Revit Viewer and Worksharing

Reading a thread at Autodesk's Revit Community forum David reminded me of the quirky issues related to the Viewer when worksharing is being used. If someone launches Revit Viewer and then tries to open a project that has enabled worksets they'll get this warning.

When the file is opened and they try to print, export or save they'll get this warning even though they haven't DONE anything...but Revit has made changes to the file in order to create a new local file.

Okay, let's follow the instructions in the first warning message. We'll open the project using Detach from Central. Sorry, "Do not pass Go, do not collect $200". That process also changes the file. Still no export, save or print for you!

The ONLY way we can use Revit Viewer to open a project with Worksets enabled is to open the Central File itself, by un-checking the option to Create New Local. This means that user is now working on the real central file with Revit Viewer.

If you do this you will likely encounter several of the messages shown in the first image. The projects I've done this with all have linked files and it seems to pop up for each link (RVT) used and once more if there are any linked/imported DWG files.

To the good, they won't be able to synchronize their work nor will it prompt them to Save when they close the file. They won't be able to edit much of anything though because they can't borrow elements. The notion of using Revit Viewer to poke around the model, do some experimental stuff within the model is off limits to Viewer mode. We are able to print or publish to DWF, because those formats don't create an editable version of the data/model.

It seems to me that the notion of Revit Viewer for workset projects is fundamentally flawed, if we're thinking of it as a way for Project Managers to poke around, do anything other than JUST LOOK at views. If we'd like them to be able to cut a section view or hide things, do anything that requires temporarily borrowing something, that's all off limits to the Viewer.

For that we'll have to show them how to use Detach from Central AND to be careful not to save that file overwriting the original project.

Revit Viewer

Yes it still exists.

I've been doing some work with Autodesk as a Revit Mentor helping users navigate their 30 day trial. One of the recurring themes is, "I only need Revit to view other peoples models. How do I do that?" In the old days a version of Revit that lacked a license turned into viewer mode. At times that proved a bit dangerous because a user could lose a license (network issues or internet access) while working on a model and find themselves in Viewer Mode and unable to save work they ordinarily could, should be able to.

To counter that situation we now have a separate application that is Revit Viewer. It's installed alongside Revit, wherever you decided to store it on your computer. In my case it's listed like this when I search in Windows 10. FWIW, I don't put any icons on my PC's desktop so that's how I start everything, click on the Window...type a few letters, launch an app. It's the illusion of an uncluttered mind! My actual desk...well that's a different matter...

When you run it you'll be greeted by this message before it will finish opening and let you open a project.

It is worth stressing that the limitations the dialog above describes kick in as soon as ANY change is made. I frequently hear, "I can't print in Viewer mode". That happens when you change the model, to which they reply, "I want to print using a different titleblock, I switched to a different one".

Yeah, that's a change...

It doesn't matter how minor or subtle a change is, the key word is change. If you move a tag, add a dimension, put a view on sheet, change a view's scale, a view's detail level...yeah those are all changes. Trying to print (or save/export) afterward will cause Revit to pop up the dialog above again. If you get the dialog, use Undo until the action you want will work. Most likely you'll have to undo everything you've done just after opening the file.

I should clarify, using Viewer won't allow exporting to formats that can be modified (that is part of the license warning message). That means Viewer can't be used to export to DWG, DXF, IFC etc. We can use Viewer to Print or Publish to DWF.

Including a Sheet File Name and Path

Ever since we started using computers to generate architectural and engineering drawings we've been inclined to provide a place on a title block to help people find the file. Sometimes it is just the file name and other times it is necessary to have both the file name and path to the folder it is in.

The path is useful to the team working on the files but if those files are passed along to someone else it may be meaningless to them, or confusing at the very least. The file name is useful to anyone who happens to be looking at the drawings as long as they are in a position to access the digital version of the file too.

In a Revit model, which usually contains all the sheets for a project, the file name doesn't have the same usefulness when compared to a file based system like AutoCAD. That's true unless you are printing multiple layouts from a single DWG file, then it's not all that different than Revit. When someone is looking at a printed sheet and sees the file name and path it doesn't help them find the digital version, like a PDF file for Sheet A100 for example, because the file name is the Revit model, not the resulting PDF export.

As such Revit misses the mark in helping us carrying on that tradition. Since there are a number of ways our sheets can end up as individual files it is hard for Revit to anticipate or provide a suitable way to plug in a unique value until the data is exported outside of Revit. I'm sure there are some things that they could do to help us with this but it hasn't happened yet.

Revit's API could be used to capture the sheet information and store a contrived file name in a parameter for each sheet. When we print or export we might end up with the correct file names matching the resulting files or bearing a slight difference. I don't recall an existing application that deals with this specifically but one might exist, like Xrev Tools for example.

