WHEN WARNINGS HAPPEN
Warnings can accumulate as a project is being developed. Many of them will send a pop-up at the time the issue is created. It will show up at the bottom of the Revit screen in the lower right corner.
Some, like the first one, can be ignored for now, and work can continue. Others, like the second, show Multiple Rooms in the same enclosed region, which will have to be dealt with at the time they happen. In this case, the OK or the Delete Room(s) option will have to be selected to continue.
Another room warning can happen once rooms are placed. This one does not need to be addressed and can be easily passed on. The third warning shows “1 out of 2” warnings. The highlighted down arrow will cycle through to show the other warning.
The last warning shows “0 Errors, 2 Warnings”. This time, use the arrow over the button that is highlighted to see the following warning.
LOCATING THE WARNINGS
To view all the warnings in a project, locate the list from the Manage tab, and find the Warnings button on the Inquiry ribbon.
This will open a dialog box in the lower right corner of the Revit window. The warnings can be expanded to show the list of warnings of that type, then expanded to show the actual elements causing the warning.
Each element has an ID number associated with it. In this example, there are only four characters. It is not uncommon for the ID to have eight or so characters. This is related to the project's size. The ID can be used to find the exact element causing the warning. The Warning number also depends on how many warnings are in the project. By expanding the last warning in the list, the total number of warnings can be found. In this case, there are only three. It is not uncommon for there to be warnings numbering into the double digits. Reaching triple digits of warnings can be done. The more warnings found in a project, the bigger the chance of the project showing performance issues.
SELECT BY ID
To find the exact element that is causing the warning, use the Select by ID button from the Inquiry Ribbon on the Manage tab.
This will bring up a dialog box to input the ID number.
The list of warnings can get overwhelming. Also, trying to remember the characters of the ID can be daunting.
This is where using the Export button at the bottom of the Warnings dialog box comes in useful.
This will export the warnings to an HTML file. It will bring up a dialog box for you to save it. Once opened, it will look like this:
Using this file, you can copy the ID number for pasting in the dialog box for Select by ID. You can use a semicolon to bring in more than one element ID number. This is useful for the two walls that overlap, or the two rooms occupying the same space. After putting in the IDs, select Show. It will be directed to the location where the issue can be observed.
The items identified by their ID will be highlighted. If no good view is open, prompts will ask to search for a good view to open.
FIXING WARNINGS AND BEST PRACTICES
To fix any warning, one must know about the project. One should not be asked to clean up two walls without knowing which wall takes precedence over the other. Whether one wall could be extended and the other one deleted. If two instances of casework are in the exact location, is there one that should be kept because it has more parameters filled out for the schedule? These are decisions that cannot be made by someone who does not know the project.
Best practices would be to have the team review and fix warnings at least once a week. Warnings can be reviewed and assigned to multiple team members based on their skill level in the project. This is a practice that must be consciously chosen and performed for the project's health.
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