The ribbon portion of the user interface consists of several tabs, each organized by panels that relate to the topic of the tab. Each panel contains one or more buttons for the relevant features available in Revit MEP 2011. You can access a tab by simply clicking the name at the top of the ribbon. Although each tab is designed to provide a unique set of tools, some of the features of Revit are repeated on different tabs. The panels and tools for each tab are described here (not all panels are shown for each tab):

If you are running any external applications or macros, the Add-Ins tab will appear on your ribbon as the last tab. The buttons or other features provided by the external application will appear on the tab as configured.

The Modify button appears in the Select panel on every tab. This button allows you to exit from any active command, giving you an alternative to using the Esc key multiple times or selecting another tool.

In addition to the tabs provided by default on the ribbon, there are tabs that appear when you select objects in your project. These contextual tabs appear with tools specific for modifying the selected object. Contextual tabs appear in the location of the Modify tab and are identified by their green color and a name that applies to the selected object. A contextual tab for a selected object is an extension of the Modify tab, which is why the base Modify tab is so compact compared to the other tabs. This allows for the selection-specific tools to appear on the right side of the Modify tab. Figure 1.1a shows the contextual tab for an air terminal selected in the model of a project. The standard tools on the Modify tab are available at the left but not shown in this figure for clarity.

When you select an object in the model that is part of a system, an additional contextual tab appears with tools for editing the system. These tabs are completely separate from the standard Modify tab and only contain tools for system editing. If you select an object on a system, the system tab will appear along with the contextual Modify tab, as shown in Figure 1.1 b, but if you select an actual system, only the system tab appears. The panels and buttons on contextual tabs cannot be removed or rearranged on the ribbon. The buttons cannot be added to the Quick Access toolbar.

Figure 1.1. (a) Contextual tab for an air terminal; (b) contextual tab for duct system

The tabs in the Family Editor environment differ from those in the project file environment. When you open a family file, the tabs on the ribbon contain some familiar tools, but many of them are specific to the creation and modification of family components. The tabs available in the Family Editor environment are as follows:

You can customize the ribbon interface to better suit your workflow. For example, you can rearrange the order of the tabs by holding the Ctrl key and clicking a tab name to drag it to a new location.

You can move panels on a tab to different locations on the tab by clicking a panel name and dragging it to a new location. Figure 1.2 shows the Mechanical panel being dragged from its location on the Home tab. The panels to the right will slide over to fill in the space left by the moved panel.

Figure 1.2. Moving a tab panel

You cannot move a panel from one tab to another, however. If you attempt to drop a panel onto another tab, it will return to its original location on its normal tab.

You can remove panels from a tab and place them in another location on your screen. You can dock floating panels together by dragging one panel over the other, and you can move the docked panels as a group by clicking and dragging the gray grip that appears when you hover the mouse pointer over a floating panel. If you use dual monitors, you can even drag a panel to the second monitor. The panel's new position is maintained when you restart the software but will not appear until a file is opened. Keep in mind that moving tools to another screen may actually hinder your workflow efficiency.

Back to Normal

You can return a floating panel to its default location by clicking the small button in the upper-right corner of the panel.

If you want to return the entire ribbon interface to its default settings, you can do so by locating and deleting the UIState.dat file. Deleting this file will also remove any customization done to the Quick Access toolbar.

You can control the visibility of the ribbon tabs by clicking the small button to the right of the tabs. This button will cycle through the different display options. You can also click the small arrow next to the button to display and select a specific option.

You can establish the switching behavior of the tabs on the ribbon to determine what tab is displayed when you exit a tool or command. When you click a tool, the contextual Modify tab for that tool appears. The interface will stay on the Modify tab when you exit the tool, or you can set it to return to the previous tab. These settings are located on the User Interface tab of the Options dialog box, which is discussed later in this chapter.

Despite the functionality of the ribbon with its contextual tabs, the Options Bar is still an important part of the user interface. This should be the first place you look when a tool or object in the project is selected. Though the number of options that appear may be limited, they are usually very important to the task you are engaging in. When placing Space objects, for example, pay close attention to the Upper Limit and Offset options to ensure proper space height.

You can dock the Options Bar at the top of the screen below the ribbon, which is the default location, or at the bottom of the screen just above the status bar. Right-click the Options Bar to change its docked position.

New to Revit MEP 2011 is the Properties palette. This feature reduces the number of mouse clicks necessary to access the properties of a model object or project component. You can dock the Properties palette to the sides, top, or bottom of the screen, or it can float. If you dock the Properties palette to the same side of the screen as the Project Browser, the two features will split the docked space, as shown in Figure 1.5.

