Identical instances

[Bryan Thatcher]

Copy to clipboard then Edit>Paste Aligned>Select Levels by name... and I get this error:

"There are identical instances in the same place. This will result in double counting in schedules.".

I was doing my work on Level 2 and pasted it to levels 3,4 and 5 where there hadn't been any "instances". What could causing this? Thanks.

[Scott D Davis]

Were items already doubled on level 2? Did you accidently re-paste onto level 2? You can window highlight objects and look at the filter icon in the lower right corner of the Revit screen to see how many objects are selected.

[Jshaver]

I see this from time to time and it can be quite frustrating especially if a user dismissed the error and you find the duplicate items at a later time and have to manually search through your file to purge them...

Usually I see this occur when users are attempting to copy/paste whilst utilizing 3d views.
When copying elements 3d views tend to use the top of a column as the reference while a plan will use its base. (this may vary dependant upon cut plane settings)

Lets assume Level 1 is at 0'-0", Level 2 is 10'-0" and Level 3 is 23'-6"

In an active 3d view, if you copied your columns that span from level 1-2 and want to past them to Levels 2-3 you will need to paste to the 3rd level. If you select level 2 you will get duplicate elements.

Copying from an active plans is the opposite. You paste by specifying the lower level.

Another instance where copying and pasting becomes cumbersome is when you are using the attach functions, specifically when the floor heights vary. Again it is not consistant with doing within a 3d view or within a plan view.

Within level 1 plan if you try to copy your columns (that are attached to the level 1 and 2 slabs) and paste to level 2 it will place the columns entirely inside of the existing columns. and you will receive the following errors:
The column base can't be moved above its top (you must detach)
Then you are left with a column with an attached base constraint with a 0'-0" offset and a top constraint of level 3 with a -13'-1" offset.

In summary the best solution seems to be to copy from an active 3d view and paste to specified "top" levels. This eleminates most of the risk or errors.

To further avoid this model a single column the full height of the building (unless there is a size change)