Revit's Need for Speed: Simple Performance Tips

Here are a few simple tips that I share with clients in my Revit classes and during Revit implementation. You can use these over the course of each day to speed up opening, saving, plotting and exiting Revit projects.

Tip #1: Use the Close Hidden Windows feature on a regular basis. I usually pick it prior to saving, plotting and exiting a Revit project. It’s located in the Window pulldown menu; Window > Close Hidden Windows.

Tip #2: Save and exit your project from a 2D view. (plan, elevation, section) and not from a 3D view. (Isometric, perspective) When exiting a project, follow tip #1 and then this tip.

Tip #3: Turn off shadows (Advance Model Graphics) in the 2D & 3D views when you’re not using these views. Shadows really degrade performance. Turn them off when you don’t need them. Use the Shadows Off/On button at the bottom of the screen or use View > Advanced Model Graphics pulldown menu.

Tip #4: Speed up the plotting of shaded or shadowed views on sheets by using the Export Image command (JPG, BMP, TIFF, TARGA) to capture shaded and shadowed views to a raster file. Insert the raster image of the shaded or shadowed view on a sheet for plotting or viewing. File > Export > Image

Tip #5: Minimize the clutter; use the View templates feature to manage the content displayed in each view. Most CAD programs use layers or layer filters to quickly change the display content in the view. Revit uses View Templates to store which items are turned on/off, view scale, linetype assignment and detail (coarse, medium, fine) in a view. View > Apply View Template or View > Create View Template From View

Tip #6: Delete unused 3D views. If you are inserting cameras to view various portions of your project, it doesn’t take long before you have lots of 3D views in your project browser. As a matter of habit, I name all 3D views that I’m using either for create/edit viewing or printing them on a layout sheet. Just right click on the 3D view name in the project browser and rename it or delete it.

Tip #7: Don’t over model the project. Carefully choose which building component families that NEED to be represented as 3D families. (Walls, doors, windows, curtain walls, casework)

We use a simple business philosophy that acknowledges there are diminishing financial returns when we over model a project. If you aren’t cutting sections, creating elevations or creating presentation views of certain building components, consider using 2D families to represent them in your project. (Equipment, elevators, plants, lights, contract furniture, toilets, sinks)

Remember, you can always use the Select All Instances feature and the Properties button to swap out the 2D version with a 3D version of the component family throughout the whole project.

Tip #8: Purge unused families to maintain a minimal project file size. Be very careful with this command. Purging can be an asset if used properly or a liability if used improperly.

First, verify with your project team members that you aren’t purging families that might be used in the project. One of them may have “preloaded” a family for future use. On larger team projects, we usually make one or two people responsible for this task.

Second and equally important, Revit’s purge command searches for unused families. Once it finds unused families, it automatically selects all of them for deletion. I would strongly urge you to pick the Check None button. Then browse the family categories to choose the families or family types within a family that you want to delete. This will avoid deleting families that have been preloaded for future use.