The New Interface and Conceptual Design Features in Revit Architecture 2010

This year’s annual release of Revit Architecture marks the first time in the history of the application that its interface has been dramatically changed from the time it was first released in April 2000. Revit Architecture 2010 now sports the ribbon interface popularized by Microsoft in its 2007 release of Microsoft Office. While this interface was, and still is, unpopular with many users of Microsoft Office that I know, I personally adjusted to it very quickly and found many of the interface enhancements extremely useful. Autodesk started the process of implementing the ribbon interface in some of its applications such as AutoCAD and AutoCAD Architecture last year, and it is Revit’s turn this year. No doubt, many existing users of Revit are going to have trouble with the new interface, at least initially, as it is usually difficult to adjust to a new way of using an application after many years of learning and getting comfortable with its interface. This month's product review of Revit Architecture 2010, explores if the new interface has made the application easier to learn and and more efficient to use, as well as looks at other key new features such as the new conceptual design environment and some performance and interoperability enhancements.

Be sure to also check out the comments on the review from readers in its AECbytes blog posting, where you will see how some users have a strong negative reaction to the new interface. This was only to be expected, and it will be interesting to see how Autodesk responds, if at all, to the criticism in future releases of Revit. As I pointed out in my comment, applications have to evolve with the times, which often means changing interface features that may be very dear to some users and risk drawing their ire. And to a certain extent, UI design is a matter of personal preference – there is no magic formula that works for everyone. But if most existing users really have a serious problem with the new interface, it might force Autodesk to do something about it. They can't, of course, revert back to the old interface, but the new one could be tweaked to make it work better.

The Tips and Tricks section this month features two tutorials: one showing how to create interactive walkthroughs and 360 degree panoramas using a few different SketchUp plugins and Pano2VR from Garden Gnome Software, and the second describing a workaround for tagging component items in a legend in Revit.

Do continue to visit AECbytes VendorHub to get a consolidated view of all the technology providers in AEC and stay posted on their developments.

Thank you!

Lachmi Khemlani

Editorials > July 2009