Figure 1.5. Project Browser and Properties palette docked together

If you do not have the Properties palette turned on, you can access it by clicking the Properties button located on the Modify tab or contextual Modify tab of a selected object. The Properties palette will remain on until you close it.

When no object is selected in the model or in a drafting view, the Properties palette will display the properties of the current view in the drawing area. You can select a view in the Project Browser to view its properties in the Properties palette.

The top section of the Properties palette acts as the Type Selector when an object is selected or a tool is chosen for placing an object. When an object is selected, you can switch to the properties of the current view by using the drop-down located just below the Type Selector, as shown in Figure 1.6.

Figure 1.6. Properties palette

The properties shown in the Properties palette are instance properties. You can click the Edit Type button to display the Type Properties dialog box for the selected item or view. When viewing the instance properties of an object or view, the scroll bar at the right side of the palette will hold its position when you move your mouse pointer away from the palette. The scroll bar will remain in position even when other items are selected in the model.

When you make a change to a parameter in the Properties palette, you can click the Apply button at the bottom-right corner of the palette to set the change, or you can simply move your mouse pointer away from the palette, and the change will be applied.

The View Control Bar is often overlooked but contains tools that are very important to the display of the contents in the drawing area. There are a few new features for the View Control Bar in the Revit MEP 2011 release. The Sun Settings button has been added so that the Sun Path can be turned on or off in the view. You can access the Sun Path settings by clicking the Edit button in the Graphic Display Options parameter of a view's properties.

Another change to the View Control Bar is the addition of styles to the Visual Styles tool. The Consistent Colors setting has been added so that the colors of objects will appear in a shaded view with the same consistency regardless of its orientation to a light source. So when you are viewing the model in a 3D view, the color of all sides of an object looks the same. The Realistic setting allows the rendering materials of objects to be displayed in an editable view. This setting works only if you have Hardware Acceleration turned on.

Take some time to explore the new visual styles by completing the following exercise. If you do not have Hardware Acceleration turned on, you can do so by clicking the Options button on the Application menu and going to the Graphics tab. You must do this prior to opening the file. If activating Hardware Acceleration causes problems because of your video driver, you can choose to not activate it and skip step 4:

Improvements have been made to the status bar for Revit MEP 2011. The status bar will still report the information about a selected item or prompt with instructions for multilevel commands, but it now also has an active workset indicator and design option indicator.

You can access the Worksets dialog box by clicking the Worksets button next to the active workset window, and you can switch between active worksets by clicking the window and selecting the desired workset. These are the same tools as found on the Collaborate tab, but having them on the status bar eliminates the need to switch tabs on the ribbon to access them. This also eliminates the need to add the tools to the Quick Access toolbar. The Design Options window displays the active design option, and you can access the Design Options dialog box by clicking the button.

The Editable Only and Press And Drag check boxes are located on the status bar. The Editable Only check box is for filtering a selection by only those objects that are editable in a worksharing environment, and the Press And Drag check box allows you to drag objects in the model without having to select them first. So, you can click an object and immediately drag it when the box is checked. When deselected, you must first click to select the object, release your mouse button, and then click the object again to drag it. In some cases, you may want to deselect this box to avoid moving objects inadvertently when working in a crowded area of the model.

The Info Center is the portion of the title bar that gives you quick access to the Help menu or information about Revit MEP 2011. The search window allows you to search for information about a topic, and you can choose the locations to be searched by clicking the arrow next to the binoculars button.

You can easily access the Subscription Center by clicking the button with a key on it. Any topics found in the search window or listed in the Subscription Center panel can be added to your Favorites list by clicking the star icon to the right of the topic. Clicking the star button on the Info Center will list all your favorite topics. The Help menu is displayed by clicking the question mark button. Revit MEP 2011 has a web-based Help menu. You can access additional information by clicking the arrow next to the Help button, as shown in Figure 1.7.

The Communication Center button is the one with the radar device on it. The Communication Center provides information about product updates and announcements.

Figure 1.7. Additional Help options

Many components of the Revit MEP 2011 user interface can be turned on or off for workflow efficiency or to maximize screen real estate. The User Interface button, located at the far right of the View tab, allows you to select which user interface components are visible, as shown in Figure 1.8.

This is not only a way to display or remove interface components for more screen real estate but is also a way to access the Recent Files screen, which cannot be accessed from the Switch Windows drop-down button.

