Electrical Drawings Index Sorting/Grouping

[PaulineP54QC]

Hello,

I am trying to work this out but no luck. Maybe I need an explanation step by step to how can I apply Sorting/Grouping on my drawings index (Revit 2020 schedules) in such a way that the sheet beginning with the letter ED1.A will appear after the sheet number E0.#'s (see red mark on pic attached). Any help will be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[dmiller_SCE]

It is common to add additional parameters for sheets to aid in sheet organization. For example, you could add a Sheet Index parameter and have that value for The ED sheets set to 1 and the other sheets set to 2. In your schedule, have it filter first by the sheet index value and then by sheet number.

[andybrack]

Yes. Many firms create a parameter or series of parameters which get applied to your Sheets. In our case we use several which gives the capability to sort in two Levels, first into disciplines, then by smaller sheet groupings within each discipline. Set your Sorting / Grouping in this order:

SHEET DISCIPLINE SORTING - Numeric value that we sort the entire drawing set by. Each number represents the order you want your total drawing set to appear in. 1 = General, 2 = Civil, 3 = Landscape and so on.

SHEET DISCIPLINE - Values would be: Civil, Landscape, Architectural, Electrical, etc.

DRAWING SERIES SORTING - Numeric value (3-digit) used within a discipline subset such as 100, 110, 200 where the value will sort the sheets within a discipline drawing series. Electrical often has EP (Electrical Power) and EL (Electrical Lighting) drawings. See example below. We use a 3-digit number because it makes it easier to slip in additional sheets in your drawing later if need be.

SHEET NUMBER - Basically serves as a reporting value, but on simpler projects the drawings can be sorted by Sheet Number. This only works where all your sheet number values have the same designator like E-101, E-102, E-103. As soon as you throw in a real drawing list it becomes clear that you can't properly sort on this parameter alone.

Example:

Sheet Number     Sheet Discipline Sorting    Sheet Discipline    Drawing Series Sort

G-001                        1                                              GENERAL                          000

A-001                        5                                              ARCHITECTURAL             000

E-001                        8                                              ELECTRICAL                      000

E-101                         8                                              ELECTRICAL                       100

EP-101                       8                                              ELECTRICAL                       110

EP-102                       8                                              ELECTRICAL                       120

EL-201                        8                                              ELECTRICAL                       210

EL-202                        8                                              ELECTRICAL                       220

E-300                          8                                              ELECTRICAL                      300

[PaulineP54QC]

Hello and thanks for your fast response! I understand what you mean but I am thinking that we will need a third "parameter" for the "E0.#" the only thing is that I have not done that before 😶 I mean how to create this type of  "parameter for sheets".  Can you explain step by step?Thanks again!

[andybrack]

There are two ways to do it. You can either create a 'Project Parameter' or create a 'Shared Parameter'. Process is similar but slightly different.
Project Parameter : this is will solve your issue in a single .rvt project file.
Shared Parameter: If your company has a BIM Manager you'll want to coordinate with that person. The big idea is that a Shared Parameter can be re-used from project to project. So that way if you link projects together, the data from the links can easily be consolidated into a large master schedule.
The golden rule of all parameter creation is to understand the TYPE OF PARAMETER you want first (before you make it). This decision has major implications in your data structure and cannot be changed afterwards. For your situation, TEXT parameters are the most flexible.
To create the parameter, click MANAGE --> PROJECT PARAMETER --> ADD --> Select the Categories it will apply to SHEETS in your case, then prove a Name for the parameter and select the Type of Parameter as noted above.

[PaulineP54QC]

Hi there, thanks for your response! Just a few things: Our discipline is only one: Electrical and we normally use client standards so as you can see we use different sheet numbering. I understand the logical of your explanation but I am not clear where to start: step by step to how to create the "parameter" I need. I am new on this but I have created some parameters to BIM objects so we can populate schedules.  This seems to me like a high level or maybe I need to read more about it

[andybrack]

In a Google search, look up 'Revit How to create a project parameter'. You will find several links that explain the process. Here is a video from Autodesk. This is for creating a parameter for walls, but the process is the same for what you need. Two main differences...when you are creating the parameter, click the INSTANCE radio button, not TYPE. The second this is to make sure to check the SHEETS checkbox when you get to the part about identifying the Category. In this example they check WALLS.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2019/EN...