Revit Hints & Hacks: Ways to Phase 1

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Working with Phases in Revit can be daunting. In collaboration with Howard Munsell, we'll be delving into the world of Phasing, and I will be sharing some of our favorite "Ways to Phase". We approach things differently but are intrigued by each other's methods and wanted to share them. 
 
This feature is not just about showing a project's past, present, and future, but it's a tool that can significantly enhance your project management.
 
This first part will focus on the dialog box, with future blogs exploring the practical applications of phasing in our projects.

The Phasing dialog box can be found on the Manage tab. The first tab on the dialog box shows the Project Phases.

 

The Phasing dialog box can be found on the Manage tab. The first tab on the dialog box shows the Project Phases.

 

PAST is at the top of the dialog box, and FUTURE is at the bottom. This helps keep the phasing in order of appearance in the project. New phases can be introduced by first selecting a phase, then under Insert, finding the button to place a new phase either Before or After the selected phase. For example, select the Existing phase to add a Demo phase after Existing, then choose the After button. The new phase will be Phase 1, but you can name it Demo.

 

The other thing that can be done on this tab is to combine phases. In this example, that was a phase created by mistake. To Select the phase, pick the number beside the name. Then choose whether to Combine with the Previous or Next phase.

The next tab is the Phase Filters. The order of the filters does not matter, so new ones can be added using the New button at the bottom of the dialog box.

 

The Phase Filters are separate from the Phase name. They are assigned via a view template or view instance properties. The three visibility options are By Category, Not Displayed, and Overridden. Notice how the New column is the only one that shows anything By Category. New is not visible in Show Previous + Demo and Show Previous Phase. The Existing, Demolished, and Temporary columns are the only ones with Overridden. They are either Overridden or just Not Displayed in that Filter option.

The columns represent the Phase Status to which the project can be set. New is added to the current build, and Existing represents the existing build to be used in the current build. Demolished are parts of the Existing that are to be removed for the current build. Temporary would be what will be built and removed in the current build.

This tab also allows the creation of other Filter Names. This series on Ways to Phase will explore more options in this area. The third tab is the Graphic Overrides, where the settings are chosen for line weight, line color, line style, fill patterns, and materials for Phasing.

 

Each Phase Status is assigned a way to show objects in Projection/Surface and Cut. The cut depends on the view’s cut plane. Objects can also be set to Halftone or have a Material assigned. The Material option is often a material in the project called out for Existing or Demolished. These typically have a grey tone or maybe a red color to make is stand out for those views. All of this is company preference for the company look.

Changing the Lines for Projection/Surface or Cut involves selecting the current Lines or Patterns and choosing another from the project settings.

For Lines:

 

For Patterns:

  

For Materials, select the ellipses in the box below Material to bring up the Material Browser:

 

With all the setup for Phasing done, move on to how the phases are used. Phases and Phase Filters are assigned to views by either View Templates or individually in the Instance Properties.

Anything drawn in that view will take on the same phasing as the view. Pulling down on either the Phase Created or the Phase Demolished allows changing the phase of an object.

There is a Demolish tool on the Modify tab: the Demolish hammer. Anything touched with the hammer will be demolished in the same phase as the current view. It helps if you make the Pew Pew sound when you select something to demolish it.

Look for more Ways to Phase coming up.

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Twitter: @DonniaTH