Design options Rock!

[hand471037]

Sorry. Just having a moment here.



Damn! Design options rock!

[sbrown]

Agreed, especially when you need to schedule info in the design option. We have about 5 diff. locker rooms, boys,girls, mens first floor and mens second floor and womens second floor. With design options you can truely weight different layouts and know which is most efficient and then where you can add architectural features and lose some lockers...

[noah]

Ok so how do you schedule with Design options. The help file says go to the view properties of the schedule and then click edit and the choose the design option you want to show in the schedule. But the deisgn option field is grayed out nd reads Main Model.

Why is it grayed out? Please help

Thanks!

[noah]

Never mind I found it. it's not under the edit button in view properties as the help file suggests. It's simply under the visibility button in view properties.

[hand471037]

Never mind I found it. it's not under the edit button in view properties as the help file suggests. It's simply under the visibility button in view properties.

Yeah, it helps (me at least) to think of Schedules as 'just another view' instead of something different. It's in the same place it's in for any other view, after all. Not defending the help file being wrong, but just pointing out a concept that's helped me over the years get my head around schedules.

[LRaiz]

Yeah, it helps (me at least) to think of Schedules as 'just another view' instead of something different. It's in the same place it's in for any other view, after all. Not defending the help file being wrong, but just pointing out a concept that's helped me over the years get my head around schedules.
Jeffrey is absolutely correct to think of schedules as just another kind of view. This corresponds to both Revit design intent and underlying software architecture.

[Rols]

We've been experimenting with design options and groups and we've been running into some pretty strange stuff.
I know Revit probably wasn't designed to do that. We are doing a condo building, so we have our unit plans set up as groups and copied throughout the building. We have a designer who likes to fiddle with unit plans, so we're trying to use design options. We're trying to get the primary option to propogate to the other groups with no luck.
Does anyone have any advice? We may just be insane for trying such sillyness, and if so, you can go ahead slap my wrist.

[J. Grouchy]

I'm one of those people that doesn't know anything about Design Options or even when/where to use them or how to start using them.

[BWG]

I have tried them and see a lot of potential for them. I had an existing house where we were enlarging a room. I showed the exterior wall with just a dashed line in that location, but it might work with the actual wall in place. I then used design options to show two different options for that room and it worked great. I think it can work for an entire model, but you better get really used to it and really, really plan it out because I don't know how easy it is to move things between sets, options etc or if it is even possible to do that yet. The help file doesn't seem to think it can do more than maybe alternate roof designs or alternate floor patterns, but I think it is much more powerful than they are letting it on to be. Maybe the developers are unsure of the power within and are awaiting questions like these from us to refine the functionality.

[hand471037]

It's not hard at all to move things between Design Options.

You can simply Cut, Copy, and Paste Elements between Options.

So, you go into one option, select something, Cut or Copy it, then go into another Option, and Edit -> Paste Aligned -> Current View. It will be properly added to the currently active Option. This works between Option Sets too.

You can also Duplicate and Delete Options, so if you want to make a '2a' and a '2b' from Option 2, you can do that pretty easily.

So, you go into the Design Options control panel, select an Option, and simply hit duplicate on the right, rename them both, and then edit them.

You can also add something to all/some Options at will by using the 'Copy to Option' tool on the Design Options toolbar (the one with the '+' sign on it). Simply pick something, hit that '+', check what Options you want it copied into, and you're done.

The only real complexity I've had with Design Options (other than managing them) is with Finishes and with where the Option touches the rest of the model. Finishes sometimes require you to have two different sets of the exact same walls/floors/ect, that only differ in Finish, which becomes a real pain when you're still editing things for now you've got to do it twice (move a wall, have to do it in both Options). And with where an Option touches the rest of the model, sometimes you'll have to kind 'slice' off part off the Building back to a point that's not changing as part of the option, and include it in all the Options, so that you'll get a nice cleanup with the rest of the model in all Options...

Rols, you might want to link in your Unit Plans instead, and have the design options just within the Unit Plan file, and not the main model.

