Managing RVT Link Visibility

 I stole this idea from Autodesk Revit Forum member de_smith, sharing it here now. 😀

Another member asked: We have multiple view templates set up for various types of plan views, so when a change needs to be made to the visibility of a linked model, that change must be carried over multiple times, for each view template. It easily becomes hard to track that the visibility is consistent everywhere. 

Is there a way that the linked model visibility settings can be applied independently of view templates, so that when modified, they can carry across the entire project?

de_smith replied with (some editing on my part): 

Control linked models with their own view template then layer the regular view's template back over it. 

Create a "REVIT LINK CLEAN UP VIEW"  view template (for each unique link)

• in the view template dialog box untick the 'include' column for everything except V/G Overrides RVT Links
• in this template do all your required visibility modifications to the revit link
• in all your other view templates under the 'include' column untick V/G Override RVT Links

Apply the 'REVIT LINKS CLEAN UP VIEW' to all your views in your project browser at once

• then go back and apply the other view templates to the views.
• This holds the info from the Revit Links Clean up view

If there are any changes needed to the linked models, make the changes once, in the Revit Link's view template, apply it to all views at once and then reapply your other view templates. This is much quicker than changing the Revit links in every single view template.

I've done similar for Imported Categories (DWG links) and try hard not to override RVT links but this should work nicely when it's absolutely necessary.

Short Curved Walls and Non Core Layers

At Autodesk Revit forums I saw a post regarding disappearing curved walls. These walls were shorter than the current view range cut plane. When the Wall subcategory Non Core Layers is turned off only these curved short walls disappeared. Other walls of the same type that were straight remained visible. It looks like a bug to me.

In my testing, when the sub-category for Non Core Layers (Detail Level must be Medium or Fine) is turned off the wall will disappear when it's height is not at least 2 feet above the cut plane setting. For example, I can make a wall disappear if it's height is less than 6 feet when the cut plane (view range) is 4 feet. Enter anything 6 feet or higher and the wall reappears. This image is some full height walls and some walls that are 4 feet tall (lighter gray walls).

This is the setting I turned off in Visibility/Graphics.

This is the result, the curved 4 foot tall walls are gone.

I suppose, in their defense, they could argue that the reason it is possible to turn off non core layers is to be able to isolate, only show, the structural portion of walls. As such a curved wall that is not tall enough to reach the cut plane is not likely to also be a structural/bearing wall. At the very least it is unexpected to have a wall disappear only because it is too short and curved.

Cue Randy Newman, "Short walls got no reason..."

DWG XREF Follow Up

 A year ago I wrote about XREF DWG files showing up in Revit even when they are assigned to Overlay vs Attached. It hasn't been resolved, meaning Revit is still doing it, no change...

Shortly after writing the post we arrived at our "solution", to assign all Xrefs (in AutoCAD/Civil 3D) to a unique layer(s) and turn that layer(s) off in Revit (via View Templates usually). This way the extra layers of the xrefs do not show up even though Revit is technically ready and willing to show them.

Revit 2020.2 Turn Off Internal Origin - Dynamo Option

In a thread at RFO John Pierson (Parallax Team, and Dynamo guru) got the ball rolling with a video link that described overriding graphics in views. I picked up the ball and created the graph but missed an essential but tiny setting for one node to make it work (Lacing - Cross Product).

The Dynamo Graph looks like this (click to Download).

You can use Dynamo, with this graph, to turn off the Internal Origin, Survey Point, and Project Base Point in floor and ceiling plans, sections, elevations and 3D views. Change the code block from False to True and it will turn them all on instead.

Regarding Jean-Marc's comment: I think he was suggesting this instead.

Structural Column Disappears - Part Deux

Yesterday while trading messages with a friend we discussed my previous post about columns disappearing. He suspected it might explain the issue he was observing. After looking more closely it turned out that it doesn't. In his situation the structural columns were modeled the full height of the building and Join Geometry was used on walls, that passed through (overlapped) the columns, at each floor (level). The result: at some levels no column appeared while at others they do.

It was necessary to pull the walls back so they stop at the surface of the columns. Join Geometry allowed for the desired appearance and the columns reappeared at the other levels where they were missing earlier.

Remember Linked Files Have Two Workset Parameters

I find this overlooked regularly. Each link has an Instance AND Type parameter called Workset. If we select a link (RVT) in the Project Browser we can see the Type parameter for workset, even if the link isn't loaded.

If we right-click and choose Select All Instances > In Entire Project we can see the Instance parameter value, unless there is more than one instance (copies of the link).

The best way to ensure that both parameter values are assigned to the same workset is to make sure the Active Workset is set correctly first, before we link the file. If not then we have to check both values.

Why are there two parameters?

The Type parameter governs the existence of the link in the database while the Instance parameter governs the actual instance you can see in the model views. The linked file can be copied, for example House Design A can be copied so we can show that it will be located on several lots within a development, each likely oriented differently.

