialogue information the user of changes to the linked document.
Fig 3. T4R Reference Files tools include link listing and file change notifications!
Tools also include a watermark signing function called BIMsign which can be assigned to either a project or family file. The BIMsign function does not prove an unmodified state of the original document like AutoCAD’s digital signature does. However, it does prove that a document is based on your original data that was signed at the file’s creation stage. Non-authorised users cannot remove the BIM signature and signature remains part of the BIM file even if the BIMsign utility is not installed. It will not be visible using Revit’s standard tools, but the watermark will manifest itself if checked by any T4R enabled system.
Fig 4. BIMSign and Who Did That tools help track changes to Revit documents.
Another useful project tool is a ‘Who did that’ checker which displays the names of authors of an element and the ID of the user who last changed it, which could be useful when working on Workshared files.
For users used to AutoCAD there is a Command Line style input window where users can type and see a predictive list of similar commands when entered via a keyboard command or short-cut.
Fig 5. Revit ‘command line’ a case of AutoCAD deja-vu?
When looking at clash detection in models, it is useful to be able to quickly locate elements by their unique ID reference. Unfortunately, this data is not so easily accessible by default but with the ID element function, the model can be queried, and a Shared Parameter is created for all elements and the element ID assigned. This can be scheduled and used when liaising with Revit users of other disciplines. It is also possible to set this to be automatically added with the creation of new elements.
Fig 6. Knowing the element ID is crucial when collaborating with other disciplines!
Also, there is an Element Level function which creates a level parameter describing which level an element is located. This can be useful for certain families where a default level parameter is not available, usually because of the family template used for that content.
Rooms are a very useful feature of Revit, as well as for areas, they can also be used to locate elements for scheduling purposes. Numbering and naming rooms though is a little tedious as Rooms are numbered in creation order. T4R provides a Renumber Rooms facility where users can assign new numbers to both Rooms and Spaces, with Prefix/suffix options and sequential numbering.
Fig 7. A Common user request is to make the renumbering of Rooms or Spaces easier!
Dimensioning is another area where time efficiencies can be made with an enhanced Quick Dimension function of walls, openings and heights, with individual bays and overall dimensions added with a single click.
Fig 8. T4R’s quick dimensioning tool is quicker than conventional dimensioning methods.
For Text notes users can also access an improved alignment function, change caps and find and replace text function.
For Views T4R has an option to duplicate multiple views and name them with specified options. A Quick Section Box and some quick options to reset Graphic Overrides set by element or restore the visibility of elements hidden in the current view. Elements hidden or overridden by category or filter are left unchanged. To round off the views section, T4R also has a focus on item command, which will display a selected item in a view.
Fig 9. Text find and replace, and View Reset options are also available as free utilities!
In summary, the T4R set of tools extends Revit’s standard command offerings by saving time of many typical and repetitive tasks. There are several other useful tools under the T4R heading including the Smart Browser which enables BIM managers to control and cascade approved Revit family content to the wider team, speed up the loading of families, edit family data via excel, bulk upgrading of system and component families and much more. In Part 2, I will cover some tools that vastly improves Revit’s Legend view creation capabilities. Watch this space!
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