The BEST way to organize your Revit project browser!
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ส.ค. 2024
- There's no sugar coating it, most Revit model browser organizations I've seen out there aren't good. Time and time again I see systems that are either too simple and ineffective, or too complex and confusing. In this video I'll teach you a fool proof method for keeping your browser sorted as you work - it really is the way it was intended to be I think.
I hope you enjoy the session and learn something new! Feel free to comment any feedback/questions below, or follow my channel if you enjoyed this.
0:00 Introduction
1:10 Project browsers
4:42 View templates
5:58 View types
7:45 BIM Guru system
8:20 Not on sheet issues
11:18 Outro
Software used;
Autodesk Revit 2020: www.autodesk.com/products/rev...
DaVinci Resolve: www.blackmagicdesign.com/au/p...
OBS: obsproject.com/
Hardware used;
Webcam: support.logitech.com/en_us/pr...
Laptop: www.msi.com/Workstation/WT75-...
Microphone: www.jbhifi.com.au/products/ro...
Audio interface: focusrite.com/en/usb-audio-in...
#revit #browser #bim
This is how all project browers should be organised! Definitely best practice! Great work Gavin!
Thanks Alan, glad you agree!
Linking an organization parameter to the applied view model is an illuminating tip. Thank you very much
You're welcome!
This was a huge help for me man I greatly appreciate what you're doing! keep up am following you all the way from Algeria ;)
Thanks Sid!
I always find myself coming to great videos after many years, this is one of them. I forgot about the approach to have a persons name as second sorting, thats great!
Our current structure is based off cad standard naming and some other sheet naming organization standard (for our views), Its not user friendly...our template is full of different standards in different places, cad standards, aia standards, CSI standards, makes it all difficult to find, you always have to scroll very carefully down the long list. It feels like things are nested in too deep. As a revit user, I would very much prefer a system like yours.
Glad to hear it holds up! Yep I've stuck with this for most of my time using Revit. Tried other things like view template/type/phase and they tend not to work - too many tree branches or unsupported functionalities.
Definitely best practice! Great work
Thanks!
This is a nice approach, thank you
You're welcome!
Love your applications that really interact with the real world
Thanks Mostafa, yes I feel it's essentially to relay experience and industry practice to others - far too many educators out there talking about ideas that haven't been tested or approved by others in a professional setting. Glad you like them :)
@@AussieBIMGuru BIG FAN :D
Excellent tutorial 👌👌👌
Thanks!
Interesting topic as usual. I like to play a bit with PB on every project just to compare the diferences in approches....
Yes definitely not one size fits all - smaller projects usually I find only need 1 level and bigger jobs can benefit from up to 3 (mega jobs even 4).
Thanks Gavin!!!
You're welcome!
Excellent topic. By view purpose and not on sheets for me and may of the companies I know locally also.
Thanks Michael! I used to do the not on sheets but had too many bad experiences with trying to work computationally over views by their properties only to find their naming was thrown to the wind once users couldn't see them.
I’m just learning revit, and there is SOOO much you can do with it. Like autoCAD on steroids!
There sure is! Welcome to the lighter side.
nice workflow, I agree that many Project Browsers are just the OOTB (out of the box) versions. I choose to no use the second level of sorting, but use the View Type Name to organise the view order, just like you, I use a prefix that is associated to the drawing number. And I like to sort the Views by Associated Level, because I get quickly frustrated when a Basement 1 is before a Basement 3 in the Project Browser. And just to share a tip, create a Project Browser organised by View Templates, its a nice quick way to QA your project.
Yes sometimes I prefer 1 level custom then second level view type also, especially if dealing with jobs using series with many view types like room layout sheets. Associated level is a great point, and the QA Template organisation is an awesome idea - thanks!
i want to place sections on first floor to be right under first floor, how does one organize
this.
Great subject, I have struggled with this. I am going to implement this asap, my browser organization is hot garbage. PS I noticed a typo in :07(management)
Glad to have helped give you a system for cleaner browser organisation!
Thanks for the typo notice, whoops...
In our office we use a very similar system of shared parameters and view and sheet sorting. We use the same parameters with filters to control visibility of elevations, sections, etc as we document all project phases (sk, dd, wd in the same file.)
Great to know others found similar systems, and it's a great idea to innovate on it using view types or phases by stage of project. Very rare we are lucky enough in architecture to deal with 1 phase at a time, especially with DA modifications.
@@AussieBIMGuru I feel as users we have had to create all these ways of managing the life cycle of a project within revit which really ought to be built in to the software for the benefit of all users. It's not unreasonable to work on multiple project phases at one time.
