INSERTED ELEMENT DISAPPEARS

Last year I wrote this list to check for any missing objects in Revit.

This is similar. Sometimes, when we try to insert an element, Revit does not show the inserted object, but shows a small warning message at the bottom right. Here are some reasons that could cause this:

Visibility Graphics: If the category of the element being inserted is switched off in the VG dialog, this can happen. Instead of inserting the element again and again to check if the element dramatically comes into life, it is better to check the VG.

Worksets switched off: Advanced users use worksets to manipulate the visibility of a whole set of objects. If the current workset is turned off (File > worksets) then any inserted object wont be visible. It is a good idea to check if the workset is switched off in the VG dialog box, workset tab.

Phases: If you have contradictory phase filters assigned to a view (View properties > phase filter parameter), that can interfere with the visibility of the inserted object.

Workplane: If some smart person has changed the workplane, that can affect the visibility of inserted objects. This can happen in RCP. (any model object ‘copied and pasted’ from floor plan view, would get pasted with respect to the floor level and may be behind the cut plane or farther than the view range.

Tags and Phases

Most of the annotations are view dependent in Revit. Tags are also dependent on the object they tag to. (for eg. a door tag will get hidden when the door is hidden, etc.)

Phasing acts similarly – if the object is not shown in the view because of the:

1. phase of the object
2. phase filter of the view
3. phase of the view

then the tag is not shown.

Interestingly, this applies to view tags also. (elevation, sections, etc. ) but because these tags dont attach to any ‘physical’ elements, it is a bit confusing.

So,

View tags that are assigned to any future construction phase will not be visible in views that are assigned to any past phases.

(Thanks to Stephen)

Moving Elevation Tags

As a follow-up to the previous post on ‘elevation tag not visible’, here are some notes on moving elevation tags.

The elevation tag itself is comprised of square and triangular elements. (square tag shown here)

When you select the triangular element and move it, it does not move the tag but only the elevation cutplane.

When you select the square

 

and move it, it only moves the tag. It does not move the cutplane as shown below.

 

To move both the tag and the cutplane, you need to select both the square and the triangular elements.

While moving the cutplane (applies for sections / details / elevations, etc. too), you need to move the cutplane perpendicular to the cutplane.

If you don't do this, any detail element drawn (lines, filled region, etc.) will shift and make your drawing inaccurate like below. The text does not shift.

That makes another case to model as much as possible than using lines to depict stuff in Revit!

Elevation Tag Not Visible

Another quirkiness in Revit.

Here is a simple project, with a cropped view. Two of the elevation tags are missing.

When I uncrop the view, the elevation tag show up like:

The elevation tags themselves are within the crop boundary. When I select the triangle of the elevation tag, Revit shows the elevation cut line and extent that are lying outside the crop boundary like:

Ironically, this happens irrespective of the annotation crop boundary, for eg.:

Also, if the Elevation cut plane extends beyond the annotation crop, but the no problem – Revit still shows it.

The Lesson:

The elevation tag will show as long as its cut plane cuts through the view crop boundary. (this is the same as other views) The cutline itself is not affected by the annotation crop boundary. (But the elevation tag is affected by the annotation crop boundary)

One has to move the elevation cut plane so that it passes through the view boundary to make the elevation tag visible.

Copy Paste Ceilings

Revit allows you to copy and paste ceilings onto a different floor. If both the floors are identical, Revit even maintains the associativity of the hatch boundaries with the walls.

Here is the First floor RCP:

In the second floor, the highlighted wall is moved.

When the ceilings get copied and pasted, their boundaries dont get altered. However, any ceiling boundary that is aligned with the edge of a wall is associated with it. Moving these walls automatically redefine the ceilings:

Moving the wall that is not aligned with the ceiling boundary, does not change the ceiling boundary.

However, if the ceiling is edited and the lonely boundary is moved to the edge of the wall,

the boundary becomes associated again. (we dont even have to lock the boundary!)

This is a great improvement in RAC 2009 from the previous versions, where some ceilings would just get deleted even if we flip the wall!