Revit Ribbon Wow Factor

Autodesk has been coming up with new ideas each week for why the "Ribbon" was a positive move. While I would like to believe all the new reasons for why Autodesk forced the ribbon, I still believe it came from some marketer's dream, that influenced corporate, which then became a movement requiring all software packages to look the same. They were going for a wow factor. The wow factor being that if something looks better then people will want it. This works for product design, sometimes websites but rarely on software. Below are some examples:

Product Design
People will buy electronics that have less features and costs more than another on the shelf simply because it is better designed and more visually appealing. When perusing the shelf or website they created a wow that separated this product from that. Design for this has a purpose and it works.

Websites
An overly designed "Wow" website with animated graphics and shifting/sliding of content and controls can actually make it more difficult to see the important information that the website is trying to reveal. While you may get more people wanting to look at the site, they are looking at your "Wow" and not YOU and what YOU can provide to them. The person who clearly states their core values and services on the front page, easy to read, will probably get a better business response.

Software
So recently I was trying out different DVD ripping programs so that I can copy my toddler's movies onto an external drive so that when he destroys the disk, I can just burn a new one. I had two serious contenders for my money and both were on full use trials. The first I decided to try was because they had created a Wow Factor in their User Interface design, the downside was that it actually did not work well. The burned DVD would automatically skip from chapter to chapter 50% of the time and you would finish the movie in seconds. So I tried the other which was a basic interface with nothing graphical about it and few buttons or options. It worked perfectly and did what it was designed to do. Which one do you think I spent my money on?

Today I will be completing the 4th day of Revit 2010 training for a new team that has never used Revit. While one of the premises for the new UI was that it would make it easier for new users to grasp, I actually believe that it is harder. With everything shifting and sliding, tools there and not there, go to this tab and then back again... the issues go on and on. There is no easy way to say when you want to do this you go here. Everything is in constant movement and revealing tools in different places. What is interesting is that I see more users who will probably go back to text commands (like Autocad) because tools like the copy button move all over the place and you are constantly having to think and search out the command. While there is nothing that can be done going forward with the UI since it is here to stay, I sure hope Autodesk makes some huge advancement in the tools for the next release. Otherwise, it is a "Wow" type interface which is hard to navigate, does not follow the flow of working on design projects and has many tools that still do not adequately perform the tasks that they are suppose to do.

Revit for the Unemployed Update

I got an interesting RSS feed from http://dwf.blogs.com/beyond_the_paper/ today.

Autodesk is taking an interest in today's economic crisis where they will actually help those of you who are unemployed. Follow this link for more information http://students3.autodesk.com/?nd=assistance_home&lbon=1 and this one for a detailed .pdf explination http://students3.autodesk.com/ama/orig/Autodesk_Assistance_Program_Customer_FAQ-_FINAL.pdf

In one of my previous posts, I had thought it would be beneficial for the unemployed to be able to get a student version at a student cost for a 13 month license. Autodesk seems to have taken it one step forward and is offering the software free. This is a great move by Autodesk to show that they understand where the economy is and that they care about the users of their programs.

Check out the links above for more information.

Quick Access Toolbar - Boston RUG

A week ago today, Autodesk hosted our area Revit Users Group at their new facility in Waltham. They previewed Revit Architecture and MEP 2010 which included the new user interface (UI), Customization, Conceptual Massing and the API. While each of the presenters from Autodesk did a great job, the greatest nugget of information that I received was that you can set the quick access toolbar (QAT), copy the file and then you can deploy it to all your new installs.

Why is this important?

You will probably find out that there are tools that you will need frequently and switching between the tabs on the UI just seems time consuming. While I am assuming what my users will need, I had found that Switch Windows, Text, Aligned Dimension, Measure and WORKSETS will be a few of those tools that are essential to be at your fingertips. I will also probably deploy it with about 1/2 the default QAT selections turned off. Also with the assumption that these will be used a lot, I am going to put it below the ribbon.

You can decide what your desired setup is for your users but you will probably not be able to find the file that retains the information without the information below:

The ribbon and QAT data is stored in the UIState.dat file.
To reset the UI to its default state just delete the file.
UIState.dat file is located in the Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 folder under one of the following folders:
o For Windows XP
%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\Revit
o For Windows Vista
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit

Note: Your users will be able to customize it once they start using it since this also holds the information on the ribbon and other UI info.

Thanks to Erik at Autodesk for supplying me with the path for the .dat file.

Revit for the Unemployed

I read a facebook status update the other day from a friend who was laid off from an architecture firm due to the economy. He wrote that while unfortunate, it is allowing him time to work on his exams, study for LEED and to learn this BIM thing. It got me thinking about how he would actually learn BIM. He could download the Revit trial, use books to train and try to learn it but what can you actually do in the 30 days of the trial version. Is 30 days enough to learn? When I first started on Revit, I had gotten a demo while at Autodesk University 2004. I had demos beforehand but you just start getting into it when the demo expires. The demo that they gave at AU 2004 was either a 60 or 90 day (can't remember). What I do remember is having adequate time to learn and start implementing it.


While pondering this, I thought about whether Autodesk could do something to help the numerous unemployed which would not cost much but could lead to significant gains for Autodesk's future. What if Autodesk could provide Revit to the unemployed using the cost structure of the Student License and also have the similar 13 month license? Of course, there would need to be some type of proof (unemployment check, call to the last employer or something similar). This would allow numerous individuals with the ability to learn Revit, become proficient and be more marketable. The benefit for Autodesk is that there would be many more users of the program for when the market rebounds. When these users go into their new jobs they will essentially be your sales force within those companies. Another senerio is that many of these individuals may end up starting their own practices. After seeing the benefit of Revit, what software do you think they would choose to buy when the license expires?


Something interesting to think about and I would like to hear some of your comments.

Revit Innovations

In one of my previous emails I may have been slightly harsh about the releases of Revit. In my mind, the time and energy spent on the UI is not worth while since not enough of the actual tools have been perfected enough yet to take the fustration out of day to day use. While I stongly believe that there are serious flaws in the workflow and use of the tools, the Revit team has been innovative on an actual tool that should help with the early design of a building. The conceptual massing tool is that innovation and is a great first pass at a Sketchup like flexibility to massing.

Kudos to the team that worked on conceptual massing. You are definately going in the right direction and I look forward to where you take it from here.

But my comment still stands... make the product work as perfect as it can and then pull some of the programmer's time away for other things. I know Revit as a whole can never be completely perfect but it CAN be a lot better.