The Revit Dirty Dozen:

12 Things to Not Do in a Revit

File and How to Fix It
Maria Fox Montgomery
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP
Project Architect

Jason Diamond
Licensed Architect
Design Application Manager
About the speakers
Maria Fox Montgomery
• Licensed Architect who joined Atlanta Perkins&Will office in 2014.
• Received her undergraduate architecture degree from Clemson University and Master of
Architecture degree from the University of Tennessee.
• Specializes in higher education and laboratory design.
• Along with being a USGBC LEED Accredited Professional in Building Design+Construction, she is
a Design Technology Leader and the only WELL Accredited Professional in the Atlanta
Perkins&Will office.

Jason Diamond
• Design Applications Manager for Perkins&Will Atlanta office
• Licensed Architect with 20 years experience in AEC industry
• 15 years of support and training staff in Revit on large-scale architectural projects
• Focus on computational design and data visualization
• Revit Certified Professional
 Why is it important to have a
Healthy Revit Model?

THE PROJECT/
TIME CONSISTENCY TEAMWORK
CLIENT
is important! is important! is important!
is important!
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#1
Do not select all and move.
 Do not select all and move.

PROBLEM:
Window selection can include unexpected objects to be moved, copied, deleted, etc.

TIPS:
Window select (drag right): Crossing window (drag left):

only selects elements inside the window selects elements inside AND intersecting the window
SOLUTION:
Using selection toggles at the bottom
of Revit:
• Disable link selection
• Disable pinned element selection
• Disable underlay selection
• Disable element selection by face
• Disable drag elements on selection

Using the filter tool to add/remove

categories from selection.
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#2
Do not import or explode CAD files.
 Do not import CAD files.

PROBLEM:
• Imported CAD files can be difficult to find
• Can slow down performance
• Users have the ability to explode imported CAD files.

TIPS:
Use Link CAD instead of Import CAD.
SOLUTION: ADVANCED SOLUTION:
If you imported CAD files, then you will need to Use Dynamo (Manage tab) to help find imported
find it to remove it. There currently is not a tool CAD files in your views. The Dynamo script
within Revit that helps with this. You would need (INCLUDED IN DATASET) will give you the element
to find this in a view in order to delete it and this ids of the CAD files to help you find them.
could be very time consuming.

Click browse and

select the Excel file
ADVANCED SOLUTION (CONTINUED):
Select element by ID

Example A
Example B

Shown in all 2D/3D views Imported by ‘current view only’

 Do not explode CAD files.

PROBLEM:
Exploding CAD files within your Revit file litters your project with a GREAT number of
filled regions, line patterns, text styles, dimension styles and much more. This can
ultimately impact the size of your Revit file and the consistency of line styles, text
styles and dimension styles used on a project’s documentation.

TIPS:
LINK CAD: won't be able to explode Import CAD: can explode if fewer than 10k elements
SOLUTION:
Steps for deleting Line Styles:
1. Click Manage tab>Additional Settings>Line Styles.
2. In the Line Styles dialog, select the line style name.
3. Delete.
4. When prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.

Q: Will that delete the existing lines using that

style?
A: No. It will automatically assign those lines a
different line style.
SOLUTION:
Steps for deleting Line Patterns:
1. Click Manage tab>Additional Settings>Line Patterns.
2. In the Line Patterns dialog, select the line pattern name.
3. Delete.
4. When prompted to confirm the deletion, click Yes.
SOLUTION:
Use Purge Unused to delete:
• Text Styles
• Dimension Styles
• Filled Regions
ADVANCED SOLUTION:
Line Patterns: Dynamo can search line patterns Line Styles: In-progress dynamo
beginning with "IMPORT-" (see DYN)
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#3
Do not permanently change a view
setting to see something quickly.
Do not permanently change a view setting to see
something quickly.
PROBLEM:
Do not alter view templates to try and see something Do not right click on an element and select hide in view in
quick or hide something specific in a view. order to see something quick and temporarily.
SOLUTION:
Using temporary hide/isolate
in view.
SOLUTION:
Using temporary
view properties to
keep from
changing multiple
views on multiple
sheets.
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#4
Do not confuse floor plan with detail
view callouts.
 Do not confuse floor plan with detail view
callouts.
PROBLEM:
Be conscious of using a floor plan callout or a detail view callout depending on the reasoning for creating the view.
Each view gives you different options in the properties panel and there is no way of changing one to the other
AFTER THE CALLOUT VIEW HAS BEEN CREATED.

