Toposolid contours should not be cut by view range

[will_young]

When creating a plan view in which the contours of a toposolid are shown, the view depth cut level will always be near the finished floor level or lower.

Because the proposed or existing levels near a building will in many cases be higher than FFL this results in the toposolid getting truncated.

There is no option in Revit to show the contours above the view cut without using a workaround (some listed here Make an object not cut by view range? - Autodesk Community)

By default all the contour lines surrounding a building need to be show even if they are higher than FFL.

Can anyone think of a situation where a construction drawing showing existing or proposed contour lines would be truncated?

[Mike.FORM]

Isn't this exactly what the plan region is used for? You could apply a different view range/cut to everything outside of your exterior walls.

[will_young]

Yes this is one of the workarounds but the idea is that the contours always show because there is no use case for cutting them.

I'm proposing toposolids should join the list of non-cuttable families.

Help | About Non-Cuttable Families | Autodesk

[Mike.FORM]

There are definitely use cases for toposolids being cut. specifically if you have portions of a building buried like underground parking for example.

If anything there could just be a toggle as part of the toposolid type that turns cutting on or off.

[will_young]

Thanks for the suggestion. A toggle could be useful but I'm still not convinced there are any use cases for truncating toposolid data.

Not intending to be obtuse but in the example you gave, why would you want to cut the earth with the view and not show any contours that are above the basement level? Surely it would be useful to see the existing / proposed ground levels outside the building? 

[Mike.FORM]

I'm specifically thinking about underground parking that is covered by landscaping or earth above so if toposolids never showed cut then you would not see the parts that are buried.

[will_young]

In the situation where the view plane is below any points on the toposolid I agree it could be useful to show as an earth hatch, I don't think that's mutually exclusive with not cutting the contours though.

In all other cases though it just causes confusion to see the toposolid contours being chopped off by the view plane as that would indicate earthworks.

[Mike.FORM]

I agree that there should be an option but that option should not be to make toposolids not cuttable as that causes so many other issues.

The general sentiment across revit users is that everything should be cuttable.

I think handling the cuttable or not cuttable using a checkbox that is part of the toposolid type would make the most sense so that users have control over it.

Personally when I read a drawing if the earth is cut that just means that the earth extends above the level, it does not mean that there is work to be done necessarily.

Also we do not show site work on floor plans, we have site plans for site work.

[will_young]

With respect, I think you've glossed over the key point I'm trying to make which is about contour lines.

Contour lines should only be changed if they have been graded. Having them affected by the view plan is incorrect.

[arq_42]

@will_young do you consider contour lines in the example attached have been modified?

I mean, it's very useful and common to represent at what height the ground is cut, to know which walls are buried.

Contour lines haven't been modified, nor the topografy truncated.

[will_young]

Thanks, OK I agree this is a good example of the case to show the topo as cut, which illustrates the situation @Mike.FORM was talking about.

In the situation I'm concerned about the toposolid is only displaying the contour lines and their elevations, so it's more like a topo survey plan, but this should be an option rather than the default.

I retract the comment about making the toposolid non-cuttable, this would clearly not suit the type of thing you require.

[Mark_Engwirda]

Hmmm... Topo lines on a floor plan? 

[will_young]

I'll find a screenshot when I get a chance to show the situation.

[will_young]

Sorry for the poor quality image. The line marked 'cut line' is where the toposolid is cut by the view. There is no option in Visibility/Graphics to turn this line off. It looks like a contour line which is deceptive. No further contours are shown for ground levels beyond this point yet the contour labels do display.

It would be great if this erroneous situation can be coded out somehow.

[arq_42]

@will_young 
It is a personal appreciation, but, there is something in that image that doesn't feel properly modeled.
If you wish, open a new thread in Revit forum where all we could discuss it.

[will_young]

Thanks, there is a thread here, any suggestions would be welcome:

Make an object not cut by view range? - Autodesk Community

If the image looks odd it may be because I'm using a linked dwg from the architect to show the GF layout of the plot.

[Mark_Engwirda]

@will_young  This whole thing doesn't make sense to me, why would a toposolid exist where the building footprint occurs as this would be a flat pad right?  Are you taking advantage of excavation tool?

Note

Visualization of toposolids belong on your site plans  so maybe not show any toposolids on your floor plans as previously mentioned in this thread. 
I can see you went to the help forums first which was the correct thing to do but unfortunately you don't alway get the right help as sometimes the issue is not entirely understood. Maybe you need to rephrase your question and supply a purged copy of your model to get further help.

[will_young]

Thanks for the suggestions Mark. I wonder if a lot of the pushback on this idea is coming from architects who are looking to visualise the topography whereas possibly the people who don't want the toposolid cut are looking to produce engineering drawings, in my case I need to show the existing ground level contours on our foundation plans.