If we forget limitations within Revit for the moment, since the output format of a set of documents is where the appropriate file data is really needed it might make sense to consider focusing on how we handle the output files instead, at least for now. For example, the company Bluebeam offers software to process, review, and markup PDF documents. It includes the ability to add custom headers and footers, which can be the file name (among other things). It can also Batch Process files to include the file name. The file path is another available choice to put in a header or footer so we can combine them if we want to include both.

If it is necessary to provide the specific file name (and path) for exports to DWG it is probably best to add it those files after exporting, this way they'll point to an actual file instead of the Revit project file. Again some customization could add the necessary fields pretty effectively.

It seems like post processing this information is probably as effective as trying to come up with a way to deal with it internally in Revit.

No Print Text

A fairly common request is a special text that won't print. This would let us add comments to various places in the model for other people to act on. Filters don't see annotation categories either, at least not Text.

One approach we can take is to use a Detail Item family because Filters do work on them. This means instead of placing red text, we place a Detail Item family that has a red text formatted label that we can enter whatever comment is necessary. Then we can apply a Filter using the Family Name as its criteria to find all of them and turn them off in Visibility/Graphics.

A bonus is that Detail Items can also be scheduled since the release of Revit 2014. This means we could schedule them to provide a summary of comments or remarks that have been placed in the model for action. Add a parameter for "Resolved, Resolved By and Resolved Date" (and perhaps more) and users can indicate when the comment has been acted on, by whom and when.

It is also possible to create Saved Selection Sets. Select all the Red Text, Save a selection Set. Then that selection set can be used to create a Filter. For example in the following image, I've created a Saved Selection Set of text called No Print Text and then created a Filter to control it in the view.

If you've got a Saved Selection Set you can Load or Edit them via the Manage ribbon > Selection Panel. If you select multiple elements then the Selection panel appears and you can also Save your selection set.

Be sure to check out the Selection Set features and not just for this!

2014 Revit OpEd

Basd on a comment I've edited the post and added the following (March 27, 2015)

If you'd like to experiment with a sample of this click the links to either download the family or a project with the family and a schedule in place to see it wall working together.

Download an EXAMPLE DETAIL ITEM
Download an EXAMPLE PROJECT USING IT

Thin Lines and Printing Sheets

Reading reports (at RevitForum.org) of the Thin Lines feature affecting the output when printing from sheet views. In my own quick test I'm seeing the lines of the titleblock being printed respecting Thin Lines being on which isn't good.

The model views appear to be printing correctly, just the title block's own lines seem to be affected. When I printed a model view using Thin Lines the result was the same as with Thin Lines off. In other words, working as we've come to expect, the Thin Lines feature had no impact on printing. Or, we've not noticed it before.

When we use Temporary Hide Isolate we get this dialog to ask how we want the feature to be regarded. If Thin Lines is meant to be able to get printed then perhaps the same sort of warning/option ought to be offered?

Any readers that can confirm this too? Seems like an undesireable "feature".

Project Browser Interferes with Plotting and Exporting

I'm having a deja vu moment. I feel certain I've written about this before but can't find a post. I even feel like I've recorded a video of it...but again, don't find one. I've been at this too long I think. I've definitely talked about it in class and during support sessions many times, tonight too...which is why I was looking for the post, to echo it. Okay, moving on.

Have you encountered this when you try to print?

Or this when you try to export, the options for file format are disabled?

You've got the Project Browser selected.

You need to change the "focus" of Revit back to the drawing area. They are both "windows" as far as the software is concerned. If the Project Browser is selected then Revit thinks you want to print the Project Browser (or export from it) instead. Just click in the drawing area before you start to print or export.

Subtle...

Printing with Temporary Hide Isolate

A subtle change was made to our printing process (Revit 2012) when we print from views that have Temporary Hide/Isolate changes. This dialog is presented to us:

The first option ignores the things we've hidden or isolated and prints the view as if we didn't change anything. This is how printing such views behaved in the past. The second option gives us the chance to respect the fact that we've changed what we can see in the view so we CAN print a view that's been altered. Erik Blackburn with NBBJ pointed this out to me as a candidate for a post and I think it belongs in the Department of Subtle. Thanks Erik!

Dept. of Echo - Printing Problems with Revit 2012

Alan posted this tonight, "Printer and Plotter Bugs with Revit 2012". He's having issues with their KIP plotter and he reports that another London Revit User Group member is having trouble getting things out of their HP plotters.

Might have a quick read and weigh in if you can corroborate with your own issues. Serious enough that it might justify a early Web Update...if they can pin down the cause(s).

On another note (A flat), having trouble with your printer out-feed tray? Maybe this will help?

Saw it at a clients office recently, "Hmmm, finished stirring my coffee...I can recycle this!"