Display Order of linked backgrounds

[Tom Weir]

I am having severe difficulties with getting linked dwgs to display behind my Revit work. In my case I use architectural backgrounds for my structural sheets, and they will not display in the background, but constantly cover my work. It is a terrible problem with Revit, that I am hoping they have deal with in this upcoming release. I have spent hours trying different techniques to get it to work, without luck. Some people suggest making a new level and to try making it an underlay. That does not work well, if it works at all. And then you have a whole set of new level indicators created on every drawing that needs to be hidden. I am writing hoping for some relief from this problem. Anybody else experience this? Thanks and have a great day.

Tom Weir Los Angeles

[aggockel50321]

Try Martin's method of duplicating views & overlaying them. Go to the Tips & Tricks forum & read the thread on transparent filled regions.

[Tom Weir]

Andrew,
I read the approach and see how that would work, but it is surely not the way things should work. I am very disappointed in Revit in this regard.
Placing toned backgrounds is as fundamental an item to us as drawing a line on the plan. We do over 600 jobs a year, and need a fast, clean setup for linked files. We really don't want to be "duplicating views" or to be making "filled region covers", and then have to place an overlay over the sheet. That's way too much complication.
Can't Revit make a display order function like Autocad has or is there some kind of limit in the ability of the code to do this? Have they just not gotten around to it? I believe they must address this lack of function as soon as possible.
Thanks and have a great day.

Tom Weir
CAD/LAN Manager
Brandow & Johnston Assoc.
Los Angeles

[aggockel50321]

I read your post, and re-read your original post.

I understand your position, but I think Revit's display order is correct. When you import a 2d drawing, it resides on the level where you were when imported, and unfortunately cannot have it's elevation adjusted up or down like other level based objects.

So assuming you're creating a 2nd floor framing plan, the structure would lie below the second floor. If you move the view bottom down (view range dialog), the structure will show below the 2d drawing, as you would expect. If you change the beam's elevation so that it's above the 2nd floor, it shows correctly.

So maybe the way to get around it is to use a reflected ceiling plan of the level / floor below for your plan view of that level. You can rename them, they'll display correctly, and I can't think of any other pitfalls at this point...

[tatlin]

Tom,

I think there is a solution to your issue. Revit currently allows you some flexibility when importing. If you take a look at the import dialog, notice there is an option called "Current View Only".

If this option is unchecked, the imported dwg acts like a 'model element' - it lives in the 3d model and can be seen in other views by default. If imported in plan view, it is placed on the current level initially and can also be moved up and down like other model elements.

If this option is checked, it acts like a 'detail element'. That is, it only appears in a single view and draws on top of other model elements (I think this is what you are seeing). Text in the dwg will also be visible if imported this way.

Can you please try re-importing and unchecking this option to see if this gives you the desired result?

thanks,

matt jezyk
autodesk revit

[aggockel50321]

Matt,

Are you sure you're not moving that uchecked imported drawing above & below the level it's placed on in maybe 6.0??

I can't seem to get it to move in 5.1...

[tatlin]

Try Move + Disjoin. By default the import is constrained to the level it was imported on (I think), so if you just drag or move it'll will only move horizontally.

Move + Disjoin should allow you to move in Z.

[aggockel50321]

Matt,

With "current view only" unchecked, I tried the move + dijoin on both an imported and linked .dwg instance. When I tried to move it vertically (z direction) in an elevation view, the .dwg vanishes, and no longer shows in the "Manage Links" dialog. :?

[Tom Weir]

Hi all,
I tried Matt's suggestion of importing with the "Current View Only" unchecked and it still covers up the work. And I have tried this way many times with similar results.

I also tried the "move + disjoin" method by going to an elevation view and moving the link up and down, and got the same results as Andrewg got: the linked dwg disappears and is gone from the manage links dialog box.

hhhhhhmmmmm!?!?!? Any other suggestions. That last method might have promise if we can figure out where the darn thing went.

Thanks and have a great day.

Tom Weir

[Allen Lacy]

Tom,

Have you tried setting the Display Model to "as underlay"? This greys out the imported dwg, but doesn't affect the work done over the import. Granted, you don't have any control over the grey (I don't think), but it serves as a background. HTH.

Edit: My bad. The only "elements" that will not grey out using this method are detail lines.

[Tom Weir]

AL,
Yes, I have tried that, but:

1. It still requires one to create a separate view. During the course of design process backgrounds are updated, exchanged and re-inserted on a constant basis. I have found that as the the project progesses and many views are existing, that when you add new backgrounds they are put into every single view in the project and turned on. Therefore I have go through every view, every time to turn them off. Why they would show in an elevation view is beyond me, but they do. So I am looking for a staight forward method which does not require the added view.

2. You still have to move the background up or down to get it to show underneath your work. When I have done that all of a sudden model objects from the floor above somehow show on my current plan, and no amount of display view property adjustment seems to help. So I am spending an inordinate amount of time trying to get these placed.

But you are right, it is a method that can be used, but too much complication, unless your doing a small job where you have time and little complication in the job.

Thanks for your comment and have a great day.

Tom

[aggockel50321]

Allen,

That seemed to work until I switched the view to a medium display.

Like I said previously, if you import the .dwg/.dgn with "current view only" unchecked, and assuming your floor framing is going to be below the level you're placing it on, you can get it to display correctly by using a reflected ceiling plan of the level below.

Makes sense, I guess..., look up instead of down.

[Tom Weir]

Andrewg,
But the link still covers up your work unless you have put the linked object outside of the primary display range, doesn't it? And by doing that, for me, it seems to then ghost in model objects from that level above which I can't seem to control.

Tom

[aggockel50321]

Tom,

It doesn't seem to do that for me. Attached is an example I did. Keep in mind when setting this up to get your view ranges set correctly, and note that the default setting for structural framing in an rcp is "off", so be sure to turn it on. Also be sure to set view detail levels to medium.