Object not visible in plan view, Revit 2014

[Anonymous]

Hi!

I have a problem that is probably somewhere in the settings of my view templates (since everything is visible if I create a new plan view): Furniture and generic models imported is not shown in plan view (but works in 3d and section). The information is there, but is hidden (see attached image). Any ideas? I have checked the Family Element visibility settings on the imported generic models.

Thanks,

Amanda

[Paul_F_Aubin]

Looks like something inside the family to me. Seems like whomever built the family, used symbolic lines for the plan view, but only added the horizontal lines for the chairs. The outline of the chairs is either 3D geometry only that they turned off in plan/rcp, or it might be 2D symbolic lines, but on a different subcategory that is hidden in your file. 

Select the family, then click the Edit Family button. Open the plan view and investigate. You should be able to select the objects used to represent the chairs and then click on the Visibility Settings button to see if they are hidden in Plan/RCP and also check the Properties palette to see if they are on a subcategory. I am not suggesting that you change these settings, only that you open the family to investigate. Once you know how the family is built, you can go back to your project and turn on the appropriate subcategory. 

Hope that helps. 

[Anonymous]

Hi, Thanks for your help! I don't think that the problem is in any of the furniture-families themselves, as they have been working in previous projects and that they appear normal (like they do in the picture of the hidden view attached earlier) when I create a new view (not duplicated) with no template added. The problem is both on furniture but also on generic models.Both the furniture families and the generic model families is all 3D-objects and I have checked the visibility settings on them, and all boxes are checked - so that is not the case (I wish it was that easy!).

Since the lines that appear (for example on the chairs on the image) probably is cut-lines, where could I find the view template settings for "symbollic linework"? I can't seem to find it anywhere in the view template overrides?

The weird thing is that when I import 3D-geometry from Rhino (sat-files) and insert them into new generic model-families to then import them into my project, some of them work and fully appear in my plan views, while some just don't! The ones that don't appear gets this warning while inserting the SAT-file into the generic model family:"The import geometry will not be visible in the (plan) view using your current settings. The origin of the import will be centered on the origin of the model instead. You can view where its geometry is within the extents." What could that be about, and why does that happen on some of the export, but not all of them (they all come from the same rhino-model and area built as extrusions, with similar size/spread), any ideas?

Thank you once again!

//Amanda

[Paul_F_Aubin]

Sounds like you have a lot of variables here: different categories, imports from Rhino, copied views vs non-copied views. I don't really see a pattern in all of the things you mentioned. I think you need to try to isolate it down to just one or two variables and slowley add the others back in. Try the families in separate projects for example. Try them in different views with different settings: VG, cut heights, etc. 

[SteveKStafford]

The message you get when you import the geometry into the family is a pretty good clue that it won't work in a project either. Moving forward from there isn't going to improve your odds.

Are you checking all the different view orientations in the family to see where the geometry of the SAT file really is? I find those kind of files end up all over the place, very high or very low relative to the file origin of the family. If you look at a front elevation is the SAT geometry right at the level? You want to make sure the bottom of the SAT file is sitting at the origin of the family.

You mention symbolic lines. They only exist if you create symbolic lines in the Family natively and they behave according to the category of the family, controlled by Object Styles and/or Visibility/Graphics Overrides. They also only appear in views parallel to the view they were created in. For example symbolic lines drawn in the front elevation will be visible when the family is viewed from the front or back.

I've written a blog post that summarizes many of the typical reasons things are not visible in views. It may not help but if it isn't an issue with the family itself it might. 

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Thanks for you guys trying to help me! When posting the question I hoped someone would just see the picture and exclaim "oh something must have happened with the x-setting in the view template" but it seems to be harder than that..

Never mind, I just spent 3 hours redoing a new plan view template from scratch and every furniture-family and inserted generic model is now visible.. So nothing is wrong with any of the objects, it was something in the view template that scrued it up!

[Paul_F_Aubin]

Sorry you had to redo the view template, but glad you got it figured out. If it pops up again, let us know.  

[Anonymous]

Hi guys,

After having this exact same problem of copying or adding a 'generic model' in plan view only for it not to be visible in 3D, I realised it was as simple as the object accidentally being on a 'Shared Grids and Levels' workset which was set to 'Hide'.

As everyone else I previosuly tried 'VG' settings and turned the lightbulb on a off to see if it was hidden but with no joy.

Once I realised it was on an incorrect workset I changed it to 'Workset 1' and it instantly became visible 🙂

Hope this helps

Sean B

[Paul_F_Aubin]

So was the Shared Levels and Grids workset turning off in VG? And not in the Worksets dialog? If it was off in the Worksets dialog, it would have been invisible everywhere. But if it were off in VG, that would explain the OP's issue with existing View Templates. 

Thanks for the comment. 

[Anonymous]

My auto cad plan is much bigger when i am drawing any building separately in revit and importing to that plan in revit.My building is not visible when i am selecting that area it is coming like a point.how to make it clearly visible.Please reply me asap.