DETAIL VIEW CALLOUT SELECTION

FLOOR PLAN CALLOUT SELECTION

TIPS:
FLOOR PLAN CALLOUT
• Provides view range and
underlay options
• Callout is not dependent
on parent view properties.

DETAIL VIEW CALLOUT

• Provides far clipping
options and the option to
show in parent view only
or intersecting views.
• If you choose intersecting
views, you have the option
to hide callout in scales
coarser than.
TIPS:
Elevation views cannot be placed in a Detail View Callout.

DETAIL VIEW CALLOUT FLOOR PLAN CALLOUT

SOLUTION:
Recreate the proper callout and paste align any view specific elements (text, dimensions, tags).

DETAIL VIEW CALLOUT FLOOR PLAN CALLOUT

THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#5
Do not overuse Levels.
 Do not overuse Levels.

PROBLEM:
• Users add Levels for ‘ceiling’, ‘top of counter’, ‘stair landing’,
etc.
• Families or views can unintentionally be hosted to these
levels.
• Elevation and section views can be littered with unnecessary
Levels that will need to be hidden.

TIPS:
Just use Levels for the main slabs and roofs.
SOLUTION:
• When Levels are deleted
from a project, any
elements or views hosted
to that level are deleted.
• These elements need to be
rehosted before deleting
the level.
• Dynamo makes this
process less painful
DYNAMO SCRIPT

No custom packages needed Elements (with ID) hosted on that Level

Levels within your project

Element ID of the
Level (in case you can’t
find it in views)
SOLUTION:
Follow the steps below:
1. Select element by ID
2. In properties, change the level
3. Repeat until there are no more elements hosted
4. Delete the level with confidence
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#6
Do not nest groups within groups.
 Do not nest groups within groups.
PROBLEM:
• Nested groups make the project file overly
complex and slow.
• In a family file, it is usually the source of
corruption.

TIPS:
Use nested families whenever
possible. Do not host elements
in the group to an element
outside the group. In this
example, the workstation
furniture families are in a
model group.
SOLUTION:
Follow the steps below:
1. Edit the nested
group.
2. Open all families
in the group and
load each into the
desk family,
placing in the
proper location in
plan and
elevation.
3. Load the nested
desk family back
in project.
SOLUTION:

4. Delete the separate chair and

divider family that are duplicated in
the original group.
5. Finish changes to the group.
6. Now that the only item in the group
is the nested family, select all
instances of the group in entire
project by right clicking on the
group in the project browser, select
all instances in entire project.
7. After they are all selected, click the
ungroup button.
SOLUTION:
8. The only thing now in the Revit file is the nested family.
SOLUTION:
9. Purge Unused to remove the model groups from the file.
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#7
Do not let warnings accumulate.
 Do not let warnings accumulate.

PROBLEM:
• Excessive amount of warnings will increase open and save times.
• At some point, the file will become corrupt.

TIPS:
To streamline the process of resolving warnings, set keyboard shortcuts for Review Warnings (RW) and Select
by Id (RE) commands. Export the warnings to HTML file for easy copy and paste of the element ids.
SOLUTION:
Resolving warnings should be a team effort. Make time to resolve warnings, even if for just an hour each
week. Know how and why warnings happen so you can avoid creating them if possible.

STEPS
1. Select Manage > Open Warnings Dialog.
2. Export warnings to HTML file.
SOLUTION:
3. Open HTML warnings report.
4. Pick a warning to resolve. Double-click the element id number to select, then copy to clipboard.
5. In Revit, click on the select by id command (Manage tab>Inquiry panel).
6. Paste the element id and click OK. This selects the element.
SOLUTION:
7. To locate the element, use the hosted level listed in properties. Open a plan view on that level to find where the
selected element is.
8. With the element selected and located on the plan, click the Show Related Warnings button. This warnings dialog
will only show the 2 elements in conflict, and there is a convenient button to 'Unjoin Elements' which will get rid
of the warning for us.
SOLUTION:
9. The next type of warning is a room tag 10. Warnings involving unenclosed rooms
outside of its room. These are the quick should be a high-priority for 2 reasons. These
and easy warnings to resolve. Getting rid warnings will slow down the file more than
of these will not take much time. other warning types because it can't compute
the area. Also, not having an accurate area
for the rooms will cause errors in your
documentation, such as room tags not being
able to display the area and errors in life
safety calculations.

