Filtering Door Schedule by Level

[s.messing]

We have a project with several linked Revit files. The main model has a huge door schedule. We have been filtering it by level with 3 duplicated schedules. As soon as we check the box to include linked files, we lose the ability to filter by level. Curious to hear if this is a wishlist item, a bug, or a simple fact of reality...

There are 20 doors in a linked Revit file and over 1000 in the main model. We are choosing to filter by level in the main model because it seems to be the best and only reliable "catch all". The best workaround we have so far is very very painful. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Stephen

[s.messing]

As soon as we check the box to include linked files, we lose the ability to filter by level.
Interesting topic, Stephen. The best solution so far from the team is to export the tiny schedule from the exterior shell file (not the main model) to excel and then turn it into a pdf and then into a jpg and then paste it on the sheet with the regular schedule and slide it around until it looks okay. Seems pretty insane. Still looking for a better solution. Let me know if you come up with anything.
Thanks!

[Steve_Stafford]

It is interesting Stephen :wink: thought I'd agree since you are starting to talk to yourself. What if you schedule all the native doors using the filter and create a separate schedule for the linked doors or create a schedule in the linked file and plot a sheet for it there instead?

[dbaldacchino]

What's your naming convention for doors? I've come across a problem in the past with filtering by levels, so I don't use that function. Instead, we split our buildings in plan areas and rooms and doors get assigned that nomenclature. So I'll have room A100 through A156 (as example) with doors A100 through whatever for Area A etc. For the second floor, it'll be A200 etc. So I filter my schedules for "Begins with" and I type "A1" for Area A Level 1 and for "A2" for Area A Level 2, etc. Would this work for you?

[s.messing]

It is interesting Stephen :wink: thought I'd agree since you are starting to talk to yourself. What if you schedule all the native doors using the filter and create a separate schedule for the linked doors or create a schedule in the linked file and plot a sheet for it there instead?
Creating two separate schedules and pasting them together seems to me a better solution than exporting the schedules to excel and importing them as a jpg. The team doesn't like either of these options but seems more interested in choosing to export the whole thing to excel and go from there if they can't find a better way.




What's your naming convention for doors? I've come across a problem in the past with filtering by levels, so I don't use that function. Instead, we split our buildings in plan areas and rooms and doors get assigned that nomenclature. So I'll have room A100 through A156 (as example) with doors A100 through whatever for Area A etc. For the second floor, it'll be A200 etc. So I filter my schedules for "Begins with" and I type "A1" for Area A Level 1 and for "A2" for Area A Level 2, etc. Would this work for you?

This has a lot of potential. I think one of the issues that they were having is that their hallways and corridors have an "unconventional naming" system (like A01C1 instead of 1001 for normal doors). This area plan trick just might make it more efficient to grab everything and mass filter it. Any more suggestions are welcome of course, but I will suggest this to the team and see what they think.
Thank you very much for your input,
Stephen

[jspartz]

I tried this all out and it works. Here is a solution. You're right, the level does disappear out of the Filter when linked files are included, but you are able to filter by any custom parameters. So you would need to set up a shared project parameter (it doesn't need to be shared as long as you set the parameter up the same in all files), and call it Sort (or whatever you would like, just not level) and add it to the doors. Then you will need to grab all your doors on level 1 and go to properties and type in Level 1 under the sort parameter you just created, and so on and so on in each file. Then in your schedule, you can take out your level field and add in your sort field and you will be able to filter by this. Also, if you want a schedule with all levels, you can sort by the sort field, make it hidden, and turn on the header, and it will read 'Level 1'.

[bhanna173409]

We have experienced this problem on a fairly large project with scheduling rooms as well. we will most likely need to add a Level parameter to the rooms, then filter by that. It's a lot of extra work, and more information to maintain. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has found a better workaround.

[Scott Womack]

Depending upon the naming convention in the doors and rooms, you can filter a schedule by saying the door must include A1 for first floor, A2, for the second floor, etc. An extra parameter is not always first answer.

[juan388461]

We are working on a multi-family housing building that has several units that are identical. We linked in several instances of a Unit RVT file into the host file. We changed the "mark" of every door within the linked file to read as x10, x11, x12... in order to coincide with our room naming convention. I added a paramater to sort by the RVT link Name (which I changed each instance to be distinct within the host file). Once I load the linked in files and run my schedule, Revit will consider those doors with the same mark but with different rvt name field to be the same and I loose the ability to distinguish them. I've tried doing separate schedules and filtering by the rvt name field but it still runs into the same problem. As the picture shows, I've only done this to Unit 1 Lower Level and Unit 2 Lower Level and I've left some doors in Unit 2 Lower Level with distinct names to show that they are sorted when they don't have the same name. any ideas?92424

[dhurtubise]

If you export to a Database you will understand the problem. It's related to the way Revit deals with the levels. Even though they are named Level 1 in all files it doesn't mean it's the same for Revit.
We use an app to push the Level (text value) to be able to use that information with link files.

[jseltzer352641]

so basically theres no really good way to do this?
something so simple yet so difficult.

[dbaldacchino]

As Daniel said, levels cannot be assumed to be the same based on the name. We would need a level mapping tool similar to phase mapping. It would be nice if we could filter/group based on elevation from project base point, which is how we define levels after all!

[JacAttack]

This isn't a solve to filtering by level, but I have a different approach to setting up your schedule so it is sorted by level which might give you results along the same lines. :) No need to create extra parameters as these are default to Revit. With this approach you will have one master schedule that you will put on your sheet and break apart as you see graphically fit.

First, with one of your already created door schedules and the "From Room: Level" field (under the "Select available fields from:" drop down under "From Room") --- Picture below in case that didn't make sense.
93138

Even through you have a master door schedule you will need to create dummy door schedules in each linked model to be able to assign the door/ room (I think you are really assigning the room a level but I'm honestly not too sure, I just know how I get the thing to work. :P) a level in case it doesn't get picked up for some reason. I've had this happen and the only way to assign the door/ room a level is to make sure it touches a room AND if that still doesn't work you may need to go into the door schedule (in the Revit file it is modeled in) and assign it a level that way.

Once all your schedules are set up, go to the master schedule (with the "Include elements in linked files" check box, checked) and add the same "From Room: Level" field. Now, under "Sorting/Grouping" sort by "From Room: Level" and put it as a header so you have the separation in the schedule (you can line up the breaks to this or not). Then, under Formatting hide the level field (you will need to remember to unhide this if you add any doors and they are not assigning to a level for some tricky Revit reason).

Hope that helps.

[cprepula865917]

If you export to a Database you will understand the problem. It's related to the way Revit deals with the levels. Even though they are named Level 1 in all files it doesn't mean it's the same for Revit.
We use an app to push the Level (text value) to be able to use that information with link files.


What app is it you use to push the level between linked files??

[Studio Hero]

If anyone wants a video for how to use and manipulate Revit's Schedules I made one here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCrEhK6MS8A