Detail views to Drafting views

[wadeshuey]

Does any one beside my self think it would be a good idea to be able to change the detail view over to drafting views so you can carry your good details from job to job???? I think is a huge point of frustration. you can transfer to AutoCAD format lines why not Revit fomat lines.....

[cmolina]

The freeze detail extension allows you to "freeze" a detail which converts it to a drafting view. However, this basically just exports it to autocad and reimports it into a drafting view using the autocad formatted lines as you stated. I guess if you mapped your autocad line styles and layers right you might be able to get it to match your revit line styles. I see the benefit of freezing details, especially for a detail that you would want to use as a typical detail. But, I think becoming too dependent on this method goes against what Revit is all about.

[wadeshuey]

Where can I find the freeze detail extension???

[cmolina]

If you have an Autodesk Subscription account you should be able to download it from www.extensions4revit.com

[david_peterson]

Your other option is to create a jpeg of that detail view. Now you have a drafting view that you can carry from job to job. Also works great of using all the 1000's of old CAD details you have from past jobs. Much better quality than import a cad file and spending the time to make it look correct again.

[wadeshuey]

That Freeze Detail is for Revit Structures will it work for Revit Architecture?

to: david_peterson thank you for the idea that might be what the doctor order for the very typical details.

[david_peterson]

It may or may not. The revit extension were developed specifically for RS to make our life easier. Some of those will, some won't. There's a ton of extensions out there, most I think dealt with the links between RS, Robobot and the ASD extension. I would like to think that the freeze extension should work. I'd test it on a mock project using an old workstation if you have one. Not sure how stable it will be after you install them. Sometimes things go great, sometimes they don't.
You're other option (depending on how many of your detail you do are model based vs somewhat typical) would be o create the "Generic" Detail in a template as a drafting view using detail components. Then when you create your model based views (again depending on your process. The way we've been doing it, we use the model to start with, the hide to, so not much is really model based. Then, if you wanted you could copy and paste all the detail components into a new drafting view.) you can grab the detail component and quickly drop it over the model and away you go. We've done that with all our typical detail and now they reside in the template so there always there.
I would still suggest (until spend the many, many hours to create all your old typical cad details as drafting views, just make your slight tweaks that you need to make and create a jpeg and drop it in. Detail views were meant to be model based, hence you can't really export / transfer them to a drafting view, nor should you be able. it. Detail views were cut in one specific spot for a reason. If it happens in more than one area, can't you place a section that relates back to that view? I may be off my rocker as my structural details are still done in Cad and I just use dumb section marks. I use the model for plans and elevations. Kind of a hybrid since I get fast tracked and don't want to spend the time to update details every time I need to move a section cut or modify a beam size. Plus with structural, most of my work is done on plans, with suggested details for shops and very few specific details (other than braced frames) So for me, it was just easier to stick with what I know and know it doesn't need to change. There's only so many ways to connect a piece of steel to a column or place rebar in a beam. Plus if you look back at buildings that were done in the 60's you were lucky if you had typical details and not just note that said, "Place all rebar per CRSI & ACI code) Skilled labor in those days were truly skilled. You just needed to tell the foremen how much and what size of rebar needed to be there. Just some more thoughts.

[wadeshuey]

I fully understand why we cut details in a certain places and I am not taking away from that. heck that is half of the reason behind working with Revit I am anti auto cad. I just want to work in Revit fully. This comes down to time, I want to accurate and functional in a timely manner and if it have a detail in a done that match closely in one project I want to be able to take that detail over to that new job and edit it and place it on a file where can get it later not redraw 50 times just because its slightly different. I would like it both ways and the freedom to choose. Detail in Revit, I think should be more veritable and flexible from project to project.

[twiceroadsfool]

Me personally, would just detail group the detailing ELEMENTS that are over the modeled elements. Then save the detail group out, and copy it in to the new model. If the condition REALLY IS THE SAME, then you should have the same modeled pieces underneath it. If thats not the case, IMHO you shouldnt be using the same detail. In 5 years of chugging out work in Revit, ive never found a need for this tool that i could use Detail Groups for, without sacrificing the Model and its integrity at all.

FYI on the Freeze Drawing tool. It works in RAC. Be advised: What it is doing is exporting to AutoCAD and Importing the AutoCAD in to a drafting view... And all that that implies. It also litters the model with a bunch of erroneous parameters. I dont know of any ill effects they have on the project, but be aware just the same. They show up as available parameters in schedules which is annoying.

[Scott Womack]

I just want to work in Revit fully. This comes down to time, I want to accurate and functional in a timely manner and if it have a detail in a done that match closely in one project I want to be able to take that detail over to that new job and edit it and place it on a file where can get it later not redraw 50 times just because its slightly different. I would like it both ways and the freedom to choose. Detail in Revit, I think should be more veritable and flexible from project to project.

You can import 2D components directly from a view in another project. You can't just make everything in a Revit Detail (which after all is in effect a live section of your entire model) portable to another project. Autodesk did provide for this in either copy/pasting the 2D components either into a drafting view which is portable, or via the insert 2D components from view, or from the Detail Group Arron Spoke of. Any of the 3 will work.

Look at this Blog posting. It would give you some idea what would come across. Obviously the Text would come along with the 2D components.

http://revitoped.blogspot.com/2009/08/is-is-cad-or-revit.html

(By the way, this is a detail I drew)

[cmolina]

I mentioned the freeze detail extension as a tool, but I personally do not like to rely on that method. As stated above it does litter the file with many lines styles and fill region patterns that come over from AutoCAD. I'm not sure I would use jpeg images for your typical details either. Yes, this would allow you to quickly import a typical detail from another project, however, I have experienced that too many imported image files can make a file too large or unstable in a large project.
Eventually you will need to transfer all of your typical details into revit. This will take some time and effort, but it will make adding typical details much easier in your future projects. Thr process our firm took was to convert all of our typical details from Microstation into Revit. We did this by importing individual .dgn files into new drafting views and converting the line styles and text styles to our new Revit standards. Then we saved these new drafting views in a several revit files grouped by our typical detail numbering system. Now when we start a new project we just pull in the typical details we need using insert from file by view. When you select a drafting view from another file to insert Revit will create that drafting view in your current project with the same name.