Managing Detail Views on Sheets

[al]

We have layed-out sheets with detail views placed onto them. It will take some time to fully complete all the details even on a given single sheet. We are going to have project issues/submissions before all the details are completed and do not want to show incomplete details. Is there a way to turn off an entire detail on a sheet at plot time without removing it from the sheet? And is there a way to manage this? I know we can just put a filled region over the details we don't want to show but I was hoping for something more elegant.

Maybe the team just shouldn't have layed out 11 sheets of details before any were finished.

[greg.mcdowell]

I think you're only option is to remove them from the sheet.

But to play Devil's Advocate for a moment... why is it important that you not show incomplete details? It's a progress set after all and the building isn't complete so in fact all of your drawings are incomplete. I think it's a good idea to show what else is intended to be detailed rather than hide the information (who does that serve).

This is what I'm pushing in my office and I'm glad to say I'm making some headway but it's an uphill struggle.

[s.messing]

I like devils and advocates, but assuming that you decide to remove them from the sheet (which would be my recommendation), you should make a
View...
New...
View List...

Then, make sure to add View Name and Title on Sheet (as a minimum). That way you will have recorded the beginning of the information that you need. You could use schedules even further by making a new parameter to record what sheet you would like to put it on later and also even what number you'd like it to be on the sheet. That way, the schedule will hold the information that you want and you can retrieve it later (after the issuance, for example).

HTH,
Stephen

Post script: Make sure to filter out the non detail views in your schedule for clarity.

[al]

good question -- for this next issue there are so many details that aren't complete and need work that they don't want to have them 'out there' in that state. i'm sure we'll work around it one way or another. thanks.

[aaronrumple]

You could assign a view temaplte to them which turns everything off. This way they could remain on the sheet with just the title showing.

Don't change the default view template so they can be rest to have the correct stuff on later. (You have created and assigned view templates to all these haven't you???)

[david_spehar]

But to play Devil's Advocate for a moment... why is it important that you not show incomplete details? It's a progress set after all and the building isn't complete so in fact all of your drawings are incomplete. I think it's a good idea to show what else is intended to be detailed rather than hide the information (who does that serve).

This is what I'm pushing in my office and I'm glad to say I'm making some headway but it's an uphill struggle.

I agree 100% with Greg and am pushing the same rock up the hill. BIM is an entirely different approach to putting a project together and therefore the content of traditional deliverables should change as well. Share every partially created detail you have with your Client and the contractors. Even if it is just raw modelling put some descriptive notes outlining the systems or components that will ultimately complete the detail. The more info you give up front will go a long way in later project phases.

Everyone in my office is sick of hearing this speech so I figured I'd give it to someone I don't know.

[ron.sanpedro]

You could assign a view temaplte to them which turns everything off. This way they could remain on the sheet with just the title showing.

Don't change the default view template so they can be rest to have the correct stuff on later. (You have created and assigned view templates to all these haven't you???)

You could also use a view template that makes the entire detail screened and thin lines. At that point it is so abstract it is just a place holder. But still a meaningful placeholder. The only problem is working in the view is hard, unless you switch view templates while you work, and then switch back. My preference is to have the Title on Sheet include the % complete. The view name never changes, but the title tells you where you are at.
Another option is to either not sheet them till they are ready, and then use Browser filters to see the Views not on a sheet separately. You can also not print the callout bubbles for views not yet sheeted, but you will have bubbles while working.

One thing I can imagine the API being useful for is this. You add a parameter to the detail views, Ready to Print. You have your regular View Template for details, plus one to either screen or turn off everything. Then you use the API to toggle the View Templates. Before a print job, you toggle the Not Ready to Print details "off/screened", print, then toggle back. As you get details to an appropriate level, you change the parameter, and the next toggle handles that detail appropriately.

Gordon

[ron.sanpedro]

I agree 100% with Greg and am pushing the same rock up the hill. BIM is an entirely different approach to putting a project together and therefore the content of traditional deliverables should change as well. Share every partially created detail you have with your Client and the contractors. Even if it is just raw modelling put some descriptive notes outlining the systems or components that will ultimately complete the detail. The more info you give up front will go a long way in later project phases.

Everyone in my office is sick of hearing this speech so I figured I'd give it to someone I don't know.

I even argue against using any kind of CAD detail, even "generic" ones, as well as purely Drafting View details. With those approaches, you can have a detail that is 70% done, but 30% wrong. And while it takes a certain amount of knowledge to remove what doesn't apply, it is often someone without that knowledge being tasked with "drafting" details. Which can cause a lot of trouble.
If you just callout your details from the model and place them, you immediately get a detail that is obviously only 50% done, but also 100% correct. And because Revit allows/demands staffing by architectural system, you can have the person who is modeling the shell also detail the shell. And the one modeling the interiors also details the interiors. Architectural knowledge is then applied to the appropriate parts of the set, as well as the model, which results in a better building in the end.

Gordon

[david_spehar]

I even argue against using any kind of CAD detail, even "generic" ones, as well as purely Drafting View details. With those approaches, you can have a detail that is 70% done, but 30% wrong. And while it takes a certain amount of knowledge to remove what doesn't apply, it is often someone without that knowledge being tasked with "drafting" details. Which can cause a lot of trouble.
If you just callout your details from the model and place them, you immediately get a detail that is obviously only 50% done, but also 100% correct.

I agree. We have been shying away from "standard" details and relying more on this approach. Revit is a great tool to help build a real life cartoon set of your project. Pick your views, pull them onto sheets and let the team build the document set as the project progresses. This also results in increased efficiency since you don't end up with sections and details everywhere that you can't remember if you need them or not.