View Range Control

[greg.nagel]

We started using Revit in our office fairly recently, and I am working through a small commercial project as my "Revit initiation". Our program training was basic and mediocre at best.

One of the things we have been struggling with most is the use of view range. It seems to me like that one of the things complicating my understanding of it is that with eight variable to contend with, there are too many controls. Rarely am I able to contort the proper view out of the program, either in plan or celing plan.

As an example, one problem I am currently having is getting a small mechanical mezzanine plan to display properly. Everything is created on a "mezzanine" level 8'-0" above the first floor (it's a tight squeeze in an existing shell). It has four walls and a service door. It appears through sections, elevations, and perspectives that everything is in the proper place, yet the door does not display in the floor plan, even though it will show if I roll over it. The view range is set as shown in the attachment.

Why does it seem the view range is so complex? Why is it not simpler, more in keeping with the sections and elevations- cut plane, depth (clip), and view extents (crop region)? I have found virtually no help in the help section in the program, our training did not go into this, and the book we bought by Elise Moss does not shed any light on it either. Could anyone explain this thing in layman's terms to me? My item for the wish list, at this point, would be a preview screen of some sort accompannying the view range box, where one could get a diagram of their levels along with symbols and dashed lines (similar to the sections in the plan view) which one could manipulate manually, rather than just numerically. Perhaps I'm a bit of a Neanderthal, but I like having a graphic interface to work with (pictures good...).

So if anyone out there could provide some insight in to how I get my plan to view properly, as well as a short dissertation on the infinite wisdom behind the workings of the view range box, it would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

[Tom Dorner]

Greg,

I agree with you that this in an area of Revit that is a mystery.

I would use a "plan region" to make your mezzanine display proerly. You can find it under the "view" menu. Basically a plan region lets you define a specific area to show that which would normally be above or below your cut plane. It is fairly straight forward to use, give it a try.

Others will probably have a better insight on the rest of your questions as I still struggle with this as well especially with ceiling plans.

Tom

[aaronrumple]

Does the door opening show? Do you have a phasing isssue? This is a plan cut at the mezz. level? yes? For that the defaults should work fine of 7'6, 4', 0 - but I would set the view depth below the mezz. to pick up things you want to see below.

The cut is the cut. It is pretty much just a horizontal section. The upper and lower range does two things. Objects inside that range can be easily selected with windows and crossings. It also applys proper linework based on the families projecttion object style.

Only a few object respond to the upper range. See the help files for these objects.

Objects outside the view range using the view depth will be visible, but not easily selected with windows or crossings. But they can be individualy selected.

There are a few exceptions. Look in the help file for Visability Rules in a Plan View. This spells it out pretty clearly.

[greg.nagel]

Thank you Tom. I will look into the plan region trick to see how that works. You are correct about the view range control being particularly difficult in ceiling plans.

Thank you also, Aaron, for your information. See attached a file showing the mezzanine plan and the view range box together. Upon your suggestion, I did verify that the walls and door are on the same phase, which they are. I am looking through the visibility rules for the plan views, and I am hoping that they will contain some magical insights for me into what is going on in this plan.

I noticed that you also had written a while back in one of the forums requesting some graphic method of plan view control, similar to that available for section cuts. That is what I would like to see as well (what I was alluding to in my previous post). Is this item on that magical "wishlist" that the others are keeping?

[aaronrumple]

This might be too simple. Are the sub-categories of the door even turned on in this view?

The door is there. The frame is the. The opening is there. All of this suggests that the sub-categories have been turned off....

[greg.nagel]

When I open the door family, the model lines are set to visibility in all views. The door is properly displayed in other plan views on the first floor.

[PeterJ]

Can you post the section that cuts that door?

[greg.nagel]

Sure- here it is. Thanks for your assistance.

[PeterJ]

Is the door being masked by the element shown insection just to its left and the edge of this in turn being masked by the door tag?

[greg.nagel]

I don't believe so. The element to its right is a girder, to its left is an open web roof truss bearing on the girder. (see mezzanine 3 plan- trusses shown above). I moved the door tag off to the side to ensure it was not obscuring anything. The strange thing is the door was visible in this view until just a day or two ago.

I think I may have figured out what it was. I put a generic ceiling in at 10'-0", to which I attached the sprinkler heads (an existing condition). Although it is just a generic ceiling plane, it apparently obscures the door through which it intersects. I cut the ceiling plane back, and the door is partially visible (see mezzanine 4). Any suggestions on the best way to handle this- a better way to insert the sprinkler heads, or just cut the plane around the door?

[PeterJ]

switch off ceilings in your view for now...

[greg.nagel]

Good call. Thanks.

[adegnan]

I don't believe so. The element to its right is a girder, to its left is an open web roof truss bearing on the girder. (see mezzanine 3 plan- trusses shown above). I moved the door tag off to the side to ensure it was not obscuring anything. The strange thing is the door was visible in this view until just a day or two ago.

I think I may have figured out what it was. I put a generic ceiling in at 10'-0", to which I attached the sprinkler heads (an existing condition). Although it is just a generic ceiling plane, it apparently obscures the door through which it intersects. I cut the ceiling plane back, and the door is partially visible (see mezzanine 4). Any suggestions on the best way to handle this- a better way to insert the sprinkler heads, or just cut the plane around the door?
Greg,

If that ceiling is created only for the purpose of hosting the ceiling-hosted sprinkler heads then you'd probably be better off to go into the family editor, change the sprinkler heads to a generic model family or a roof-hosted family and set them to hang down waay below the roof as it sounds like is the condition.

Then you can get rid of that pesky pretend ceiling, if that indeed is what you are saying. :)

[David]

greg,

Does your plan region sketch include the door panel/symbolic line and swing?