Complex line types

[yavork]

In Revit the  lines types you can have is really pathetic compared to AutoCADs - dashes, dots and continious lines. (And the ofcourse the Insulation that has its own button to make, and the revision cloud if that counts...). Would be very helpful to be able to make various line types with shapes in 2d - like tracks, talus and I thing that was already suggested - with text in it. Out from deperation (again) we are using detail line family with text in it to display  ELEC, HYDRO, Xs (for fence), etc... but comes a curve and there the solution stops. We are also forced to do untinkable things to a surveyors drawings in order to preserve their line types in Revit.

[bjoern_teutriene]

This improvement would be very important for German Revit users. In the Revit Wishlist 2017 in Germany it ranked #10 out of 52 wishes. You can find more information on https://www.rug-dach.de/

[NateBrush]

Found a workaround for CAD links. In AutoCAD the TXTEXP command can convert text to a polyline. It isn't elegant, but it works well enough when referencing in a civil site plan or an ALTA survey.

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?157360-Need-help-with-LISP-calling-TXTEXP-lsp(object-selection...)

[NateBrush]

One other work around- use pipe or conduit and tag a parameter such as "abbrevation" for pipe. We use this method sometimes for underground electrical "UGE" and overhead electrical "OHE". It isn't ideal, but the family/tag method works well enough. 

[craig]

Linetypes with symbols or text  in the linetype. See many of workarounds but this is a very basic drafting element that should be native in revit surley ??

[Anonymous]

Hello,

I would like to create line style with varios characters not only dot, space... Could you make it possible?

Thick lines do have  rounded edges at the beginning and at the end of the line (or in the corner).

Is it possible to add a feature that makes the sharp edge?

Thank you

[Anonymous]

How about the line patterns to be continuous like cad polilines? Revit doesn't have polilines entities, so small paterned lines get turned solid at some scales. I have no idea how this could be solved, since this is an in deep Revit feature, but it would be important. The only way now to solve this, when we really need to, is to go back to autocad. Not cool... 😞

[ipselute]

@AnonymousThis is already possbile. Architects are sending me drawings with such linetypes all the time. Don't know the detailed procedure, never had to use such lines personally. It goes like creating some family for such linetypes and adding the characters you need to it.

[ipselute]

Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swR-zJkc1fQ

[Anonymous]

@ipselute Didn't know about that solution. It would take a lot of work to configure such, but I belive ti could be possible. Autodesk could provide a basic family in the oficial library that we could use as a base.

BUT: This solution doesn't solve one thing I mentioned before. This special family wouldn't be a poliline. It wouln't even be a line. So, when the time comes to export to dwg (We all know that 99,9% of us will end up having to do this), this family will be exported as lines and text, and won't be recognized as a line so that users could know its lengh.

Now, we could always go for the other way arround and use autocad as a layer to have that info the way we want it, but Revit still has huge problems reading text and Mtext, so that its dispays the same (so I'm beting that solution wouln't work ether). Autodesk: think about it... Major revision for the 3 year mark?

[kenmahood]

Setback lines as a different line type has been a standard of our practice.  Why it is not possible is beyond me?  But this is Autodesk.   Overriding the graphics in each view is cumbersome.   

[lukas-tunka]

By using Repeating Detail Component, you cannot draw a curve line. From this reason is this tool hardly usable.

[germanperales]

Yeah, there should be family types, and options to give them different fill patterns.

And I think phasing is a must have for this kind of family.

Some way to insert formulas to link their parameters to other global parameters would be a blessing for city planning too.

[vewright]

Sometimes I think that the Revit team just doesn't know what designers have to do with their product. We have to produce drawings! Yes, 3D modeling is a vast improvement over 2D drafting. But, to produce a set of drawings that you can send to the State for review, or hand to a plumber or estimator, you need more than views of the model--you need annotation--dimensions, detail lines, symbols, linework that is not part of the 3D geometry. A glance at a civil engineer's site plan tells the story--line types with embedded alphanumeric characters conveys essential information without notes that clutter up the drawing. I recently had occasion to research methods to embed characters in Revit line patterns. Yes, it can be done. One white paper described the process in only six pages! (Including screen shots.) Revit has a slick method of adding a new line pattern or editing an existing one. You can define a line pattern with a list of dashes, dots, and spaces using a dialog box. But not with characters. I am probably over simplifying, but it looks like a weekend project for a small programming team to add this feature, certainly not one for version 2022.

[ipselute]

@vewrightI simpatize with your opininions. Everything seems easy to fix ... from an outside point of view. You can encounter similar situations in all the 3D software: i got complains over Tekla, Allplan, etc. Please mind Revit is a (very) complex software. Fixing any "minor" issue takes time, any little patching can create more damage in other areas of the program. You can simply look at WindowsOS: sometimes patching one minor issue generates secondary problems and stability issues. Any patching needs testing and validating. This is not open-source software where anybody can disassemble and reassemble source-code at its' own will. The source-code itself is very specific and complex, it requires like years of training to master its' particular traits.

[vewright]

@ipselute  I disagree. I certainly would find the effort required to add the subject feature light years beyond my abilities, as would most users. However, complex as Revit may be, it is based on technology that has been around for decades. See my summary of the history of Revit in another post. The Revit team has obviously added much to the package that Autodesk purchased, so they are not without resources or capabilities. In addition, they have the resources of the AutoCAD team to draw upon. If nothing else, they should be aware of those features that have made AutoCAD grow from a primitive 2D system that fit on a single CD to the CAD standard of many industries. It seems that Autodesk wants to make Revit the standard for 3D modeling and design, without eroding the AutoCAD market. But designers and design companies that have made the transition from AutoCAD to Revit expect Revit to handle the design process from conceptual design and modeling to the production of construction documents. I use both and find it frustrating when either package does not handle seemingly simple tasks as well as the other. To wit, Revit's problems with printing to Adobe's PDF printer and Revit's limited method of creating custom line types. In closing--a workaround it not a solution.

[Anonymous]

Check out adobe Illustrator or Bluebeam.  Both have a better line style creation ability.  I can't believe we still don't have the ability to create line types with text in them and the very minimum!  

[Avaris.]

Would be nice, line based item is a work around, but only straight. Next to that I would appreciate a real water barrier/membrane linestyle.

[Anonymous]

Would love to have a line type that matches the fence line type found in AutoCAD. I am referring to the -----X-----X-----

[awasyliw]

I think this idea would be more useful as an 'allow alphanumeric characters to be used in line styles' proposal.

[Anonymous]

I've been using it for a long time.
There are types of lines that I want to use for pipe types as seen in the screenshot.
Is it possible to add them to Revit ?