TABLE OF CONTENTS This chapter is designed to give you some tips and tricks about how to keep your project file running quickly and smoothly. Listed here are some pointersto keep you from getting into trouble and some solutions if you do. Topics we'll cover include:
Optimizing performance
Using best practices
Dealing with file corruption
It should make sense that a small file on a good network runs the quickest. Depending on your hardware configuration, typical file sizes can run a large gamut. We've seen them range from 30MB to 200MB. Much of that variation depends on the level of detail you've put into your model, the presence of imported files (like other 3D files or CAD files), and the overall complexity of your model. However, there are a number of things you can do to be proactive about keeping your model performance optimized. Here are a few we recommend:
Use the 3 GB switch. Revit now supports Microsoft XP's 3GB switch. Windows XP allows any given application access to only 2GB of RAM at a given time; if the application needs more, it get the rest from virtual memory. Microsoft's switch (which is available in XP Service Pack 2) allows you to change that 2GB limit to 3GB. To find out how to do this, visit www.autodesk.com/support, choose Revit Building from the menu, and read the support article on enabling the 3GB switch. Of course, you need more than 2GB of RAM in your workstation for this switch...
