windows not visible in plan view

[ardavies]

Hi there I am new to revit I have revit 2009 and have been using acad since about 2000 the problem i am having is the windows not showing up in plan view the standard out of the box windows from the revit families show up in plan view fine but any that i had to modify the width for are not showing up in plan view the way i went about changing the width was creating a duplicate of a standard window and changing the width in the element properties could someone please put me on the right track as to why the modified windows dont show up in the plan view.

cheers
Andrew

[Jun Austria]

Check your "View Range" and Windows "Sill Height". Make sure its below the Sill is below the view range cut plane.

[clog boy]

If above doesn't work, check the view range in your window family. If that looks OK you're pretty much stuck with using a plan region.

[trombe]

Hi there I am new to revit I have revit 2009 and have been using acad since about 2000 the problem i am having is the windows not showing up in plan view the standard out of the box windows from the revit families show up in plan view fine but any that i had to modify the width for are not showing up in plan view the way i went about changing the width was creating a duplicate of a standard window and changing the width in the element properties could someone please put me on the right track as to why the modified windows dont show up in the plan view.

cheers
Andrew

Hi Andrew,

if you do a search on this subject you will almost certainly turn up the following tip, which is but one solution and is not necessarily always suitable for all situations. This question has been asked many times.

Open your window family, go to either an exterior / front view or a left / right end view, select lines - invisible lines and when requested, select the most appropriate reference plane from the list that comes up...(for a front / exterior, you would select :exterior" as the reference plane), then draw an invisible line from something on the solid geometry to the reference Level line . Align and lock the line ends.
Save and reload etc.

Now your window should be seen in plan whenever the cut plane does not otherwise suit that sill / head height.
regards
trombe

[clog boy]

Hi Andrew,

if you do a search on this subject you will almost certainly turn up the following tip, which is but one solution and is not necessarily always suitable for all situations. This question has been asked many times.

Open your window family, go to either an exterior / front view or a left / right end view, select lines - invisible lines and when requested, select the most appropriate reference plane from the list that comes up...(for a front / exterior, you would select :exterior" as the reference plane), then draw an invisible line from something on the solid geometry to the reference Level line . Align and lock the line ends.
Save and reload etc.

Now your window should be seen in plan whenever the cut plane does not otherwise suit that sill / head height.
regards
trombe

what the... that's using one problem to solve another. If I wanted to use a symbol to indicate that there's something overhead then I'd actually have to assign an object style to that something and hide it in visibility/graphics. It's a good idea to 'work with it' rather than against it but I can't wait for Autodesk to iron that flaw out.

I'd normally refuse to submit myself to such an odd solution unless I really had no choice.

[patricks]

I modified our recessed can light family to include an invisible vertical line down to reference level, with a yes/no instance parameter attached, and called it "Visible in Plan". That way I can make those lights show in a plan view, which is typical of design/build tenant plans where there is no actual RCP view shown, but just a general "electrical" plan showing lights, switches, and outlet locations.

[trombe]

what the... that's using one problem to solve another. If I wanted to use a symbol to indicate that there's something overhead then I'd actually have to assign an object style to that something and hide it in visibility/graphics..........

I'd normally refuse to submit myself to such an odd solution unless I really had no choice.

Sorry, I can't see what your problem is.
You want to show a window in a plan view, which is above the cut plane.
Why use a plan region ? that is extra work for creating and control, and more work than the method I eluded to.
If you are freaked about control of the line / object ( and please explain why) , why not just assign a parameter to control the visibility of when you do want to show it and when you don't.
That is still faster than the pan region method and is, accurate and reliable.
Besides, Revit wants to show what is in the range. so it should not be seeing the window at all. The plan region is over riding the default, and would show the line types of the window family as assigned by the object creator.
That is no different then to the invisible line method, because you are still going to see the same thing !
And if you are going to say its about having a dotted or dashed line to refer to the window being there but out of sight for this cut plane set up, you are no more or less efficient by selecting an over ride for the linework or by setting it in the family or by having a set for over rides externally and then having more control to worry about (when you are in a large /er practice.

I can't see your problem at all but then, I try hard not to get hung up on unnecessary CAD standards for the sake of it.
cheers
trombe

[clog boy]

Sorry, I can't see what your problem is.
You want to show a window in a plan view, which is above the cut plane.
Why use a plan region ? that is extra work for creating and control, and more work than the method I eluded to.
If you are freaked about control of the line / object ( and please explain why) , why not just assign a parameter to control the visibility of when you do want to show it and when you don't.
That is still faster than the pan region method and is, accurate and reliable.
Besides, Revit wants to show what is in the range. so it should not be seeing the window at all. The plan region is over riding the default, and would show the line types of the window family as assigned by the object creator.
That is no different then to the invisible line method, because you are still going to see the same thing !
And if you are going to say its about having a dotted or dashed line to refer to the window being there but out of sight for this cut plane set up, you are no more or less efficient by selecting an over ride for the linework or by setting it in the family or by having a set for over rides externally and then having more control to worry about (when you are in a large /er practice.

I can't see your problem at all but then, I try hard not to get hung up on unnecessary CAD standards for the sake of it.
cheers
trombe

It's very easy.

Imagine drawing a sewage plan. Now imagine putting a sewage symbol in all your plumbing fixtures (a toilet for example) about five inches below the actual object. If you want to make a sewage plan, you cut your view between the plumbing fixture and the sewage symbol and get going. But... durn, the entire model shows. Why? Because you want to see the symbol. It doesn't make sense.

So one way to fix that, and when I say 'fix' I'm talking about working around an undocumented feature, is putting the model in another subcategory than the sewage symbol.

Now let's take one step back. We're not talking about a 3D model right now, we're talking about a masking region. A masking region with detail lines is more tidy than a 3D model when a floor plan is considered. It will matter 'less' when it comes to sections and 3D views. In other words we'll simply have to deal with it. But... oops, a masking region can't have a subcategory. So we simply make it invisible at coarse detail level.

Now imagine working through this entire process of trial and error, only because Revit shows the part of a model that is above your cut plane. Why does it show your window like it's supposed to? Because Revit shows the model either like it's cut in the family, or not at all if the sill height is above your cut plane. If you use an invisible object to make the object above cut plane visible you're working with an undocumented feature. And what does that make you? I want you to think about that.


Please note I'm not commenting either you or your somment, I'm commenting a solution conceived by an undocumented feature. And a solution conceived by that is, by it's very nature, dodgy for more than one reason. Please don't take it personal, just try to see my point and try to judge from a neutral point of view.

If you say at the end of the day we all have a job to do, and while that undocumented feature is there we better take advantage of it, you're absolutely right. But I'm just as right when I say that same undocumented feature is causing frustration when it works against you.