It’s too risky to click the Revit file to open, probably the project will be crashed.

The safe and easy way to open the standalone file is using Open command.

Open Revit software, click Open in the Projects section.

Open dialog box appears, navigate to the location where you’ve saved your file, select the file, and click Open.

You may need to pin the most folder you’re working on, navigate to the location, drag the folder to place it in the left menu, and confirm the process by clicking Yes.

Let’s start Revit software.

Starting with user interface, on the left, Project section within the recent projects list.

Use Open when you can’t find the desired project in the recent projects list.

New to create project using template from installed libraries or you can pick up one of these ready-made templates, which can be changed as you desire, I select the Imperial ready-made templates for different disciplines.

On Families section within the recent families.

Use Open when you can’t find the desired family in the list.

Use New to create a family from scratch, or use a block made in another software, and Autodesk Seek to download product for use in your Revit projects. 

To access commands easily, use Quick Access Toolbar, at the upper left of the screen.

At the right, there’s an Info Center, for logging on Autodesk server, exchanging Apps, and searching for specific subject in the community.

Revit within release year and the file name can be found at the upper middle.

Press Help drop-down list, to read more about subjects, use Help button.

To know about the latest updates in Revit, click What’s New?

Also, Autodesk provides some tutorials, articles, and Apps to get more knowledge and functions for the software.

Be aware that “Resources list is needed the internet connection”.

To access commands easily, use Quick Access Toolbar.

Quick Access Toolbar is located on the left side of the title bar.

In the Quick Access Toolbar, you will find tools such as open, save, undo, redo, tag, text, and switching to a 3D view.

You can add or remove any tool from this toolbar, click the arrow of the drop-down menu.

To remove or add a command, click the tool icon.

Option bar

To apply or edit selection item, use option bar.

In the drawing, click duct section.

On the option bar, enter width, height, and offset as needed.

Or pick the desired value from each list.

Type selector

You can observe the duct type as well on the type selector at the upper portion of properties pallet. Click drop-down menu, many types appear which can be selected as well.

Properties palette

When you need a quick access to view, section, and family, use the properties palette.

If you can’t find the properties palette, from the ribbon, View label, Windows panel, click user interface drop-down menu, click properties checkbox.

The properties pallet appears.

System browser is important to organize your project files.

You can call the window from user interface drop-down menu.

If you look on the files, click views to expand, we can find mechanical and plumbing discipline, under each discipline, there’re views and sections, and each category has many sub-categories depend on the complexity of the project.

Also, we can find legends, schedules, reports, sheets, families, groups, and linked files.

It’s really amazing to have all these files in the same place to find whatever you want to work on.

Status bar shows tips to help for doing the command

View control bar to assign scale, items presentation, sky and shading appearance, isolate and hidden items, and turn on the view lock.

Drawing area to place items and design the model.

From the ribbon, click Systems tab, click Duct tool to be activated.

Notice the tip at the status bar, “Click to enter duct start point”.

At the option bar, enter Diameter and Offset.

From type selector, choose the type you want to draw.

In the drawing area, click to insert duct start point, move the cursor to right horizontally, and click to insert duct end point. Press escape or modify button to end the command.

The ribbon contains tabs, and each tab includes panels which contain most of tools we use to design our project.

And there’s a contextual tab which appears when the item is selected.

As this duct section, it has two contextual tabs, one shows tools for the item itself and the other for the relation between the item and the whole system.

When you need adjust the settings for the different disciplines, use the tools on the current tab such as HVAC, Mechanical, Plumbing & Piping, and Electrical.

Revit software provides you a ready-made templates to start your projects according to your preferred unit, discipline, and coordination type.

Also, you can access to the saved templates rather using the list in the Projects section or clicking New command.

Click New to display New Project dialog box.

First, set the coordination type, Project/Project template.

If you’re working on a central network/Worksharing, select project.

If not, select Project template.

Be aware that, if you select Project template, Worksharing cannot be enabled.

Click Browse to display Choose Template dialog box.

To select the template according to unit, browse library folders and choose the desired unit, select the discipline, click Open, then click OK.

In the project browser, you can see the default plans, views, elevations, system families for mechanical and plumbing disciplines.

There are multiple options of collaborating in Revit, one of them is linking one model to another, to create a complete building model for the project.

Continue working on the previous file.

Click the Default 3D View icon.

From the ribbon, Insert tab, in Link panel, click Link Revit.

In Import/Link RVT dialog box, navigate to the location where you’ve saved your model, and select the file.

