Copy and Paste Dimensions

[Paul.Lessa]

How to copy and paste dimensions between views on the same project file?

I do tilt-up panel shop drawings and I usually show one panel per sheet 11x17 size. In a large job sometimes I have the same vertical string dimension for panel height, between reveal lines for more than 100 panels. Instead going thru this dimensioning process on every panel, I would like to copy the dimensions from the first one and paste them on the other panels. Please help.

Thank you,

Paul Lessa

[loboarch]

You can copy and paste dimensions from one view to another as long as the EXACT same objects are being dimensioned.

Dimensions in Revit are kind of like a report of a distance between 2 elements if the same elements are not there, then the dimension is essentially invalid.

So I am imagining what you are doing with tilt up panels are things that are the same size, but are not the same elements so it is failing.

If you have not already, you may want to look into using assemblies in your workflow and it may make some of this kind of work a bit easier by generating assembly views. This does not make dimensioning automatic but view creation might be easier.

http://help.autodesk.com/view/RVT/2020/ENU/?guid=GUID-EBB5B040-BEA8-4867-B245-8C1308EE3AE4

[OlegSheydvasser · Accepted solution]

Another option is to use the Edit Pasted Elements command.

If the dimensions in the two views do not line up exactly, this command allows you to make adjustments before finalizing the paste operation.

The steps would be:

• Copy the dimension in the 1st view (select it and hit control-C)
• Go to the other view and paste (control-V)
• Place the dimension in approximate position
• Click on the Edit Pasted Elements button in the Ribbon
• Select the dimension alone
• Drag the dimension controls to new targets as needed
• click Finish button

See details here: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2020/EN....

[Paul.Lessa]

Hi.
So you're saying if I have a building elevation showing 60 panels with 3/4" joint between them, and using assembly I'll be able to create views for individual panel to insert on a 11x17 sheet?

Thank you,
Paul Lessa
HP Consulting Systems, Inc.
www.hptiltwall.com
561-809-1358

[Paul.Lessa]

Hi OlegSheydvasser.
Thank you for your help.
My problem is, after copying the dimensions to clipboard from view 1 I just can't past it on view 2. Nothing shows up when I hit ctrl-v or use paste from clipboard on Modify tab. Do you know why?

Thank you,
Paul Lessa
HP Consulting Systems, Inc.
www.hptiltwall.com
561-809-1358

[loboarch]

---

@Paul.Lessa wrote:
Hi.
So you're saying if I have a building elevation showing 60 panels with 3/4" joint between them, and using assembly I'll be able to create views for individual panel to insert on a 11x17 sheet?

Thank you,
Paul Lessa
HP Consulting Systems, Inc.
www.hptiltwall.com
561-809-1358

---

Yes assemblies can help with this kind of workflow.

[OlegSheydvasser]

@Paul.Lessa ,

>Nothing shows up when I hit ctrl-v or use paste from clipboard on Modify tab

Do you get an error message?

Can you copy - paste something else between the views, e.g. a detail line?

[Paul.Lessa]

Hi Oleg.
A detail line I'm able to copy and paste, but if I choose one dimension and when I past it I got this error message. Please see attachment.
Probably I'll need to fix somethings before copying and pasting those dimensions.

[OlegSheydvasser]

Hi @Paul.Lessa , sorry I don't see the attachment.

Is this the error message?

The selection can’t be pasted because it is not visible in this view.
Common causes and solutions
The category is not visible in this view (make category visible)
An annotation element falls outside this view’s annotation crop (temporarily disable annotation cropping)
The element tagged by an annotation is not visible (check view extents and depth)

I tried to paste a dimension from a plan into a section and got that message. Unchecking Crop View in the view properties allowed me to paste.

What kind of views are you copying between? Plans, sections, drafting views?

[Paul.Lessa]

Yes, that's the error message I got.
This is what I did. I created one interior view from the west side of this warehouse. From that view I did duplicate view as dependent and then I used the hide crop region to show just one panel from that elevation. And then I started hiding in view the elements from other walls.

[OlegSheydvasser]

So can you temporarily uncrop the view?

[OlegSheydvasser]

---

@Paul.Lessa wrote:
I did duplicate view as dependent 

---

Wait, if it's a dependent view, there's another option.

You can paste the dimension in the original view to the right location.

Then the dependent view will show the pasted dimension.

[Paul.Lessa]

Hi Oleg.
I’ll do that and let you know.

Thank you,

[alejandro]

I have a similar problem,  for example we add dimensions to a 2nd floor plan (complete floor plan with a huge number of dimensions) and when try to copy to 3rd floor ( which is almost the same or sometimes exactly the same ) it takes a lot of time, sometime crash or when we are lucky don’t copy most of dimension, just a few of them.

[bin]

Apparently it will not work as expected. You may have walls, or grids showing on both level plans but you will not have the same doors, windows etc. even they look exactly the same. 

Just imagine it as a tag. 

[OlegSheydvasser]

---

@alejandro wrote:

I have a similar problem,  for example we add dimensions to a 2nd floor plan (complete floor plan with a huge number of dimensions) and when try to copy to 3rd floor ( which is almost the same or sometimes exactly the same ) it takes a lot of time, sometime crash or when we are lucky don’t copy most of dimension, just a few of them.

---

Hi @alejandro , 

Are you pasting Aligned to current view?

Pasting dimensions temporarily carries all the elements that dimensions point to, so it can take a while depending on your floor complexity.

Please do report crashes through CER dialog, we take the report seriously.

[Paul.Lessa]

Hi Oleg.

I was able to copy dimensions from one wall panel to other wall panel. Instead duplicate as dependent I used duplicate with detailing. Duplicate as dependent option was showing all the dimensions from the panels on the main view (building elevation). And that was getting little bit messy.

Paul

[OlegSheydvasser]

Paul, thank you for following up.

Would you mark the appropriate message as accepted solution so other forum users know which one to look at?

[m_delp]

Hi Paul,

Go into your [Revit Options > Interface > shortcuts] and set yourself a shortcut for "Paste: aligned to current view".

I set the shortcut (ctrl+shift+v). Once that's done, try copying (ctrl+c) from one page and pasting-in-place (ctrl+shift+v) on the other page. Keep in mind the elements you are annotating must be EXACTLY at the same place. Always revise/verify the dimensions afterwards in case of bugs.

The inconvenience to this method:

You can no longer edit the dimensions references. If you want to remove a door from that string of dimensions, you'd have to remake it.

Let me know if this works for you!