THE ARCHITECT brings an end to all your dimension-line known anomalies.
Hello lads. It's been a
great series so far and from the feedbacks coming in, lots of you are impressed
with the contributions I am making here. I still encourage regular readers as
well as new ones to always leave a feedback/comment as to how the tips have
affected one or two aspects of your design process. My aim to is to use this
platform to establish a little self-help
community of CAD and BIM users where any professional can comfortably expect to
source solutions to software problems from both myself and regular followers of
the series. Like I always say, this section of the blog was created for short
tutorials on various aspects of the use of the Revit and Photoshop softwares alone
(you can contact me for problems from any other software). I always listen to
problems and challenges posted on the comments thread under this post and give
solutions to such problems. I hope you will find our class for this week useful.
Happy reading!
HOW TO CUSTOMIZE YOUR
DIMENSION LINES AND STROKES ON REVIT
A massive 90% of
professionals who do not use Revit for their working drawings and
documentations do not do so because of the fact that they find the Revit
dimension tools/lines very un-customizable. The following are usually their
reasons:
1. The
dimension strokes (nodes) are too big, thus occupy a lot of space
2. The
extensions after the nodes are too long and ugly
3. The
dimension snap-lines (that line that indicates which object you are
dimensioning) is always too close to the object and cannot be moved
4. The
dimension texts are too big and cannot be customized
5. The
dimension texts block objects under them
6. The
dimension texts clog together and cannot be moved
7. I
cannot change the colour of my dimension line and texts
Well, the truth is, you
can achieve all the above listed on Revit and I will be using the next few
lines to explain how you can do so. However, before I do, I will like you to
compare Image 1 and Image 2 below. Image 1 is your default Revit dimension
system. Observe, the large thick heads/nodes and massive extension lines after
the nodes. Now, compare this to Image 2 which is one of my old jobs. This is a
full working document of the ground floor plan of a residence. I completely did
this on Revit and the tools are fully customized. Observe how the dimension
system looks completely different from the one on Image 1. I will be telling
you the secret to achieving this.
 |
| Image 1 |
 |
| Image 2 |
NOTE:
I have used Revit 11 here simply because of how popular it is. Revit 9 and
Revit 11 are the most popular Revit softwares in use among architects. If you
do not use any of these versions, it is still not a problem as all you need to
do is to locate the position of the tools I have used here on your own
interface. The functions are still exactly the same.
You will also notice
that some of the components I will use in this class may not look like the one
on your own software screen. Reason is that I have customized a lot of the
things on my interface but they will in no way affect the result of what we
wish to do.
STEP 1.
CUSTOMIZING YOUR
DIMENSION HEAD
The dimension node/head
of a dimension line is that thick mark that indicates where a dimension begins
and ends. It can be of different styles, for instance; thick mark, arrow head,
point-nodes, etc. Usually, the default dimension head looks overly 'over-size'
(see image 1). Here are the steps on how to get it to a size you wish:
 |
| Image 3 |
Ø Go
to the 'manage' ribbon on your menu tab and click on 'additional settings' (see
image 3)
Ø Search
for 'arrowheads' and select
Ø A
dialogue-box appears (see image 4)
 |
| Image 4 |
Ø On
the 'Type' category on top of the dialogue-box, you can drop the menu and
select any dimension-head style you desire to customize. They include: Arrow,
Arrow-filled, Diagonal, Filled-box, Filled-dot, Filled-Elevation target,
Filled-triangle, Heavy-end and Open dot. I have used 'Diagonal' head-style for
this class. Notice the angles (in degrees)/sizes (millimeter) attached to the sides
of the style names. These parameters refer to the angles and sizes of the dimension-heads
quoted.
Ø I
will select 'Diagonal 3mm' from the list since that's the one I wish to edit
and customize. You can select anyone you wish from the menu-list as long as
that's the one you intend to customize.
Ø After
selecting 'Diagonal' (or any other style), you will notice that the 'type
parameter' fields below changes. All the styles have their own parameter
options.
