by Garry Stockton
After installing Revit 2026 you get the below dialogue box, which allows you to tailor your version of Revit 2026, even more, you can select your job role.
Accelerated Revit Graphics
Whilst there is no major update in the latest offering of Revit, there are a few enhancements that some people will consider long overdue.
One of better additions in Revit 2026 is the Accelerated Revit Graphics Tech Preview—a great update to Revit's existing graphics. When selected (in the Graphics tab in the Options dialog), this new feature delivers a noticeably improved navigation, especially in 3D views. Most geometry—including linked RVT models—renders are improved, complete with surface patterns, colours, and silhouette edges.
The per-view toggle (located in the top-right corner or via the right-click menu) provides flexibility, though it's worth noting that sheets, activated viewports, drafting views, legends, and modes like Realistic or Shadows aren't supported just yet. Also, while the GPU now plays a more meaningful role in rendering, enabling this feature in multiple views may cause excessive on-board RAM usage—so be aware. No changes are made to your project files, so feel free to experiment without risk.
I’ve been testing this with some larger projects, and the performance enhancement is very noticeable.
You can turn off your Accelerated Graphics above the 3D view Cube, to turn back on simply go back to options (see above image).
Option Bar Changes
Autodesk continues modification settings from the longstanding Option Bar below the Ribbon bar. While this may seem a small thing, it's likely part of a bigger plan for UI consistency and discoverability. Long-time users will likely notice the shift. The example below highlights the change related to annotation tools, but others, like the Wall tool, have not yet moved.
Smarter View and Sheet Placement
A really good new feature of Revit 2026 is the View and Sheet Positioning improvements that streamline how views are placed and aligned. Now, you can align views based on either the View Origin (the default) or a View Anchor. Views with crop regions especially those defined by scope boxes, can be precisely positioned relative to sheet corners. Even better, the placement data can be edited from any view that uses that defined position, improving consistency and reducing rework.
Part 2 follows