Revit 2020.2 Internal Origin Redux

Happy Thanksgiving to those who observe!

One little thing I'm thankful for, I got a file yesterday from Autodesk (TurnOffInternalOrigin.Dyn) that is meant to be run in Dynamo Player (it's a custom node in testing ATM). You can download the file, place it wherever your Dynamo Player is looking for files already or in Dynamo Player just browse to wherever you placed the file. Click the play button (see image) and it will turn off the Internal Origin in all views. This approach means very little Dynamo knowledge is necessary, just enough to get Dynamo Player open and find the file.

Since I already put in some time with my own graph which included the Survey Point and Project Base Point I decided I'd like to be able to turn on/off all three or just the internal origin or some combination. I modified my graph (Control Coordinate Graphics.dyn) to provide input options (see image).

When you use Dynamo player you can edit the input options through On/Off switches (see image).

Click the little Properties button (looks like a old Macintosh computer to me). Clicking the toggle will make the statement either true or false for each "hide" question. All three true = all off for example. Remember my graph is dependent on a node from the Archilib package, make sure you've installed that before trying to use it.

Dimension Inline and Dynamo

(Edit: If you download and apply an update to his Rhythm package after 1/17/2018 you'll have this node too)

From time to time I've heard people ask about putting the dimension value on the line (inline) instead of above the dimension line the way Revit prefers. The only way we can do it within Revit is to manually grip and drag the dimension value down to the line.

More recently I read a thread at the Autodesk Forum asking about this. The premise in their situation is that it is a significant roadblock to using Revit for one of their client's projects, it doesn't meet their drawing standard unless the dimensions are inline.

I was trading messages with Aaron Maller and mentioned it to him. Aaron was trading messages with John Pierson and a few minutes later I learned it is possible with Dynamo and a custom node. This morning he shared this with me, as well as replying to the thread. Nicely done John! We are sooo connected these days.

2016-17 Door Library - Head Height

A comment was submitted to an earlier post about the new library of door families that came with the 2016 release. The question had to do with changing the head height of these doors. There are two folders (see the images in the other post): Residential and Commercial as well as a smaller collection of doors that are more similar to the past door library we had, but using a new naming convention.

The doors in the Commercial folder have an Instance parameter called Masonry Frame which toggles on/off a solid form that adjusts how thick or high the head of the door is. This image is the same door side by side but with the parameter off on the left and on for the door on the right.

The doors in the Residential folder don't share this family strategy. Neither do the individual door families that are found in the root Doors folder. What is visible on the residential doors is trim, not a frame. The trim is designed to turn off if the Door Offset parameter is not set to zero. The frame form they do have are based on a sweep that doesn't allow for varying its dimensions.

Like all families, how they were conceived of and then created greatly affects their usefulness. In the case of the comment posted, the commercial collection of doors may work for them where the residential ones probably won't; not without some fundamental changes to the families themselves first.

Revit MEP - Silly Revit - We Don't use those Pipe or Duct Sizes

If you don't take the time to fine tune your project templates then you'll find Revit will offer you all kinds of pipe and duct sizes. These are available in the drop down lists during placement and then later if you run Duct/Pipe Sizing.

If you don't take the time to fine tune your template you'll find Revit gives you a duct size of 11" after completing its Duct Sizing, regardless of the fact you only choose from even sizes. It's easy to blame silly Revit...but it's our fault. The Duct and Pipe Sizes are controlled via Mechanical Settings, the duct sizes for Rectangular are shown below.

We need to either delete sizes we never want or just un-check them in either column or both, Set it and forget it.

Oh, the same is true of conduit and cable tray.

Temporary View Templates

View Templates are quite useful and potentially powerful when they are allowed to be aggressive, placed in charge of Views. To make a View Template the Boss we just need to assign one to a view via its View Template parameter.

Using the Right Click option to Apply Template Properties does not a boss make. It just applies the template settings but then leaves the view open to abuse.

When we do take advantage of placing a View Template in charge of views we bump into this Boss and its rules whenever we want to change the way the view looks. Normally that's good because the View Template is preventing arbitrary changes. In the following image I've mocked up structural walls and separate Veneer walls because I want to accentuate the structural wall in plan views (a common request). It also allows for fussy exterior finish changes (though these are hardly fussy).

In the plan view I've reduced the intensity of the veneer walls. When we need to change the way a view looks and it has a Bossy View Template we can use the Temporary View Properties button on the View Control Shortcut Bar. Usually it is sufficient to click Enable Temporary View Properties. Notice the other choice; Temporarily Apply Template Properties.

If we often find ourselves needing to apply the same kind of override to certain views it makes sense to create a View Template for that and then use it to apply an override to the view, like this next image. I've changed the appearance of the veneer walls to make them stand out; so it is easier to adjust them.

I created a Filter that is looking for a specific value in Type Comments. I picked that because it was easy for this example but it could be any parameter you like, as long as it sets the element(s) apart from others.

I also made another Filter to change the wall the other walls look so they don't compete graphically with the veneer walls as much as they would normally.

When I'm done adjusting the veneer walls I just need to click Restore View Properties and the Boss is back in charge.

Next time you find yourself using Temporary View Properties and Visibility/Graphics to tweak a view again, for the same reason as the last couple times, consider creating a View Template for it.

Optional Instance Override Example Two

My post last Saturday reminded Daniel Stine of a situation where he used a similar technique.