Ø Locate
the 'Tick Size' option there (this will appear no matter the style you choose).
You will notice the thick size (in millimeters) to the right. (See image 5)
 |
| Image 5 |
Ø Change
the number you find there (3mm in my own case) to a size you find comfortable.
I will change mine to 1mm.
Ø Click
on 'Ok' to exit the dialogue-box
You will notice that the
dimension-head will change in size depending on the number you entered (see
image 6). This applies to other parameters like; Arrow width angle (for arrow
heads style) etc. Anything entered there will affect the look of your
dimension-head.
 |
| Image 6 |
STEP 2.
REDUCING YOUR DIMENSION
LINE EXTENSION
The dimension line
extension is that part of the dimension line that extends beyond the dimension
thick-mark (see image 1). Just a few professionals are comfortable with that
massive extension after the thick mark. Most are not. I will be using the next
few steps to explain how you can eliminate these extension lines from your
dimension witness line:
Ø After
applying the dimension type you have in mind onto an object
Ø Select/highlight
the applied dimension by simply clicking on the dimension line
Ø The
dimension line will change its colour to indicate that it is highlighted
Ø Now
to your left (this may be somewhere else if have moved yours), locate the 'properties
bar' (see image 7)
 |
| Image 7 |
Ø Then
select the 'Edit Type' button on the bar (see image 7). A dialogue-box will
appear.
Ø Now
within the dialogue-box, locate the 'dimension-line-extension' parameter field
(See image 8)
 |
| Image 8 |
Ø Change
the number you find to the right of this field to any number you wish. You can
change it to zero if you do not wish to have any extensions at all. I have used
zero (0) here. (see image 9)
 |
| Image 9 |
Ø When
you are done, click 'ok' to exit dialogue-box.
You will find that the
extension-line will be reduced based on the number (size) you specified. (see
image 10).
 |
| Image 10 |
STEP 3.
REDUCING YOUR WITNESS
LINE EXTENSION
The witness-line of
your dimension line is that line that extends vertically from the edges of the
object you are dimensioning through the thick-mark (see image 1). I will be
showing you how to reduce or extend this witness-line. The steps are very
similar to the one I used on Step 2:
Ø After
applying the dimension type you have in mind onto an object
Ø Select/highlight
the applied dimension by simply clicking on the dimension line
Ø The
dimension line will change its colour to indicate that it is highlighted
Ø Now
to your left (this may be somewhere else if have moved yours), locate the 'properties
bar' (see image 7)
Ø Then
select the 'Edit Type' button on the bar (see image 7). A dialogue-box will
appear.
Ø Now
within the dialogue-box, locate the 'witness-line-extension' parameter field
Ø Change
the number you find to the right of this field to any number you wish. I have
used '1mm' here. (see image 11)
 |
| Image 11 |
Ø When
you are done, click 'ok' to exit dialogue-box.
You will find that the witness-line
will be reduced based on the number (size) you specified. (see image 12).
 |
| Image 12 |
STEP 4.
CUSTOMIZING YOUR
DIMENSION TEXT
Your dimension text is
that figure on the dimension line that indicates the distance between the edges
of the object you have selected (see image 1). Usually, the default text is not
very professional-looking and quite over-sized. Here's how to customize the
text to look how you wish - from size to font type and colour:
Ø After
applying the dimension type you have in mind onto an object
Ø Select/highlight
the applied dimension by simply clicking on the dimension line
Ø The
dimension line will change its colour to indicate that it is highlighted
Ø Now
to your left (this may be somewhere else if have moved yours), locate the 'properties
bar' (see image 7)
Ø Then
select the 'Edit Type' button on the bar (see image 7). A dialogue-box will
appear.
Ø Now
within the dialogue-box, locate the 'Text' section (see image 13)
 |
| Image 13 |
Ø Under
this text section, you will find the following fields:
§ width
factor
§ underline
§ italic
§ bold
§ text
size
§ text
offset
§ read
convention
§ text
font
§ text
background
§ units
format
§ show
opening height
These are the parameters of the dimension
text you have used. Changing any of them will affect the behaviour of your
text. For the sake of this class, I will be working with just text size, text
offset, text font and the text background parameters.
