Lost in Space: Finding Stuff You Can’t See

Lost in Space:Finding Stuff You Can’t See Chris Needham Director, C3 Consulting Solutions

Interdependence & Responsibility Fundamental Concepts: • CAD = “one line at a time” approach • BIM = model-based (3D+) approach • Interdependence between constituent parts • Unclear extent and location of changes Understand limitations: • Human nature is to forget, despite best of intentions • Things are not always as they appear • Diligence + Consistency + Communication = Predictability and Productivity

The ‘Appearance of Invisibility’ Common Issue • Particularly for new/intermediate users • Get better at finding things, based on experience • Ability to find things will depend on the habits of those you work with • Revit development team have made some efforts • In a BIM, there are many possible reasons why something cannot be seen

Reason 1 1 The object or category is temporarily hidden • (by Hide/Isolate) Solution: • Reset Temporary Hide/Isolate • state

Reason 2 2 The object or category is hidden in the view • (via right mouse click->Hide In View) Solution: • Reveal Hidden Elements in the view. If the object is seen, RMC on the object and select ‘unhide in view’ • Items revealed include those hidden individually (‘by element’) and those hidden ‘by category’.

Reason 3 3 The object is being obscured by another element Solution: • Switch the view’s model graphics style to wireframe • Turn off major obscuring object categories, such as walls, floors, ceilings and roofs • Watch out for masking regions (with invisible borders)! • Check whether the object is visible in a sectional or 3D view of the area where it should exist • Some elements’ tags cannot be seen because of elements obscuring the view of the element itself or the default tag position

Reason 4 4 The object’s category or subcategory is hidden in the view Solution: • Check the visibility of the object’s category and all of its subcategories • TIP: Hover over an instance to determine an element’s category (in a view where it can be seen)

Reason 5 5 The object is outside the view’s view range • (plan views; above or below) Solution: • Adjust the view range to ‘unlimited’ in both directions (above and below) • Check whether the object is visible in a sectional or 3D view of the area where it should exist • Check that there aren’t any plan regions (with different view ranges to that of the view). Alternatively, perhaps a plan region is required to solve the issue.

Reason 6 6 The view’s far clip depth is not sufficient to show the object • particularly in section/elevation views Solution: • Adjust the clip offset (depth) of the view – either in plan or via View Properties • TIP: Section and Elevation views require the view to be cropped, and the crop region to be visible to allow the depth to be edited from plan view

Reason 7 7 The object resides on a workset that is not loaded within the project Solution: • Check which worksets are loaded. If you believe you’ve just placed the object, check to see if the active workset is loaded in the project

Reason 8 8 The object resides on a workset that is not visible in the view Solution: • If the project is using worksets, check which worksets are visible in the view. If you believe you’ve just placed the object, check to see if the active workset is visible in the view

Reason 9 9 The object resides on a workset that is not loaded in a linked file Solution: • Ensure that all worksets are loaded within linked files

Reason 10 10 The object resides on a workset that is not visible in a linked file Solution: • Ensure that all worksets are visible within linked files • Ensure that no worksets are invisible by default within linked files (TIP: create a new visible workset and merge to remedy)

Reason 11 11 The object resides within a group (detail/model) and it has been excluded from the group Solution: • Find, then select the group, RMC and select ‘Restore All Excluded’

Reason 12 12 The object is part of a design option that is not visible in the view Solution: • Toggle visibility of the design option within the view to inspect the contents of each. • If you can see the object in other views, check its design option assignment (element properties dialog)

Reason 13 13 The object is part of a linked file that is not visible in the view Solution: • Again, this will be unlikely if you’ve just placed the object, but it can be a valid reason why something can’t be seen. Check linked files to see if the object can be found within them

Reason 14 14 The object has one or more of its edges overridden to display as ‘<Invisible lines>’ Solution: • Linework overrides are view-specific, so is unlikely to have been applied in all views. Therefore check alternative views for the element, or create new ones • You can restore the edge of an element by re-applying the override and setting it back to ‘<By Category>’ • You should be able to see the element highlight when the cursor is near it (don’t forget the TAB key!)

Reason 15 15 The object is a family and none of its geometry (including symbolic lines) is set to be visible in the view type Solution: • Select the family in question from the project browser, and edit it to open. Check the visibility of the elements within the family to determine if this is the cause

Reason 16 16 The object is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible at the view’s detail level • (check to see if the object can be seen in another detail level) Solution: • Select the family in question from the project browser, and edit it to open. Check the visibility of the elements within the family to determine if this is the cause • TIP! Beware also the category-based detail level!

Reason 17 17 The object is set to not be visible at the category’s detail level within the view Solution: • Check the detail level for the category for the view in question

Reason 18 18 The element has been placed outside the view’s crop region (visible extents) Solution: • Applies to model (3D) and detail (2D) elements • Change the view’s properties so that a crop region is not applied

Reason 19 19 The element is an annotation object and does not reside entirely within the annotation crop region Solution: Ensure the annotation crop region is active, and enlarge its extents generously.

Reason 20 20 The object’s phase settings (‘phase created’ or ‘phase demolished’) or the view’s phase settings (‘phase’ or ‘phase filter’) prevent the object from displaying in the view Solution: • Temporarily change the Phase and/or Phase Filter value of the view to ‘none’ (doing this in a 3D view is best – if the missing element is a model element) • If the object can then be seen, check its Phase Created or Phase Demolished values

Reason 21 21 The view’s discipline is prohibiting the visibility of the object • (e.g. only structural elements will show in a structural view) Solution: • Check and/or alter the View’s Discipline property. • Architectural or Coordination will allow most categories to be visible; Structural, Mechanical & Electrical settings are discipline-biased.

