PDA

View Full Version : Linked File Gridline identification



david.fannon
2007-03-05, 11:12 AM
On a project with multiple instances of the same building design on the site, I would like a way to uniquely identify a grid location for a specific building.

I am working on a large site with a number of buildings. Each of the building files is linked into a master site file (hooray shared coordinates and saved locations!) and some of the buildings will be identical designs (apartments and villas) that are placed on the site several times in different locations/orientations. No problems so far.

In the site file I need to be able to identify individual column-grid locations by name. For example, I have 3 identical apartments, each with a numbered grid 1-16 and lettered 1-F. When these three buildings are on the site, I need a way to identify column D9 in Apartment 3 as different from column D9 in Apartment 2.

In the past we've done this by adding a "series" identifier to one of the grids, so the grid at Apartment 1 reads "ZA, ZB...ZF" and grid at Apartment 2 reads "YA, YB...YF." And then we just add a note that the "Z" series corresponds to a specific location. Of course I don't need to add the series to the numbers, because the series+letter+number is enough to give me a specific location.

Any thoughts on a good, Revit-ish approach? Is there some way to associate a designator with a shared location? If not, useful wishlist item? Or maybe there is another way I should think about this to avoid the problem? The critical objective is to have a system to uniquely identify every single column location on site, but without having a separate Revit file for every instance of the buildings.

dhurtubise
2007-03-05, 12:45 PM
Hi sir, how is it going out there ?
How about using Design options ?

twiceroadsfool
2007-03-05, 01:45 PM
You could use Copy Monitor for this, although it wont be a perfect process flow.

Link in all of the instances of the saved file, and Copy monitor the grids. Then you can rename the grids, but youll have to go through the coordination review and tell it to accept the changes. (The name change will bring up a coordination alert).

Once youve accepted the changes, it will be monitoring them to make sure they stay alligned with the grids from the linked in instances. Then you turn off the grids in the linked files.

Its not a great idea, and it has its share of problems, for sure. Im not sure what would happen if you added grids in the linked files... Presumably nothing, because theyd be hidden, and since you hadnt CM'd them yet, there would be no warning. I think it would be a lot of work, too.

Daniels Design option is an interesting idea:

If in the linked file you have 5 design options (for 5 instances linked in...). Place all the grids in the design options (can you do that, ive never tried...) and rename them. Then have each instance of the linked file show a different design option (different grids). I have no idea if you can even use design options for that, but id be curious to find out... I like that idea better than the CM idea...

sbrown
2007-03-05, 01:46 PM
when you use copy/monitor for grids you get the choice to add a prefix or suffix. That should do the trick.

twiceroadsfool
2007-03-05, 01:57 PM
Really? Wow! Im going to have to check that out... Thanks for the tip. :)

twiceroadsfool
2007-03-05, 02:10 PM
Pretty neat how it works. I didnt have time to do any more playing around with it, but the prefix thing is pretty easy. I only wish you could preset "use this prefix for this model." Changing the prefix manually works fine too, as long as you dont mind doing it.

I think id still be curious how the design option thing would work...

dhurtubise
2007-03-05, 04:06 PM
Using Design options you need to duplicate view (since a view can only show a model options at a time)
Then you arrange those
Both ways needs manual interaction so nothing is perfect :-)