Ø To
change the size of your text, change the number to the right (under the 'text
size' parameter) to the number you have in mind. I have used 1.5mm for mine.
Ø To
change the 'text-offset distance' (that is by how much it offsets from the
dimension line) click on the figure to the right, under the 'text-offset' field
and change it to a number you wish. I have used 1mm.
Ø To
change the 'text font type' click to the right of your 'text font' field and
pick a type. I have used Stylus BT.
Ø Now
change the text background to 'Transparent'. This will ensure that your
dimension text does not block-out/obstruct any components you have in your
project that gets behind the dimension text.
Ø If
you wish to change the dimension and text colour, you can do so by clicking the
Colour field box and changing it to any colour you wish. I have left mine in
black.
Ø You
can see all the parameter changes I made in mine on image 13i. Compare it with
image 13.
Ø When
you are done, click 'ok' to exit dialogue-box.
 |
| Image 13i |
You will observe a
massive difference with how your new dimension system looks. See image 13ii for
how mine looked when I had applied these parameter changes.
 |
| Image 13ii |
STEP 5.
HOW TO STOP DIMENSION
TEXTS FROM CONFLICTING THEMSELVES. HOW TO MOVE DIMENSION TEXTS WHEN THEY FALL
WITHIN A TIGHT DIMENSION AREA.
You must have observed
that on a default setting, your dimension texts are bound to conflict with
themselves or conflict with a text you have used within the project view. This
can be properly managed so as to avoid this. Equally, in situations where the
space between the two witness lines/nodes of your dimension isn't enough to
allow your dimension texts to be accommodated, you will be forced to have your
dimensions clogged up. (See image 14 for samples of both cases). Here are the
quick fixes to both cases:
 |
| Image 14 |
Stopping dimension
texts from conflicting:
Ø After
applying the dimension you have in mind onto an object and you have a case of
conflicting dimension texts
Ø Click
on one of the dimension lines with conflicting texts. You will notice a blue-square
dot under the texts. These blue dots are drag nodes for dragging your texts
around (see image 15)
 |
| Image 15 |
Ø Click
and drag the drag-node under the conflicting dimension text you wish to move
Ø You
will realize that once you've dragged it for a considerable distance, a
leader/pointer appears and trails the dimension text from the initial location
of the text (see image 16).
 |
| Image 16 |
Stopping dimension-texts from conflicting
with basic texts
Ø Using
the same drag-nodes, you can simply move the dimension text slightly away from
the position where it conflicts with the basic text. (see image 17i and image 17ii)
 |
Image 17i |
Ø This
can also be applied when handling conflicting dimension texts.
If you wish to work on
how close your witness-line gets to the
dimensioned object, simply click on the dimension line. Drag nodes will appear
around the witness-lines (see image 18).
 |
| Image 18 |
Now drag those nodes up towards the
dimension itself. This will shorten the witness lines. See image 19. You can also directly apply witness-line snap distance changes right into the property dialogue-box of the dimension. This will give it a permanent solution.
|
| Image 19 |
This is where our class
for this week ends. I will want to assume that you enjoyed it. Will wish to get
your feedback. Cheers!
FROM MY ARCHIVES
I have a routine here. I promised on my first
post that for each post I make, I will be attaching one of my designs from the
archives. Although I will not be including sensitive ones (real jobs of my
clients) as that could attract legal action but you can learn a thing or two
from my use of these softwares through the ones I will make available. The
designs will be ones I did with just Revit and Photoshop. No Studio Max, After
Effect or Vector works. Enjoy this current one I did back in 2010. It was Photoshoped in 2012 few weeks after i learnt how to use the software. Regards!
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The 'Name/Url' option is advisable. You can fill in just 'Name' and ignore the 'url box'.