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<\/p>\nOne day I\u2019m working with a family in Revit 2013, and the next I\u2019m time traveling back to Revit 2012. Then the weekend comes, and with it the release of Revit 2014 \u2013 the speed, the bliss! Up next is Monday, which calls for a family in Revit 2011. I need a type catalog quickly, and try exporting it right from the family editor. But wait! That couldn’t be done in 2011. So I quickly jump to 2013, open the 2011 family and export its parameters as a type catalog, go back into 2011 and carry on working, now with the type catalog created in 2013. See, type catalogs can travel through time!<\/p>\n
Situations like the one above are normal where I work. From time to time, I also get a chance to try versions of unreleased software, or install Revit in other languages (just to practico mee Espaniol, por exemplo). Installing all this software on the same machine, in the same OS, would usually be kryptonite for the superman of IT administrators. Mere mortals would be institutionalised after only a few hours. There is, however, a perfectly sane, kryptonite-proof way to live in this universe of multiple Revits. It\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing since back in 2009, and on a Mac no less.<\/p>\n
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This harmony of multiple Revits is all thanks to a couple things. First is the change that took place in Apple\u2019s hardware in 2005, when they switched to Intel processors. I knew it would be only a matter of time before I could run Windows on a Mac at a reasonable speed. I wanted to do that because the software I was using (Autodesk) would only run on Windows. But why did I want a Mac in the first place? Nowadays I can list several reasons, and this post is about one of them. Back then it was really just a personal preference. Note: for those with aesthetic sensibilities that make them allergic to Apple\u2019s products, you could do this under Windows or Linux, though probably it wouldn\u2019t look half as good.<\/p>\n
Second, it\u2019s thanks to a piece of software called Parallels Desktop. Parallels allows me to create Windows virtual machines on a Mac, each with its own version of Revit. It turns a whole Windows computer into a single file, albeit a large one. That file can be backed up for when you install a virus just to see if Revit runs faster, or copied from computer to computer when you upgrade your hardware. It\u2019s a plug-in, plug-out computer. There when you need it, gone when you don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
So how good is this setup of \u201cParallel Revits\u201d? Do you remember how it felt the first time you drove your Porsche at 90mph down the Audubon? Neither do I, but I\u2019m guessing it\u2019s something like that. Want to play with Revit 1.0 and Revit 2014 at the same time? Marcello<\/a>, you can<\/a>, and no need to worry about old installation conflicts. The latter was one of the reasons that brought me down this path, and though nowadays newer versions of Revit co-exist without problem, I\u2019m so happy with the way things work that I continue to keep each version of Revit on its own virtual machine.<\/p>\n @PragReviteer<\/a> @lukeyjohnson<\/a>
when you open Revit version 2014 into version 1.0 you get this message pic.twitter.com\/IXnWXnTxRQ<\/a><\/p>\n — marcello sgambelluri (@marcellosgamb) July 28, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n