Default View Templates Applied on View Creation

We have people who just like to click buttons.  For no reason, they just click things.  I am tempted to take away their mouse privileges.

Prior to 2013, you could really confuse folks on your team by forcing all new views of the same type to adopt a View Template of your choice.  You would do this by going to Apply View Template, selecting the View Template you want, and then checking the little box in the lower corner that says “Apply automatically to new views of same type”.  Then when anyone would create, say a Section, they would automatically have that View Template applied to their view.  So convenient for you!  And possibly so annoying for them!

This little bugger in the corner

What if you are a clicker, and you shouldn’t have clicked that?  How do you get rid of it?  One might think one goes to View Template Settings.  One would be wrong.

The only way we have found to fix this is to go to Apply Template to Current View, scroll down to the View Template in question, and then uncheck the box at the bottom.  Then you have to click OK while on that View Template.  You can’t switch templates prior to clicking OK.  It will ignore it.

Because of this strangeness, we usually recommend creating a new view, applying the template with the unchecked box, then deleting that view.

Luckily, the overhaul in 2013 made this checkbox go away.  I know we are still doing a lot of projects in Revit versions prior to 2013; I bet we are not alone in this.  So, hope this helps, and pay attention to what you are clicking next time!

Tip

bad UI, Revit, view template, views

May 16, 2013

Leave a comment

You Know What I Would Love?

I would really like to be able to “convert” a view to a drafting view.  I could totally use this with some 3D views we have of mock up panels from one project that we want in another project, but we don’t want the mock up panel itself (because where would it go?  And don’t tell me another phase.  That’s a waste).

We have been exporting to DWG to get it 2D, then reimporting into a new blank project, then spending hours cleaning it up so it doesn’t corrupt the main model, then copying THOSE drafting views into the model.

You know how much easier it would be to just right-click, Duplicate View, Duplicate as Drafting View?  That would be SO easy and SO cool.

And more importantly, it would be one less thing I have to do in Autocrap.  I barely even know how to open that software anymore.  It’s dead to me.  Like Crocs.

God, I hate Crocs.

Gripe

Autocrap, drafting view, probably a bad idea

May 2, 2013

1 Comment

Hide Element In Linked File

You know how you have that linked model, and there’s that one pesky element that you don’t want to see.  Ever?  Just like you can hide individual elements in your model, you can do the same to elements in a linked model.  Mostly.

Mostly.

The trick is getting it.  This is where you good friend TAB comes in.  Just TAB down to highlight the element, click to select it, then do the usual right-click to hide element in view.

What is that?  The option is grayed out?  Well, here comes the aforementioned “mostly”.

If you have done any overrides to the model’s appearance on the Revit Links tab of Visbility Graphics, you lose the ability to hide individual elements.  It all has to be “By Host View” to allow that.

Tip

hide in view, linked model, Revit, view properties

April 18, 2013

1 Comment

Revit Keyplans – Can I Make This Any More Difficult?

Keyplans are one of those functions that I hope and hope and hope one day will have an easy way to get working in my project.

Right now, we have an 8 step procedure that we try to teach people how to use.  ”8 steps,” I hear you saying, “That’s not bad.”  Except that each steps seems crazier than the last, and it involves multiple pieces of software, and the ability to edit families and understand parameters.  These are not easy Revit tasks, and the more I can keep our typical user away from them, the happier I am, but if I don’t show them how to make keyplans, then I have to make them, and that would mean less napping and looking at cats on the Internet!

Basically, our mess involves exporting the plan to DWG, tracing it to get the simple shapes, importing those shapes into a new Revit family, adding filled regions and text, making parameters to control the visibilty of the filled regions and text, putting THAT family into the border family, making parameters in the border family to talk to the plan family, then re-importing the border back into the project.

Still with me?

There are plenty of stops along that wild ride that you could do something different, but ultimately, to get the flexibility we need, the number of steps stays pretty consistent.

I don’t even know how a better tool would work.  Maybe some kind of Area Plan that can live on multiple sheets.  Maybe a view that has a designated area on the border.  Who knows.  All I know is, whenever someone asks me how to make a keyplan for their project, I hit the MUTE button on the phone, let out a deep sigh, and then tell them how to do it.

