New Revit Book Almost Here!

I am happy to report that the newest edition of The Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit Architecture 2012 is nearly complete and will be shipping soon. Current estimates put publication date at mid to late June. That’s about a month and a half away! Considering that we did not pub till September last year, I would say that is a nice improvement.

Once upon a time, this blog was devoted to the process of producing CAD books. I have gotten away from that in recent years for a variety of reasons. However, this is a good post to revive a little of that original flavor since this edition of the Revit Architecture book marks a first for this title.

This year, we produced the book with an entirely new process. In the past, the process would begin with Microsoft Word files extracted from the previous edition’s page layout files. I would edit those files, pass on to various editors. There would be some back and forth reviewing and accepting revisions, and then it would go back into page layout software. PDF proofs would come out of this and I would get a final review of the proofs before moving off to the press. This time, we are using new software that enables us to eliminate the Microsoft Word files entirely! I work directly in the files using software that enables me to edit the live page layout files without being able to change the layout nor having to even understand how. Using a VPN connection, I am given access to the text and images. I can type edits directly in the software. All edits are tracked and when I am complete, there is a built-in sequence in the database, so that I check in the file and the next person in line gains access to do their part. Using this new process has allowed us to shave considerable time off of the schedule. So, the benefit to all of you is that we get a book out sooner! There have been some hurdles to overcome, but overall the process has worked quite well.

There are actually lots of other things happening behind the scenes this year. But I will save some of those for future posts. Meanwhile, on the book page the dataset files are currently live. So feel free to download early. If you have comments or questions, I would love to hear them.

Next week I fly to Australia to speak at the Revit Technology Conference (RTC) and next month I’ll be speaking at the first RTC here in the US. It is not too late to sign up, so if you would like to attend, you can learn more here. I will be teaching my sessions in Revit 2012, and while the Australia conference is a little too soon for me to have 2012 books, I hope to have a few to give away at the US one, so there’s a little extra incentive to register today!

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