New Crop Region Functionality in Revit 2014

In coordination with the Ideate, Inc. YouTube video on Autodesk Revit 2014 – Non-Rectangular Crop Regions, this blog describes how the Revit 2014 Crop Region and callout tools have undergone a few improvements. 

One of the new features within Revit 2014 is the ability to create non-rectangular Crop Regions within 2D views. This has been a long standing request since the year 2000. This feature eliminates the time-consuming task of creating Masking Regions with a hole to represent an irregular shaped viewport. 

This new functionality allows for a more efficient sheet layout process. Common to many other Revit user interface behaviors, the ability to edit the Crop Region through the use of sketch lines in a sketch mode make this tool very intuitive. Figure 1. 

Figure 1

Additionally as the Callout tool is an extension of the Crop Boundary tool, it would only be natural to also have the ability of creating non-rectangular callouts. In Revit 2014, the Callout tool now includes the ability of using one of two tools to create the callout. A the standard Rectangle tool and a new Sketch tool. The Sketch tool enters you into a sketch mode where linear closed shapes can be used to create non-rectangular callouts. Figure 2.

Figure 2

Upon completion of the sketch, the non rectangular callout is created. This new view’s crop region takes on the shape of the sketch. Direct manipulation of the shape can be accomplished by using intuitive grips directly on the callout and crop region.
 
Any callout and/or crop region can also be reset to its default rectangular shape by selecting the Reset button in the context sensitive menu.

Don’t forget to look through other great features our Ideate Technical Team has found in the new 2014 releases for Revit MEP, Revit Structure, Civil 3D, AutoCAD and more: ideateinc.com/2014

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Ron Palma
Ideate AEC Application Specialist
Ron has over 24 years of experience in the architectural industry as a drafter, designer, lead project designer, trainer, and a CAD manager implementing Autodesk Architectural Solutions for a residential design firm. His instructional background includes being an Autodesk Certified Instructor, trainer, support technician, educator at Portland and Clackamas Community Colleges, as well as a U.S. Army certified instructor where he was a senior instructor at Ft Lewis Washington. Ron is a member of the Oregon Army National Guard and platoon sergeant, training and mentoring soldiers in their careers. Ron is a published writer and continues to author professional technical training manuals and shorts for AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, and Revit. As an Autodesk Certified Instructor, Ron provides Revit Architecture training and support for AEC firms. Follow Ron @RonPalmaAEC.

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