Sorting in Revit Schedules

[Anonymous]

I am wanting to sort by more than 4 parameters in a single schedule.  Revit 2012 only has 4 options.  Can more be added?

[Alfredo_Medina]

No. Any more info on what you are trying to do?

[alan.quinn]

Just following up on Alfredo’s post. Without more information it’s impossible to make recommendations and/or suggestions.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the reply.  We were able to figure out a way to work around this to the accuracy we needed. 

[Anonymous]

Hi, how did you solve this? We have the same problem.

We have a schedule listing window information, e.g. Window Type F01.

We sort our Schedule by:

Type Mark, then by:

SwingDirection, then by:

FireClass, then by:

SoundClass.

And we need to add by:

SecurityClass

But Revit has by default only 4 levels or sorting.

Any ideas how we can go about adding more sorting parameters?

Thanks,

Lena

[CoreyDaun]

I have accomplished this in the past by creating a Calculated Value that combined two of the fields for the purposes of establishing a sort order for our Light Fixture Schedule. I already had the top two "Sort Slots" used, so I had to combine LampWattage and LampQuantity (to be sorted in respective order) into a single sort. This is a rough summary of my scenario:

Name                  Type                       Units        

LampWattage     Parameter               Watts

LampQuantity     Parameter               Integer

LampSort            Calculated Value    Number

The formula for LampSort is: =(LampWattage / 1 W) + (LampQuantity / 100)

The above formula will combine the two to produce a number such as 32.03 (32W, 3-Lamp) or 54.01 (54W,1-Lamp), which allows for proper sorting.

---

As for your specific situation, I would assume that your Parameters "SwingDirection", "FireClass", and "SoundClass" are all Text Parameters, correct?

It may still be possible to combine them using this method, but could you elaborate on your parameters a little bit, specifically, are there a large number of possible values for these parameters? I'm thinking there are aren't many possibilities for "SwingDirection", but what about the other two?

[Anonymous]

Great, that sounds like an idea!

You're right though, my parameters are texts.

Is it possible to combine two text strings to one?

[CoreyDaun]

Unfortunately, Revit is incapable of the simple task of combining text strings, which is responsible for the forehead-shaped damage to my desk.

Spoiler

My questions earlier about the number of possible values is important to this method - the more values, the more complicated it becomes. Example:

I want to combine BoxSize and BoxColor, which are both Text parameters. I would first have to create a Calculated Value for each of these that will convert the value to an Integer. Here is the formula for the respective Calculated Values:

BoxSizeSort = if(BoxSize = "Small", 1,if(BoxSize = "Medium", 2, 3))

BoxColorSort = if(BoxColor = "Blue", 1, if(BoxColor = "Green", 2, if(BoxColor = "Orange", 3, if(BoxColor = "Red", 4, 5)))

**The above formulas must include ALL possibilities, so if there are limitless options, then this is not possible.

Finally, a third Calculated Value is needed to combine the other two: BoxSort = BoxSizeSort + (BoxColorSort / 10)

Edit: Nevermind the above in the spoiler - I had forgotten that Revit does not allow a String to be used in a conditional statement... More

[Anonymous]

Ok, thank you for helping out!

Maybe the conversion to text may be too elaborate for this project.

How ever, the calculated value idea makes me think we will have to combine two parameters into one to simplify matters. Hope Autodesk will give us more control in future versions though.

Thank you for quick replies!

/Lena

[CoreyDaun]

Unfortunately, with all of the parameters being Text, I believe that you will have to combine them outside the schedule. I'll post if think of any other possibilities...

[Anonymous]

OK.  Buckle your seatbelts because this ride might get a little bumpy...

You could create the sorting method you need using the following steps.  I have built into the families that I am creating a set of condition parameters which change the integer value of a parameter based on the selection made in a totally different yes/no parameter.  You could do something similar in which you assign numeric values to each of the selection categories and then have a final parameter which creates a sum of the control integers which you then use for sorting in the schedule.  It sounds convoluted, but once you get it working, it does so like a charm.  You could set your control values like:

Type Mark = 1000.0 (thousands digit) --> A=1000, B=2000, C=3000, and etc.

SwingDirection = 00100.0 (hundreds digit) --> Outswing = 100, Inswing = 200, and etc.

FireClass = 00010.0 (tens digit) --> Rating 1 = 10, Rating 2 = 20, Rating 3 = 30, and etc.

SoundClass = 0001.0 (ones digit) --> SC1 = 1, SC2=2, Sc3=3, and etc.

SecurityClass = 0000.1 (1st decimal digit)  --> SecC1 = 0.1, SecC2 = 0.2, SecC3 = 0.3

Summation of  categories would be totally unique based on the window configurations

  (ex: 1122.3 would be a Type A Outswing window of fire rating 2, with a sound class of 2, and a security class of 3)

Then this summation parameter can be used to sort the schedule.  This/these parameters will need to be shared parameters for scheduling...

I have attached an image of a similar situation in which I am populating a custom type mark with text based on check boxes selected.  I got the idea for this from a blog post.  Follow the link here for the post and look to the "Pick One and Only One' section in the middle of the post.

Maybe this can accomplish what you need (after a bit of elbow grease is applied thoroughly).

Keith

[ambrosiam]

@autodesk, this has been a recurring problem since 2012. It is now 2024, and the schedule sorting can still not be by more than 4 parameters. 

Perhaps in the next twelve years, we can expect additional sorting slots to be included in updates?