Recommendations for learning the Revit Family Editor

Some colleagues and I were tagged in a tweet recently that asks:

The tweet has already gotten plenty of good responses. I agree with each of those, but wanted my reply to be a little longer than a tweet allows. As you might expect, there is no one right answer to learning Revit or the Family Editor. But what I have tried to do over the years is provide learning tools that appeal to each type of learner and their preferred style of learning. For me this includes written materials like books and downloadable PDFs, self-paced video training materials and of course live hands-on instructor led training.

Prerequisites

The original post specifically asks about the Revit Family Editor. However, it is important to make sure that whoever is embarking on this learning has a good working knowledge of Revit first. It is very difficult to dive right into family creation without a good command of the software overall. So if needed, schedule some Revit essentials training first, before embarking on a Family Editor course.

Instructor-led Live Training

Like the @TheRevitGeek, I feel that custom hands-on instructor-led training is often the best, (if you can manage it in your time and budget constraints). The main benefit of this sort of training is of course that it is live, and you can ask questions directly of the instructor. It is also a much more tailored experience. You can focus on the topics you truly care about and skip the ones you don’t need. Live training from any one of the folks tagged in the post would be an excellent investment. So, if you can fit it into your budget and schedule, that is my first recommendation. (If you want to discuss this me, please reach out).

But I realize that live training is not always practical, and it may not be your preference. In that case, any of the other resources can be an excellent aid to a self-directed learning experience.

Books

If learning from books and tutorials is your style, I have several items published. If you are looking for something that covers the basics of Revit (see prerequisites above) and the Family Editor, then look no further than Revit Essentials for Architecture. This book is tutorial based. You follow along in the provided downloadable exercise files and learn all essential aspects of using Revit for architectural projects. For the Family Editor, it includes a 100-page chapter on the subject. This will provide a nice introduction to family creation. I recently updated this book to the Revit 2021 release. You can learn more here: https://paulaubin.com/books/revit-essentials-for-architecture/

(This book is available in print or as a Kindle eBook).

If you already know Revit essentials and are itching to get into the Family Editor, then look no further than Renaissance Revit. This is my “deep dive” into the Revit Family Editor. It starts with the basics of family creation in early chapters, quickly gets into taming parametrically controlled curvature in Chapter 4 and then embarks on a series of progressively advancing tutorials building a series of classical architectural orders. But don’t let the choice of classical orders as examples dissuade you, ALL the techniques explored in this book are applicable to any family creation exercise. This book is authored in an older version, so files will require update, but most tools and features still hold up in modern versions of Revit just fine. And certainly, all concepts are still applicable. You can learn more about this book here: https://paulaubin.com/books/renaissance-revit/

(This book is available in both a black and white and color print edition. Naturally, the color edition costs more, but it is SO much nicer to read with the images being in full color. I highly recommend the color edition, or if you prefer you can opt for the Kindle edition which is also in color).

If you are more interested in MEP, I have an older book: The Aubin Academy: Revit MEP 2015 that I co-authored with Darryl McClelland and Martin Schmid. It covers the basics of using MEP functions and has two chapters on the Family Editor with MEP-specific examples. This book is based on an older version of Revit and has not been updated to 2021. Despite this, it should still provide exposure to the key skills without too much disruption via differences in versions. You can learn more here: https://paulaubin.com/books/aubin-academy-revit-mep-2015/

(This book is available only in print).

Free Downloadable PDFs

Also available on my website, I have many free to download resources available. These come in the form of PDFs and accompanying dataset files. These items originated as handouts from various conferences where I have spoken over the years. Many of them contain tutorials, some contain tips and tricks. All are free to download.

A good place to start is: Revit Family Creation: A Step-by-Step Introduction (Just For Beginners), but in addition to this, there are currently nine separate papers on the Family Editor available at: https://paulaubin.com/topics/family-editor/.

(And in addition to these, you will find papers on many other Revit topics as well. Also, the step-by-step session noted was recorded at Autodesk University and a recording is available on their site).

Video

Finally, that brings me to video. For over ten years I have been creating Revit video training content. You can find my complete catalog at: https://linkedin-learning.pxf.io/Aubin.*

I personally have authored several dozen Revit courses in the LinkedIn Learning library.** If you are just starting out, I do recommend learning some of the Revit basics before tackling the Family Editor (as I noted above in prerequisites). For this I offer Learning Revit 2021 for a quick start and for something more complete: Revit 2021: Essential Training for Architecture (Imperial and Metric). (Both of these courses are also available in earlier Revit versions). If you are interested in MEP or Structure, there are similar courses in the library by other authors.

When you are ready for the Family Editor, I recommend the following courses:

Revit Architecture: Family Editor (Imperial and Metric) – Overview of the Revit Family Editor covering critical skills like reference planes, parameters, geometry, flexing and family editor strategies.

Revit: Parametric Curvature in the Family Editor – Making curved elements flex predictably is often frustrating. That is what this course is all about. This material is taken from Chapter 4 of Renaissance Revit.

Revit Architecture: Advanced Modeling – This course covers many advanced modeling techniques, many of which are in the family editor. It also spends much of its time in the Massing Environment. This special family editor has advanced free-from modeling tools and allows for complex parametric relationships.

Revit: Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting – While not strictly on the Family Editor, this weekly series covers all sorts of Revit functions and Family Editor tricks are a common feature.

Resources to fit each style of learning

Over the years I have made it my business to provide training resources for each style of learning. So, whether you learn best from self-paced books, watching video lessons or scheduling live instructor-led training, I am here to help. If you would like to discuss any of my offerings further, just reach out. I am happy to discuss your specific needs and can work with to help develop an approach that is the best fit for you. And thanks Brian Binkley (@psubrian) for asking the question and giving me the opportunity to share my thoughts and resources.

*This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

**LinkedIn Learning is an online video training platform that covers a vast array of topics. The best part about a subscription to this library is that you get access to all the content, not just mine. We have hundreds of Revit courses and even more on other AEC topics. And you don’t have to stop there. There are courses on business, marketing, finance, photography, programming and so much more. (Free trial memberships are available).