Keynote vs Note Block

[dalewww]

I have looked through several posts here and Revit City and found some information but not enough. Can someone clarify and direct me on the whole Keynote and Note Block thing.

I am setting up the firm I am at but have never used keynotes before in Revit (always typed notes).
So at this firm they use Keynotes with keynote list (schedule) per sheet. I think they want to go with one keynote list per project eventually (I can recommend that Revit works better one way they will go for it, please advise on that).

My dilemma is how do I go about setting up either a keynote or note block in the template file. We will not be modeling everything. Alot of ceiling items and plan items will be 2d lines. Therefore keynotes will not work. An old buddy of mine used a family called keynote on it. Then he had several types inside of it. Each type has a description and keynote number. Then somehow linked this to a schedule. To insert he had to use the symbol function.

Is this way considered note blocks? I cannot find a description of how to go about setting this up. It seems like a lot of work to make types with name and number. Is this the way to go?
Need some direction here?
Thanks

[jcoe]

The Keynote feature actually references an external text file that contains preset values for noting objects (ie. 08710 Door Hardware). This system works great for Con Doc, but I find it cumbersome to use for notes that repeat on the drawings (ie. 1. Provide New Door and Frame as Scheduled), because these notes typically change per project. Also, if you make a change to the keynote text file, you have to exit the project and open it again for the changes to take effect.

The note block is more generic and references symbols that are placed on your documents. From what you are describing, it appears that this method is more of what you are looking for?

The first thing you will need to do is create a generic annotation family. Once created, load this family into your template. Now you need to associate this notation with you note block (see image). This will present you with a dialog box asking you to assign an annotation symbol to the note block. Select the appropriate symbol from the list, Name you note block and select OK. Your note block should now be listed under your schedules in the project browser. As you place your annotations, rows will be added to your schedule and you can enter data from the tag or the schedule.

I hope this is what you were looking for. I have also attached sample tags as well.

[dalewww]

jcoe,
I appreciate the help. This works for me, I believe.

If I wanted to set some standard keynotes up, would you recommend this being done through the family type parameter in the annotation? This would give alot of items under the family tag, but it would work. If I needed to add some to the project they would just come after the last keynote. Or is it just better to use a text instance parameter and populate it as you put it down?

is this meant to create a schedule once it is in the template? I do not see it if it is meant to.

Thanks for your help....
Nice sayings on your signature, by the way.

[Don Sutherland]

Is there a way to add a horizontal space between each of the keynote numbers and discription text lines? I think it would read better to have a horzontal space.

[Overconstrained]

Is there a way to add a horizontal space between each of the keynote numbers and discription text lines? I think it would read better to have a horzontal space.
Yup...under the sorting/grouping tab of your schedule properties there are check boxes for "blank line" next to each sorting category.

If you check this box it should give you what you want.

[jcoe]

If I wanted to set some standard keynotes up, would you recommend this being done through the family type parameter in the annotation? This would give alot of items under the family tag, but it would work. If I needed to add some to the project they would just come after the last keynote. Or is it just better to use a text instance parameter and populate it as you put it down?.
I do not believe you can pre-assign the data for the annotation within the family itself - I could be mistaken however. I have found it to be more flexible to place the annotation and allow the information to populate the schedule.

If you have a series of staple notes that you use on every project, you could be creative and create a drafting view, place your annotation symbols in the view and add the necessary data. If you did this in your template file you would have these available for each new project you start. (hmmmm, I might have to look into this further.)


is this meant to create a schedule once it is in the template? I do not see it if it is meant to.
If you loaded the annotation family into your template and created a new note block as outlined above, this should have added a schedule to your project browser under "Schedules/ Quantities." I was just going on memory, so it is entirely possible that I might have missed a step in the procedure outlined above.

Good Luck

[dc.109967]

Also, if you make a change to the keynote text file, you have to exit the project and open it again for the changes to take effect.

I see this statement all the time and frankly, while somewhat true, it is misleading because it makes it sound like that's what you HAVE to do. Not necessarily. There is a better way to "reload" a keynote text file that has been changed. What I do is go to Settings>Keynoting and change the file path to a "dummy" text file that I have created. Then I hit OK. Then I immediately go back to Settings>Keynoting and change the file path back to my customized keynote text file. Then I hit OK.

Wah-lah. All keynotes are updated and I didn't have to close the project and re-open it. Works like a charm.

Now if Revit let you add a keynote to the text file "on the fly" then we'd be cooking with fire!

[Andrew Dobson]

If I have several items numbered 11 or 5 or whatever, I get multiple entries in the note Block Schedule - is there a way to filter these out?

[jcoe]

If I have several items numbered 11 or 5 or whatever, I get multiple entries in the note Block Schedule - is there a way to filter these out?
Yes, Under the Sorting and Grouping tab of your schedule Deselect the "Itemize Every Instance" checkbox. This should take care of the repeated numbering.

[Andrew Dobson]

Yes, Under the Sorting and Grouping tab of your schedule Deselect the "Itemize Every Instance" checkbox. This should take care of the repeated numbering.

I explained my problem poorly!

I inserted your plan keynote family (above) into my Revit project and placed a number of them on a sheet, individually numbering them 1-5.

I then created a note block schedule and placed in on the sheet next to the symbols.

I filled in a different description for each number and then went and copied symbol 5 (lets say I have 2 new walls and I want to label them both 5)

Unfortunately, I get 2 items numbered 5 in the note block, which can have separate desctripions (NoteBlock1.pdf) - clearing the itemize every instance box does not have the desired effect of getting rid of the duplicate 5 entry either. (NoteBlock2.pdf)

Hope this makes a bit more sense!

Thanks

[jcoe]

Note Block 2: I think the culprit here might be that you have "none" selected for sorting and grouping. Instead change the "Sort By" to the Keynote Number.

Note Block 1: This looks correct. I think if you correct the sorting you will get the desired results.

FWIW, I like to set up two note blocks for each type of keynote I use - one that I place onto the sheets and one that I use for coordination of all my notes. The note block I use to coordinate my notes I make sure that I leave "Itemize every instance" checked so I can see all the notes I have placed. The reason I do this is because if I make an error and have two different descriptions for the same note, Revit gets confused and will leave the description field blank on the note block where I do not itemize every instance. I can now go back to my note block where all instances of my notes are listed, find my error, apply the correct description and move on. Once corrected the other note block will be correct as well.

Man I hope this makes sense. Its sunny and 87 deg on Friday at 4:50. You cannot ask for anything better than that in Central New York.

I have attached a couple images that I hope will be helpful. The first image just shows how we use the note block feature in relation to our documents. The other two images hopefully help to illustrate what I was talking about above.

I'd be happy to look at the file for you if you are still having trouble.

[1stdraft]

About reloading keynotes: You don't even need to point to the dummy.txt file. Just go to Settings/Keynoting and hit browse. If you select your keynote text file, it will reload the keynotes. Just hitting OK without clicking on your keynote file will not do it though.

I do wish there were an internal Keynote editor though :(