Columns not visible when joined to beams

[Prvoime]

They're visible just fine in floor plans where cut plane actually goes through them. But I'm using the "invisible model line" trick to also make columns visible in foundation plans, where they're not cut.

In that plan they're invisible, I've traced the issue down to beams that automatically join to them when beams are placed. They don't even have the same material, I guess Revit just automatically joins structural elements.

When unjoined they become visible.

Any way to get them to show, aside from manually unjoining every column?

Using Revits out of the box concrete beams and concrete columns families.

Attached video of the issue and rvt file with offending elements.

[mphungDCHNW]

Hi,

Through which software are you importing these into Revit?

[Prvoime]

@mphungDCHNW

Importing? Nothing is imported, as I said out of the box families.

[barthbradley]

Just curious here.  If you want to show the Columns cut in FD Plan View, why not change the View's View Range Cut Plane to intersect them?  Why the Invisible Line Trick?  I've never seen that used with Columns.  Seems odd. 

[Prvoime]

@barthbradley 

This is what our foundation plan must look like, we have to show the footer, foundation walls, and columns. Even though the columns are not actually part of the foundations, nor the foundation walls, it's just the norm of foundation plans here.
We're also showing the 1st floor walls, I set this up as a underlay.

You can see where I'm cutting to get the footer and the foundation walls, but to get the columns to also show, I had to use the invisible model line.

You may be thinking just move the cut plane up and hide the floors, but then I'd also be cutting through the building walls, and I can't hide the walls category because I have foundation walls which I have to show. And I have to show 1st floor walls as underlay.

I also tried getting there with view filters (second image), but that doesn't work either because building walls still end up "above" the foundations and foundation walls. I can set them to thin halftone, but I can't "send to background".

[barthbradley · Accepted solution]

So basically, all you need is a 2D representation of the Column above cut plane; correct. If so, then draw Symbolic Linework on Lower Ref Level - aligned and locked to Column faces.  

...just tested theory and seems to work with your "invisible Line Trick" Column. 

FD Plan View before:

FD Plan View after Symbolic Linework added to Column Family:

Still, I don't understand why the gymnastics.  Seems to me that you can get to where you want to go with Filters.  But whatever. 

Good luck.  

[Prvoime]

@barthbradley 

Yup, it works. Thanks!