Revising Keynote Data

When you use keynotes and realize you need to revise existing keynote information it easy to change what the keynote text value is. We just need to edit the existing information and reload the keynote file.

It's a little different situation when you decide you need to change the numbering that is already in play. It's no problem if you are just shuffling note information around so you get the numbering sequence you prefer. As long as the keynote value remains in the list Revit will find it. You just need to make sure that any elements that are supposed to carry a certain keynote value still do after you shuffle them.

However, if you revise things and introduce a new numbering scheme and reload the file you'll find the keynotes will get confused. They stop displaying the correct information. For example let's say the keynote that was number 1 is now the letter A. There isn't a separate GUID that is guiding this alignment of data, Revit is relying on the information in the text file entirely. So Revit doesn't find the number 1 anymore and can't pair up the keynote value and keynote text anymore. The tag just reports 1 since that's what was stored to begin with.

The best place to check and revise the keynote assignment after revising numbers is in the keynote legend. You'll be able to review each keynote and activate the keynote table via the Keynote Value parameter, the little browse button that appears when you click on the value in the schedule.

You can select each confused keynote and map it to the correct keynote value. Once you've revisited all of the affected keynotes in the legend you'll find that the keynote tags throughout the documentation will show the correct information again.

Roads Category and Spot Elevation

This is too weird not to write about it. I was asked to take a look at a file that would not let us apply a spot elevation. I did the usual things, check for the floor category visibility, no overrides to the linked floor(s), no filters, no underlay weirdness... no joy.

I compared it against a new view with no view template. The new view worked but the one with a view template assigned didn't. I tried turning back on all the model categories that were off in the view template. The Spot Elevation tool worked again. Hmmm...

I reset the View Template and then I turned back on each category that was off in the template, one at a time. When I turned on the Roads category the spot elevation started working again. WHAT??

That's more than a little bizarre since we've never been able to use the Roads category for anything. They don't even let us create an In-Place family using the Roads category. I imagine that it is something gone awry in this particular project file since this is the only one behaving this way but still...turning on the Roads category fixed it??

Tagging Elements

It is pretty common to have quite a few different kinds of tags for the elements we need to tag in views. Some equipment might get an oval shaped tag while others have a hexagon. When we need to switch between tags Revit isn't quite fine tuned for this yet. Here's three approaches we can take.

When you tag elements you can tell Revit which tag should be used by default via the Loaded Tags dialog. The tag that appears next to a category is the tag that will be used when you use Tag by Category. If you work systematically you can set which tag you intend to use for awhile and then the correct tag will be offered by default.

Another way to do it is Right Click > Create Similar (you can select one and click the Create Similar button on the ribbon too) over a tag that is the kind you want to place, assuming one is already in the view. This way Revit will start tagging with that tag.

Yet another approach is to select everything you want to tag and then use Tag All, choosing the tag type you'd like to use. When you select elements first this dialog changes Revit's focus to tag selected elements instead of everything that isn't already tagged. This gives you a bit more control over which tag should be used on which elements.

A tagging quirk is that Revit won't let us put more than one tag on the same element. For example I like to use a pipe tag to identify CW (cold water) or HW (hot water) pipes. I can put one tag on a pipe but Revit won't recognize the pipe as available unless I tag a different pipe first. My work around is to bounce back a forth between pipes. It seems a little silly not to let me put another tag on a pipe if I want too.

Choosing a Room Name

The Properties Palette lets us make some choices before placing elements that in the past were not possible. For example we can decide what elevation mechanical equipment or air terminals should be first. When we place rooms, without bothering to fill out a room schedule in advance, we can decide what name to use before we place one. In the image I've changed the room name to Office.

If we need to place several rooms that use the same name all we have to do now is type it into the room's name parameter within the Properties Palette. If you don't like the name you see when you place a room later, just check the Properties Palette. Revit remembers the last value you put there.

Remember that you can easily place rooms that are defined in a schedule but not yet placed in the model, just check the list!

Rotate with Component

This little setting is meant to force a tag to rotate with the tagged element, meaning to maintain the alignment.

The easiest example is beam or wall tags following their parent.

These categories respond to Rotate with Component:
Walls, Curtain Walls, Doors, Windows, Railings, Ramps, Stairs (Runs, Landings and Supports), Structural (Framing, Braces and Trusses), Property Boundary, Property Line Segments, Planting, and Parking.

These categories are immune to Rotate with Component:
Foundations, Floors, Ceilings, Roofs, Furniture, Furniture Systems, Casework, Generic Models, Structural Columns, Detail Components, Massing, Mass Floors, Curtain Panels, and Specialty Equipment.

Breaking loose from "Revity rules" the space, room and area tags are allowed to rotate more easily by choosing Vertical, Horizontal or Model, for each tag we use. The Model option allows us to use the Rotate tool to rotate them freely, which would be quite nice for any tag.

Architectural Columns, Shaft Openings remain immune to tagging by category at all.

That seems like a long list but that doesn't even factor in MEP components. Perhaps I'll tackle that another night.

Tag on Placement Quirk

My friend Tom wrote to me the other day asking if he was crazy or if I could confirm that Revit 2013 has a quirk when placing a light fixture in a ceiling plan. Well he isn't crazy, at least not about that. It isn't just for light fixtures either, seems to be for any component. When placing a component in a floor plan view you get this ribbon configuration, or close to it.

When in a ceiling plan you get this version...sans "Tag on Placement".

Seems unfair to me. There was a recent Hotfix posted for Revit 2013 but it does not appear to address this issue. I demand equal opportunity for Tag on Placement!

Tag All is Faster

No kidding you say. When rooms are involved the room tag feature is painful because it has to query all rooms in the view and turn on the special highlighting mode first. You can beat this if you select rooms first and use Tag All instead. You'll get much faster results, more responsive. That assumes you can effectively select them first.

Dept. of Moved Cheese - Tag on Placement

Previous releases of Revit offered a check box to decide if we wanted a tag to show up as we placed various elements. For example placing a door offered us this on the Options Bar.

With 2011 this has been changed a little. There is a button to press to choose tagging or not. Fun to see the puzzled look trying to work out where the option went. It goes something like, "I could have sworn there was a way to stop tagging when I place families?!? Oh!! There it is!!".

Dept. of Subtle - Window Tagged Twice

A client recently reported a strange tag situation. When they changed the tag value another window's tag would change too. Not strange to me, the tag is displaying the Type Mark parameter, correct? No they replied, "We don't do that, we tag each window with a unique number so our tag displays the Mark parameter."

Now I'm curious...well it was too easy. The tag was tagging the same window as the other tag. Select the tag, add a check in the Leader Option and we could see where the tag thought its window really was. Here's a video to show what I'm writing about.