The instance parameter allows us to assign each copy to a unique workset while the Type parameter affects all of the copies. That means closing the workset assigned to the Type parameter will close all of the copies of the link, none of them will be visible.

If we close the workset assigned to just one copy then only that linked file won't be visible.

If we experience erratic issues with linked file visibility it is the first thing I check. I'm also in the habit of looking at all the linked files every time I get introduced to project. This also applies to other linked files (CAD,Point Cloud).

Controlling a Solid Form with a Visible Parameter

Here's a video trip back to a basic family editing concept. It describes two solids, a cube and sphere. I assign parameters to their Visible parameter and then show how we can use a formula to toggle one of them on/off and using Family Types to manage them. This works fine for solids, voids are another matter...and the subject of a later video.

Group Exclude Element and Rooms

We can use the Exclude Element feature on the parts of the model we assign to groups, like this for example (a workstation with chairs).

We can also include rooms in groups. Just be careful if you use Exclude Element on the room(s). If you do you'll see a hint of a room when you pre-select (highlight) the group but you won't find it among the rooms in a room schedule...because it/they is/are excluded.

A potential gotcha for users.

BIM Workshops Sessions and Data

I gave presentations at three of the four BIM Workshops this year. The first was in Omaha (August), the second in Anaheim (September), the third in Phoenix (October) and I wasn't part of the fourth event in Honolulu.

Indulging in a little historical review, the Omaha event is four years old now. However for its first two years it was called Central States Revit Workshop. It's founder, Carla Edwards, lived and worked in Omaha at the time. She attended the first Revit Technology Conference in North America hosted in Huntington Beach, CA in 2011. She told me that she was inspired and determined to bring that feeling home to where she worked and to provide that kind of experience to others but with a local focus, the region near Omaha. She found that there were many people eager to help her make it happen as well as sponsors willing to support it. I was happy to be able to speak at her first event too, and each of them since then.

A year later, after wrapping up the second event, she made a big life decision; moved to California and joined U.S. CAD, an Autodesk reseller based in California. She brought the event with her. Now in it's third year, with U.S. CAD's help they expanded the event to two cities; Omaha and Anaheim...and that brings us to this year, the event's fourth. Phoenix and Honolulu were both a single day of sessions while Omaha and Anaheim were two days of sessions.

This year the following people were designated with a national speaker role; Andy Jizba, Bill Debevc, Brandon Pike, Brian Mackey, Carla Edwards, Chris Faklaris, Chris Keck, David Magid, Eric Chappell, Kelli Lubeley, Lonnie Cumpton, Paul Aubin, Robert Bell, Me, Steven Shell and Tom Whitehead.

This meant each of us agreed to give presentations at two or more of the events. Each location also featured a selection of local/regional people who were chosen after being invited to send in their session ideas. That gave each BIM Workshop a broad reach while drawing on local talent too. It was a good mix this year as it has been for each of the previous years.

It has been my intention all along to post the files associated with both of my sessions here so people can check them out. I just waited until the last event was concluded (and I needed a little time to update the documents a bit)...and here they are.

Session: Who Moved my Cheese?
Description: There are over 30 ways to lose something you’re sure was just there. Revit offers so much control over the way things can be seen that we need a chart or list to figure out what happened to them. This session will explore those and provide an opportunity for some group therapy (troubleshooting).

I organized this as a game show to get people directly involved in the class. I selected two contestants for each visibility problem (25 problems in all). They competed for Smarties (yes the little discs of sugary goodness). I was inspired by a challenge that some of the Autodesk Revit technical support team created for a past Autodesk University. They had a booth outside of the classroom areas where people could stop by and meet them. They encouraged us to take part in this Find my Chair challenge which included some pretty diabolical, even despicable, ways that someone could hide a chair. For example, one chair was a family that had been completely stripped, just an empty file now, and reloaded. If someone did that in your office you might be inclined to encourage HR to get involved?

My session wasn't nearly so mean. It was fun to do it. I've heard from quite a few people since that they enjoyed it too. Thanks!

THIS is the HANDOUT
THIS is the DATASET

Fwiw, since I ran it as a game show with a winner and loser for each round, more than a few people suggested that I should have awarded each round's loser with a Dum Dums, I did think of it...but I didn't want to harsh anyone's mellow.

Session: Shared Coordinates: Stay Out of the Rabbit Hole
Description: It seems simple enough. Then something goes wrong. There are a few too many ways that we can manipulate this information. People often make assumptions about how it should work but don’t fully appreciate the consequences. Let’s explore the subtleties and avoid falling down the rabbit hole.

