Dynamo is a plugin for Revit that enhances your productivity by giving you more functionality to Revit that would otherwise be limited due to the nature of the software. Dynamo can be compared to other plugins such as Grasshopper which is a plugin for a 3D design software called Rhino. Both software make use of nodes which can be linked together to create a visual script. As long as Revit's backend system is accessible, also know as API (application programing interface), Dynamo can target elements in Revit and manipulate them.
While Dynamo is a powerful tool, it isn't for most people in the industry. The main separating factor is its programming technical nature which caters to users who are more in tune with programming languages and technical thinkers. Advanced coding experience is not necessary, however understanding the logical instructions to Dynamo are essential and it helps to have basic coding experience. If there was any coding language to learn that could enhance the understanding of Dynamo, it's Python. Users can maximize the functionality of Dynamo by taking advantage of Dynamo's custom code interface to write custom scripts in the Python language.
How do I get started?
To get started, if you are using Revit versions 2019 and before, download and install Dynamo at DynamoBIM.org. If you are using Revit versions 2020 and later, you can skip to How to Launch Revit. Make sure you have Revit pre-installed so that Dynamo can be added as a plugin to the Revit menu. The software is free to use as long as you have licensed version of Revit.
How to Launch Revit
For Revit versions 2017 and later, the launch button resides under the Manage tab.
For Revit versions 2013 to 2016, the launch button resides under the Add-ins tab.
Notice that the launch button is greyed when you first opening Revit. This is because you must be in a project to open Dynamo so that Dynamo knows which project to point to. The quickest way to get started is to open a blank project. Learn how to start a blank project in this post. Once Dynamo is launched, select New to begin creating a new node-based script.
What if I have multiple projects open in one Revit session?
If you have multiple projects open Dynamo will only point to the active project when it is launched. It is necessary to close Dynamo and change the active project in order to change which project Dynamo is pointing to. Simply changing the active project will show a warning at the bottom of the Dynamo interface, "Dynamo is not pointing at the current document."
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