One way to look at this is that every new thing you introduce into your Project is going to add to the complexity of managing it. You want to be careful, esp. with large projects, and keep it as simple as possible. For example, you probably already are using Worksets to manage the Project. When you mix in Groups or Phasing or Design Options into that, it starts to get complex. Mix more than two, it quickly can get out of hand. While it won't 'kill' the Project, you'll start to loose efficiency due to the overhead of using all the 'fancy bits' at the same time. So plan carefully, and just use what you need, and you'll find that you'll minimize many complex issues...

[Rols]

Thanks Jeff.
I've used design options for exterior elements with great results. I just don't think they're quite cut out for unit plans yet.
Another interesting thing we learned this afternoon: when you accept the primary option, Revit not only deletes the other options, it also deletes any views that are set to those options. I had a user set the second level plan to option 2 and then accept option 1. Suddenly, the seceld level plan was missing!
Design options do indeed rock, but "With great power comes great responsibility". They should be treated with the same care as worksets!
T
he notion of linking files for unit plans intrigues me. Have you done this? Do doors and rooms schedule OK?

[hand471037]

Another interesting thing we learned this afternoon: when you accept the primary option, Revit not only deletes the other options, it also deletes any views that are set to those options. I had a user set the second level plan to option 2 and then accept option 1. Suddenly, the seceld level plan was missing!
Design options do indeed rock, but "With great power comes great responsibility". They should be treated with the same care as worksets!

Actually, you can turn that behavior off. When you accept I think there is an option to remove views or to not remove views. It's not automatic, unless they changed it in 8.1...

The notion of linking files for unit plans intrigues me. Have you done this? Do doors and rooms schedule OK?

well, therein lies the rub. We did this at a place I used to work at in Revit 7. It worked very well, except that we (obviously) couldn't schedule things within the Units. So what we did is just had the 'guts' or interior of the Unit in the link, and the door to the hall and major separation walls in the main model. This worked ok, for we didn't commonly schedule anything within the Units anyways (multi-unit housing).

We tried Groups and Links, actually, while I worked there. Groups had Issues and caused problems, but were easier when it came to the CD's (for it's all in one file, and taggable). Links had less issues and problems, but didn't clean up with the rest of the model well and were harder for CD's. Neither was really that great, to be honest, so I was happy to finally hear that we can schedule across links in the new 8.1 (even tho I don't work there anymore).

However, now, with 8.1 you could possible also schedule stuff within the Unit. I don't work at that place anymore, but I did tell them about this and I think they are soon to put it to use if they haven't already. I should know pretty soon how it turned out, and will let you know when I do.

[Rols]

Thanks for the insight, Jeff!
I'm soooooo looking forward to the multi-unit class (BD14-2) at AU!!

[dhamlin]

I seem to be also having a problem in an area where there are design options within our model. I'm trying to update the graphics of a door family which occurs both in the active option as well as the inactive options. I'm receiving an error which states "No element in a secondary Option can be referenced by an element outside that Option" Does this make sense to anyone? When I say to show, it's highlighting the interior elevation symbol within the room. Any thoughts on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated.

[Rols]

I seem to be also having a problem in an area where there are design options within our model. I'm trying to update the graphics of a door family which occurs both in the active option as well as the inactive options. I'm receiving an error which states "No element in a secondary Option can be referenced by an element outside that Option" Does this make sense to anyone? When I say to show, it's highlighting the interior elevation symbol within the room. Any thoughts on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated.


Boy, it could be several things.
Well, let's run with the elevation symbol...
Is the symbol inside one of the options?
Or - In that elevation view, do you have the visibility set to a non-primary option, and if so, are there any annotations attached to that door?

Design Options do indeed rock, but they can be tempermental. I've found that simplicity is the key.

[aggockel50321]

Try closing the active design option, & then reload the door.

That might solve your problem.

[dhamlin]

I've tried loading the door with both the design option active and closed, both seem to provide the same error. The elevation symbols are in the main model and are set to have the elevations show up with whichever option is active. Currently there are no annotations on the elevations as we've just finished putting them all on sheets. I guess one option is to delete them and re-create them, I was just hoping there was an easier way. Thanks.