Can't get a wall to lock to a reference plane

[cjcarch]

Hi,
As a somewhat new user, I'm finding myself in the same frustrating situation time after time. I hit a problem, can't figure out what the heck is going on, and spend tons of time trying to get an answer. I'm somewhat reluctant to ask here because I figure the answer is obvious, but so far (on this problem) I'm still struggling in the quicksand over a minor issue.

I'm working through a Revit Cadclips tutorial about reference planes and the instructor is showing how to draw walls that are attached to the various reference planes and shows how to lock the walls to the reference plane.

For some reason, I can't get my walls to lock to the reference plane. I've replayed the video 5 times to watch the procedure but when I finish drawing a wall, the lock icon does not show. I've zoomed ZF to see if it's outside my current screen view but it's not seen.

As a test, I've drawn a wall attached to the reference plane (still can't see the lock icon), moved the wall away from the reference plane, and then aligned the wall to the reference plane and the lock icon shows up.

As an additional test, I've opened a new session and the lock icon shows when it's supposed to appear.

I'm tempted to jump into the new drawing and complete the tutorial in that file, however I want to know why the lock icon doesn't show up in my original drawing. It would be much quicker to start over but I want to know if I've inadvertently toggled a setting somehow or made some mistake that doesn't allow me to see the lock icon. In the current problem file, it would be a no brainer to start over but I'm concerned that if I was in a file in which I had invested a lot more time, starting over might not be an option.

I know this is probably a simple fix but it's driving me nuts. I've done searches in the archives but can't seem to find one that has this problem.
Thanks,
Carl

[Rick Houle]

I would have to see the Cad Clip video to understand exactly what you are trying to do...

There are a few TYPES of different constraints/locks in Revit... The dimension constraint (lock that appears w/ dimensions), the Alignment lock, and also Pinning...

If for some reason you cannot see the "lock" that will join the wall to the RP, then do what you already did... move the wall away a bit, then ALIGN the wall to the RP... then LOCK...

I am not sure what the Cad Clip is showing you, but an Alignment lock will work fine for you there... no need to start over.

[cjcarch]

Rick,
Thanks for your quick reply and assistance.

In playing around with this wall locking to the reference plane, I notice the following problem:
1) Draw a reference plane
2) Select wall command with location set to centerline of wall or center of core.
3) Draw wall and when clicking to set end of wall, the lock option shows up.
4) The problem arises when I draw the wall with the wall location set to be core face or finish face of exterior or interior.
5) I opened up a new file and it still happens to me in this way.

Just to make sure I wasn't having a brain freeze (it's always a possibility..), I did the sequence over with the same results.

When drawing a wall to lock with a reference plane, does the wall location setting always need to be wall centerline or core centerline? I can draw it that way and then use the align tool to align to face of core, etc, but that seems like extra steps.

What am I overlooking?
Thanks,
Carl

[iankids]

Hi Carl,

Locking the walls to a reference plane as you are modelling is sometimes a bit fiddly and in my view, always inconvenient. Generally, I will use the align tool to align the wall to the reference plane and lock it then. The align tool will work even if the wall is already aligned with the ref plane.

As Rick has mentioned, the are a number of ways to constrain the model.

The vast majority of my work is on residential extensions, as such when I model the existing conditions, I set up grid lines (or ref planes) dimension the grids to confirm it matches the measure up & lock the dimensions. Then I model the walls, align and lock them to the grids. This way, I KNOW that I cannot accidentally nudge an existing wall out of it's correct location (Yes it was a bitter experience!! :-) )

Cheers,

Ian

[SCShell]

Hey there,
One additional thought on this subject. You should try to limit the number of "locks" or constraints within a project. They tend to weigh the model down and cause problems in the future.
I prefer to "pin" objects if I don't want them moving (ie: existing walls and other existing items which I know can never move). And, I lock walls and other objects to reference planes in the family editor and when holding an "equal" distance between or from other objects.

Good Luck and keep learning!
Steve

[tomnewsom]

Locking walls to reference plains (in fact, locking walls to almost anything) always ends up in tears months down the line as you tear you hair out trying to find out why your window keeps moving around. I use ref planes for lining stuff up over multiple floors, or for important axes etc, but I very rarely lock anything to them.

[iankids]

Hey there,
One additional thought on this subject. You should try to limit the number of "locks" or constraints within a project. They tend to weigh the model down and cause problems in the future.
I prefer to "pin" objects if I don't want them moving (ie: existing walls and other existing items which I know can never move). And, I lock walls and other objects to reference planes in the family editor and when holding an "equal" distance between or from other objects.

Good Luck and keep learning!
Steve

Steve

Thanks for the tip on the use of pins - hadn't used that tool very much at all. I hadn't experienced any problems thus far using the locked dimensions, but this way is a lot quicker.

Cheers


Ian

[SCShell]

Hey there.....way down there,
Glad to help.
Steve