Top 5 Best New Features in Revit 2020.2

The new Revit 2020.2 update has been released! Click here to read the full blog post from Autodesk.

Here are the best new features in the update.

1- Marker for Internal Origin

 The most popular blog post on this website is about Revit’s strange coordinate system. In the guide, we described an origin point called the “Super Secret Invisible Internal Origin”. Well, the internal origin is not secret and not invisible anymore. A colored 3D arrow marker can now be made visible in all views.

Activate the visibility of the Internal Origin under the Site category in the Visiblity/Graphics menu.

The marker is not only visible in plan views, but also in elevations, sections and even 3D views. The blue arrow represent the height (z-axis), the red arrow represents left-right (x-axis) and the green arrow represents bottom-up (y-axis).

Don’t forget: the internal origin cannot be moved. When you start a project, make sure you model in relation to this marker. Usually, it should be located at the intersection of important grids.

2- Fly Mode in Perspective Views

 Revit control interface inside perspective views has always been horrible. If you want to explore a model, your best option is to export to Enscape or Lumion. Using WASD keys to move like in a first-person shooter game is much more intuitive than using Revit’s awful navigation wheel.

Maybe Autodesk are reading this blog? I complained about the terrible 3D control in the in the 2019.1 update review. With 2020.2, they are now introducing the Fly mode. This can be activated inside a perspective view. Click on the small paper plane icon in the Navigation Bar.

Activating this feature will create an experience similar to Enscape and Lumion. You can use WASD keys to move. Q and E keys can be used to move up and down. Use Shift + Mouse Wheel to adjust the speed while moving through the view. The control are good, but it would be nice to have the option to toggle between Walk and Fly like you can in Enscape. In the image below, you can see how the tool is used to move and pan around the project.

3- Path of Travel Add and Edit Waypoints

Path of travel was one of the most interesting new feature in Revit 2020. There was a few improvements in the last 2020.1 update. The calculations are automatically done by avoiding objects in the model.

You now have the ability to manually add intermediate points on the travel path. When the Path of Travel line is selected, the Add Waypoint and Delete Waypoint tools will appear in the contextual tab.

Select the Add Waypoint tool and click on the path of travel. Drag the point to adjust. The path of travel will automatically adjust.

If you change your mind, you can remove the point. Select Delete Waypoint and click on the point.

4- Freeze Header in Schedule

 If you have long schedules in which you have to scroll down a lot, the headers won’t be visible. In the new update, you can click on Freeze Header in the contextual tab. The headers will be displayed on the schedule even if you are scrolled down all the way to the bottom.

5- Highlight Active Row in Schedule

A small but appreciated change: the selected row will now be highlighted in a light blue color.

Other Changes:

• Dynamo 2.3 has been released.

• New Dynamo nodes for steel connections.

• Edit circuits and panels in panel schedule.

• Full path for BIM 360 links.

Make sure to read the Autodesk blog post to learn more about these specific points.