Then I get angry because I forgot to UNMUTE the phone first.

If someone has a nice easy way of Keyplans, I would love to hear it.

Gripe

Autocrap, border, keyplan, Revit, too much work, why isn't this easier?

April 4, 2013

9 Comments

Revit Is Getting Personal

A user emailed me this wonderfully obtuse Revit error message today:

Since when did Revit start handing out medical advice?  Is this even advice?  Is it saying “good job”, or is it telling me (much like my doctor does) that I need to pay attention to it?

Miscellaneous

error messages, healthy lifestyle, Revit

March 29, 2013

1 Comment

Seriously, Phases?

The subscription prices may seem pretty high, but I do find real change with each release of Revit.  I may not like the priority they are giving to some thing, but I can honestly say that work does get done every year on the software, and they make strides.  Even if some of those strides are confusing and weird (I’m looking at you, Materials).

Now, I have been using the software for over half a decade now.  For as long as I remember, Phases and more specifically, Phase Overrides have always been handled the same way.  You want phased elements to look different?  Use the Override.  You want them to look different in a different view?  Tough.  Every override is the same in each view.

My friends, it is time for Phase Filters and the Phase Graphic Overrides to get some well deserved attention.

Why in the world can I not control the appearance of elements based on their phase in my usual View Filter?  It makes so much sense there!  But you can’t even access the parameters associated with phases.  It’s like they… don’t exist…

I’m not even saying to change the entire phase system.  The idea is sound and works about as well as it can, except for those stupid filters and overrides.  Phase appearance should be controllable just like any other parameter through my View Filters.  I think in the past, Revit was trying to be helpful and force some consistency, but now that I can lock down my View Templates, it’s time to let go.

And it only makes sense that the VG/VV window is your one stop shop for how this view looks different from the other view.  Let me control phase appearance there as well.  Don’t make me have to try to explain to someone how it works again.  I need a flowchart.  And it inevitably comes to blows (we are very passionate about our design software around here).

Granted, it’s not every view that needs to look different in terms of phases… demo is dashed… existing is light… new work is dark… MOST OF THE TIME.  On each project there are one or two views, especially with more than one discipline, that needs to have the appearance of existing elements look just a little different, or maybe the scale is so small that the override line weight makes the lines get lost, so for this one view I would like to use a heavier line but the same line style, I don’t want to change the lineweight for all the views, but with the current implementation, I am forced to.

All I’m saying is, open up those parameters to the View Filters.  Set them free!!

Revit rant

graphic override, phases, plea, Revit

March 21, 2013

Comments Off

Cannot Delete, Rename or Move Revit File

I’ve seen many other posts on this issue, but I think we may have found a clever way to fix it.

In Vista and Windows 7, some machines will seemingly give up when you try to delete or rename or move a Revit file.  You get the progress bar but it just spins and spins and spins.

From what I’ve read, there are two potential issues that folks have found:

• The Indexing Service locks the file up
• Windows and Revit get confused with the file when it tries to draw the icon preview

The two usual fixes are to stop indexing Revit files, or tell Windows to stop drawing icons with file previews.

I have never had the first solution work, so either it was a fluke placebo solution for the post I found, or we just haven’t had the problem.  Telling Windows to stop drawing icon previews is the only way we have found to fix this issue, but of course, no pretty previews for Windows on the icon of the file!

Until now (BUM BUM BUM)

I can’t take credit for this.  And this is a great example of getting fresh eyes on a problem. One of my IT guys came up with this solution and we are trying it out on a single PC right now, but so far it looks promising.

He tracked down the Revit.FilePreview.dll file under his Revit folder and renamed it (something like Revit.FilePreview.old or something).  Then rebooted.

So far, he is able to delete, rename, move, etc. the Revit files, and only the Revit files do not have a preview.  So far so good!

For more recent versions of Revit, there is the Revit.Thumbnail.dll file, which will be our next file to rename.  We have several versions of Revit on each PC, and Windows likes to pick which version it wants to use with the RVT files, so that is probably the confusion there.

Probably an unregistering of the dll would get the job done as well.  This is all just workshop-level stuff right now, so be very careful if you try it out.

Tip

delete file, icons, rename file, Revit, Windows 7, Windows Vista

March 20, 2013

Comments Off