topic Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs... in Revit Architecture Forum

Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

lpendergraft — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 17:20:21 GMT

Hello Everyone,

I'm wondering if it is possible to add the "Detail Number" parameter from Views to other families such as doors, windows, signs, etc. It would be great to find a way to have this be a live field rather than relying on manual entry, which is our current workflow.

To recap, we would like to be able to add the "Detail Number" parameter from views to other families so that we can callout door, window, sign types by referencing their detail number on a sheet, similar to a callout. The end result would be that a door type, for instance, is linked to an elevation placed on a sheet with the detail number shared between. The detail number would sync with the family parameter when it is changed on the sheet. Is there a way to accomplish this?

Thank you in advance!

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

mhiserZFHXS — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 20:30:09 GMT

Not currently possible but its been asked for. Seems like a no brainer for a BIM program, eh?

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

lpendergraft — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 20:36:04 GMT

I'm sorry to hear this. Thanks for the feedback, I'll try to track that idea down on the Revit Ideas forum so I can vote it up.

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

RobDraw — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 20:43:16 GMT

I'm having trouble understanding what you want.

It sounds like you want to reference a detail at every door location. Is this with annotation on sheets or just for access to the information by the person viewing the model?

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

ToanDN — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 20:47:49 GMT

Place a view reference next to the door tag.

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

lpendergraft — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 21:00:44 GMT

@RobDraw we use detail numbers of elevations to illustrate different types of doors, windows, and signs in schedules. For example, we may have seven sign types in a project. Each sign type is shown in an elevation which is then placed on a sheet. Right now, we manually enter the appropriate elevation's detail number in a shared text type parameter in each sign family which then appears in the signage schedule. The problem comes in if you have to reorganize the sheet of sign types. Chasing that update through all the families is cumbersome and subject to human error.

Seems like a CAD, rather than a BIM, way of doing things.

Are you aware of a way to get around this?

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

RobDraw — Mon, 23 Jan 2023 21:22:55 GMT

~~How about using a view reference in the schedule instead of a family parameter? Right tool for the job.~~

Sorry, I didn't think that through but maybe some sort of view schedule associated with the type schedule could work.

@lpendergraft wrote:
Seems like a CAD, rather than a BIM, way of doing things.

Sorry again, I can't let this comment go without commenting on it. It's just something people say when they are complaining about Revit's apparent lack of functionality because they think it sounds good but, in reality, it doesn't make sense when you think about it.

Revit is CAD, Computer Aided Design/Drafting, that is BIM capable. Revit is not BIM in itself, it's a part of the BIM process.

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

curtisridenour — Tue, 24 Jan 2023 15:52:54 GMT

I agree. Did you find the Idea on the Revit Idea Forum?

We have built in parameters for all the things shown below. A view reference associated to the Type of element makes a lot of sense. My only issue is when you want to reference a Legend with a set of Doors/Windows.

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

mhiserZFHXS — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 15:59:09 GMT

@RobDraw wrote:

Sorry again, I can't let this comment go without commenting on it. It's just something people say when they are complaining about Revit's apparent lack of functionality because they think it sounds good but, in reality, it doesn't make sense when you think about it.

Revit is CAD, Computer Aided Design/Drafting, that is BIM capable. Revit is not BIM in itself, it's a part of the BIM process.

Hard disagree here. Revit is information, first and foremost. The CAD portion is a means to an end, a way for us to visualize the data that's created and stored.

People have found new uses for words to describe certain things. I think we all understand when someone calls something "a CAD way to do things". Its means everything is manual. Changes have to be updated throughout projects rather in one place. Having to manually update notes and schedules to change what view is being referenced certainly is a "CAD way to do it". There absolutely should (needs to) be a better way of handling that information. This is a weak point that can lead to errors in construction drawings.

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

lpendergraft — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 19:26:53 GMT

Thank you, @mhiserZFHXS! That's exactly what I meant and I appreciate your support in communicating the crux of my problem. I'll look into adding a view reference as a way to accomplish this.

Thank you all for your help.

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

lpendergraft — Wed, 25 Jan 2023 19:43:41 GMT

@curtisridenour can you provide more information about what you meant by "view reference associated to the Type of element"? How would one do this?

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

GaryOrrMBI — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:19:42 GMT

Unfortunately, the answer, as previously posted, is: No, not out of the box.

It can be done via the API (and possibly via Dynamo), but it wasn't an easy task when I did it for our company and even then I ended up with a function that has to be run manually to update the references because I couldn't find the events to hook into without impacting performance. A month of learning and programming later I can now tie a door to a specific room to coordinate the door number, extract the wall rating of the wall it's in for the required label, and coordinate the head, jamb, and sill detail references.

If I can do it, then surely someone with better programming skills can manage it. I would suggest looking on the Autodesk App Store https://apps.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Home/Index if you're passionate about being able to do it before the Revit programmers can finally get to it...

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

RobDraw — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:37:56 GMT

@GaryOrrMBI wrote:
I would suggest looking on the Autodesk App Store https://apps.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Home/Index if you're passionate about being able to do it before the Revit programmers can finally get to it...

Has anyone said that they will?

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

GaryOrrMBI — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:44:56 GMT

Not yet... Detail references in schedules, text, etc. have been on the ideas forums for years and years and mentioned in product forums years before the ideas forums were established. But we can hope that they will eventually.

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

RobDraw — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 21:50:39 GMT

@GaryOrrMBI wrote:
But we can hope that they will eventually.

You can hope or you can do...

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

GaryOrrMBI — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 22:07:02 GMT

@RobDraw wrote:
@GaryOrrMBI wrote:
But we can hope that they will eventually.
You can hope or you can do...

@RobDraw

Voting up the ideas and hacking together a solution in the meantime is about all that can be done, writing the ability into Revit is up to others and not possible for me to do, so now it's hoping that they will eventually decide to do it...

I did, and now I hope... So, what's your point?

Re: Add Detail Number Parameter to Doors, Windows, Signs...

RobDraw — Thu, 26 Jan 2023 22:35:35 GMT

@GaryOrrMBI wrote:
So, what's your point?

I think you already know.