Getting Started with Revit Structure 2010

After what feels like and is months of waiting, Revit 2010 is here. The company I work for have finally installed Revit 2010 on the network and booked formal training, and I've bought a new PC for home that will run Revit.

As soon as I discovered about the ribbon and the change in user interface, I lost interest in playing with the trial version of Revit 2009 at home and wanted to wait until I could get my hands on 2010 plus be able to use a fully working copy. As you can't save with the trial version after 30 days, you can only go so far with learning on a trial version.

After being set up with rights to the subscription centre, I harvested all the software and supporting material so our IT guy could install on the network as we have purchased four licences.

Not naming anyone but, the companies chosen reseller sent 2009 boxes and we are still awaiting a boxed set of software for 2010 from them. In the mean time I have spoken to one of the older more established UK resellers who have very kindly sent me a 2010 trial box to my home address.




From the outside there is not a lot of difference between 2009 and 2010 the difference is what’s inside the box…..


In the 2009 Trial there is an A5 Read This First sheet and a Getting Started Manual that has a Steel Project reading from one end, turn the book over and upside down and you have a Concrete Project the other end of the book.

It was this book that I was after. Historically its’ always been available to download from the Autodesk web site (historical version are still there), But this time I could not find it on the web site for 2010.


When I opened up the 2010 box and looked inside there are now only two disks not three, as AutoCAD and Structural Detailing now being provided on a single disk but there was nothing else!

I telephone the reseller who had sent me the disk and asked had they forgotten to include the little manual and Read This First sheet, or had someone removed it before dispatch because this box is 20mm wide and has the grips to hold the missing manual.

After a little investigation they come back to me and informed me that as a cost reduction exercise Autodesk were no longer shipping the getting started manual with the trial disk!

Thinking that perhaps this individual was incorrect or misinformed, I contacted another UK reseller who has verified that it is no longer provided.

OK think I, it has to be on the CD, they are saving paper, trees and the environment and it will be in adobe format on the disk……nope not even the user manual appears to be there all you find are these:-
Autodesk, if you’re reading this, and I know you do visit the blog from time to time then this is a real backward step if you want people to have a go at flying Revit Structure, how on earth do you expect them to have a meaningful trial of the product by not including the little manual…. You are doing yourself no favours and Revit Structure and injustice.