Temporary Dimensions and Activate Dimensions

I've written about Temporary Dimensions and the Activate Dimension button in the past (2007-9), these are some posts that discuss them.

Space Bar Subtle Effect on Temporary Dimensions
Dept. of Reviteristics - Activate Dimensions
Activate Dimensions
Activate Dimensions - Redux

Temporary Dimensions don't appear when two or more elements are selected. When that happens you should see the Activate Dimensions button appear on the Options Bar.

Temporary dimensions also don't respond to families that host nested shared families. That's because these families are also regarded by Revit, under the hood, as a selection of two or more elements.

Splitting a Dimension String

The media embargo has been lifted. As the noise regarding the next release of Revit grows I thought I share a feature that's in tune with me enjoying the "little things", refinement. They've added the capability of removing a segment of a dimension without using Edit Witness Lines.

It's pretty simple, though maybe not all that intuitive. You use very Reviteristic concept hover > tab > click to select. You place your cursor over the segment you want to remove (hover), press (don't hold, that's disco tab) the tab key until just that segment highlights, next you click to select it and then finally Delete it. You can choose how you want to delete it, Delete Key, Delete button on the ribbon, right-click > Delete...have fun!

Hover > Tab > Select

Press the Delete key

Here's to the little things.

Activate Dimensions Redux

I've posted about the Activate Dimensions feature a couple times in the past HERE and THERE. I've just recorded a short VIDEO that shows a practical example of using them to alter the sketch of a stair. Here's an image capture of the temporary dimensions that appear after using the tool.

If you want to listen and watch now...here it is:

Standards - Everybody's Got Standards, their own!

Wherever I go I get the same story, we use the "standard". Yep, "you" and everyone else. Only trouble is the "standard" the last place is using doesn't look like the standard "you" say is the standard... No I'm not really going down this rabbit hole, as much fun as it might be.

I am however going to point out an issue that users have with content that comes from Autodesk, out of the box (OOTB), consistency or rather the lack of it. We'll look at two examples; the (RAC) stock door family template and the (RME) stock Automatic Transfer Switch family.

The door template looks like this in plan.
When you first start to use it you notice that there is no Width parameter in the view. You think, reasonably so..."I need a Width Parameter!". You add a dimension. Then you start to add a Width parameter but find one is already there!


Naturally you think, "I'll just use this one!". Now Revit yells at you!

Hmmm...if it is overconstrained by adding this, how might that be?? Well this forces you to examine the rest of the views in the template. Taking a closer look at the Front Elevation view we find that the Width Dimension and parameter are lurking here. What? What "standard" does this follow?

Moving on...

The Automatic Transfer Switch family looks like this in plan view.

Maybe I'm just a bit of a crank but this is one messy view. Reference planes all over the place. Nothing confuses me quicker than a messy layout. Next, notice the orientation of the Switch Width and Width parameters? If the front of the panel is at the bottom of the view wouldn't this Width parameter really be the "depth" of the cabinet? Now notice the Switch Length parameter, wouldn't this be "width"? Naturally there is another "width" parameter...yep...it is in the elevation view.

At least these two are consistent in this way.

It is my opinion that dimensions/constraints should be added to views such that X and Y information is described plan views and Z information is displayed in elevations views, primarily the front view unless that is unsuitable for some reason. Dare I say...consistent with drafting "standards" 8-). Further families that represent real equipment should be organized in the same way as their catalog "cuts" or data sheets indicate. Width should be width and depth should be depth, not length = width etc.

"Soapbox" explodes...and I'm done!

Dept. of Reviteristics - Activate Dimensions

Temporary dimensions just show up when you select an element. As a model matures and there are more elements Revit may "decide" that displaying the temporary dimensions would take too long to calculate and instead present a button on the Options Bar called, not surprisingly, Activate Dimensions.



When you select elements, to copy or move them for example, you should also find the Activate Dimensions tool appears which will allow you to alter permanent dimensions too.

One interesting collateral benefit is you can select multiple elements that all need to move by the same relative distance by altering one dimension value on a string.

Activate Dimensions

As you work in Revit you get used to seeing temporary dimensions appearing every time you select an element. Then as your project progresses and more and more things fill your screen you eventually notice that those temporary dimensions aren't showing up as much. At first you might think that something has gone terribly wrong. The truth is that Revit has reached a point where it has decided that showing temporary dimensions would negatively affect performance.

So now what? Do you have to add your own permanent dimensions to manipulate your design? Well...you could, nothing wrong with that but you don't HAVE to... Enter the Options Bar, when this occurs take a quick look on the Options Bar and click the nice Activate Dimensions button.

Why doesn't Revit tell you it isn't going to display the temporary dimensions anymore? Well...we probably would get annoyed with that message popping up all the time too?