Importing details

[harkeychad]

I have imported a few details from autocad and have placed them on my sheet. The problem is that when I try and print the page for a pdf, revit locks up. I have tried to make the details as simple as possible thru threads on here. I then figured out which ones that had a problem, but then I tried to put the ones (I thought had a problem) on another sheet and it printed fine. What do you think the problem is that I could not have the six details on one page but could put the 3 that I thought was made wrong on another? Hope this makes since. Thanks for the help

[Rols]

I'm in the process of "importing" our Acad detail library into Revit. I use the quotes because I'm not actually importing the dwg's directly. Since Revit creates a new fill pattern for every acad hatch pattern and a new text style for every piece of acad text, your Revit project can quickly become overcome with strange fill patterns, line styles and text styles.
What I'm doing instead is "Linking" the acad drawing into a drafting view. I then trace the detail using detail components, filled regions and detail lines. When tracing the lines, you can actually choose the arrow from the option bar and then just pick the acad lines and Revit places a line there. When I'm done, I go to "Manage Links" and remove the linked acad dwg.
It sounds like a tedious process, but it actually goes pretty quickly once you get familiar with the Revit detail comands.

[kpaxton]

Harkeychad,
There have been a number of references to dwg files being corrupted due to old xref definitions and other strange things too. I have to ask the question regarding your details; when you say "imported" do you mean -

Have you kept them as Autocad details and linked them in? OR
Have you made new Detail Component Families from the original Autocad files?
There is a BIG difference I'm finding and am a big fan of # 2. Bring in, convert, import into project. This a great way to build your .rfa library. Just be careful of lines over lines over lines... etc. but this will depend on where the drawing comes from.

Good luck & Hope this helps.
Kyle

[DaveP]

Sounds like Details are the latest "IN" thing. That's what we're up to, as well.

The best hint I've found for Importing AutoCAD (besides Rols', of course) is to clean up the drawing in AutoCAD before you link it in Revit. Most of the problems I've seen are with ****** AutoCAD drawings, not the Revit conversion.

-Detach or Bind XRefs
-Purge
-Audit
-Purge again
-Erase anything you don't want (works better than Freezing)
-Purge again

In Revit Import only Visible Layers.

[harkeychad]

I have just used the autocad details and linked them. I would like to use your #2 way but I still have not figured out how to make these into a revit detail that I can use over and over. I am learning this program on my own in the office and find it hard to find time to experiment and keep the boss happy. I hope I can talk him into letting me do it that way, since it will help out in the long run.

[harkeychad]

I have done all the detaching,purging and even made just three layers in autocad called light,medium and heavy. I just do not understand why I can not get them to print on one sheet, but then I take them off that one and put them on anohter and it works.

[Rols]

I had a similar thing happen to me with an enlarged plan. Revit would lock up when I tried to plot the sheet, but I could plot the enlarged plan seperately just fine. I ended up re-creating the enlarged plan view and then it worked fine. It was very frustrating because all I could blame it on was the "Voodoo" of Revit.

As for using Revit details over and over again, I'm creating a detail library project which users can open and copy/paste standard details into their projects. It's in the early stages, but tests so far have gone well.

[harkeychad]

Thanks for the info. I will look into about setting up the sheet again. I ended up just moving some details to a different page.

[sbrown]

as for making them detail components. What they are saying is to Click, file>new>family>select the detail component template, then import your dwg detail into it, then load that into a drafting view in your project.

[kpaxton]

I have done all the detaching,purging and even made just three layers in autocad called light,medium and heavy. I just do not understand why I can not get them to print on one sheet, but then I take them off that one and put them on anohter and it works. Here's a quick TUT-

From the HELP file -
"Detail Components are components added to detail views, and they are visible only in those views. They scale with the model, rather than the sheet.

The following procedure is a general procedure for creating a detail component. Your steps may differ based on design intent.



In the Family Editor, sketch reference planes for placing the detail component.
Use the tools on the Design Bar to create the shape of the detail component. A detail component is displayed in a symbolic form and is not shown in 3D. Click Lines to sketch the symbol.
For lines and filled regions, click Visibility and select which views the object will be visible in.
Save the Detail Component
I had to do this recently to import a specific elevator (in plan) into a home I'm designing. Here are the steps I took:

Either have ready or download a DWG file with your information or detail. Make sure that you've cleaned it up and it's to real-world scale.
In Revit go to File > New > Family
Choose Detail Component.rft as your template.
File > Import/Link - Choose your DWG file with the following settings:

Import (not link)
Black and white lines
Auto detect scale
Auto place

Your DWG file will be imported.


Select the DWG items so it highlights (should act like a block)
Pick Full Explode from the task bar
Note - each hatch pattern will be made into an associated Filled Region, so you might want to delete these & creat your own filled region for hatches after import.

Highlight all the lines/objects
In the pull-down, select Light Lines - this will change everything to a Revit line.
Now you can go through and select lines, etc. and make them heavy or medium or invisible lines or whatever you'd like.
You can add other detail components as you'd like or need (2x4's, CMU's window sills, etc.)
SAVE your file and place in your library.
With the component still loaded - Select the Load Into Project.
Go to your view you would like to place the Detail Component - this could be a plan view (for my elevator example), or a Drafting View to show a window sill condition.
Go to the Drafting Tab > Select Detail Component > Choose one from the Pull-down > Place in your view.
Remember these are View dependent - they will not show up elsewhere in your model, unless you place them there.
Since you've save the .rfa file in step 10, this detail is now available to be imported into any Revit project file, or imported into any other Detail Component file.

