Category: 3D Views / Section Box
Description:
Currently, the Section Box in Revit is limited to a rectangular, brick-like bounding volume. All six cutting planes are axis-aligned and can only be adjusted by dragging the standard face handles — there is no way to tilt, rotate, or reshape any individual plane of the box.
Proposed Enhancement:
Allow users to modify the geometry of the Section Box beyond its current rectangular constraints, using intuitive directional arrow controls (similar to the grip handles already familiar in Revit's family and mass editing environment).
Specifically, the feature would enable:
- Tilting individual cutting planes — e.g., rotating the top or side plane by a given angle to follow a sloped roof or an inclined structural element.
- Adding intermediate cut planes — for L-shaped, T-shaped, or stepped section box configurations, useful when isolating complex plan layouts or multi-wing buildings.
- Arrow-based manipulation — directional arrows on each plane would allow precise angular and positional adjustments, with optional numeric input for exact values.
- Per-plane parametric control — each face of the section box could expose its own rotation and offset parameters in the Properties panel.
Use Cases:
- Isolating sloped terrain or hillside buildings without clipping geometry unexpectedly.
- Creating section boxes aligned to non-orthogonal building grids (e.g., 30° rotated towers).
- Producing coordinated 3D views that match the actual section cuts defined in construction documents.
- Improving clash detection visibility on diagonal MEP runs or sloped structural members.
Expected Behavior:
When the Section Box is selected in a 3D view, each face would display a rotation arrow in addition to the existing translation arrow. A toggle in view properties or the right-click context menu would switch between "Standard (Rectangular)" and "Free-form" section box mode. In Free-form mode, the modified box shape would be saved with the view and remain persistent across sessions.
Workarounds Currently Required:
Users must multiply 3D views, combine view filters, or rely on third-party add-ins (e.g., Section Box tools in pyRevit or DiRoots) to approximate this behavior — adding complexity and file size without a native, view-bound solution.
Priority Justification:
This is a long-standing limitation that affects workflows for architects, structural engineers, and BIM coordinators alike — particularly on projects with complex geometries, sloped sites, or non-orthogonal grids. A native, parametric free-form section box would significantly reduce view-setup time and improve model navigation in collaborative BIM environments.