2 possible solutions:
• Missing room separation boundary. Adding the
missing boundary will resolve the warning.
• One of the rooms is no longer needed and can
be deleted.
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#8
Do not update view ranges freely.
 Do not update view ranges freely.

PROBLEM:
Updating the view range will impact the overall plan, and in most cases will cause another problem in a different
area of the plan.

NOTE:
It is important to understand view range extents.
SOLUTION:
If a specific portion of the plan is at a different elevation than the rest of the floor but needs to be seen properly
on the drawings, try to keep the default view range settings and use a Plan Region.

NOTE:
Plan Regions
• Are view specific
• May need to be
copied to other
views accordingly.
• Outlines will export
and print if they are
visible in a view.
• Cannot overlap one
another.
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#9
Do not move 3D extents of column
grids.
 Do not move 3D extents of column grids.

PROBLEM:
Moving the 3D extents of grids in plans or sections can cause those grids to not show up or move in other
views. Grids are considered datum elements in Revit, along with Levels and Reference Planes. They are
essentially planes slicing through the model.

TIPS:
When the grid is selected, it displays 3D extents with '3D' near the grid endpoint which is a hollow blue dot. If
the grid is set to 2D it will display '2D' near the grid endpoint with a smaller solid blue dot.

Use scope boxes to control extents, levels and reference planes.

SOLUTION:
If the 3D extents have been moved incorrectly, set them so they are showing in the
necessary views. Toggle to 2D extents if you want to change it for a certain view.

NOTE:
Moving the column grid bubble
while in 3D extents will update
the location of that bubble
throughout the entire project.
SOLUTION:
When moving a column grid bubble in a plan, section or elevation, switch to 2D
extents prior to moving the bubble.

NOTE:
The 2D extents controls the
visual display of the line itself
in that view only.
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#10
Do not highlight and move the entire
elevation tag in plan.
 Do not highlight and move the entire elevation
tag in plan.
PROBLEM:
Moving the entire elevation tag (circle and triangle) also moves the cut plane for the elevation, causing the view
to display incorrectly.

SOLUTION:
Just select the circle ONLY and
move it. The triangle will come
with it but your original
elevation cut plane stays intact.
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#11
Do not continue to place a family you
cannot see in view.
 Do not continue to place a family you cannot
see in view.
PROBLEM:
Multiple instances of the same family get placed in an area because a view setting was causing the family not to
display, and the user kept clicking in the hopes that it would eventually display after many attempts.

TIPS:
When you see this box, STOP CLICKING!
SOLUTION:
First, stop clicking. Second, investigate why this element is not showing in the view.

Check your active workset and confirm that Confirm that workset is visible in the view you
workset is open in your Revit file. are working in by checking Visibility/Graphics.
SOLUTION:
Then check the category of the element you are trying to place. If you were trying to place a Casework
family, check Visibility/Graphics to see if the Casework category is turned on.

90% of the time:

• Category or Workset is the cause.
10% of the time:
• Phasing settings. Check the Phase Filter of the view.
• View filters in Visibility/Graphics.
• Element is placed outside of the view range of the view (higher
than the cut plane or lower than the bottom plane). Look at a
section view of the area.
THE REVIT DIRTY DOZEN

#12
Do not just delete lines/elements from
families you do not want to see.
 Do not just delete lines/elements from families
you do not want to see.
PROBLEM:
There are times you have a specific line or element embedded in a family that you do not want to see in your
Revit view. Your first thought may be to just delete that line or element but that could potentially cause an
issue later down the line.

TIPS:
It is sometimes difficult to perceive what you will and will not see once you bring the family into the Revit File.
The Preview Visibility Tool within the family will give you the opportunity to see what you will see in the Revit
file.
SOLUTION:
You can use the Linework tool
within your Revit file that overrides
the line style for a selected line in
an active view only.
SOLUTION:
You can update the VISIBLE settings within the family, which could make the line/
element visible or not throughout the entire Revit project.
SOLUTION:
You can update the VISIBILITY/GRAPHICS OVERRIDES within the family, which can
control the visibility of the line/element depending on the detail level of the view.
SOLUTION:
With modeled elements within families, you have the additional option to control the visibility of the
element depending on the view type (plan, elevation, section).
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