How do I create architectural "keynotes" with leaders?

[kleenexcmw]

I'm fairly new to Revit but I've had just enough playtime/training so that I'm a bit dangerous. We have recently landed a project that we feel is a good candidate to be done in Revit, and it will be the first one for our office. Our AutoCAD office standard for notes on site/plan/RCP sheets is to note each element with a leader connected to a hexagon with a number inside it which then keys to a list on a side of the sheet. I have attached an example of what I want to do that I pulled right out of Revit's Help index, under the heading "Adding a Note Block to a Sheet". Try as I might I can't produce anything that resembles the image in the Revit help file. I can create the annotation family that will insert a hexagon with a number inside it but I can't get it to add a leader like the built in "keynote" tool automatically does.

The built in Revit convention for what they call "keynotes" doesn't fit with our office standard and the more I can make the final product from Revit look like our AutoCAD sheets the more receptive the principals will be to adopt it. I've scoured these forums about this topic but I still haven't been able to quite work out what I'm doing wrong. If anyone can give me a quick step-by-step on creating a new annotation type that automatically creates a leader attached to an element in the model I'd appreciate it.

Thanks!

[Rick Houle]

If you are talking Revit "Keynotes" then you can create your own Keynote TXT file to read however you need it to read... You can have different Keynote TXT files for different projects if necessary... this method works great when trying to control information across a large project... (only one source of keynote text to control)...

If you are talking about Revit "Tags", you should be able to automatically add Leaders to those as you place them... I am not sure what you are looking for that is not already available...

[jeffh]

Try as I might I can't produce anything that resembles the image in the Revit help file. I can create the annotation family that will insert a hexagon with a number inside it but I can't get it to add a leader like the built in "keynote" tool automatically does.

The leader has to be added once the hexagon tag is placed. Attached is the family that was used to create the image form the help file. Place it and use the ad leader button from the options bar or the ribbon (2010). Open the element properties of the tag to change the values for number/letter in the hexagon and the corresponding note you want to associate to it. once a few are place you should be able to get a note block as shown in the help file.

[kleenexcmw]

Thanks for your responses, I was hoping there was a way to have the automatic leaders associated with the hex annotation tags but if I have to add the leaders separately it's no worse than how we've had to do it in AutoCAD for years. I'll play around with the .TXT file setup, that sounds promising.

[Scott D Davis]

Thanks for your responses, I was hoping there was a way to have the automatic leaders associated with the hex annotation tags but if I have to add the leaders separately it's no worse than how we've had to do it in AutoCAD for years. I'll play around with the .TXT file setup, that sounds promising.

no no, lol! Don't add the leaders manually...click the Add Leader button in the options bar (2009) or in the Ribbon (2010). The leaders will be automatically associated with the hex tag!

[BSmith.216610]

Can I have multiple keynote .txt files for a project? I'd like to use the keynote feature for materials that reference the spec section and use numbers to reference sheet notes on the same sheet.

[Scott Womack]

Can I have multiple keynote .txt files for a project? I'd like to use the keynote feature for materials that reference the spec section and use numbers to reference sheet notes on the same sheet.

No, there is only one Keynotes file per project.

[nancy.mcclure]

While you can only have one keynotes txt file attached per project, you can leverage the various sections of that txt (element, material, user) and the column layout (number, text field) together with the tag types (see attached) to display your choice of information.

I'd love to see mutiple .txt files possible, too, as it would make for very convenient General Notes, Site Notes, etc., but at the moment, leveraging the segmented portions of the single txt is workable.

Hope this helps...

[ntnik]

No, there is only one Keynotes file per project.

so, with only one allowed a may be about to make a mistake....i have a keynotes that corresponds to spec numbers...once i finish figuring out how to make one, i was going to add a "note block".....i want to label a roof plan as simply as possible....i want a legend that will have "1-size of penetration, 2-remove gutter, 3-replace expansion joint, etc"....if i introduce these into my project on top of my keynotes that are already there am i going to screw up?

[Scott Womack]

A Note Block is reading information (parameters) from a specific family of generic annotation, and is in effect a schedule of that annotation and its instances/types. The information in these generic annotations, is stored in the annotations, not in the keynotes.

[ntnik]

thanks for the clarification....i have used them before (not in a while though) ....i still feel like i'm not doing something right....but its working like i need it to....instead of inserting rows into my note block schedule....i copy the generic keynote symbol and change the properties, changing the number and the text, then it shows up in the schedule

[Scott Womack]

thanks for the clarification....i have used them before (not in a while though) ....i still feel like i'm not doing something right....but its working like i need it to....instead of inserting rows into my note block schedule....i copy the generic keynote symbol and change the properties, changing the number and the text, then it shows up in the schedule

You are doing it right! Good Luck!

[mthurnauer]

I second the idea about adding the ability to have more than one keynote text file. we were just talking about this in the office yesterday. The reason that I see this would be so valuable is that revit has embedded keynotes in all of the library content out of the box. The keynotes all correspond to the keynote file that also ships with the library. This has been very valuable. When we start a new project, we copy the keynote file from out of the box to the project directory and then begin to add project specific notes. When I create new components, I try and be diligent with adding keynotes to the objects and then addding the keynote to the master keynote file. Of course, since I have copied the keynote file over to the project, I now have to add the keynote to both files. It would be great if you could load multiple keynote files and then when you go to add a keynote, the multiple files are listed in the tree.

[cliff collins]

Anyone checked into this?

http://www.wrightengineers.com/BIM/

cheers.......