Reason 22 22 The object is affected by a filter applied to the view Solution: • Go to the View’s Visibility/Overrides dialog, and check for the existence and application of a filter.

Reason 23 23 The object is subject to an element override, set to background colour Solution: • Hover the cursor over where the element should be. Select element, and remove element override

Reason 24 24 The object is subject to a category override, set to background colour Solution: • Usually more obvious, check the category’s display properties in the view

Reason 25 25 The objectstyle is set to background colour • (e.g. Toposurface) Solution: • Check the object style’s display properties

Reason 26 26 The object is constrained to a scope boxes that is not visible in the view • (e.g. grids, ref planes, view markers) Solution: • Go to a 3D view where all scope boxes are visible • Find the offending scope box, and adjust extents, or; • Set to ‘visible’ the view in question

Reason 27 27 The extents of the object itself don't permit it to be seen • wrong workplane used in families • object’s extents don’t pass through view range Solution: • Find the object in another view, and check/edit it’s physical extents (grid not high or low enough to cross a level) • Edit the family (from project browser) and check relationship of geometry to workplanes

Reason 28 28 The object is a mass, and ‘Show Mass’ is turned off Solution: • Activate‘Show Mass’

Reason 29 29 The object’s host view has been deleted • Area boundaries Solution: • Re-create the host view • Select and delete using third-party app (e.g. Ideate Explorer)

Reason 30 30 The view’s scale is prohibiting the object’s visibility • applicable to elevations, sections and detail view callouts Solution: • Change the view scale to a finer value • Find the view’s marker in another view and check element properties ‘Hide at scales coarser than’ value

Reason 31 31 The object is a linked instance with coordinates too great for the program to handle Solution: • This often occurs as soon as a linked instance is added to the project. Zooming to the view’s extents will appear to show absolutely nothing • Ensure that the extents of elements (or distance from the drawing’s origin) within the linked instance is less than 1 mile (1.6km) • Re-linking is usually necessary after this step

Reason 32 32 The user has incorrectly identified the link instance to which the element belongs • (Instance n of a particular type) Solution: • Check the display settings of the specific instance of the linked file

Reason 33 33 The object is in a link that is not in its correct position • shared coordinates may not be reconciled, or the link may not be inserted correctly Solution: • Assess position of linked file within a 3D view • Can be surprisingly hard to spot (e.g. if floor-to-floor heights are the same between all levels) • Check level names and values between the linked file and its host • May require you to define a new location within the host • May have some issues with accessing ‘Project Info’ workset within linked instance

Checklist: 33 reasons for not being able to ‘find stuff’ • The object or category is temporarily hidden • The object or category is hidden in the view • The object is being obscured by another element • The object’s category or subcategory is hidden in the view • The object is outside the view’s view range • The view’s far clip depth is not sufficient to show the object • The object resides on a workset that is not loaded within the project • The object resides on a workset that is not visible in the view • The object resides on a workset that is not loaded in a linked file • The object resides on a workset that is not visible in a linked file • The object resides within a group (detail/model) and it has been excluded from the group • The object is part of a design option that is not visible in the view • The object is part of a linked file that is not visible in the view • The object has one or more of its edges overridden to display as ‘<Invisible lines>’ • The object is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible in the view type • The object is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible at the view’s detail level • The object is set to not be visible at the category’s detail level • The element has been placed outside the view’s crop region (visible extents) • The element is an annotation object and does not reside entirely within the annotation crop region • The object’s phase settings or the view’s phase settings prevent the object from displaying in the view • The view’s discipline is prohibiting the visibility of the object • The object is affected by a filter applied to the view • The object is subject to an element override, set to background colour • The object is subject to a category override, set to background colour • The object style is set to background colour • The object is constrained to a scope boxes that is not visible in the view • The extents of the object itself don't permit it to be seen • The view's scale is prohibiting the object’s visibility • The object is a mass, and ‘Show Mass’ is turned off • The object’s host view has been deleted (area boundaries) • The object is a linked instance with coordinates too great for Revit to handle • The user has incorrectly identified the link instance to which the element belongs • The object is in a link that is not in its correct position

Summary: How to avoid getting ‘Lost in Space’ Tips for finding objects Verify existence of object first • Check Project Browser • Select All Instances • Schedule the elements • Purge the elements • Select by ID • Use API, or a third-party application (e.g. Ideate Explorer) • Create a fresh view to match the one in question to try to replicate the issue • Check other views • Use views for checking purposes • Set view to wireframe mode • Use large selection windows

Summary: How to avoid getting ‘Lost in Space’ Good Practice prevention techniques • Consider purpose of view • Modelling views • Printing views • Consider naming or sorting methods • Substitution vs. deletion of elements • Reduced impact on hosted elements • No associated warnings

Summary: How to avoid getting ‘Lost in Space’ Good Practice: • Hide Appropriately • Temporary Hide/Isolate vs. Hide In View->By Element • Hide by Category where possible • Avoid obscure methods • Some elements don’t always need to be hidden (e.g. unreferenced views) • Use View Templates • Sometimes require an ongoing refinement

Lost in Space: Finding Stuff You Can’t See