I feel a big part of the issue is many architectural firms didn't really get involved also and just made techs thrash the tools to make them work. We're seeing the aftermath of a 'just make it work' culture in the form of a platform at crisis point.
Very useful tip, thank you.
In my template I have a different problem with dependent views and browser organization "not on sheets": when I create dependent view, it's not visible under views even if it's not placed on a sheet. To place it on sheet I have to switch browser organization, place dependent view on the sheet and than switch browser organization back. It behaves different than what was the behavior in your tutorial.
Yes I have seen inconsistent and undesirable behavior when mixing not on sheet filters and dependent views also - it might be version specific maybe. It performed more stably in my demo that I recall it usually being.
Great stuff like usual! I see you use a .rte file for your template. In my office, we use a .rvt file for my template because we can put more stuff inside like workset. What do you think about this practice?
I used to do this also, but I found usually certain projects needed different worksets and early phase projects usually only had 1 modeller.
I ended up using a dynamo script with selectable UI to add worksets after collaborate is enabled.
Having said that, a workshared template is fine, just make sure noone overwrites it by accident! Detach as protocol works there I guess.
Thank you wery much.
You're welcome!
I have a question about your shared parameters that you used for sorting, could you please explain how did you create them?
These are all from my BIM Guru shared parameters file, which I sell on my website for others here;
www.bimguru.com.au/product-page/shared-parameters-file
I have a fairly extensive video that could help show you the general logic I follow in my systems and how they were set up;
th-cam.com/video/ORUJqpIGkIU/w-d-xo.html
What’s your thoughts to organising as per the NATSpec work group sub groups ?
Hrm I'm not sure how well it would translate to a drawing set, many of the sub groups deal with trade packages that are combined in some cases, for example masonry is often set out on either concrete or partition series by firms as it doesn't warrant its own drawing in most cases. Some other common drawing types dont have a clear home either such as a site plan - there are many activities in the subgroups that combine to form the site plan in principle instead.
It's an interesting idea though, definitely look into it further and if you think it can be made to work I'd be happy to hear more.
Hey aussie guru, we have been using the first siystem you showed with succes for years - however i have a question that i am having trouble answering myself, or better said, finding the best solution for this conundrum.
We have bilingual projects based on Phases. Not only that, but also the naming standards are different for the different phases. To explain, we build our projects in german until more or less the building application -detail design phase, using german naming standards, german title block Familie and so on. Following on the detail design phase or tender or whatever the project is then sold to a client, which is normally an internstional client, which normally also brings their own BEP and standards into action, so we have to suddenly change all the sheets and naming convention to adapt to the clients demands. So suddenly we have two fundamentaly different systems for the browser. Unfortunately we cant get rid kf the german one as even after the late design phases, there are always changes to be submitted to the authorities which require everything using the german standards.
The best i managed to solve this is by using the shell and core Phase for the documentstion/ building applicstion, and the fit out Phase for the design detailing, with the project browser being split into shell and core, respectively fit out, and each Phase had their own naming convention. But this butterfly effects on other subjects like exporting plans and so on, which can lead to a total chaos black hole Event Horizon death.
Have you been in a similar situation and maybe have a tip or two on how we could do this better? Cheers
Yes I'm aware some firms made the more simple options 'work' for them, I usually just question at what cost - especially as a computational enthusiast that likes data to be predictable. I find the more simple browser organisations lead to complacence in view template assignment and view naming general; out of sight out of mind.
Basing a project on phases means you're locking yourself into a fairly inflexible system unfortunately. The good thing about using shared parameters is you have 100% control and customisation over the system, so you're not limited by the design set by Autodesk.
In this case, I'd suggest looking into a custom field to all views and/or sheets that Dynamo can push data to, and then a second optional browser organisation.
One problem with multiple organisations is that if a user syncs, the next user to reload/open will have that organisation so people end up wrestling over this when they sync though.
@@AussieBIMGuru sorry i should have mentioned-my bad. Our browser organization by phases- the Phases are shared parameters, created by us. Using the clunky standard Phase Organisation is way to dodgy for our liking with the system phase parameters..
But i get your point of view. I am thinking how to push everything through with automatisation in mind.
In the past after changing the browser org mid project, while we were still trying out and learning stuff, the fact that everybody in the project had a different browser for a while was mind boggling so thank you for reminding me that i have to double check that everyone creates new locals and/or resets the Temp folder.
Appreciate the tips!
If you're talking automation I'd say Dynamo is a good place to explore here. It may be a case of regularly running a script which checks the phase parameters in an excel table, takes the english equivalent system and populates a second parameter set so they are 'pseudo linked'. A second browser org could then be used.
