Revit 2023 - New Features and Enhancements

By Garry Stockton

Image Courtesy of Autodesk

It’s that time of year again! Last week, Autodesk announced that Revit 2023 is rolling out globally. They are claiming improved performance, more productivity features seeded from the Autodesk requests forums, and smarter ways to work with data on the desktop and in the cloud.

Simulation, Cloud, Interoperability and Design Optimisation

Simulation & analysis

• New workflow for structural analysis
• Structural analytical modelling in BIM context
• Structural analytical model automation
• Electrical preliminary load analysis
• Interactive solar studies

Cloud & data

• Data Exchanges
• Fabrication Data Manager (FDM) technical preview
• Parameter Service technical preview
• Manage Cloud Models in Revit Home
• Remember last account for Revit Cloud Models
• Non-destructive model rollback

Interoperability

• FormIt Pro in Link CAD Formats
• FormIt Pro interoperability enhancements
• CAD file improvements
• IFC parameters and export mapping dialog
• Enhanced mesh capabilities
• DirectShape import placement

Design optimisation

• UI improvements for Generative Design and Dynamo Player
• New input types for Generative Design and Dynamo Player
• New method names for Generative Design

Documentation Efficiency and Improvements

Documentation efficiency

• Floor folding lines and split lines
• Preserve area and room values in key schedules
• Conditional formatting for family and type in schedules
• Filter by sheet in schedules
• Rebar cover in schedules and tags
• Displace elements in 2D views
• Tag all displaced elements in 3D views
• Multi-leader tag enhancements
• Additional taggable categories
• Displaced rebar representation
• Effective solid rebar visualization in 3D views
• Maintain systems of demolished elements
• Circuit number info for electrical equipment
• Contour label direction
• Improved orientation behaviour for generic annotation families
• Control filled region patterns with family parameters
• Swap views on a sheet
• View filter enhancements
• Project browser icon for views on sheets
• Edit label dialog improvement
• Common property for model group and RVT link
• Page order in PDF export and print output
• Performance in print, publish, and export functions
• View/sheet API

MEP categories

Revit 2023 has new MEP categories for plumbing equipment and mechanical control devices with corresponding family parameters.

• Ribbon tools for Plumbing Equipment and Mechanical Control Device and existing built-in Revit families moved to corresponding content libraries.

In essence Revit is offering better management for different disciplines in MEP.

In addition, you have new Family editing tools that have been added for MEP users.

• Pick New Host
• Face
• Work Plane

The above allows you to Rehost MEP connectors and retain the associated information, whilst MEP connector location moves content in project model.

Structural Library-based connection design automation

Revit 2023 brings new library-based steel connection design automation features.  You can both model your design intent faster and embed structural engineering and fabrication rules to reduce iterations. Sample rules in the interface are provided for placing steel connections based on predefined ranges of applicability. These are found in the Steel Connection Automation player.  Simply search for ‘by ranges’ to filter out those that make use of the ranges of applicability. 

An important fact to remember is that all structural members can leverage information stored inside analytical elements. You may use the Member End Forces dialog to specify internal forces and moments for steel connections. Your model can also use structural analysis results imported into Revit from Robot Structural Analysis Professional or third-party tools. 

Rules for each type of steel connection are used to place them based on relevant criteria such as profile sizes, steel grades and capable internal forces. These rules work in tandem with predefined libraries of connections (Revit files) containing the connection types, desired geometry parameters, and associated ranges of applicability to ensure connections are selected appropriately.

Revit 2023 includes sample steel connection libraries to support certain regional standards. These connection libraries are customisable, enabling you to adjust and extend them to meet your local or regional requirements. 

So, the new, library-based steel connection design automation features enable you to design steel structures more quickly and accurately using predefined and easily customised rules. 

Measure in 3D

The Measure tool in Revit is used to quickly check distances in Revit between model elements or other references in your projects.

In previous releases, the Measure Between Two References tool was enabled for 2D views only (although there was a 3D workaround).  Revit 2023 adds support for both orthographic and perspective 3D views.

You can now snap to any position in 3D without work plane restrictions.

Using a new hotkey (CTRL), you may lock the measurement such that it remains perpendicular to the start face in 3D views.  This might be useful when measuring the distance between two walls.

You can also measure the shortest distance to a target plane or line by activating Perpendicular Snap though the contextual menu or using the SP (Snap Perpendicular) keyboard shortcut in 3D views.

You might use this to measure the vertical height between two points that are not located directly above each other.

This new enhancement to the Measure tool in Revit will improve your design productivity by enabling fast, convenient measurements in any 2D but especially in a 3D view.

Filter by sheet in schedules

In Revit, a schedule is used to display a customised list of elements and their parameters that exist within your project.  Schedules are very useful tools, in that they are live, non-graphical views of project data.  As such, they automatically update as elements are added, removed, or modified in the project.

Revit 2023 schedules adds a new capability that enables them to detect and display only those project elements relevant to the schedule that exist in other views placed on the same sheet.

You can enable this behaviour by selecting the new Filter by sheet option available in the Filter tab of the schedule properties.  This filters the contents of the schedule to display only those elements appearing on the same sheet.

When the schedule is still open; if you crop a view on the sheet, the contents of the schedule will instantly update. As this sheet filtering behaviour is dynamic, you can place the same schedule onto multiple sheets, and each instance of the schedule will display the elements found on its respective sheet.

This enhancement gives users even more flexibility in the use of Revit schedules.

Duplicate Material and Shared Assets

Now, when duplicating a material, you can choose to duplicate the assets or use shared assets. There two new options available in the contextual menu:

Duplicate Material and Assets – When you select this option then both the material and the assets from the source material are duplicated, and the newly created material and source material have independent assets. Changes to the assets of one material will not affect the other material.

Duplicate Using Shared Assets – This time when a material is duplicated, the new material and the source material share common assets. Changes to the asset affect both the new material and the source material.

This new feature will allow us all to better manage our materials especially when making their duplicates.

We are aware that not very user will benefit from the new features, however, there are some very good enhancements when using Revit on a day-to-day basis.