Editor.”
Figure 2.10 Properties palette
Figure 2.11 Project Browser
You can search for elements by right-clicking on any item in the Project Browser and selecting Search from the context menu. The simple search function will highlight any view, sheet, family, or type with the matching text in its name.
The Project Browser can also be filtered and grouped into folders based on a number of user-defined parameters (see Figure 2.12). To access the Browser Organization Properties dialog box, right-click the Views portion at the top of the palette. You can also access this tool in the View tab under the User Interface flyout button. Learn more about Project Browser customization in Chapter 4.
Figure 2.12 Browser Organization Properties dialog box
The Properties palette and Project Browser can be undocked from the main UI and can also be placed on a secondary monitor simply by dragging or double-clicking the top border of either palette. You can also drag these UI elements onto each other to use them in a unified tabbed or stacked palette, as shown in Figure 2.13. Dragging one palette onto the top border of the other will create a tabbed palette, whereas dragging it just below the top border will result in a stacked palette.
Figure 2.13 Properties palette and Project Browser combined in a tabbed or stacked palette
The status bar at the bottom of the UI provides useful information about selected objects and active tools. When you start a tool, the status bar will display prompts about the next step required of the tool. For example, select an object and start the Rotate command; the status bar will read “Click to enter rotate start ray or drag or click the rotation center control.” It is also useful when you are using the Tab key to toggle between object snap points or when selecting chains of elements.
Toward the middle of the status bar, you will find toolbars for worksets and design options. At the far right end, you will see a filter icon next to a number. When you select objects in a view window, the number of selected objects will be displayed here. Click the Filter icon to open the Filter dialog box and refine the selection set. The five icons next to the Filter icon determine which objects in your model are eligible for selection. We will discuss selecting elements in greater detail in Chapter 3.
The drawing area is the window into your design space. As shown previously in Figure 2.1, you can tile several views from any number of open files or you can maximize the view windows. When the view windows in the drawing area are maximized, press Ctrl+Tab on the keyboard to cycle through the open views. To reverse the cycling, press Ctrl+Shift+Tab.
If you decide to use tiled views when you work in Revit, you should be aware of a subtle limitation. You’ll be able to zoom into only the extents that are defined by the drawing area. If you want to get around this limitation, here’s a helpful tip: Create a new sheet, but then delete the sheet border. This is your “working” space for any view of the project. Now you can create duplicate views of any of your project views and assemble them in this working space (Figure 2.14). Zooming in and out is much more fluid, and you’re not limited to the extents of one drawing area. You can create a keyboard shortcut to activate and deactivate views, which is helpful as well.
Figure 2.14 Working sheet view
The view control bar is at the bottom of every view and changes slightly depending on the type of view (Figure 2.15). For example, sheet views have only four buttons and perspective views don’t have a scale option. In Figure 2.15, we have tiled three view windows to illustrate some of the differences in the view control bar. From top to bottom, you can see a drafting view, a plan view, and a 3D view.
Figure 2.15 View control bar examples
Some of the buttons in the view control bar are just shortcuts to view parameters that are also available from the Properties palette. Scale, Detail Level, Crop View, and Show/Hide Crop Region are found in both the view control bar and the Properties palette. The Visual Style button allows you to select from a short list of graphic display modes that can be customized in detail with the Graphic Display Options in the Properties palette.
Other buttons in the view control bar are unique commands. One example is the Temporary Hide/Isolate command. When you select an object in a view window, use this button to select from various tools to hide or isolate either the selected objects or the entire category of objects. Temporary visibility states do not affect printing, and the view window will display with a turquoise border until the temporary visibility is reset. Next to the Hide/Isolate button is the Reveal Hidden Elements button. Use this tool to highlight any elements that are hidden in the current view, either temporarily or through other methods.
The Worksharing Display button is available only on projects where worksharing is enabled. Worksharing Display can be enabled and configured in any view to illustrate Owners, Checkout Status, Model Updates, and Worksets. Refer to Chapter 5 for a detailed explanation of these visibility features.
The Show/Hide Analytical Model button allows you to quickly display analytical graphics that are commonly used by the Structural or MEP tools in Revit. Finally, the Reveal Constraints button temporarily displays all of the model-based constraints visible in the current view. This is useful for troubleshooting model elements that might not be behaving as expected.
You may also temporarily modify view properties or apply a view template. When you click the Temporary View Properties icon in the view control bar, you will have a choice of Enable Temporary View Properties or Temporarily Apply Template Properties, as shown in Figure 2.16. Because these applied properties are only temporary, they will not affect printing and they will not be saved with the project.
Figure 2.16 Temporary View Properties command
If you select Temporarily Apply Template Properties, you can select from any view template established in your project. Once a view template is applied to the view with this tool, the view will be highlighted with a purple boundary, as shown in Figure 2.17. Refer to Chapter 4 for a detailed review of view templates.
Figure 2.17 Active view with Temporary View Properties applied
Referring