One issue you'd have is this only works well before everyone is working, as the script would essentially need ownership of all views/sheets.
When we apply the view template to a Work View, the level of detail, display options etc are blocked, what is done in these cases if you want to change these options? Thanks a lot!
If you wish for templates to only apply some settings, in the view template you can tick off the boxes to the right to 'release' those settings from the views they are applied to. For working views I often will only apply the browser sorting parameter values and release the rest.
@@AussieBIMGuruThanks again!!
Can you please explain how you created shared parameter for "Sort_Level_1"?
In this case it is a shared parameter from my own file, which I added as a project parameter and applied to view/sheet categories.
I've got a video on shared parameter management and creation here that might help:
th-cam.com/video/ORUJqpIGkIU/w-d-xo.html
i am also using Associated Level for sorting. when you have floorplan with different name. like second floor, fifth floor etc...
I used to use this method also, it can be quite handy for multistory jobs when you set this as the first level, then sort by series (or just use good view naming to keep all series by level together visually).
What do you think is the best view naming convention?
Will come down to many factors, but for architecture my approach is generally:
Floor plans:
SS_LEVEL NAME - ZONE NAME
Elev/section:
SS_TYPE OF SEC/ELEV - DESCRIPTION
Other:
SS_TYPE OF VIEW - DESCRIPTION
Where SS is my view template/series code. For working/sketch view I use WK/SK for that instead. Most important part is to use consistent approaches, stackable naming logic and consistent/meaningful separation of fields (e.g. underscores of space dash space). At the end of the day it has to be easy to teach and learn.
Can you make a video about how to orgonize BIM folder structure (where to place Revit, CAD files)? System which I am currently using at my work place working fine so far but it is feels like a bit overcomplicated. Maybe you have a batter solution.
I'll add it to the list, although I find every firm is slightly different - doesn't seem to be one way of doing it. I have my own system of course so I can share this in a video at a later date.
Sir good morning....how r u
I want to learn dynamo from basic ...do u have any tutorial for that....thanku
Yes I made a beginner tutorial last Monday and also have a learning series playlist for beginners on the channel.
great video as usual! i typically use project parameter only, no need to use shared parameter, correct me if i missed something
It's not super crucial to use a shared parameter, but it can sometimes help having a consistent parameter definition for more advanced workflows. One benefit is if you want to use browser sorting to organize linked models on a sheet register. If they both use the same shared parameter they will sort together, but otherwise if it's project parameter they wont.
@@AussieBIMGuru right, good catch! thanks
Great, but how can I import parameters ?in project parameters
If you want to do it in bulk you could use Dynamo, or you could transfer project parameters from another model with them using the transfer project standards tool.
how to add plumbing discipline with views to architectural one ?
You could sort views by the 'Discipline' parameter in the browser to achieve this separation.
@@AussieBIMGuru this is not an answer to m'y question thanks bro
@@ghazinspace I'll need you to ask the question more specifically in that case. Not quite sure what you mean if not view discipline parameter.
@@AussieBIMGuru . How WE CAN add plumbing and electrical discipline to architectural template. ?
Oh the transfer project standards tool can migrate some but not all objects in from an MEP template. Unfortunately there isn't really a way to combine entire templates that u am aware of though.
I always organize the views by view template.
It's definitely a great idea! Having looked back at my own template it's a viable alternative for sure and saves having to manage parameters in tandem.
Yes, maintaining any view parameters along with, but I try to use those more for any view filters. Leaning how to maintain them across multiple models/teams with different user proficiency is a battle right now!!
This is perfect as I’m a BIM Specialist, I will also keep in practice now for my personal project. Can you make a video for (1) how view template works. (2) how to use work sets to optimise work flow in revit. I want to understand how it works and collaborate while working on projects. Thanks.
I'll add topics to my list, might be a while until I reach them but keep an eye out for them in a month or 2!
@@AussieBIMGuru really appreciate your effort. Thanks so much for sharing values to the people.
@@memyadventures2730 you're most welcome!
The time that takes you to organize all this, you have already finish a project in Archicad, this is absolutly absurd, but i have to learn the stupid program because is popular.
You only have to do this once if you set up your template properly.
Not understandable at all
Do you mind clarifying what parts were difficult to understand Klas? I do my best to speak at a reasonable pace and using everyday language but I'm always happy to take on constructive criticism for future content.
@@AussieBIMGuru I understand now, just needed a litte bit of patience. thanks for sharing!
@@klasrobertsson3943 you're welcome! Don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have i future also, happy to help clarify where needed - I know some of my topics can be quite difficult to grasp.