Keyboard Shortcuts
Hopefully you're already using keyboard shortcuts for all of your commonly used Revit tools, but did you know that you can also assign keyboard shortcuts for all of your frequently used EDGE^R tools as well? This is a real time saver in the long run!
Running Tools for the Active View
Many EDGE^R tools, such as BOM Product Hosting and Add-on Hosting Updater, give you the option to run the command on just the active view as opposed to the whole model. This option can be particularly useful on large projects. If there is only a portion of the model that has changed since you last ran that particular EDGE^R tool on the whole model, then you could isolate or create a section box around the updated portion of the project and run the tool on just the active view rather than re-running it on the entire project. This can drastically reduce the processing time.
Running Mark Verification on Selected Elements
If you find yourself in a position where you are making changes to precast elements after marking your project, then you may want to check to make sure that the pieces you changed aren't creating marking conflicts. An easy way to do this is by selecting just the recently modified precast pieces and then running Mark Verification Existing. By pre-selecting elements then running the command, it will give you an option to only compare the elements with the same mark as what is contained in your selection group, drastically reducing the time it takes the tool to complete. Or maybe you've added additional precast elements after initially marking the model. You may not want to re-run Mark Verification Initial on the whole project again because it could remark the entire project. To avoid this, you can select just the newly added precast pieces and then run Mark Verification Initial which will give you the option to run the tool on just the selected elements. This option will only process and mark the elements in your selections group, leaving the rest of your model untouched.
Schedule Sequence By View
You may have a project where you need to schedule portions of the model independently. A common example of this is if you have a project that is scheduled to be completed in multiple phases. In this scenario, you would likely need to create schedules for each phase of the project so materials and precast pieces can be ordered and scheduled accordingly. The Schedule Sequence By View tool simplifies this task. You would start by isolating or creating a section box around the portion of the model that belongs to the same phase (or method of grouping in question). Then you would run the Schedule Sequence By View tool and input a value which the tool will assign to the PROD_ERECT_SEQUENCE parameter on all elements visible in the view. You would repeat this process for all phases or groupings. The PROD_ERECT_SEQUENCE parameter could then be used to filter down schedules to just list elements belonging to that phase/grouping.
Warning Analyzer
Warnings in Revit can become a real hassle if you don't keep them in check, but finding where all the warnings in the project originate from can be a chore using Revit alone. The Warning Analyzer lets you easily locate the elements in your model causing warnings, allowing you to be more efficient at resolving them.
Pin All Grids/Levels
One of the things we love about Revit is its change management system. Because of this, we try to host as many elements as possible to levels or grids so that if your elevation of levels or placement of grids need to be changed later on in the project life cycle, all elements hosted to them will automatically move with the corresponding grid/level. This is fantastic when you intentionally move a grid or level, but what if someone accidentally nudges or moves a grid/level? If left unnoticed, that would cause major problems. To avoid this entirely, we recommend pinning all of your levels and grids which can easily be accomplished in one click with these EDGE^R tools.
Find Referring Views
Legends in Revit can be extremely useful because they are some of the only views that Revit will allow you to place in multiple locations throughout the project. But if you change a legend in one view, then it will also update in every other location in the project that it is placed. This may or may not be the desired outcome. The Find Referring Views tool allows you to easily identify all of the views that a legend is placed on throughout the project so you can make an educated decision on whether that change should be made project-wide. This tool can also be used to identify where symbols are placed throughout the project as well.
