topic Re: Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used in Revit Architecture Forum

Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used

Anonymous — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 16:11:23 GMT

IT forced a Windows upgrade today, and now I am having issues. If I copy a piece of cable tray in a side view, just selecting, picking the copy tool, and then either just moving to the new location or keying in the number of feet to copy, the newly copied piece is now Reference Level 2 instead of Reference Level 1, which causes the offset and elevation to be wrong. Is there a way to fix this, or to just lock all copies to reference Level 1?

Re: Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used

rudi.roux — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 23:17:44 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

I generally think it is Revit's way of automatically detecting which elements references from which level, especially when working in a section/side view. (For scheduling elements per level etc.) You could lock the level when drawing from a plan view as you mentioned, but you'll then have to set your primary range (top) to unlimited while drawing in plan views by means of using the offset/lock functions.

What I noticed is, when you move a element from one level to another in small'ish increments, the reference level will still refer to the original level. The opposite happens when moving a element in larger increments. (This is where Revit's auto level detection comes in). Does this also happen on your side when moving in small'ish increments?

Move the cable tray and fittings as you want in the section/side view and once you finished, hover over the cable tray which is now referring to the level above, then press TAB until the cable tray run is highlighted, then press (left-mouse button) to select the run. Then you simply change the reference level of the entire run to the desired referring level in your Properties.

I hope this helps

Re: Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used

Anonymous — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 12:00:29 GMT

Yes, if I copy 4.5 feet or less, then the level does not change. 5 feet or more, then the copy is now a different level. As for changing them, that doesn't work, because selecting a run that has fittings causes the Constraints tab where you can change levels to disappear, and I have to select Cable Trays and Cable Tray Fittings separately. This would be fine, but changing the level on cable tray causes the tray to just assume the proper level, but changing the level on cable tray fittings causes the fitting to assume the proper level and change in elevation, disconnecting it from the cable tray runs. Is there any way to turn off the 'automatic detection' that is causing this? This is a new problem for me, and just started yesterday. Any idea what caused it or how to change it back?

Re: Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used

ToanDN — Tue, 25 Oct 2016 20:54:07 GMT

Move it several times, each time less than 4'-6" (or whatever distance that is not causing the change in reference level).

Re: Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 14:29:16 GMT

we are having this problem with our structural framing as well. Was there ever a solution found? This is a crippling bug when dealing with large amounts of framing members which randomly "hop" to another Reference Level.

Re: Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used

cbcarch — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 18:09:27 GMT

Couple of ideas:

-Check the current Workplane--what Level ( or reference plane, etc.) is it set to?

-In the cable tray family, see if you have any dimensions which are "locked" to the "Ref. Level", and if so, unloack / un-constrain them.

Re: Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 18:35:16 GMT

The structural member is set as follows:

Reference Level: 1ST FLOOR

Work Plan: <not associated>

It has start and end level offsets set to 10'

Enable Analytical Model is OFF

Disallow Join has been applied to each end node.

In Structural Settings, everything is deselected in Analytical Model Settings.

When this structural member is copied at any distance, its Reference Level "hops" up to the 2ND FLOOR and is immediately hidden in the view due to the filters doing their job.

Re: Reference Level changes when Copy tool is used

cbcarch — Mon, 11 Jun 2018 20:24:42 GMT

Workplane : not associated

This may be the cause. Try re-hosting to Level 1. Then copy/ check disjoin.

Also, as a quick test--create a new Project. Load in a Structural member and place at Level 1 , then Copy. What is result?