Delete Toposolid Points

Seems like a simple thing but only the Delete key on the keyboard will delete a point in the toposolid, at least while using Revit 2024.1. No, the Backspace key doesn't "delete" either.

Revit 2024 - Template Views Crop Boundary Controlled by Scope Box

 There are new multi-discipline templates for Revit 2024 (imperial and metric).

In the new multi-discipline template the views that are placed on sheets are controlled by a Scope Box. When you look at the properties you'll notice that Crop View is disabled (gray).

We can turn off the visibility of the crop boundary but we have to disable the association with a scope box if we want to change the crop independently. Of course if we like and want to take advantage of the scope box being defined and used for the views, we need to open a view that isn't constrained by the scope box so we can adjust the Scope Box extents (it's called Views Overall)

Edit Profile and Altering Base or Top Constraints

In this example I've got a veneer wall and I used the Edit Profile feature to alter its shape. I wanted it to go from the bottom of the building to the top but provide the overall opening it requires in the middle. As luck would have it the overall height has changed a little. The selected wall in the following image is one of several veneer wall segments. It needs to drop down by 6 inches.

All I need to do is edit the Top Offset parameter, changing it from 3'-6" to 3'-0". That was easy.

Unfortunately when I do that easy bit I notice the opening I created using Edit Profile has shifted down by the same 6 inches.

At this point I'd use Edit Profile and move that sketch segment back up to the proper location. Since I have several of these veneer walls to adjust; for one of them I accidentally used Edit Profile first. I decided to change the Top Offset parameter while I was there, noting that the sketch is still correct at the top of the window assembly.

When I finished Edit Profile I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sketch remained intact, the opening did not need to be altered. The Top Offset alteration took effect without changing the interior rectangle sketch like would have happened changing the parameter outside of the Edit Profile mode.

That was a pleasant thing to stumble into. For the remaining walls I just used Edit Profile first and changed the Top Offset parameter followed by finishing Edit Profile without having to adjust the sketch too.

Dept. of Reviteristics - An Opening isn't a Door

I posted THIS in April of 2010 but it's been a recurring question for many years.

Responding to a recent question, the Cased Opening family provided by Revit is assigned to the Category: Generic Models because many architects do not want these included in door schedules. At the time is seemed like an easy way to segregate them, yet when they shipped them they put them in the same folder with doors. New users for years have been clicking Door to add their newly loaded cased openings and been flummoxed when they aren’t there.

It might have been more appropriate to put them in the Door category and use a parameter value to filter them out of a schedule. They picked a solution and here we are.

Another issue we all face before we know, the where to find things can get fussy, like a Refrigerator. Ask ten people where they’d expect to find one and if none of them have any Revit background you probably won’t get a single "in Specialty Equipment > Domestic".

In my earlier post I vented a bit about a better way to place components. We still don't have any "factory" supplied solution. Kiwi Codes Family Browser however is a pretty elegant way to go and if Autodesk isn't paying attention to it, they should be! They've got some new features either about to be release or have just, check them out!

Schedules and Data Entry

I often think that Revit users ought to spend a few days getting acquainted with database use, like with Microsoft's Access for example. If more users had such experience then they would probably find Revit's scheduling to be more "obvious"...maybe.

One of the more overlooked capabilities of scheduling is to supply a new value or change a value for many items with a single entry. Many schedules that people use list every instance within the project. This means you have to find some other way to update all those families quickly. Unless you revisit the sorting criteria of a schedule.

Let's take a simple example a room schedule. I have a number of rooms that need to change, they are all lower case instead of upper case (The Change Case tool from Avatech makes this easier still). I also need to supply a department value for each room.

When a schedule lists every instance of the rooms we get a nice long list of each room. Like this one...not nearly as long as most real schedules though.


If we change the sorting/grouping criteria to use Name instead and un-check the option "Itemize Every Instance" we'll get a different result.


Like This...(I added a count column to show how they've been condensed according to the same "name").


Edit the Name and Department parameters and the values will be applied to each instance of the multiple rooms, like this...(removed the sorting change and restored the sort by number and "Itemize every instance").


Typing EXAM in the Name field supplied the value to all seven of the rooms using that name. The same is true for the SERVICES department name. The same is true for the other repeated values.

In the future, to use this, just remember that you need to sort a schedule by THE value that needs alteration AND you need to un-check "Itemize every Instance".

Remember too, there is nothing wrong with having a schedule that makes your daily work life easier and one that your clients/readers see, a quality assurance schedule and the final "report". Happy "reporting"!

Scroll Wheel and Save Reminders

Caution!! When Revit's little timer goes off and says you need to Save it opens the Save Reminder dialog. If you also happen to decide to use your scroll wheel to zoom in or out you may have noticed that Revit has moved its focus to the dialog and the Save Reminder Interval List Box. Scroll causes the reminder value to change. If you think you have it set to every 15 Minutes but check it and find something else, chances are good that you bumped into this issue.

Beware the save reminder and your scroll wheel!

Opaque Text Exports

This THREAD at AUGI elicited a useful bit of information, like many do. Steve Faust writes in response to a post that Revit is exporting dwg text poorly.

"It's an option in ACAD to have "Background Masking" which is essentially the same as opaque text in Revit. Revit is trying to keep the export looking the same as your Revit drawing as much as possible. If you want opaque text in Revit but not in CAD, you'll need to open the Autocad drawing, use Quick Select to grab all the mtext, and turn off background masking in the properties panel."

This is a screen capture of the topic in AutoCAD 2009's help documentation:

Thanks Mr. Faust!

Revit Web Library/Libraries

Autodesk posted the content libraries for Revit Structure and Revit MEP on their Web Library Site. This is in addtion to the Revit Architecture content that has traditionally been available here.


Note you can access the content for older versions of Revit by clicking Archived Libraries.

They have also added a link for the new Autodesk Seek Content.