Autodesk® Revit® Links, Groups, and Documentation: How …aucache.autodesk.com/au2011/sessions/4532/class... · Autodesk® Revit® Links, Groups, and Documentation: How to Make

Autodesk® Revit® Links, Groups, and Documentation: How to Make It Really Work!

Aaron Maller – The Beck Group

AB5432- Your project is well beyond pushing the limits of a single Revit model, and you have to

document and detail it. What is the correct workflow? Groups? Linked Files? If you use links, there are now two ways to document the project: tagging through links (post 2011) and the by linked view (2008/2009) method. We will cover the costs and benefits of each. We will also cover segregation—should you break the model or the group? Should the sheets and the details be in one model or spread out? How does information from one model show up in detailing at the other? We will cover both options. How do you manage content across 15 models for one project? What files do you dimension and tag in? What can't links and groups do? When do I combine links, design options, and view templates? We will also look at an 8-story new build, with full shell and interior fit out, done with linked files, design options, and view templates.

Learning Objectives At the end of this class, you will be able to:

Use Model Groups, PLUS Detail Groups, PLUS combinations

Use File Links for more than just Consultants Scopes

Manage the Project Team and Project using all of the above

Know what to expect, and how to move about the project efficiently

About the Speaker

Aaron is currently the BIM manager at The Beck Group, specializing in Autodesk® Revit®

implementation. His current role includes streamlining Revit workflows and exploiting its

efficiencies among the architectural, design, and construction groups at Beck. He also provides

Revit infrastructure management and training for all users. His work experience includes

implementing and supporting Revit in a variety of offices, and using Revit for all phases of

architecture (from design to construction administration) on projects of varying scopes and

genres. Passionate about Revit and architecture, Aaron is an avid contributor on

RevitForum.org (twiceroadsfool) and is active in the Revit community.


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Groups- When and Why?

Making Model Groups- Select elements in Revit, and press the Create Group button from the

Modify Ribbon. From there, duplicate definitions are made by using the Edit/New > Duplicate

command, and there is a “Canvas Mode” called “Edit Group.” Remember: NO command is

finalized until the entire group is “finished.”


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Things Groups Do well: Vertical circulation Cores (Group each floor, copy > paste >aligned selected levels)

Furniture layouts / Open office Systems

Storefront / Curtain** (recommended grouping every Revit CW in project)

Typical Room layouts

Things Groups Do NOT do well: Entire Floor Plates

Hosted elements without their hosts (Anything Floor hosted without slabs, etc.)

Anything with larger “canvas time” of Twenty Minute

Model Groups with Detail Groups:

By including Detail Items when making a Model Group, or by selecting the Attach command

during Edit Group, one can include: Dimensions, Tags, text, Keynotes, Detail Lines, Generic

Annotations and Symbols, as long as they only reference things inside the Model Group.

You can attach more than one Detail Group to each Model Group, allowing you to create many

“Annotated Views” of each Model Group. This allows you to make “many drawings” of each

model group, ready for insertion in to your next project.


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Limits of Groups as part of an office Library

Some items cannot be “brought in and overwritten” in a project file, by the group.

Anything Profile Based

Families with varying Instance parameter or Type Default parameter values

Some variations in Family Types

Anything hosted (Work Plane Based must have the “Work Plane” as well)

Line Based does not work


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Groups as the “Previous Phase Legend”

Using model Groups in a Previous (or future) Phase, other than your actual project, allows you

to have a “Legend” view without the limitations of the Legend Tool:

Revit Legend Limitations: Cannot alter Instance Parameters (of anything)

Shared / Nested families with differing categories from object placed fail to show

Face Based Family Orientations are wrong and not changeable

Revit Curtain Walls cannot have Mullions or Panels (instance based)

Cannot tag or intelligently note live objects

“Previous Phase” Legend: Place Model Groups in the past phase (same model groups from project)

Annotate Model Groups in past, place views in project (no need to isolate)

Demolish items in Phase prior to Existing Conditions

No view or schedule in “Real world” will ever show quantities or objects

TIP: Keep a 3D view set to “Annotation Demo” Phase, Phase Filter: Show

Previous and Demo: Everything should be red.


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Links - When and Why?

On larger projects where Links are desirable I use the system below to decide how to break up

the Links. Where the “Systemic” system is used to break up Links, I break up the Worksets by

geography. Where the “Geographic” system is used to divide the Links, the worksets are

broken up Systemically. This system allows the team to work in the most efficient fashion,

without stepping on one another in worksharing.

