Placeholder Links in Revit Tutorial (Office Hour Sessions)

Summary

The video script discusses the importance of managing links within a Revit template for architectural design teams. It highlights the use of placeholder links in a template to pre-set visibility, graphics, and filters for consistency across projects. The speaker demonstrates how to create and utilize these placeholders, which are essentially empty Revit files, to streamline the process of importing and setting up MEP, structural, or other consultant files. By setting up these parameters in the template, designers can avoid repetitive tasks and ensure that each project starts with the desired visual and organizational settings. The video also touches on the concept of view templates and how they can be used in conjunction with placeholder links to maintain a consistent look and feel across various views within a project.

Takeaways

• 📐 **Use Placeholder Links**: Create empty Revit files as placeholders for specific files like MEP or structural files to streamline the linking process within a template.
• 🔄 **Manage Links Efficiently**: By setting up placeholder links in a template, you can pre-configure visibility, graphics, and filters, reducing repetitive tasks when new links are added to a project.
• 📁 **Template File Structure**: The template file should include placeholder links that are initially empty, but serve as a foundation for setting up link-specific settings.
• 🎨 **Customize Graphics and Visibility**: Utilize the template to customize the display settings for different elements within linked files, such as turning off certain categories or applying specific display styles.
• ⚙️ **Consistent Settings Across Projects**: Ensure that settings like visibility and graphics are consistent across various projects by embedding these settings within the template file.
• 🔗 **Link and Reload**: When the actual files are ready, use the placeholders to reload the real files while retaining all the pre-set settings from the template.
• 📑 **View Templates for Consistency**: Create and assign view templates within the template file to apply consistent graphics settings and visibility overrides across different views.
• 🚫 **Control Category Visibility**: Use link settings to control the visibility of specific categories within linked files without affecting the main model's display.
• 🖌️ **Apply Filters and Overrides**: Leverage link settings to apply advanced filters and overrides that are not possible with global project settings alone.
• 🔄 **Efficient Project Startup**: Starting a new project with a template that includes link settings reduces the need to manually adjust settings for each new link.
• 📈 **Streamlined Workflow**: A well-structured template with placeholder links and view templates leads to a more efficient workflow, especially for architects and design teams working with multiple linked files.

Q & A

What is the main topic discussed in the transcript?

The main topic discussed in the transcript is the management of links within a Revit template, specifically how to set up and use placeholder links to manage visibility, graphics, and filters for linked files such as MEP and structural files.

Why is it recommended to keep the model on even after drafting everything in Revit?

It is recommended to keep the model on because it allows for better management of visibility, graphics, and filters, ensuring consistency and efficiency in the design process.

What are placeholder links in Revit?

Placeholder links in Revit are empty Revit files that are used within a template to set up visibility, graphics, and filters for future linked files. They help streamline the process of managing linked files by pre-setting these parameters in the template.

How do placeholder links help in managing visibility and graphics settings for linked files?

Placeholder links allow users to set up visibility and graphics settings, such as turning off certain categories or applying specific display styles, within the template. When a real linked file replaces the placeholder, these settings are retained, ensuring consistency across projects.

What is the benefit of using view templates in conjunction with placeholder links?

Using view templates in conjunction with placeholder links allows for a higher level of customization and consistency in the presentation of linked models. View templates can be set up to apply specific visibility and graphics settings to views, which are then inherited by the linked models when they are brought into the project.

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How does replacing a placeholder link with a real file affect the settings in the template?

When a placeholder link is replaced with a real file, all the settings that were configured in the template, such as visibility and graphics settings, are retained. This ensures that the linked file maintains the desired presentation and organization as defined in the template.

Why is it important to manage links within a Revit template?

Managing links within a Revit template is important because it ensures that every time a new project is started or a new link is brought in, the visibility, graphics, and filters are consistent and do not need to be set up manually each time, saving time and reducing the potential for errors.

What is the process of setting up a new project using a template with placeholder links?

To set up a new project using a template with placeholder links, the user saves the template, then starts a new project and selects the template. The placeholder links are already present in the new project, and the user can then replace these placeholders with the actual linked files, retaining all the pre-set settings.

How can filters be applied to linked files within a Revit template?

Filters can be applied to linked files within a Revit template by setting up the desired filter rules through the placeholder links. When the real linked file is brought into the project, these filters are automatically applied, allowing for a high degree of control over the visibility and presentation of specific elements within the linked files.

