What you do when you start a project will have an effect for the life of the project. So it is important the items below are followed.
The procedures below are the minimum required to start a project. Refer to other parts of the Revit wiki, and Revit help, for further information.
USE THE OFFICE TEMPLATE
It is critical any new project is started from the current office template file.
Do NOT make a copy of an existing project to use.
If your Revit is set up correctly the office template file is used whenever you pick the New command.
If it is not fix it up by changing Option settings. Refer to INSTALL & EXTRAS > OPTION SETTINGS
CREATE & SET LEVELS
The template file only has a few levels in it. You may need to create additional levels, and/or change height of existing levels.
Do NOT match level heights with AHD (i.e. survey) heights.
Make the level matching the floor closest to finished ground RL 0.000.
If you need to show AHD levels you can do it as part of PLACE SURVEY and SET BASE POINT below,
or if you don't have a survey but still want to set AHD levels refer to:
GUIDELINES > SETTING PROJECTS UP > SET AHD LEVELS
WORK OUT BEST ORIENTATION
When you first start modelling you will be drawing at Project North. Project North is always up your screen (i.e. north is top, south is bottom).
This is the orientation that plans are placed on sheets.
It is difficult, dangerous, and potentially a lot of work to change Project North later in the project.
The whole model has to be moved, so elevations and sections will be lost, the base point will move (so messing up CAD & Revit links), some constraints and dimensions may be removed.
So think carefully about the best way to orientate your building.
Orientate your building to suit placement of plans on sheets at 1:100, or the scale that will be used for Documentation (even if it means splitting a plan over several sheets).
Even if your immediate needs are to print whole floors at 1:200 or 1:500, ultimately the scale used for documentation will be the main drawings for the project.
As there will be fewer of these 1:200 or 1:500 plans it is better to manipulate their orientation rather than leave a HUGE task for others further down the track.
For methods on how to rotate plans for placement on sheets refer to:
TIPS & TRICKS > SHEET VIEWS and TITLE BLOCKS > ROTATE VIEWS
PLACE SURVEY and SET BASE POINT
If you have a CAD survey you can establish the project base point, True North and AHD co-ordinates.
If you don't it doesn't matter, it can be done later.
Refer to:
GUIDELINES > SETTING PROJECTS UP > SET PROJECT BASE POINT - new projects where you have a Survey.
SET TRUE NORTH for SHADOWS
You only need to set True North if you need accurate shadows. It can be done at any time, and only needs to be done once.
If you have set the project base point you will have also set True North so don't need to do it as a separate exercise.
To just set True North refer to GUIDELINES > SETTING PROJECTS UP > SET TRUE NORTH
START DRAWING
You can now start modelling.
If you need to copy system families (walls, floors, roofs, ceilings) from another project:
- open that project
- select example of object(s), Copy to Clipboard (Ctrl C)
- Paste into your project. Delete the objects.
Now the family types of the objects you copied are available for use in your project.
Avoid using Transfer Project Standards from another project.
Transfer Project Standards brings in EVERYTHING. For example if you tick Line Styles ALL line styles are brought in, along with their associated Line patterns.
This can fill you project with a lot of rubbish very quickly. It is better to copy & paste an object with the properties you want.