LARGE HEIGHT (tall): Systemic System of Breakup:

Skin: Has all of the elements of the Exterior Skin

Core: Has all of the elements of the Vertical Circulation Cores

Floor Plates-Podium: Has all of the repetitive File Links for the Podium height Section of

the Building

Floor Plates-Intermed: Has all of the repetitive File Links for the Intermediate Height

Section of the Building

LARGE FOOTPRINT (short): Geographic System of Breakup:

Area 1: Has all of the elements of Area 1 (Skin, Interiors, Vertical Circulation, Equipment, etc)




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Link Documentation- The History

Pre 2009- Functionality to show Annotations from Plans/RCP in Linked Files

2009- “By Linked View” Functionality expanded to Sections / Elevations. This meant

having the view In both files. (In a coordinated Location). It also meant that VG

settings were by the Linked View in the Linked File (unless set to Custom) but

that some View properties (Crop extents, etc) were by the Parent Model.

2009 also added the functionality to “selectively include” view properties in to a

View template, which was pivotal


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2011- The ability to Tag items that are in a Revit Link appears. This opens up the

possibility of not having to use By Linked View workflow at all. There are

limitations, however: Rooms cannot be tagged (Why???), and Keynotes cannot

be used. Options are then limited to:

Partial BLV setup (for Room Tags in Plans)

Unintelligent Room Tagging

Full By Linked View setup (the old way)

By Linked View- What it means

The workflow of “By Linked View” meant (and still means) that views get created and

coordinated in two locations: They get created in the Parent Model (where the drawings are),

and then they get created in the “File Link” as well (Where the items are modeled, and

annotated). Then in the Parent Model, you go to VG: Rvit Link: “File Link” and set the View from

By Host View to “By Linked View,” which tells it to inherit the annotations and some view

settings, from a specific view in “File Link.”

This wasn’t without issue:


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View alignment- On a pitching roof, if the section markers in both files are not in identical

spots, you will notice since the notes and tags will be maligned.

Circular Referencing- Dimensions to Grids and Levels would get lost in the Workflow.

To avoid this, Grids and levels had to be Copy/Monitored in to the Linked files. Then in Main

(Documentation), shut off in the Main Model, and shown in the By Linked View model settings.

This meant not being able to adjust grid heads in the views.


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Link Time Stamp issues-

File Links are loaded as they are queried upon File Open, or Manage Links – Reload. They do

not update at SWC. This can cause problems if more than one person is in the file WHILE

someone on the team is setting views in the Parent Model to By Linked View: If another team

member has a File Link that does not have the View in it (If the view was recently created), then

their subsequent SWC will actually UNDO the setting on the view in the Main Model.

Recommended Workflow: Have users create the views in the Links all at once, then set them to

By Linked View the following day. 1 Day lag time generally means everyone will have opened a

new Local (Reloaded the Link).

2012- The ability to Tag Rooms, and use Keynotes is extended to Linked Files.

“Reconcile Hosting” dialogue appears as a way to track “orphaned tags.”

Workflow is finally in place to not need By Linked View. Dimensional References

still have the potential to remove themselves, but this occurs in non-linked files

with the same types of edits (Mirror, delete/recreate, disjoin, etc)


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Linked File- Practical Limitations?

Model PERFORMANCE is more important than Model Size

o The two do not always relate

Example Project:

o By Linked View Workflow

o Full Arch, Interiors, FFE, Structural, MEP, AV, FP and Site Model

o Total Model size: 1.29GB (9 files, 17 instances total)

o 1300 Views in Main (Corresponding views in Links)

o Workable on Hardware from 2 years ago (XEON 2.66, 8GB RAM, Nvidia

Quadro FX 3500 (191.78 drivers).

Linked Files as Floor Plates A building with identical (or similar) Floor plates can benefit from the use of Linked Files as Floor

Plates, to eliminate redundant modeling. The Floor Plate can (later) incorporate options to

differentiate between the variations in Floor plans.


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Variations as Design Options

Using a combination of Design Options (In the File Link) and View Templates (in the Main

Model), extensive differences between the Floors can be achieved, without needing separate

models or separate Levels in the linked file. This is beneficial, as it means less redundant

modeling/grouping of the Core and Vert. Circ, and less Family Content and Standards

management (less File Link Types, just more instances).


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Managing the Design Options

Since post-2009 View Templates can now be made to Include or Exclude particular view

settings, we can make a View Template that affects nothing but VG: RVT Links. Using that, we

can expand the Link TYPES to show all of the Linked INSTANCES. We can set each Linked

File Instance (Floor Plates) to show different Design options, based on which Floor they are.

Then, we can append these settings in to our Default View Templates, to they affect every new

View created

Tip: Remember… Someone has to do this in your Consultants files as well!


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Documents

Autodesk® Revit® Links, Groups, and Documentation: How …aucache.autodesk.com/au2011/sessions/4532/class... · Autodesk® Revit® Links, Groups, and Documentation: How to Make