Figure 1.8. User Interface button options

On the User Interface tab of the Options dialog box is a button that enables you to customize your keyboard shortcuts. Clicking this button activates the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. In this dialog box you can filter the commands to make the list easier to manage and edit. You can even filter by specific tabs or menus, as shown in Figure 1.11.

You can sort the list in ascending or descending alphabetical order by clicking the desired column. Once you have located a command that you want to create a keyboard shortcut for, you can select the command to activate the Press New Keys window at the bottom of the dialog box. Input the desired keys that will activate the command. You can input up to five characters for a keyboard shortcut. Reserved keys cannot be used for keyboard shortcuts; you can find the reserved keys using the filter in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. Click the Assign button to apply the shortcut to the selected command.

Figure 1.11. Keyboard shortcut list filter options

You can create multiple shortcuts for a single tool, and you can use the same shortcut keys for multiple tools. When you create a shortcut that is used for multiple tools, you must use the status bar to determine which tool to use when working in your project. When you type the shortcut, the first matching command will be displayed on the status bar. You can use the up or down arrows to cycle through available commands for the shortcut. Once the desired command is displayed on the status bar, you can activate it by hitting the spacebar. You can remove a keyboard shortcut from a command by selecting the specific shortcut and clicking the Remove button.

You can export your keyboard shortcut settings by clicking the Export button at the bottom of the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box. This will save your settings as an.xml file that can be edited using a spreadsheet program. Using a spreadsheet is another way to manage and share your keyboard shortcuts. The .xml file can then be imported into Revit using the Import button, allowing you to set a standard for keyboard shortcuts in a multiuser work environment.

Real World Scenario: Common Shortcuts

Clark is responsible for teaching Chris and Allyson Revit MEP 2011. He has established keyboard shortcuts that fit his workflow best and allow for efficient use of the software. Because these shortcuts are what he is most familiar with, he wants to share them with his students so that during class they will all be using the same shortcuts.

Clark exports his shortcut settings to a file, which he imports into Revit MEP 2011 on the training computers. Prior to importing the custom settings, he exported the default settings so they can be used later if necessary. During class it is noted that the settings provided are preferred, but each student can further customize them if it results in improved efficiency.

The Graphics tab of the Options dialog box allows you to set the selection, highlight, and alert colors used in the drawing area. The drawing area's background color can be inverted if you are more comfortable using a black background. Settings for temporary dimensions are also available to make them more readable, as shown in Figure 1.12. You can set the background for temporary dimensions to transparent or opaque (this setting is not shown in figure).

Settings for the appearance and behavior of the SteeringWheels and ViewCube can be found on their respective tabs in the Options dialog box.

Though the ribbon interface is designed for efficient workflow, context menus can be the easiest, most effective way to access settings or make changes to components of your Revit projects.

A context menu is a menu that appears when you right-click in open space, on an item in the Project Browser, or on an object in the drawing area. New to Revit MEP 2011 is the addition of the Repeat and Recent Commands options on the context menus. You can now repeat the last command by using the Enter key or by clicking the option on the context menu. The Recent Commands option displays a list of recently used commands for easy access during repetitive work. Figure 1.13 shows a context menu and the recent commands used during a working session. The last five commands used are displayed in the Recent Commands list.

Figure 1.12. Temporary dimension appearance settings

The options displayed on a context menu depend on the object selected when the menu is accessed. Another new feature to Revit MEP 2011 is the ability to define the selection set when the Select All Instances option is chosen. Figure 1.14 shows that you now have the option to select only the objects in the active view or to select them throughout the entire project. This makes the Select All Instances feature much more useful without worrying that objects that should not be selected are not inadvertently included in the selection set.

There is no longer a View Properties or Element Properties option in the context menus because of the addition of the Properties palette. The Properties option at the bottom of a context menu allows you to toggle the Properties palette on or off.

Figure 1.13. Context menu showing recent commands

Figure 1.14. Selection set options

You can also right-click an element in the Project Browser for a context menu. Right-clicking a view will activate a menu with options for applying or creating a view template from the view. You can also save the view to a new file, as shown in Figure 1.15.

When you right-click a family in the Project Browser, you get a context menu with options to edit, rename, or reload the family. You can right-click a family type in the Project Browser to access its type properties or to select the instances in the project without having to locate one of the instances in the model, as shown in Figure 1.16.

Figure 1.15. Context menu for a view selected in the Project Browser

Figure 1.16. Context menu for a selected family type

You can also use a right-click context menu to manage linked files through the Project Browser. Figure 1.17 shows the options available on a context menu when a linked Revit file is selected in the Project Browser.

Figure 1.17. Context menu for a linked file in the Project Browser