Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Reveal Elements - Hidden Viewport

The other day I was looking at a sheet a user reported it was impossible to select a floor plan view on. It seemed as though Revit did not see the view port on the sheet. People frequently pin views to make it a bit harder for other people to move them on a sheet accidentally. That will still allow a view port to be seen by Revit, it will still highlight as the cursor travels over it.

Then I thought of right-click Hide In View > Element. I used Reveal Elements and I could select the viewport. Using that tool does not hide what is visible in the view, it just disables the ability to select the view port.

Good? Bad? It isn't expected, well I didn't expect it.

Monday, October 08, 2018

Change a System Parameter from Type to Instance - Not Length

It is fairly common knowledge that we can change a built-in parameter like Width from Type to Instance by going through the side door, selecting a dimension assigned to the parameter and changing it to Instance on the ribbon (see the image).


Kurt Thompson wrote to me to share how he gets around this issue when the parameter isn't something a dimension can be associated with. Specifically he was referring to a thread at the Autodesk User Forums where a member (electrical focus) was asking Autodesk to change the default parameters for Mains (instance), MCB Rating (type) and Subfeed Lugs (type). They argue that each parameter should be the opposite of the current configuration based on how the information is really dealt with (not that he needs me to, but I agree with him).

Kurt writes:
"To change a System Type parameter to Instance...(specific to the mentioned thread)

Create a Shared Parameter built exactly like the built-in parameter you need to change but make it Instance instead of Type. Starting out with a Generic Model family, add the new parameter. Now assign the family to the category Electrical Equipment, Revit will replace the shared parameter with the built-in parameter but it will retain the Instance (or Type) property setting from the shared parameter. Give it a try."
Thanks Kurt!