Keep doing this and you can have a library in no time. You can use this basic procedure to create 'new' details too, just skip the importing step. If you desire, I guess you could link the DWG file, draw over it, and unlink the file to achieve the same result - I think it's a matter of preference.

Good Detailing !
Kyle

[aaronrumple]

The best hint I've found for Importing AutoCAD (besides Rols', of course) is to clean up the drawing in AutoCAD before you link it in Revit.
Run the overkill command (bonus tool). This will get rid of all the short and duplicate lines that Revit will complain about.

[msmith.tsap]

Kyle, followed your mini-tutorial for importing details but when I load the family into a drafting view the text disappears. Can edit family and text is there but when I reload it still stays gone. What's up?

MarcTSAP

[Kaotik]

yeah thats what happened with me as well. What did I miss? Everything worked smoothly until the last part and when I reload the revised detail component the text is gone. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Brian Andresen
Andresen Architecture Inc.

[kpaxton]

Sorry about not getting back sooner... swamped around here!

I'll try and look into this further, but the first thought that comes to mind is - Have you converted your text notes to one consolidated Revit Text item? (Meaning - NOT imported text that has been 'converted' into a Revit Text.) I know this shouldn't have any relevance, but it's a thought. In your new Detail, create a new Revit Text with your appropriate text definitions (font, bold, size, transparency, etc.). Select all your imported text... select the new Revit Text Style to be their definitions. Remember to purge your new Revit detail of old information before loading it into your project, or it'll tag along.

Also - which Revit version are you guys on?

Thanks,
Kyle

[rsharp]

I have heard some talk about new a detail management set-up when 9.0 comes out. Any one know anything about that?

I've always used the "Detail Project" approach. Cut and paste from detail project to the new project.... kind of a pain.

Before I start setting up all my Revit details as detail components, does anyone know how this would work with the new set-up that I've heard is coming?

[phyllisr]

-Detach or Bind XRefs
-Purge
-Audit
-Purge again
-Erase anything you don't want (works better than Freezing)
-Purge again
In Revit Import only Visible Layers.

Excellent advice. As an added suggestion, I have also had good luck using an old technique with ERASE, ALL then remove a window around the stuff you know you want to keep. You would be amazed at the junk you can then purge. For ADT users who get residual layers and junk from styles, I have used copy-paste (Copy with Base Point ONLY or you will have accuracy errors) into a new drawing from a pristine ACAD template. Eliminates even more junk. Finally, when using the import or link, I select specific layers - just in case.

Generally, my goal is to discourage too much dependence on AutoCAD but realistically there will be exceptions.

PBR

[Scott D Davis]

If you are using a special SHX font in AutoCAD, (other than the standards like romans.shx) then you need to use the shxfontmap.txt file, located in the Data folder in the Revit area of Program Files, to tell Revit what kind of TTF to use in place of the SHX font. When you explode your DWG, Revit doesn't currently know how to convert your acad font to a TTF in Revit.

[msmith.tsap]

In backwards order of posts:

1. Scott, I am using romans.shx, typically for my standard Autocad text.
2. I found the text conversion file, how do I revise it. Example maybe?
2. Kyle, after I explode Autocad file imported into Revit family I change text to Revit TTF font (generally Arial) prior to saving file and loading into project. Only after I load into project does the text disappear.
3. Revit 8.1

MarcTsap

[Scott D Davis]

Add the line "romans.txt <tab> Arial" to the end of the list, and save it. Substitute any TTF for Arial in this example. (<tab> means hit the tab key...)

[Scott D Davis]

ahhhh...as I read more carefully, your text disappears when you load the "Family" into a file. Text in families do not show up when loaded, so that you can have text notes in your family such as "exterior" and "interior" for a window family, but the text wont show when you load the window into a project. The text for your details needs to be placed in the drafting view where the "detail component" you created is placed.

Hopefully to simplify: The "detail family" you create contains the detailing elements. Lines, fills, etc. The detail family goes into a drafting view. then in the drafting view, you place text, dims, etc.

So how do you apply this "complete" detail to other projects? Start a file called a "Detail Project" which will be simply a collection of drafting views, containing various details. When you need it in another project, open the Detail Project, go to the drafting view you need, and hightlight everything in it, which will be the text, dims, and detail family. Then copy-n-paste into a new drafting view in your new project.

As you create new details in a project, you can open your Detail Project, and cut-n-paste details into drafting views there to add to your collection.

[msmith.tsap]

Okay Scott with this new revelation about importing details I need to step back a take another look at how I wnat to set up my details. In another thread "details details 2" it was recommended to import (or even link) the Autocad details into each project's drafting view, do not explode. Then you are not having to redraw all of the standard details that we have built in Autocad for some time. Why spend the time redoing each standard detail to put in text and dimensions? New details, no problem (or is it?) to do new drafting views with Revit but does not make sense otherwise. I almost have to agree with the other thread how Revit seems to be missing the boat with this method of importing. Am I missing something? Why not import text and dimensions from the Autocad details? Totally confused as which way to go. Want to do the best for long-term use but have to pay attention to short-term efforts also. Help me (or a lot of us maybe) out please!

MarcTSAP

[Scott D Davis]

if you make a drafting view, and import your dwg and explode...everything will be fine. You are adding another step, which is to turn the DWG detail into a detail family. Making a detail into a detail family is good when you want to repeat the same geometry over again in another project.

Otherwise, making your details in drafting views in a special 'detail project' is the way to go. then you can cut and paste into drafting views in new projects to re-use details.

[msmith.tsap]

Okay Scott. That's the way we will go. Makes sense to me. I appreciate your help. Starting detailing on several projects and I wanted to get started the best way. Thanks again.

MarcTSAP