[Anonymous]

I am creating a model of a residential house. I have an issue when inserting light switches. The ground floor is fine, however when I come to add architectural light switches components to the 1st floor, only the dimension line are visible, the component do not show.

all the visual and graphic boxes have been ticked, no layers have been hidden

one difference I noticed in the properties on the ground floor level 0 , the constraints show the reference level, however this constraint reference is not visible in the properties for the 1st floor - I expected to see level 01 as the control parameter

is there another layer control parameter that would account for the element not being visible?

thanks

[barthbradley]

"oh, it must be happening because [insert fill in]".

Possible Fill-ins to choose from:

1. The object or category is temporarily hidden

2. The object or category is hidden in the view
3. The object is being obscured by another element
4. The object's category or subcategory is hidden in the view
5. The object is outside the view's view range
6. The view's far clip depth is not sufficient to show the object
7. The object resides on a work set that is not loaded within the project
8. The object resides on a work set that is not visible in the view
9. The object resides on a work set that is not loaded in a linked file
10. The object resides on a work set that is not visible in a linked file
11. The object resides within a group (detail model) and it has been excluded from the group
12. The object is part of a design option that is not visible in the view
13. The object is part of a linked file that is not visible in the view
14. The object has one or more of its edges overridden to display as '<Invisible lines>'
15. The object is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible in the view type
16. The object is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible at the view's detail level
17. The object is set to not be visible at the category's detail level
18. The element has been placed outside the view's crop region (visible extents)
19. The element is an annotation object and does not reside entirely within the annotation crop region
20. The object's phase settings or the view's phase settings prevent the object from displaying in the view
21. The view's discipline is prohibiting the visibility of the object
22. The object is affected by a filter applied to the view
23. The object is subject to an element override, set to background color
24. The object is subject to a category override, set to background color
25. The object style is set to background color
26. The object is constrained to a scope boxes that is not visible in the view
27. The extents of the object itself don't permit it to be seen
28. The object is a mass, and 'Show Mass' is turned off
29. The object's host view has been deleted (area boundaries)
30. The view's scale is prohibiting the object's visibility
31. The object is a linked instance with coordinates too great for Revit to handle
32. The user has incorrectly identified the link instance to which the element belongs
33. The object is in a link that is not in its correct position

[Paul_F_Aubin]

The light switch is above the cut plane of the floor plan. You can go to View Range and move the cut plane up a little, or you can edit the light switch family and in an elevation view, draw a model line using the <Invisible Lines> style. Draw it from the floor up to the switch (or higher if you want). 

The invisible line will not show in elevations, but will force the element to be cut in plan view and therefore show up in the floor plan. 

Hope that helps

[filip99vasic]

Hi, I had same problem.

Just switch to another view template (Architectural plan) and than switch to none or template that you have been using.

I hope it will work for you too. 

[mriley119]

I have had the same/similar problem using a family from a manufacturers website.  The family would show up fine in plan views but was invisible in my 3D view.  I could use Reveal Hidden in the 3D view and the benches would show up as if they were hidden, but when I would click to unhide the family, the option to unhide the object was greyed out.  I had tried to figure this problem out for a couple of weeks and was growing weary of trying to figure out why the benches would not show up.

I then went into the Family Editor to inspect how the family was constructed. (family type, subcatagories, visibility parameters, ect.)  Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.  Although the Modeled Geometry seem to be imported 3D CAD and I tried to explode the  3D CAD but Revit would delete the Exploded 3D CAD ever time I tried to explode the geometry.  

In short, I connected the fact that Revit was looking at the 3D Geometry as imported CAD. So then I inspected the 3D CAD within the Family Editor and figured out what layer the objects were on by Querying the Import Instance.  Then closed out of the Family Editor and got back into my project, went into Visibility/Graphics and then went to the Imported Catagories Tab and there under Imports in Families I found the Layers I queried within the Family Editor were in fact turned off.  That was the haunting reason why I could not figure out how to get the Benches to be visible in my 3D views.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

This solution was the correct one for myself. I had a custom furniture family that would was visible if I generated a new plan view but not visible in any of our model's existing plans. After spending what seemed like an irresponsibly long time trouble shooting, it turned out that in the visibility/ graphics overrides for the floor plan dialog under the imported categories tab, the visibility check box for "Imports in Families" option was unchecked. So, I clicked the box, expanded the drop down and scrolled down to the layer that the manufacturer used to model the family, and made sure it was checked as well. As soon as the view refreshed, the family was visible in the plan.

Thanks for the solution!

[StevenLocke]

Found this issue also - I found out in the Visibility/Graphic Overrides, on the Imported Categories tab, you should have Imports in Family ticked, that sorted it for me.  

Hope this helps!

[irela]

This post was extremely helpful thank you! I had the same issue and what I did was turn on "Imports in Family" in the View Template and it fixed everything!