Revit 2017 is here! What's new?

It is that time of year again, no not Springtime (though it has certainly been lovely here in Chicago this week), no it is the time of year when Autodesk releases the latest version of Revit! Revit 2017 is here and what a release it is. There are many new enhancements including some that have been on folk’s wish lists for some time now… (new text editor or depth cueing anyone?) As well as some small enhancements that slipped in under the radar (I am particularly happy about some of the family editor enhancements).

Before sharing some of my favorites in more detail, allow me to mention that one of the biggest changes this year is a difference in the way that Revit is distributed and packaged. Revit Architecture, MEP and Structure will no longer be sold as separate products. We now have just Revit. This unified version contains all of the functionality of the previous three flavors. If you are not interested in the tools from one of the other disciplines, you can turn those ribbons off on your system, but regardless all of the functionality will be there “under-the-hood.” Autodesk has also revised the subscription model and eliminated new perpetual license sales. (Don’t worry, your existing perpetual licenses are still… well… perpetual). This change only means that all new licenses are now subscriptions. But you can contact Autodesk or your local reseller for complete details on this new sales model. (I have a link below) And finally, Revit (and the whole Autodesk product line) has a spiffy new icon!

But you probably want to hear what new features you can find in Revit 2017. Well allow me to share a few of the ones I am most excited about.

• Let’s start small. CTRL + W. I seriously doubt you will see this touted anywhere else, but I love this new “feature.” In many other software packages, you can close the current document using the keyboard shortcut: CTRL + W. Well, now you can in Revit as well! Love that.

• Performance continues to improve. In the last several releases, the Revit team has been working hard to make the software perform better and redraw views faster. You no longer have to wait for the entire model to regen when parts of it are not displayed in the current view. This has been improving with each release for the last couple years. This year in 2017 we see improvements when drawing walls, ducts and irregular crop regions. Further, I can say from first-hand experience, that the “mean time between failures” (a metric used by all software companies) is greatly improved. While recording my latest courses for the LinkedIn (Lynda.com) library, I left the software running for nearly an entire week without a single crash. And this was a pre-release version!
• Reference planes. In the mid-year release (2016 R2) we got the ability to rename reference planes in canvas. In 2017, one of my longest running wishes was granted. We can now create reference plane subcategories. These are created in the “Object Styles” dialog. You can assign them to colors and line patterns. So now you can at long last create a proper visual hierarchy in your family content to help those complex families appear more legibly onscreen and make them more understandable. I am VERY pleased with this feature.

• There have been lots of subtle enhancements finding their way into the family editor. Some coming as early as 2014 and 2015 such as the continued refinements of the “Family Types” dialog

and now a redesigned label drop-down for assigning parameters that is located on the ribbon instead of the Options Bar.

So the first time you edit a family in 2017, look out, you might be a little disoriented! But more significantly, 2017 introduces the ability to filter voids from solids in selections. A welcome change to be sure. And one that will force me to re-write some documentation: the new tangent lock feature! This eliminates the need for many of the curve taming techniques that I have been promoting for years. It might take me a while to drop them all, but honestly, tangent lock rocks!

• There are plenty of other new features and enhancements. 2016 R2 saw the introduction of Global Parameters. This is a terrific new feature that brings the power of parameters and labeled dimensions into the project environment. 2017 improves on this feature by exposing many more parameters including type parameters. (I’ll be giving a session on this later this year at Revit Technology Conference. There’s still room to sign up, so check out the link below).
• And what round up of the new features in 2017 would be complete without a mention of the newly designed text editor and depth cueing? The text editor is long overdue for an overhaul. That process is begun here in 2017. Autodesk has heard the user base loud and clear and this first iteration of the new test editor delivers some solid functionality and a promise of good things to come. Just be aware that due to technical issues beyond the control of the developers, some text might reflow in upgraded projects. So be sure to check them over carefully when upgrading.
• And finally depth cueing. This feature allows us to express depth graphically in our elevations. This long-awaited feature responds to the viewing distance in elevation views and fades the background to give the illusion of depth. Access the feature in the “Graphic Display Options” dialog.

These are just of the highlights of the new 2017 release. I have recorded a comprehensive video course on all the new features. The course focuses on the architectural features and those that are common to the platform. You can find the course here: Revit 2017 New Features - Architecture

When you are done watching New Features, you can brush up Revit Essentials here: Imperial and Metric versions. 

If you want see what Autodesk has to say about the new release, visit their website here:

Interested in attending RTC this year? Want to attend my session on Global Parameters? Learn more here:

And the blogs are a-buzz with terrific write-ups on all of the new features in 2017:

Check out Steve Stafford’s excellent blog here: Revit OpEd

Steve and I joined Bill Debevc and Carla Edwards on their weekly podcast: BIM Thoughts this week where we discussed new features in Revit 2017. You can listen and subscribe here: BIM Thoughts Pocast

Finally, here are what the Revit Kid and Revit Cat have to say about new features: