The Revit Clinic

Modifying a Family Shared Parameter "Group Parameter Under" in a Project

By default once a shared parameter is loaded into a project, the Group parameter under category will remain even if the group is later changed and reloaded into the project.

 

For example:

-You originally specify the shared parameter to be grouped under Dimensions in a family, and load it into a project.
-Later, in the family, you change the group to Construction and load it back into the project.
-The project still maintains the original Dimensions group even if the family is purged and loaded back into the project

You can change the group by temporarily creating a Project Parameter, point it to the Shared Parameter with the desired group, and then load the family back in.  This will reset the Group parameter under category.

I've included a quick video below with this approach:

Video Example

Apply automatically to new views of same type...

An often overlooked feature for troubleshooting or template creation is the view template checkbox to Apply automatically to new views of same type.

When checked Revit will apply this specific view template to all new project views of the same type [for example elevations, floor plans].

To access this menu right-click on a specific view > Apply View Template > select view template > check Apply automatically to new views of same type.

2 Scenarios where this option is useful

1.  Template Creation

When creating a template you can predefine view templates to automatically be applied to new project views following this approach.

2.  Troubleshooting

If a project is experiencing issues with views, first check to see if there may be a view template being inadvertently applied to new views.  Scroll down the list of view templates to see if this box is checked for any view template.

Watching Help menu animations on a 64 bit machine

If you are running 64 bit Revit and you try to run a video from the Help files, you will notice that it doesn't play. It will prompt you to install Adobe flash, and then the video will not run.

Currently Adobe Flash Player does not support playback in a 64 bit browser. It is possible to run it on 32 bit browsers installed on 64 bit systems, but unfortunately Revit will default to the 64 bit browser in Help. Click here for more information on Adobe's schedule for Flash Player 64 bit support.

So, to view the videos, you can do the following:

1. Launch the Help menu.
2. Open the document with the video and select the video link.
3. Right click inside the dialog and select Jump to URL.
4. Copy the text from the Current URL dialog.
5. Launch 32 bit Internet Explorer and paste the contents into the address bar.

Click here to view a short video illustrating this process.

Happy Holidays! :)

Project Location Dialog & Disable Shared Positioning

I have 2 scenarios that I want to outline for anyone who may experience shared positioning dialogs which appear to get stuck in a loop.

Scenario #1

You highlight a linked file you have acquired coordinates from in Revit.  You then open Element Properties > Shared Location.  Without making any changes here you click OK but are prompted that “You have changed the position of a location in…” when attempting to save.

When you click OK in the Choose Location dialog, Revit is temporarily modifying the linked file.  This is being detected as a change when attempting to save even though no changes were made.

Instead, simply click Cancel to avoid this prompt each time:

 

Scenario #2

When saving a project you are prompted with the “You have changed the position of a location in…” dialog.  You choose Disable shared positioning to set the link back to <Not Shared>, and assume this should dismiss the dialog for subsequent saves.

When saving the project you will be prompted with this dialog at each save if you continue to select Disable shared positioning. 

Instead, after choosing Disable shared positioning you should close the project and reopen it to permanently dismiss the dialog.

Install, Activation, Deployment, and the License Manager

Autodesk is observing a company vacation for the next 2 weeks. With the exception of staff dedicated to manning our critical systems, including some great Support folks who will still be working to serve our customers, all other United States employees will take time off with a combination of holiday and vacation.  I'll be one of the Support folks that have the two weeks off.  We will be back at work in Janurary, ready for the new yea and hopefully helping to solve old and new BIM problems.. 

Until then, I have a few new videos to share with you focused on Installation and Licensing that I hope you will find helpful.

Autodesk Revit Architecture 2010 Install and Licensing Training Videos

In these video tutorials, we walk through Installation, Activation, Creating a Deployment, and Installing and Setting up the Network License Manager.  Take a look and let us know what you think.

Happy Holidays!

Unable to schedule A/W after installing Subscription Advantage Pack

When you install the Subscription Advantage Pack for Revit Structure 2010, you should see the following new parameters when scheduling steel framing:

If you don't see them, it is likely because you are working with an upgraded file. Files created in previous versions of Revit will not recognize the new parameters. The Subscription Advantage Pack updated the 2010 families to make the parameters schedulable - so in order to schedule them you need to load the updated 2010 versions of the families into your project.

Walls on 2 different levels joined?

By highlighting a wall and right-clicking > Select Joined Elements, you can select and highlight all walls joined on the current chain. 

If you come across walls on varying levels being included in the same selection, when not directly overlapping the other walls, I want to show one scenario where this may occur and how to resolve it.

The selection may look similar to the image below after utilizing Select Joined Elements on one wall:

Typical scenario is that when the walls were initially added they were overlapping geometry between levels.  When modified later to be associated to another level, or the offsets were modified, the walls have remained in a joined status. 

Should you come across this behavior, you can simply Cut & Paste Aligned one of the level's walls to the same place to reset the association.  The walls should then appear similar to the image below:

2 Wood Framing Walls Q & A's

I want to cover 2 quick recent questions on the Wood Framing Walls Extension, part of the Subscription Advantage Pack:

How do I specify the wood studs to be 16" O.C.?

By default the studs will be placed around 1'-11" O.C. without any changes.  To specify a 16" O.C. dimension instead navigate to Studs and Blocking > Studs.  Choose a wall name, check Apply to all walls, specify the Length to 16", and under Intermediate Studs specify 0.

 

When launching the extension why does the Wood Materials message occur?

In the Revit default template there is a material called Wood, with a Material Type of Wood.  This material needs to be present in the project before utilizing the extension.  If it has been since purged out, you can create a blank project and use Transfer Project Standards > Materials > and specify New Only if prompted.  Once the Wood material is present the Wood Framing Walls extension will launch normally.

Shortest blog post ever......

Problem:  Need to turn on/off panel titles on ribbon in Revit 2010

Solution: (see image below) 
  
  
  
Make it a great day!

Missing Rotation Symbols

Have you ever come across an issue where you try to rotate an element and the rotation symbol does not display?

This happens when the active workset is turned off in the view.

If you change the active workset to one that's visible or turn its display on in the view, the rotation symbol should reappear.