Window Family lIne thickness issue

[mcobb]

I have a long standing problem that I would love to surmount. I do a lot of designs with nailfin windows.  The rough openings are a little bit bigger than the window frame.  This rough opening line is represented by a thin line just outboard of the window/wall cut line which is more strongly associated with the sash and the window frame. I've figured out how to pull dimensions from this rough opening line in the family usingstrong reference lines and a void form instead of a cut line  but I haven't figured out a way to supress the wall cut line so the point at which the dimension is pulled is more strongly and precisely represented by a thinner line than the usual wall profile line.  I've attached an image below that first shows (with detail lines) what I would like to achieve. Below it is a representation of my window family in an actual Revit wall family. How do I get rid of this mudiness?!  I would really like to figure this out. Should I put a white symbolic line on top of the wall cut line?  This feels like a sloppy practice but I'm open to anything. Any help is greatly appreciated.

[Keith_Wilkinson]

Part of trying to find a solution is first understanding the problem... 

I honestly can't make head nor tail of what your problem is from that description... can you try and explain again, forget about what is a strong reference and what isn't or indeed how you have built the family (I assume by 'cut line' you mean an Opening Cut?).  Also if you can post the family that would be a big help too.

cheers

K.

[mcobb]

Sorry this wasn't clearer.  The thin line interior to the wall represents the rough opening and will be where dimensions are pulled.  It has been very difficult to get this line to be thin (like the sill) since Revit likes to have the extents of the void for the family be where it wraps the wall cut line.  I can upload the family later if necessary.  I don't have access to this file at the present time.  Thanks for your attention to this.

[ToanDN]

Edit: comment deleted.

You can create a subcategory for the rough opening lines and assign a thiner lineweight in your object styles in the project.

[mcobb]

I like the way your thinking, but I think the wall cut line, when it wraps through the opening, maintains the thickness it has on the exterior and interior face. No?

[ToanDN]

My initial response was not based on the sketch. When I saw it I deleted
the response. Anyhow, my second response should address your concern if
your sketch is still what you are after.

[mcobb]

I think I've tried what you are talking about and am still having problems.  The issue revolves around the fact that it is hard to see any thin symbolic lines when the wall cut line is so much thicker and located at the same place.  A masking element only seems to cover up half of this wall line.  It may be too much information but I'm attaching a sketch of the approach I'm taking.  The idea is less to be able to model the window details off of this family and more to be able to generate elevations reliably and efficiently before we know the specific window manufacturer.  I'm an architect and contractor who works with many people who would appreciate this specific information and this specific information only.  It's actually important not show more detail than we really know.

[ToanDN]

The distance from the RO line to the Revit opening edge is very small so the two lines will blend together at normal floor plan scale (1/4"). You could use the live weight tool to override the thick jamb lines but it would be a huge waste of time. If you need to deliver the RO dimensions, a better way is do it via the schedule. Add a Delta parameter to your window family and RO = opening width + Delta. This Delta parameter can be adjustable based on the type of framing or different tolerance criteria. If you use a shared parameter you can even tag the opening with the RO value on the floor plans.

As for the dotted RO symbolic lines, if you need to show them on enlarged floor plans, you can edit the lines in the family so that they only show at Medium or Fine detail level. That would keep the smaller scale floor plans clean of muddy lines, assuming you have them at Coarse level.

[Keith_Wilkinson]

As it's an opening there isn't much you can do about the line thickness without changing all the thicklines that apply to a wall other than using graphic overrides which would be very tedious.

The 'strength' of the reference lines that you make no difference to how things display, it's simply how attractive they are to Revit when it's trying to snap to something (at least that is my understanding of it).

As Toan has suggested your best option would be to use a tag to display the required values from your parameters.

Nice sketch BTW.  🙂

[mcobb]

I get it. Thank you for all your help. I realize there are ways to efficiently capture the numeric information. Perhaps my explanation was convoluted. It wasn't my intention to use any dotted symbolic lines to address the window representation. I was just trying to show how lines and widths related in my sketch and it seems ironic to me that for all Revits sophistication, it can't efficiently show a wall cut line in the way that drafting conventions normally dictate (i.e. the cut line is the thickest). This is a graphic/illustrative problem I'm trying to address, not one of data. Thanks for all your help on this.

[PhilvK]

Not sure if this helps or if it’s been mentioned elsewhere, but I increased the lineweight of my door to match the wall cut thickness. It’s not the classic way you want (and which I would also like, as you do), but it’s adequate. See attached.

By the way, how do you insert an image into a post so it's visible with the reply? That icon has seemed to have disappeared.

[Alfredo_Medina]

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@PhilvK wrote:
...

By the way, how do you insert an image into a post so it's visible with the reply? That icon has seemed to have disappeared.

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The icon has changed. Now it says "Photos".

[PhilvK]

I tried 'Photos' but only get a blank window with a white 'X" in a black circle, no image.

[David_W_Koch]

You should see something like the image below.  You can drag the image from Windows/File Explorer and drop it inside the dotted gray lines or select the Choose Files button and navigate to the location of your image file.