Dan writes:

In an Electrical Equipment schedule, we want the Room/Space number to be listed automatically. However some items are not located within a room. So we use a Yes/No parameter (in the family) and a calculated value (in the schedule) to switch from automatic to manual. In the example below, the rooftop equipment is not within a room and would produce a blank cell if the schedule column just listed Space:Number. With the toggle, we can type in a custom value; a word in this case.

These are the two manual parameters associated with the content:

Calculated value in Electrical Equipment schedule:
if(Enter Manual Room Number Name, Manual Room Number Name, Space: Number)

The follow parameters need to be added to the schedule, but hidden:
Space: Number
Enter Manual Room Number Name
Manual Room Number Name

Thanks Daniel!

Optional Instance Override

Twice in one week I've seen people asking about using a Type Parameter for a door swing and wishing they could occasionally override it without making a new type for the door. That jogged my memory a bit and I remembered that Aaron Maller had told me about a technique he's used on the content he has built for Beck Group. It's quite clever, thanks Aaron!

These are the parameters you need (parameter names are italic - pick better names if you want):

• Type parameter (Angle: Swing - this the standard angle you want to use)
• Instance parameter (Angle: Swing Override - this is the default value for the override)
• Instance or type parameter (Yes/No: Override Swing - this is the switch to flip)
• Instance parameter (Angle: Swing Applied - Formula: if (yes, instance, type)

It looks like this in the Family Types dialog.

This is what it looks like applied to two door types; two are set according to their type and the other two are overridden to different angles.

This is what it looks like in the Properties Palette when a door is selected. Check the option and change the value or leave the default value.

Yes! You can have your Type and Instance too!

Grid Bubble at Second End

Occasionally I get this question, "Why does the grid bubble always show up at the second point? I wish it was at the first point. I'd like to start at the bubble and draw from there." The answer is you can! It's just a setting, a simple one at that. This is the Type Properties dialog for a grid type.

Notice the highlighted parameters? End 1 is the Start (first pick point) and End 2 is the End (second pick point). If you want to sketch grids starting with the Bubble just switch the check marks. End 1 should be checked and End 2 should not. Make this adjustment in your project template and you'll not have to worry about it again, hopefully.

Same thing is true for Levels by the way.

Gaps in Grids

Some people do not like grids that extend entirely through a model. I usually hear about this in building elevations. They want the grids to stop just above the model. That is easy to do when we toggle from 3D to 2D. We can drag the 2D extent of the grid above the building. If we turn on the crop boundary of the view and make sure it intersects the grids we can drag them all together faster than doing it one at time.

Some want similar behavior in plan views too. We can do the same thing unless they also want the grids to appear on both sides of the model. In this case we can use the Center Segment parameter that is part of grid types. The stock Revit templates provide three grid types: 1/4" Bubble, 1/4" Bubble Custom Gap, and 1/4" Bubble Gap. They look like this.

If we want to stop the grid from traveling all the way through a model we can use the 1/4" Bubble Gap type. The gap is created with the Center Segment parameter by using None instead of Continuous or Custom. Choosing Custom enables (turns on) three new parameters: Center Segment Weight, Center Segment Color and Center Segment Pattern (a Line Pattern).

People also ask to be able to adjust this gap differently in different plan views. At first it doesn't seem possible because adjusting one does affect other views, until you toggle the 3D status to 2D. Once the grid is using the 2D mode we can alter the gap differently in that view when compared with other views. This gap does affect elevations and sections. This means you'll have to adjust the extents of the gap in those views too, especially if you don't want the gap to show up in those views at all.

It's like Spiderman's Uncle said, "...with great power comes great responsibility". The more subtle features we engage the more work it is to manage them.

By the way, this isn't possible with Levels. There is no Center Segment parameter. There are occasions where it would be helpful if we could do this for Levels too.

Quick Access Toolbar - QAT

With the 2010 version it becomes possible to customize the user interface a bit more. This post will just deal with the addition of the Quick Access Toolbar. There as been much commentary about how successful the QAT is at AUGI and elsewhere. I'm just going to focus on two things with this post, Active Workset and the Align tool.

First the QAT can include tools that we choose to add to it. You just Right Click on a tool and the option to Add to Quick Access Toolbar appears. You can also remove a tool in a similar fashion. Careful, add tools in the order you want them to appear because you can't shuffle them around....yet anyway. There is always hope.

One negative of the current implementation of the Ribbon approach with Revit is that users can't see what the Active Workset is. Granted they could turn off the Workset toolbar in previous versions but if they were actually using Worksets they usually do not. With the Ribbon, if you choose to change to another tab you no longer see the Active Workset. Problem solved, in a fashion, add it to the QAT.

The Align tool is trapped on the Modify ribbon tab. Why it doesn't appear on others, like many of the contextual ribbons...I understand. Align is a Prima Don, it wants you to "pick me, pick me" before letting you use it. Other tools like Copy or Move have less ego because they are content to react to you selecting elements first, they wait patiently for you to do something to provoke them. Align sits stubbornly on its own throne (ribbon) because it doesn't care that you are sketching walls or placing doors. The reality is that I quite often to decide to use Align precisely because I AM doing something else. The something else inspires me to use the Align tool. Switching to the Modify ribbon tab...well...irks me. Problem solved, in a fashion, added it to the QAT.

And now the finished product! After first putting the Active Workset on the QAT and wishing it was after the Align tool...Remove, Remove...Add...Add...all better, aah.