In this session I described and demonstrated using a master Revit site model to provide the basis for the real world location of a building or buildings. Then I linked separate Tiny House models (yes, inspired by Sean Burke's own Un-Boxed House project). If you've been reading this blog for long you'll probably recognize the information as being derived from a series of posts I've written here before. As much as I'd like to think every Revit user has read my blog, there are a lot of people out there who have no idea just how much information about Revit is lurking out here in the internets. Then again, maybe they just have a healthier balance in their lives?

THIS is the HANDOUT
THIS is the DATASET

I hope that these prove useful or interesting. Let me know if you have your own Who Moved my Cheese Game show sometime.

Oh, Carla recently let me know that she's decided to accept a position with an architecture firm in Denver so she can get closer to project work again AND importantly be much closer to her family. There is that notion of balance again... I wish her all the best and I'm sorry she'll have a lot more snow to deal with there than here in Southern California.

Keep an eye on the BIM Workshops site for next year's details as they become available.

Visibility of Floors and their Parts

Floors are unique in that Revit will show them even if they are below the view range settings of the view (floor plan). They'll be visible until they exceed 4' (1200mm) below the level. Parts that are created from floors won't. In fact parts created from a floor that is at the level of the view (in other words, normal) won't show up either.

It is necessary to adjust the View Range to permit the parts to be visible. It would be more consistent with floors if their parts assumed the same quirk capability.

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??

Visible Parameter and Associate Family Parameter

When we work with Forms, Symbolic and Model lines and nested families they each have a parameter called Visible and we can use Associate Family Parameter to control their visibility.

If you decide to remove this relationship Revit applies the current state of the parameter that was controlling it to the Visible parameter. If it was checked (visible on) then removing the parameter relationship leaves it checked. If the reverse is true (visible off) then the opposite happens.

It's subtle and can cause a few minutes of confusion when you reload a family and find it isn't visible.

Scope Box Issues with Disciplines

When we assign a view to Mechanical, Electrical or Plumbing disciplines a Scope Box gets treated as an underlay element and its graphic display is also affected. This image is of a mechanical view and a scope box, only two sides of the box are visible (it's been like this since 2012 at least). Since it is regarded by Revit as an underlay element if I choose to disable the Select Underlay Elements option (new in 2014) I can't select the Scope Box either.

There isn't much we can do to counteract this graphic quirk except to deal with scope boxes in views where they aren't graphically harmed. Most of the time people want to hide scope boxes faster than a litter box when guest arrive. For offices that don't show a scope box in printed documentation it isn't an issue. If you really want to show it then it might be necessary to create an annotation symbol or detail component that you can use to compliment the Matchlines that are usually associated with scope boxes.

Keep in mind that each Scope Box has a Edit button for Views Visible (button is in the Properties Palette).

This dialog governs which views the scope box will be visible in or not. If you find you can't see a scope box in an elevation for example then double check these settings. You'll probably find that it is set to be invisible in the view.

As mentioned in the first line of the dialog in the image, Scope Boxes are automatically visible in 3D views and in other views where they (the scope box) intersect the view's cut plane. This changes dynamically, if the scope box is altered so it comes into contact with a view's cut plane it will change from Invisible to Visible without any additional effort on our part. We can use the dialog to force either condition to be persistent however.

Visibility Post Summary

This is a collection of posts regarding visibility in a general sense. They are either literally about visibility issues and features or somehow related to "seeing" things.

2015 Temporary View Templates
2013 Stacking Views on Sheets
2013 Elements are not Displayed or Missing (Troubleshooting guide)
2013 Text Editing and Zooming
2013 Workset Visibility and Linked Files
2013 Linked Files and Visibility Graphics
2013 Visibility Graphics Dialog and Using Current View Only
2013 Apply Versus Apply and View Templates
2013 Revit 2014 Schedules Pending Gotcha
2013 Fittings do not Look Right
2013 Why Use So Called Working Views
2013 View Discipline

2012 Applying Visibility Graphics Overrides
2012 Filter Pesky Levels
2012 Linked Files have Instance and Type Parameters
2012 Hide those Connectors
2012 View Range Redux
2012 Visibility Pecking Order
2012 Scope Boxes
2012 Color Fill Legends Mixing with Stairs

2011 Printing with Temporary Hide Isolate
2011 Revit Links as Underlays
2011 Control Visibility of Image via Size Parameters

2010 Managing Visibility of Linked files
2010 Workset Visibility in Linked Files
2010 Guide Grids
2010 Smaller Grids in Large Scale Views

2009 Video Four View Range Top Offset
2009 How View Range Affects Various Views
2009 Where did my Mass Go

2008 OK and Apply
2008 Aaah the old Invisible Line Trick eh 99

2007 Sketch Lines and Visibility Graphics
2007 visibility of Grips
2007 Shaft Opening and View Range
2007 Future Phases

2006 Workplane Visibility Tips
2006 Workset Visibility in Linked Files
2006 View Range and Floors