Template creation with Revit (continued)

In my last article we discussed the creation of our template by starting with our border, if you missed it please visit Template Creation with Revit to understand how we started.

Today I want to dive into the details of our template, better known as the graphics of our project. We all know that our office standards are mostly built on what our projects are going to look like when completed, and what I mean by this is how will they look on the paper when we print it? Dont get me wrong, I agree that content and constructability are at the top of the list, but it is how they are drawn 90 percent of the time that has us scrambling to make last minute graphical changes.

My purpose today will be to show you the process of configuring Revits line weights and line-types to match those of your existing AutoCAD (ACAD) drawings.

I want to first note that this process can be done with any drafting software, but may need some modifications.

Our first step will be to gather the required information from ACAD. Using the .CTB file, we can gather the information from the colors/pens used for our projects. In most cases you already have a list of colors/pens used in your CAD standards or you may know them by heart. Use this list to help you through the process.

Once this information is gathered, go to your Revit template and open up your line-weight dialog box under your Settings pull down menu.

Here you will see three different tabs. The first tab, "Model Line Weights", is what all elements will use as their guide for printing and viewing. You will notice different scales listed in column format; these you most often use and are here by default. You can add and remove scales that you do not normally use. The next tab, "Perspective Line Weights", controls the lines weights when viewing in a camera or 3d view. The last tab, "Annotation Line Weights", controls your dimension, sections and text/tags and is independent of scale.

Allow me to explain a little more about the Model tab of the line weights.

The first thing you will notice is that there are only 16 styles that Revit uses, no more no less. The next thing you will see is the list of scales and underneath the scales a list of line widths IN INCHES. The purpose of the list of scales will be to allow Revit to fully enable the user to control line weights for each scale. For example if you wanted your door to be a light line weight in plan at 1/8"=1-0", but darker in the 1 1/2" = 1-0" you would need to select a line style, 1-16, that gives you the best representation of that change possible. It will allow you to also make changes to those widths when you need it to be darker/wider than the default.

Now that you understand a little about what the line styles in Revit control and the use of the scales you need to decide which scale you will most commonly use. Lets take 1/8" = 1-0" for example. Notice the width, in inches, under this scale for style #1 being .0030" wide. What you need to do is to convert your ACAD CTB file pen settings to inches so get out your list and start converting.

When I get my list out you will see that I put the conversion to the right of my pen/color. For this example I changed some line weights and only used pens 1-10. In your office you may have more than 10 so be sure to grab all of those that you use.

What I will do next is compare the widths listed here to those in the settings of my Revit template and look for the style, 1-16, I am closest to. This way since ACAD is so drilled into my thought process I can easily determine which Revit style I will use when I start creating my elements or modifying existing ones.

As you can see with the list of Revit styles on the side of the chart there are a few that could go either way. You will have to decide which direction to go, either up or down in the range of the styles. You will also notice that some of the ACAD pens will possibly become the same style in Revit due to the proximity of the measurement. You can change these widths, but be careful because you will have to follow that change (factor) all the way through to the different scales.

By the way keep this list because it will be useful in converting ACAD details into Revit and exporting to DWG format. Want to read an article about "Saving Drafting Views to Create a Revit "Block" Library"? Click here.

Now that you have converted your line weights, print out the document so we can refer to it in the next section and through out your day working in Revit. Having this to help you will let you change the elements to resemble as best as possible what the ACAD program does for your graphics. This way there is not a lot of graphical difference between the two.

The main purpose behind this process is to make your office happy; the fact that knowing Revit can produce quality drawings the way the office has seen them for years brings comfort to those who have to approve them.

Now let me take you through an example situation of changing the line styles of an element. For this example I will be using a pair of doors. The #1 door is a single flush decorative door which looks just like door #2 which is our standard single flush door in plan. I will make some changes to the doors in hopes that you will see some of the differences between the default settings and the new ones.

I am going to pick my #1 door and edit the family.

Say yes to the "open for editing" dialog box. Now would also be a good time to save this family some where else so that you do not override the default family. This will allow you to go back to the default if anything should happen. If the change is approved you can then go back and save over it. Remember this will go into your template and will load every time.

Since we will most likely see the plan view 90 percent of the time go ahead and switch to the floor plan view as this will make it easier to notice our changes.

Your next step is to open the Visibility/Graphics Override, VG or VV will do the trick, in order to see the elements that make up the doors construction. In order to change the line style of these elements you need to change the "Object Styles". In the bottom left of the dialog box click on the Object Styles button. This area will give you the control to change/modify each element of the door; from the door swing to the door frame.

Once you finish, hit OK twice to see your revised changes. You can also switch to your elevations and see the panel has changed colors, but not line weight. This did not change because I did not change the projection line weights. Hint: If you do not have the "Thin Lines" icon selected you will not see the changes in the line width. Also changing the color does not change the line width or style. If you were to print in color then it would print in color not black and white.

Here is a view of the door in 3D, notice the glass is in red.

The process is complete; I have modified my doors line styles and all there is left to do is save and insert it into my template. But wait, it didnt change the existing door already in place. Any idea why this happened? Well, Ill tell you.

The current project will always override any changes made to the family through the editor; that is line style and color to clarify. Let me explain. You can make any change to your elements in the projects Visibility/Graphics Override and it will override the modifications imposed on it in the family; this is because the views properties can only be affected through that views VG Override therefore making each view independent. This makes you go to each view to change the objects styles of your elements.

So . . . take this lesson and go through the projects VG Overrides "Object Styles" and make your changes there for the template.

In my next article I will discuss the use of the chart while exporting/importing DWG files.