Securing Linked Files

These days I start blog posts by researching my own past writings and select others, to see if everything has been covered about the topic at hand. I guess it’s the sign of the times: BIM in our daily work is no longer solely concerned about Revit and there is so much information to manage and deal with. Since we are unable to upgrade our neurological hardware & software, I have to do this, else I risk excessive repetition! This will be a follow-up to Securing Links Through Worksets (see comments as well).

Steve Stafford also wrote about this topic indirectly at the start of the month. Since we use Shared Coordinates from time to time, securing linked files against accidental movement is very important, although deletion tends to be the worst since views/templates are so heavily modified (not using <By Host View> everywhere). Accidental deletion will undoubtedly result in wasted work and frustration, so anything one can do to avoid it is always welcome.

As stated in my original post, worksets are not an option when Monitoring is required. Since we’re using this on pretty much every project, I no longer suggest this technique. Luckily, there’s a simpler, more robust Option (unintended pun). This technique was mentioned in a comment in the above post, but I never got around to write about it until now.

Design Options are the best answer I have been able to find. The checkbox on the status bar shown below is at the heart of it all:

Revit automatically checks this option whenever you click the Modify button (or after completely escaping a command). This is great, because you’re not at the mercy of every user remembering to switch it on. With this enabled, anything displayed in your view that is contained in a Design Option is not selectable. So it’s there but you cannot pick it, hence it cannot be accidentally moved or deleted. The great thing though is that if you want to use copy/monitor, this technique will not interfere and the elements in the linked file (now also on a design option) are still picked by the tool and require no special treatment.

Implementation is easy: Create an Option Set (I like to call it Model Management) and a single option named Revit Links.

Now copy over your links to this Option…

…and since there’s only one Option in the Set, it will always be visible, but not selectable unless you uncheck the Exclude Options checkbox.

So far I have not run into any adverse issues, so if you try this and find negative side effects, please comment!

Securing Linked Files

Room bounding in Linked Files

Yeah I know, what a terribly exciting subject after a writing drought! So to get the wheels turning once again, here’s some useful information that might be old news to some but was new(s) to me.
When linking Revit files, we can control pretty much everything: visibility/graphics of model elements, annotation, worksets, design options…you name it. All seems to work in perfect harmony, until you check this little option in the Type Properties of the linked file…

…drop in rooms that are bound by the linked file (wait for it)…

…then change the Design Option to something other than the primary, and you get *sad trombone*…

I think this explains it all. If you have design options that will alter how your rooms are bound, you cannot use the Room Bounding type property of the link. Instead, disable it and use room separation lines in the host model to show the desired options. Yes, this needs fixed (add it to the ever bloating pile, Joe!).

Room bounding in Linked Files

2013 Views: Templates and Types

My top-rated new addition to Revit 2013 is the ability to create different view types, assign a view template and be able to make them dependent on it.

The great thing is that you get better control of your office standards and their usage. And who doesn’t like having drawing sets comply with well-established standards without having to waste time policing them? I know I do!

Recently I discovered a little issue. When design options are created in a project, these are checked (controlled) by all the view templates, so the users are not able to go to the Design Options tab in Visibility/Graphics and make changes to their views as necessary. And without design options actually existing in the template, you cannot uncheck them from the View Template settings as they are not available. Of course users can go and make changes to the View Templates themselves, but that’s something I’d rather not broadcast too much.

Turns out the fix is simple: add an option set and the Design Options become available in the View Templates dialog. Uncheck them so they’re not controlled by the View Templates and delete the option set when done. Now if users add design options to their project, this setting is remembered and there won’t be any issues with setting their visibility on a view by view basis.

2013 Views: Templates and Types

Design Options & Rooms

Unless I’m dreaming, in earlier versions of Revit (somewhere around 8.1 and 9.1), you were not able to have a room bound by elements within design options. The warnings you got had to be resolved and could not be ignored like the ones in Revit 2010 and 2011. I honestly don’t remember when this change occurred (or as I said, whether I’m just dreaming), so if you know the details, I’d appreciate if you could comment with that info.

So here’s a little study of these conditions and what might prompt a warning. Below is an image of a room bound by walls in the Main Model and another wall in a design option.

At this point, I have 2 options and the primary is the one shown above. I also have no views forced to a specific option (all are set to <Automatic>). The other option is as shown below. So what will happen to the the room boundary since the bounding elements in the other option are in different positions?

The above plan view was forced to the Pop-Out Walls option. Notice that the room is still bound by the wall in the Primary option. However now Revit generates the following warning:

EDIT: As of Revit 2015 R2 UR9 (just noticed it, but this behavior could have changed a while back), this warning no longer shows up in this scenario. All other behaviors are still the same.

This warning did not exist before (EDIT: at it is gone away once again!) and is Revit’s way of alerting you that your room area might not be computed as you’d expect it to be based on the visible walls in the view (this becomes very clear when you enable the Interior Fill subcategory under Rooms).

Changing the Pop-Out Walls option to Primary results in the view as shown below and the warning goes away. Notice that the room is now bound by the walls in the Primary option.

If I force this view to show the Simple Wall option, the warning is generated once more (EDIT: no warning shows up anymore in this scenario as of Revit 2015 R2 UR9 – behavior could have changed in earlier versions) and we get the following. Notice how the room boundary does not match the actual configuration shown in plan.

So to sum up:

• If room-bounding walls exist within design options, the walls within the Primary option govern;
• Warnings are generated only if one or more views are forced to display an option other than the Primary. (EDIT: no warning shows up anymore in this scenario as of Revit 2015 R2 UR9 – behavior could have changed in earlier versions)

Design Options & Rooms

Minutia - Design Options glitch

I stumbled across this today during a training session on Design Options. It seems to be more of a "glitch" than a bug. Here's what transpired...

I had two plan views (called Option 1 and Option 2). Some walls were part of the Main Model while a couple others were part of Option 1 and Option 2. At one point I was explaining how you can set a design option to be the primary option and accept it, which would then delete all the elements belonging to "rejected" options. Revit also pops up a dialog prompting you to delete all views that were assigned to these design options, but also gives you the opportunity to uncheck some/all of them. So I tried this...unchecked all views and clicked Delete. The design options went away since I only had one Option Set, but now the plan view that was set to the "rejected" option set did not update. Click the link below for a video clip (no audio):

Design Options Glitch

But don't panic! There are two ways to nudge Revit into coming to its senses. Either enter and exit the Reveal Hidden Elements mode and the missing elements return in that view, or simply close the file (remember to save it first!) and then re-open and things start working properly once again.

Minutia - Design Options glitch