How to create this finish schedule w/ finish key?

[patricks]

I have a finish schedule with a column for floor, base, N/S/E/W walls, and ceiling. I'm also doing a finish key with a mark for each finish, and then the manufacturer, ID number, color, etc.

I was hoping there was a way I could fill in the schedule key with each of my finishes, like P-1, P-2, etc. for all my paints, VCT-1, VCT-2, etc. for all my floor tile selections, and so on; then switch over to my finish schedule and have each of the finish marks available in a pulldown box for each item.

So I created the finish key as a Schedule Key, and I named the key "Finish Mark". I'm adding rows and filling in the information for each finish.

Now the problem is that in my finish schedule, I can only put the Finish Mark field in the schedule once. But I really don't want to create separate Keys for floor finish, base, each direction of wall finish, and ceiling. I want the entire finish key to appear as a single schedule.

I suppose I can just go through my entire finish schedule and fill in everything, but that's going to take awhile. Any suggestions?

[greg.mcdowell]

You can still use a Schedule Key but it will act on, for example, the type of Room (Office, Classroom, Toilet, Mechanical, etc.). Assuming you've got many of the same types with the same finishes this can save you a lot of time. Enter the finishes once and then assign the key to the appropriate Rooms. Otherwise yeah, it'll be a lot of manual filling out information (sort of like Excel).

[patricks]

That's not really what I'm trying to acheive.

I have a single Schedule Key set up for all my finishes, with a mark for each finish (each paint color, VCT color, base color) with manufacturers and names and all that.

Then I have my finish schedule, which I would like to populate with the marks (P-1, P-2, RB-1, VCT-1, etc) from my Finish Key. I was hoping to set up the columns so that the pull-down boxes would list the choices I had entered into the finish key, but it's not looking like that's possible.

See the attached image for what I have so far. I created the Finish Key by starting a new Schedule Key, with the Key Name called Mark in the schedule. Then I created parameters for the Material, Manufacturer, Identification, Color and so on. For each new item, I right-clicked and added a new row for each finish material.

In the Finish schedule, I have the room name with floor, base, wall, and ceiling finish. In the Color column for each area, I'm listing a finish mark, which refers back to the Finish Key. I was trying to get the items in each pull-down box under each Color column to automatically list all the choices I had entered in the Finish Key, but I don't think it's possible, at least not without creating different keys (and separate schedules) for floor, base, wall, and ceiling.

[jfreauff]

Did you ever figure this out? I am attempting to do the same thing.

It seems like we are limited to tying a key schedule to only one parameter, hence only one cell in a schedule. This basically makes a key schedule non-reusable as it would be ludicrous to create the same key, 4 times for the four different wall directions.

Other on the forums have created a "room style" that populates the four wall finishes with a particular set of finishes but you would need an inordinately long set of combinations to cover all of the possibilities. At that stage we may as well just fill them out.

[patricks]

Nope, I ended up manually filling out all 500+ fields. :(

Luckily I was able to copy/paste in many places.

[dbaldacchino]

I think you should be able to......if you make your key name be the color or mark (key schedule assigned to Rooms for example), then in the room or schedule you should be able to pull that value.

What category did you make the Key Schedule for the finishes?

[Michelle Gibson]

I posted a similar question that might have 50% of the problem solved if Revit can answer me the remaining 50%. I am wondering if I can use room keys to set up room types that identifies the common materials but leaves the finish column blank for manual insertion later. That way we can assign colours to each surface. My query is whether or not the room key schedule should include the finish column at all, since once you reference a key schedule it fills out the whole row. After I've selected the room style from the key, I still want to be able to fill out the finish cell for each material or surface.

That way I only have to do 1/2 the manual inserts?

[patricks]

I think you should be able to......if you make your key name be the color or mark (key schedule assigned to Rooms for example), then in the room or schedule you should be able to pull that value.

What category did you make the Key Schedule for the finishes?

The problem is that a schedule key can only go into a schedule once. But I had a finish schedule with 7 fields that needed finish marks, and I wanted all my finishes listed in a single Finish Key schedule, like in my image above.

[dbaldacchino]

7 fields? You mean like "Wall Finishes", "Floor Finishes", etc? If that's the case, why not add a parameter for that and use it to sort/group each row? It can be done easily. Then that key schedule appears as a parameter in the room properties. Now, if you're trying to link that key schedule to objects other than rooms...you have a problem and perhaps that's what you're trying to explain. The alternative is to create separate key schedules for the type of materials that you have. For example you'll have one key schedule for exterior walls and assign it to walls. Another for Interior finishes and you'll assign it to rooms. It does start to get messy I think. This whole concept of materials in Revit doesn't work real well and needs to be devloped a lot further.

Michelle, in key schedules, do not include parameters that you want to control individually. So in your case, leave the Finish parameter out so you can type in a value manually for each space and it won't be affected by the key schedule.

[patricks]

hmmm not sure I follow, but yes I had a column for floor finish color, for base color, for north/south/east/west wall colors, and ceiling color. If you looked at a room's properties, there were 7 fields for each room, all of which needed a mark from my finish key. I populated each column with the various finish marks in my finish key. But since a schedule key can only go into a schedule once (to create one column in the schedule), I just left it out of the schedule and populated the fields manually.

[HawkeyNut]

Patricks,

I think you are trying to do the exact same thing I am. For my Room Finish Schedule I set up a key which worked nicely. There was only one flaw: If you use a 'wet wall' with a different finish in a Restroom Key, you're stuck with defining a North, South, East, or West wall as the wet finish. This is a problem with bathrooms that are back-to-back in which opposite walls get this finish. The answer for us was to leave the wall finishes out of the Key and allow the user to enter them manually.

I'm still working on having the Material Legend/Finish Key though. The top image in the picture you uploaded is exactly what I need. How did you create it? What category did you make your Key Schedule?

[patricks]

Rooms contain all your finish schedule fields, so make the schedule and key from that category.

[HawkeyNut]

Thank you, Patricks. I suppose if you have veneer finishes for casework and other non-room related materials, you just add them to that Key anyway? I never thought of doing it this way, but I think it will work.

I agree with all the previous posts; it would be nice if these functionalities were investigated a little more. For example, the functionalities recently added for rooms 'not-placed' in the project, would be awesome to have for materials.