Highlighting Changes Between Drawing Revisions

[Anonymous]

Is there a way to highlight the changes in a drawing between revisions? 

I'm using the sheet issues/Revisions functionality to track revisions, but is there an easy way to highlight/overlay/autocloud areas of the sheet which have changed?

As a very basic example to illustrate the point, the revision box below shows an initial revision at Rev A and then a sink being moved for Rev B. Is there a way to easily compare the two sheets so that I don't miss clouding the change. This is easy if one sink is moving, but in reality, you tend to get a lot more changes than that on a real project!

[barthbradley]

Sorry, maybe the coffee hasn't kicked in yet, but what do you mean by "compare the two sheets so that [you] don't miss clouding the change"? 

[RobDraw]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is there a way to highlight the changes in a drawing between revisions? 

I'm using the sheet issues/Revisions functionality to track revisions, but is there an easy way to highlight/overlay/autocloud areas of the sheet which have changed? 

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It might be possible with Dynamo to change the display of objects that have changed after a given date, but really, how hard is it to cloud each change as you go?

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@Anonymous wrote:

Is there a way to easily compare the two sheets so that I don't miss clouding the change. This is easy if one sink is moving, but in reality, you tend to get a lot more changes than that on a real project! 

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There are several ways to compare sheets. For example, Blue Beam, with it you assign a color for the original, another for the revised, and a third for the changes.

[Anonymous]

@ andrewh101 check out Metamorphosis for Revit

[Anonymous]

I was a bit unclear, as an example, lets say I have issued revision 1 to the client.

The client then comes back with changes they'd like to be made to the drawings, such as a wall moved, a window removed etc.

I add a new revision in the "Sheet Issues/Revisions" dialog box in Revit for the updates to be made. I then make the updates and cloud them.

But, when there are a lot of changes made, it can be tricky to assure you have clouded everything.

Does revit have the functionality to, lets say, "overlay" the previous revision on top of the new revision so I can compare them to make sure I've clouded everything?

[ToanDN]

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@RobDraw wrote:

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For example, Blue Beam, with it you assign a color for the original, another for the revised, and a third for the changes. 

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This is what I would do.

[barthbradley]

@Anonymous: Sounds like a job for Model Compare (Extensions=>Tools). Maybe? 

[RobDraw]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Does revit have the functionality to, lets say, "overlay" the previous revision on top of the new revision so I can compare them to make sure I've clouded everything?

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The short answer is no. There are several solutions if you really need to make a comparison as a check, but it's not that difficult to cloud as you go. As you gain experience, it will become a part of your normal workflow when doing revisions. Any entry level drafter should be able to handle this simple task without automation.

[barthbradley]

again, @Anonymous: this sure sounds like the ticket for you. Should be right in front of you on the "Extensions" tab under "Tools".    It's called "Compare Model"...amazingly, same verbiage you've been using.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlH_9ih5O6c

[RobDraw]

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@barthbradley wrote:

@Anonymous: Sounds like a job for Model Compare (Extensions=>Tools). Maybe? 

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Doesn't that require actually having an older version of the model to compare to?

[Anonymous]

doesn't "compare" require and original and a new of whatever is being compared? Bluebeam requires this, so does Metamorphisis. I use both to keep my Structural Engineer up to date on what I've been revising as a project progresses. For me, there are no revision clouds allowed until after the initial submittal of drawings has been returned and I'm in the middle of making changes per an Architect's markups.

[barthbradley]

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@RobDraw wrote: 

Doesn't that require actually having an older version of the model to compare to?

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@RobDraw: Yes. It sounds like that's what @Anonymous is looking for: some method to compare iterations. At least that's the understanding I took away from his earlier question to me: "Does Revit have the functionality to, lets say, "overlay" the previous revision on top of the new revision so I can compare them to make sure I've clouded everything?"  So, Model Compare it might be worth a look at. I found and posted a video that describes the tool. 

[loboarch]

BIM 360 does change visualization.  You can take a look here to get more information.

https://bim360.autodesk.com/construction-management-software/change-visualization

[RobDraw]

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@Anonymous wrote:

doesn't "compare" require and original and a new of whatever is being compared?

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Absolutely.

In the given example, the OP stated that the previous revision had been issued. For some reason, I assumed that an unmodified model was unavailable for comparison. I didn't think about how easy it should be to find or make one.

I tried Revit's model comparison utility and it didn't work as expected or I missed some of its functionality. I'll have to revisit it as we are looking to establish a standard for comparing incoming models. It looks like there has been some recent movement in this area and there are multiple solutions available that could get the job done in a way that we would find suitable.

I still stand by my comment that if you are making changes to contract documents, you shouldn't have to rely upon automation. It's a great tool for verification, though. Let's face it, not all of us can be perfect.

But, hey, that's just me.

[Anonymous]

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@RobDraw wrote:

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Let's face it, not all of us can be perfect.

wait! I'm not perfect? darn 🙂  Has anyone in this thread checked out Metamorphosis? It does exactly what the OP wants. Starting a revision? Do a project snapshot. When done, do a compare. It's all there for the wading through depending on the complexity of the revisions

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[barthbradley]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@RobDraw wrote:

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Let's face it, not all of us can be perfect.

wait! I'm not perfect? darn 🙂  Has anyone in this thread checked out Metamorphosis? It does exactly what the OP wants. Starting a revision? Do a project snapshot. When done, do a compare. It's all there for the wading through depending on the complexity of the revisions

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No, I haven't. Because I'm perfect, I never need to do revisions. 

[ToanDN]

That meta app looks fantastic.

[Karol_Piroska]

one thing I do on some project is that instead for clouding I assign a type comment for each element that was changed. Then using a filter I change surface pattern so that the change is visible in any view with assigned view template. The problem with a 2D cloud is that if the element appears in more than one view (which is very often mainly when dealing with steel structures), it becomes impossible to catch the change on every sheet. (Pity my idea for a 3D cloud didnt get more votes)