Ceilng Sketch Is Invalid

[msmith.tsap]

Have project set up with 6" wood stud walls with brick veneer. Due to code requirements need to change to metal stud wiht 2 layers gyp. bd. and sheathing each side. When attempting to edit structure - keep gettng"Ceiling Sketch Is Invalid". Hav gone through and unlocked everything, remove all ceilings, etc and still keep getting error message. Even deleted floor just in case. Any help guys?

[beegee]

Purge the file. Then in the Project Browser > Families > Ceilings, right click on any types remaining, select all instances and delete.

[msmith.tsap]

What will I lose by purging? If anything like ACAD will lose quite a few elements I will be working with and will have to reload. Time?

Thanks Beegee.

[ajayholland]

I’ll add this:

Save an alternate version of the file before purging. By using “transfer project standards” you can recover anything you want. You can also cut and paste between the old and new file.

~AJH

[papurajx]

Purge command doesn't delete everything unused without any warning. It displays a tree view of the objects marked for deleting and gives you an option to reselect them again.

[tamas]

I think I have seen this before. The reason was that ceilings created in older Revit versions (I think before 5.0) can not adjust to new zig-zag created by two collinear walls whose width has just changed.
This may not be your case, but I think this has a good chance.

To avoid ceiling failures when changing wall widths:

1. Select all your ceilings (usually in a 3D view), hit Ctrl-X to cut them. (Ideally it is enough to select ceilings that are related to walls you are changing, but it is not always easy to do.)
2. Change the wall type. (See below for more on this.)
3. Edit->Paste Aligned to put the ceilings back.

If this gives you grief, you may move all ceilings instead of cut/paste far away from all walls and move them back after the wall type change. This is more tedious than cut/paste, but it always works.

Advice for wall type change:

In the case I have seen, the user had several pairs of joined collinear walls of the same type that used different "Location Line" (a wall parameter). When a type change causes the wall's width to change, the walls will keep the position of their location line. Think of it as if your walls would grow/shrink to the new width around their loc line. The loc line mismatch can result in an unwanted jog of some of the previously coincident wall faces. (The jogs will be as small as the difference in the width, so you may need to zoom in to see it.)

I suggest to select all walls whose width you are about to change and set their location line parameter to the same value (a place you want to preserve) and only then edit their structure.

This will make sure the previously coincident side faces will stay coincident and all previous intended jogs will remain the same.

[aaronrumple]

The cut-change-paste almost always works anytime you encounter the invalid sketch error....

[adegnan]

The cut-change-paste almost always works anytime you encounter the invalid sketch error....
Yes, cut & paste works. But occasionally I run into this error while I'm sketching something else. Say a related roof sketch modificaiton or a wall profile edit. So in order to get out, cut & paste, you lose the sketch work you are in the middle of.

Which brings me to an OLD request I've had since version 1 or so: When you are sketching, there should be a way to SAVE the sketch without FINISHING the sketch, so you can exit without losing the sketch, go do something else, and then go back in to edit & finish the sketch.

I'd find this helpful.

[aaronrumple]

You can. When you get the error. Select the sketck you have draw so far. Copy it to the clip board. Quit the current sketch. Start a new sketch. Paste in the old sketch.

Youi can even use this to create one sketch based object from another. For example: You have a ceiling in a room. Now you want a finished floor surface of the same shape. Edit the ceiling and copy its linework. Start a ne floor and paste in the ceiling sketch. Done.

[msmith.tsap]

Aaron, cut-change-paste "what"??? Walls are stacked walls of stud/siding above and stud/brick below. Used location lines to get upper walls worked out but lower walls still give me invalid sketch. Deleted all ceiling types except last in each subcategory which,invariably, are the two types that I am using. Strangely enough I thought problem was moving wall closer in but am actually moving it out based on Interior face location.

Thanks guys, you are a big help to us newbies.

[aaronrumple]

1. You move a wall.
2. You get "Invaild Sketch"
3. You check the error box and see it is a ceiling that has the invaild sketch.
3. Cancel the command.
4. Cut/Copy the troublesome ceiling to the clipbaord.
5. Edit/Move the wall.
6. Paste Same Place the ceiling from the clipbaord.

[msmith.tsap]

My problem is that I can not determine what is causing the problem. Have removed all of the ceilings. The plan is fairly well along so do not necessarioy want to start taking so much elements out. What other elements, besides ceiling, could be giving me this error. Could slab do it. That is still in place. To best of knowledge all lock are off. Do fence around all to highlight and no "pins" show up. Revit is super but feellike I am fighting the program to make the building work when should be the other way around.

[aaronrumple]

Expaned the error dialog. It should list all items causing a problem.

[msmith.tsap]

That's it Aaron!!! Did not realize you could expand error codes to identify specific cause of errors. Had a ceiling on the "site" workset which was giving me the problem. Okay, on to getting back on schedule. Had messed with this issue all yesterday with no resolve til now. Thanks again.