Difference between Section-Section and Section-Detail View?

[Samuel.Arsenault-Brassard]

I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between the Section-Section and Section-Detail View views?

This does not seem to be documented anywhere in the Revit help file.

Here is the documentation I've found for Callout Types, also could not find proper documentation in the Revit help documents. Had to go scrounge information on random forums.

Detail View-Floor Plan

• Appropriate for enlarged plans - Ex: enlarged stair plan
• Will appear in each view by default
• Uses typical view range
• Supports underlays

Detail View-Details View

• Appropriate for small details - Column to wall or door detail
• By default, only appears in the original (parent) view
  • If not shown in in parent view only, has access to option to “Hide at scales coarser than”
• Uses Far clip instead of view range
  • By default far clip will mimic parent view

[barthbradley]

Do you have a question?  

[Samuel.Arsenault-Brassard]

Hi @barthbradley 

I'm trying to figure out what the difference is between the Section-Section and Section-Detail View views? See top part of the post.

I've figured it out the difference between "Callout-Floor Plan" and "Callout-Detail View", but not between "Section-Section" and "Section-Detail View".

I can understand the confusion, the naming schemes are very confusing.

[Samantha-G]

Hi @Samuel.Arsenault-Brassard 

When you use the section-detail view, it will create a detail view.  This is a section, but the view is being placed under details, not under sections.  It may not seem like a big difference, but it has to do were the plans are being stored, and what you are wanting to do with these views.

Please see the link below as well:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2019/EN...

[TripleM-Dev.net]

Hi,

Also take note that Detail views can't be Duplicated as dependent.

[zackY27HE]

My office doesn't use the default Browser Organization so the detail views are stored with the sections. I've also noticed that you can't use Depth Cueing on details views. So far it appears to be neutral or restrictive to our workflow and I've just used regular section view types for everything.

Are there any benefits to using a Detail View for section details that I'm unaware of?

[Samuel.Arsenault-Brassard]

For me, the main advantage is the ability to only be visible on the original view, without appearing in all similar/intersecting views.

Example: a section or plan detail you only want to appear in lighting plans, without having to filter it out or manually hide it in all other plans of the same floor story.

[lucdoucet_msdl]

@Samuel.Arsenault-Brassard 

Think of the difference between a Section/Section view and Section/Detail view with respect to the predominance of the 3D versus 2D aspects of what are to be shown in the views. This applies also the the Plan/Plan vs Plan/Detail views.

While both views allow for 2D detail elements and annotations to be overlayed on the projected 3D line work of the model, the detail views are optimized to be more heavily enhanced by 2D work while the plan and section views give you greater control over 3D issues such as view depth, depth shading and so forth.

Generally, unless you 3D model to a very fine detail, the non-detail views will be large scale >1:50 and low detail level views and the detail views <1:20 will be flatter and accompanied by notes and detail elements.

-luc

[Darin_HDR]

I just created an office template and I pretty much eliminated all section/section views and went with all section/detail views. One of the reasons being that in an elevation you can't draw section/section as anything but vertical (though you can rotate it after it is drawn). The bigger issue for me was you can change section/section views to section/detail views but not vice versa. So if I have a bunch of details drawn as section/section views and then someone comes into the project and draws another detail as a section/detail view, it will not be organized with all the other views and you cannot change its view type to section/section. It ends up getting orphaned somewhere else in the project browser away from other similar details. So rather than deal with Revit organizing these two very similar items in different spots and having to train everyone in the office when to use what and then having to repeatedly remind them again every 4 months, I just made all section view types section/details. The one section/section view I could not purge out of the template I called "DO NOT USE" and it does not have a head or tail on the family.

I would be curious if anyone knows of any issues I will run into with doing this, but so far it all seems to be working smoothly.

[Samuel.Arsenault-Brassard]

I made a proper View Family, View Template, View Categorization and View Type for both and then I contacted all the project's users and explained the difference of both types of views and when to use which.

They both have their different uses, even if the documentation does not explain it.

So I made some Detail views for things like casework details, lighting details. There's Plan views for things like stairway or WC blowup plans.

My view Templates are usually:

Phase > Drawing Set > View Type > View Family

I will sometimes groups multiple "View Families" under he same "ViewType" so they just order themselves naturally. For example, I could put all my stairway plans, details, sections and elevation into the view type "STAIRS" and then the families under would be sorted by "View Family"s of section, plans, details, etc.

[lucdoucet_msdl · Accepted solution]

Here's a link to a blog post that has summarized the differences for plan, section and detail views for both orientations in a clear concise flow diagram.

https://www.revithq.com/blogs/tips-tricks-tutorials-and-content/callouts-and-sections-which-to-choos...

-luc

[Samuel.Arsenault-Brassard]

This is fantastic thank you! 😄

Kind of sad we have to do all this work because Autodesk documentation is so poor 😓

[lucdoucet_msdl]

This kind of summary or analysis of the interaction between several Revit types is very useful for the BIM manager/Chief Draftsman of an office but I would argue that the “official” Autodesk help documentation should not have “recommended” workflows for generic tasks like documenting building plans. Setting up internal workflows and choosing which families to use where and when is the users responsibility.
At least we have each other 😝 with the blogger community!
-luc

[Samuel.Arsenault-Brassard]

They don't need to tell us how to work, but if they could at least tell us what their tools do, then we can decide how to use them.

I'm mostly peeved that they did not even explain what the differences are. It's a little bit like the Area tools being tailor made to work with the old version of BOMA, but this is not written anywhere or explained. It's just secretly built in to answer some industry needs with no accompanying explanation, where we have to reverse engineers their intentions and functioning to use the tools properly.