files swapping information automatically

[shenderson]

alright. i've put up with the tempermental graphics and elements shifting and moving, crazy wall joins, stock components incorrectly built, no good way to parametrically control liability issues like firewalls, plt files not working, constant indecipherable warning messages, on and on....etc.

but now i've got a residential project that has suddenly got the project information from one of our commercial projects showing up in it's project info and therefore titleblock. i've got autocad drawings that i referenced into one project showing up in all of my projects (including the default file) and the crazy thing is when i go to 'manage links' they are not there but when i go to visibility graphics they are?!?!

we are producing legal documents here, not pretty pictures. i need the information in the project to be the information i put in it and it needs to stay where i put it!

[twiceroadsfool]

Well, without seeing the file you are describing, i would have to guess that maybe someone had multiple files opened, and reloaded something (Titleblock famiily maybe?) and had the Overide Existing Parameters button checked... But its just a thought. Perhaps someone accidentally overwrote your project template?

As for the links not showing up and being present in the VG dialogue, that sounds like they were imported somewhere, and not linked.

[aaronrumple]

i've got autocad drawings that i referenced into one project showing up in all of my projects (including the default file) and the crazy thing is when i go to 'manage links' they are not there but when i go to visibility graphics they are?!?!

AutoCAD drawings in ALL of your projects? That doesn't just happen by itself. Someone has to make it happen. You say this has been added to your template as well?

If a DWG is not listed in the manage links - it has been imported into the project - or into a family.
You aren't using AutoCAD titleblocks are you? That wouldn't be efficient...

[shenderson]

i have had multiple files open and i have updated the title block for the commercial project at some point... i check to make sure that if i am overriding the parameters i check only the project i want. is revit not smart enough to know which project i'm updating.

[shenderson]

AutoCAD drawings in ALL of your projects? That doesn't just happen by itself. Someone has to make it happen. You say this has been added to your template as well?

If a DWG is not listed in the manage links - it has been imported into the project - or into a family.
You aren't using AutoCAD titleblocks are you? That wouldn't be efficient...

no we are not using acad title blocks... if they are imported and i do a 'zoom all' shouldn't i see them?

[jcoe]

This sounds like someone took an existing project and saved it as (or saved over) your template file without doing any housecleaning. Now when you start a new project, any imports and project information that was left over will be part of your new project.

I would recommend opening your template file and resetting project information, deleting any imports, imported line styles, imported line patterns......you get the idea. I just had to do this with our office template a few months ago. It sucks and it is a long process. We have instituted read/write permissions to our Revit content directory to combat this very issue.

[aaronrumple]

no we are not using acad title blocks... if they are imported and i do a 'zoom all' shouldn't i see them?

No. A dwg could be imported as a model object or as detail object. It can also be imported imbeded in a family. If it is a model object it is associated with a level or plane. If that falls outside your crop region or on a plane not in tyour current view - you won't see it with a zoom all.

If it was imported in as a detail objects - it is specific to one view. You'll then need to fine the view into which it imported.

If it is imported in a family, then it will only be visible when that family is placed.

Revit will only transfer standards or update families of those open project you check. I've never had this fail.

[shenderson]

nothing else in the default file has changed.

how do i get ahold of these imported acad files and get rid of them if they do not show up in the manage links windows and i can't see it in any view when i zoom all?

[twiceroadsfool]

They will show up if they are visible in VG, WHEN you are in the view that they are imported in. Imports do not show up in every view if "Current view only" was selected when they were imported...

Revit is plenty smart, but you have to be verrrrry careful when you reload families and tell it to Override parameters. I tell everyone here generally NOT to override parameters, unless they understand what and why theyre doing it.

[Calvn_Swing]

Well, if your template file is NOT corrupt. I'd open a new blank file and go to an uncropped model view and select everything. Then, I'd go to an elevation view and Ctrl+select any levels you want to keep, and then go to a plan view and Ctrl+select any grids you want to keep. Select Copy, and then Paste into the new project.

That should get rid of all the stuff you can't see and want to get rid of. It won't get rid of anything linked into families though - for that you'll need to edit that family directly. However, it will get rid of any view-specific links/imports, and it will get rid of any model links/imports you don't select.

In fact, before you copy you should click the filter button and de-select any links that show up in there - if any do.

To be perfectly honest, it sounds like someone went will-nilly through your project importing CAD files without ever stopping to think if he should or what the effects would be.

Revit is designed to work with CAD files in several ways, specific to the task you want to use them for. If someone isn't aware of the differences between linking and importing, what the "only this view" checkbox means, etc... then they shouldn't be doing it.

Our first project had similar problems to yours. Real headbangers. It was all due to undertrained staff using a program they were unfamiliar with. We learned our lesson and trained our staff for the next project much better, and surprise - no major issues at all. I don't blame Revit for operator error. If you don't know how to use a jackhammer, you don't. If you don't know how to use a table saw, you don't. Revit is no different than any other tool. Train people sufficiently to use it the first time around and you won't have as many problems.

Personally, I don't find using Revit's drafting capabilities to be any less cost effective than using existing CAD files. Our policy is to convert our CAD work to Revit as we need them. It simply doesn't take that much time if you know what you're doing = well trained.

Last,

"tempermental graphics and elements shifting and moving, crazy wall joins, stock components incorrectly built, no good way to parametrically control liability issues like firewalls, plt files not working, constant indecipherable warning messages, on and on"

Every one of these issues is a sign of someone not knowing the tool very well, or a "young" implementation. As much as I harp on proper training, you can't train for everything. Experience on projects with the software is needed to overcome some of these issues. That being said, I haven't had any of the above issues with my projects in a while. I do have these issues with other people's projects in the office who are newer to the program. Graphics, no problems. Crazy wall joins, once in a blue moon - and I can always fix it (in plan), I don't use stock components because they aren't designed for professional use, we have no problem with fire rated walls or other liability issues - I think our system for handling them in Revit is far superior to how we handled them in CAD, plt files don't work so we use DWF - no problems, we make less errors, so we get fewer messages - and, having worked in the software a while I know what the messages mean (for the user).

I've had days I wanted to throw my computer out the window - but the last one of those was a good 6 months ago. Hang in there and you and your firm will get past these issues. They aren't unsolvable. Invest a little more in training on the program. Try and hire someone with the experience you need. There are a lot of ways to fast-track past these problems. Also, keep in mind that this software is far more sophisticated and powerful than anything you've ever used before - and that not surprisingly the learning curve is higher and longer as a result. It is only a few years old, and doesn't have decades of input and refinement like AutoCAD has.

Good luck!