In Positioning drop-down list, select Auto - Origin to Origin, which means Revit places the import’s world origin at the Revit project’s internal origin.

Auto - Origin to Origin is the default positioning when you insert a Revit model or CAD file.

Click Open.

While the model is selected, right-click, select Zoom to Fit [ZF] to adjust the drawing area to show the entire model.

Select the model again, click Pin in Modify panel, to be sure that the linked model will not be moved while you’re working on the project.

If you will use this model to create spaces and zones for sizing HVAC systems, you may need Revit to recognize the model room boundaries.

Select the linked model, from properties palette, press Edit type, check Room Bounding checkbox, and click to apply the setting.

To save a standalone file, use Save command in QuickAccess toolbar.

In Save As dialog box, navigate to location where you want to save the file, enter a name in the File Name textbox.

Click Options, specify backup file number, click OK, click Save to close the dialog.

To track any changes in model, you do need to Copy Monitor grids and levels. To do that, in the project browser, expand tree view until you find Elevations (Building Elevation), click to open South – Mech.

Click the select links to enable, from Collaborate tab, click drop-down Copy/Monitor list, click Select Link, then click the linked model.

Click Copy, check Multiple option to select more than one level.

Select the levels using cross window, click to specify the first corner of window and hold down left button while you move the cursor to the upper left corner, then release the button.

To add more levels manually, hold down the Ctrl key and click the level.

If you want to remove selected element, hold down Shift key and click the level.

The filter icon indicated that 5 elements are selected in the view.

Click Finish twice to end the command.

Scroll down to zoom out, click the Ground Level, Monitoring tool is enabled and shows in the ribbon.

Drag the level bubble to right, as shown, we have here two kinds of levels, one for the linked model which is copied and monitored, and the other for the current project.

After copied the linked model levels, start creating the Initial Plan Views.

In View tab, click Plan Views list, and click Floor Plans.

We’re already have Level 1&2, if you uncheck do not duplicate existing views, they shows.

Click to check again, and create only Basement, Ground and Roof levels.

Click OK.

Revit opens the created views, levels are displayed in the project browser.

Do last steps to create Reflected Ceiling Views.

I don’t need reflected ceiling for Roof Level.

Click OK.

As shown in Elevation view, we now have all levels as linked model.

If you seek to use Revit software for calculating loads and performing energy analysis, you need to prepare your building model by doing the next steps:

Activate the Room Bounding type property on the linked model itself to be able to place spaces in all areas to account for the entire volume of your building model.

Collect similar spaces to zone.

Assign Building and Space Type Parameters using tables which provide details about the assumptions used during energy analysis for each building type. These assumptions are based on ASHRAE standards.

Specify the project location, to be able to locate the nearest weather station.

Specify the building service which affects the results of an energy analysis performed using conceptual masses or building elements.

An accurate heating and cooling loads analysis can only be accomplished if spaces are placed.

You can place spaces in bounded areas such as walls, curtain systems, columns, roofs, floors, and room.

For semi-bounded and un-bounded areas, you need adding space separation lines to the area to be bounded.

To place spaces:

In the Project Browser, expand Views until you find Level 1 that contains the area where I want to place a space.

On the ribbon, click Analyze, in Spaces & Zones panel, click Space.

On the Options Bar:

For the upper limit, specify the level above the current level.

For the offset, enter 0' 0" (0.00 mm).

These 2 options specify the vertical extent or height of the space.

For Space drop-down list, choose New.

If you already have schedules for spaces, you can directly choose the space by its name.

In the drawing area, hover the cursor over the bounded area, and click to place space, five spaces are placed, click Modify to end the command.

Once you have placed spaces in a project, you can start creating zones.

It is recommended that you create HVAC zones to meet the heating and cooling requirements of your project.

Zones consist of one or more spaces that are controlled by equipment that maintains a common environment (temperature, humidity, and so on).

MEP projects always have at least one zone, the Default zone. When spaces are initially placed in a project, they are added to the Default zone.

When working with a linked model, all zones and spaces must be in the host file.

To create zone:

In the project browser, navigate until you find 1st floor, then click to open the plan.

On Ribbon, Click Analyze tab, in Spaces and Zones panel, select Zone.

The Edit Zone tab is activated.

Be sure to select Add Space.

In drawing area, click to select the spaces that you want to add to a zone. Select all spaces in floor plan to be collected in one zone.

Click Finish Editing Zone to end the command.

Hover over a zone to be highlighted.

We can find all Zones in the System Browser window, which can be displayed using View tab, expand User Interface list, then turn on System Browser.

Select Zones from View list.

