Keynotes have been part of Revit since day one, but the feature has not evolved in over two decades. Our office relies heavily on keynotes to connect building elements in Revit to the specification sections that define them.
Currently, keynotes are managed through a standalone TXT file, which runs counter to the connected project ecosystem Autodesk is driving with ACC. If keynotes could be directly associated with specification sections uploaded to ACC’s Specifications module, it would represent a major step forward.
Benefits of this integration:
Time Savings: Eliminates manual coordination of keynote files across projects, saving users countless hours.
Accuracy & Reliability: Ensures that element and material keynotes are tied directly to their corresponding spec sections in ACC, reducing errors and rework.
Consistency Across the Lifecycle: Embeds keynotes into the connected data environment, strengthening the link between design intent, documentation, and specifications.
Business Impact:
We estimate this improvement could reduce production drawing time by at least 2%. Across our firm, that equates to hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual savings. Beyond efficiency, the accuracy and trust this would bring to element- and material-based keynoting has significant downstream benefits for project quality and coordination.
Summary:
Moving keynote management out of flat TXT files and into the ACC Specifications environment would align with Autodesk’s vision of a fully connected project workflow. It would modernize a critical but stagnant Revit feature and deliver measurable value to firms like ours.