As in the System Browser, there’s a default zone and numeric zone, expand the new zone to see the included spaces.

Select the new zone to be displayed in the drawing area.

In the Properties palette, you can enter a name for the new zone as well.

An accurate heating and cooling loads analysis requires that you prepare the building model.

After spaces and zones have been added to your model, you prepare for loads analysis by specifying energy-related project information and verifying that volumes will be computed during the analysis. After preparing the building model, you can perform a heating and cooling loads analysis.

To specify Area and Volume settings:

Open Revit and the displayed project file.

On ribbon, Click Architecture tab, in Room & Area panel drop-down, click Area and Volume Computations.

On the Computations tab of the Area and Volume Computations dialog, under Volume Computations, verify that Areas and Volumes is selected.

Under Room Area Computation, verify that At wall finish is selected.

Click OK.

After creating the project, start adding project, client, and organization details.

From the ribbon, Manage tab, Settings panel, press Project Information.

Enter the company info, name, address, and so on.

Also, enter the project details, issue date, status, client name, address, project name and number.

I am going to talk more about Energy Settings later, for now we can specify the project location, click the Edit button, click inside the location textbox, click the small button.

Location Weather and Site dialog appears.

Rather you enter the address directly in the Project Address textbox, click Search.

Or click Define Location By menu, and select Default City List.

Enter the Latitude and Longitude, and click OK.

When performing energy analysis, you can analyze a model that includes both building elements and conceptual masses.

By performing energy analysis using this mixed mode, you can check that the model continues to meet the energy profile of your design.

To prepare the model for analysis, open 3D view that displays the building elements and conceptual masses.

If masses do not display in the view, click Show Mass Form and Floors.

If the conceptual masses do not yet include mass floors, create them.

The energy simulation uses conceptual masses in the analysis only if they contain mass floors.

Masses that do not contain mass floors are treated as objects that shade the model, like adjacent buildings.

In the Energy Settings dialog, specify the location and building type.

Set Analysis Mode to Use Conceptual Masses.

Before running the simulation, create the energy model.

This step allows you to view and validate the model before submitting it for analysis.

The amount of time required to create the energy model varies depending on the size and complexity of the model.

Sign in to Autodesk® A360, and run the energy simulation.

To use the recently created energy model for the simulation, click Use Existing Energy Analytical Model.

In the dialog, enter a name for the analysis.

Select Create New if you are running the energy simulation for the first time or if you changed any energy settings for the model.

This option ensures that Green Building Studio uses the latest Revit settings for the energy simulation.

A gbXML file is created and sent to Green Building Studio for simulation.

When the simulation is complete, Green Building Studio returns the results to Revit.

You can also email or export the results, or open the results in Green Building Studio.

Perform energy analysis on the building design through all stages, from the earliest conceptual phase through detailed design, to ensure that you are constantly working towards the most energy efficient building possible.

When working in Revit, you can use a Search feature to quickly locate items in long lists.

For example, you can search the Type Selector to locate the desired family to place in the model.

As you continue to type, the search is narrowed to display matching items.

You can also search long lists in dialogs, such as Object Styles.

As you type, the search feature locates matching values.

In the Project Browser, the Search feature works a bit differently.

Use it to locate items whose names match your search string.

Right-click any item in the Project Browser to open the Search dialog.

Enter a search string, and click Next until you find the desired item.

By using these search features, you can quickly locate desired items in the Project Browser and in long lists in the user interface.

To create a perspective view, place a camera in the project and set the target position. 

Adjust the eye elevation of the camera and the target elevation on the properties palette.

Once the camera has been placed.

Elements in the view can be aligned, moved, pinned, and deleted.

You can apply a section box to a 3D view to limit the geometry shown in the view.  The edges of the section box are “cutting” edges, so element geometry intersected by the section box will display using the “cut” object style for the element.

To display the section box, in the Properties palette for the 3D view, select Section Box. 

When a section box is first displayed, the extents of the visible geometry are used to define the extents of the section box.

Select the section box and use the grip controls to resize the extents. Right-click, and select to hide the section box so it is no longer visible in the view.

Using a lot 3d view feature available in Revit, we get annotate 3d views to enhance design communication and better convey our design intent.

Let's see how we could use that feature to create 3d details for this building model, to create specific details for a project will typically switch to enter the 2d views, zoom in the area, choose the view callouts to create a sub view, in the area for the project, begin double click on the call out head to open that new view, within its callout view we can add annotations to help explain the details of the building model, we can add dimensions that show the measurements between two air terminals, we can add tag that identify the elements seen in the view.