What is the role of view templates in managing the presentation of views in a Revit project?

View templates play a crucial role in managing the presentation of views by providing a way to standardize and control the visibility, graphics, and other display settings across multiple views. They can be applied to individual views or to entire view types, ensuring consistency in how information is presented throughout the project.

How do placeholder links differ from actual linked files in a Revit project?

Placeholder links are empty Revit files used in a template to pre-set visibility, graphics, and filters for future linked files. They do not contain any actual project data. Actual linked files, on the other hand, contain the project data from other disciplines or consultants and are linked into the main project to maintain coordination and consistency.

Outlines

00:00

🏗️ Managing Links in Revit Templates

The first paragraph discusses the importance of managing links within a Revit template, especially for architectural design teams. It introduces the concept of using placeholder links in a template to streamline the process of setting up visibility, graphics, and filters for linked files such as MEP and structural files. The speaker demonstrates how to create and use these placeholder links within a residential template, emphasizing the efficiency gained by setting up these parameters once in the template and reusing them across projects.

05:00

📐 Customizing View Templates for Consistency

The second paragraph elaborates on the process of setting up view templates within a Revit project for consistency in graphics and visibility settings. It explains that while placeholder files are used to create links, the actual customization of views is achieved through view templates. The speaker suggests assigning view templates to specific views to maintain settings like halftone for structural models or filters for MEP elements. This approach ensures that when a new project is started using the template, all the custom display settings are preserved.

10:04

🔍 Link-Specific Settings for MEP and Structural Files

The third paragraph focuses on the benefits of setting up link-specific parameters in Revit for MEP and structural files. It highlights that while view templates can handle some customization, certain settings like turning off walls in an MEP file while keeping them visible in the main model require link-specific setup. The paragraph clarifies that by preparing these settings in advance and using placeholder links, architects can easily replace them with actual files when starting a new project, ensuring that all the desired visibility and graphics settings are automatically applied.

Keywords

💡Revit

Revit is a Building Information Modeling (BIM) software used by architects, engineers, and construction professionals to design, build, and manage buildings and infrastructure. In the video, it is the primary tool discussed for managing design projects and templates, emphasizing its importance in the architectural design process.

💡BIM

BIM stands for Building Information Modeling, a process involving the generation and management of digital information about a building's physical and functional characteristics throughout its life cycle. The video emphasizes the significance of BIM in streamlining the design process and the need for design teams to utilize it effectively.

💡Template

A template in the context of Revit is a pre-configured file that sets up the initial parameters and settings for a new project. The video discusses how to create and use templates to include placeholder links, view templates, and other settings that can be applied across different projects for consistency and efficiency.

💡Placeholder Links

Placeholder links in Revit are empty files used to establish the link structure within a template before the actual files are available. They allow users to set up visibility, graphics, and filters that will apply once the real files are linked. In the video, the speaker demonstrates how to use placeholder links to pre-configure settings that are carried over when actual files replace them.

💡Visibility Graphics

Visibility Graphics in Revit refers to the settings that determine which elements of a model are visible in a view. The video explains how to manage these settings through links, particularly using placeholder links to establish which elements, like MEP (Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing) systems, are visible or hidden in a project.

💡Filters

Filters in Revit are tools used to sort and control the display of elements within a model based on specific criteria. The video discusses how filters can be applied through links, allowing for advanced control over the display of elements like ductwork or structural components, which can be color-coded or made semi-transparent.

💡MEP File

An MEP file in Revit refers to a file that contains information related to the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems of a building. The video touches on how to manage MEP files within a template to ensure consistent visibility and display settings across different projects.

💡Structural File

A structural file in Revit contains data related to the structural elements of a building, such as beams, columns, and foundations. The video script mentions managing structural files within a template to maintain consistent graphic representations and visibility settings for structural elements.

💡View Templates

View templates in Revit are pre-configured settings that define the appearance and display characteristics of views within a project. The video explains how to create and apply view templates to ensure a consistent look across different views and how they can be used in conjunction with placeholder links for a seamless workflow.

💡Graphics Overrides

Graphics overrides in Revit allow users to control the display of elements within a view, such as line styles, colors, and fill patterns. The video discusses how these overrides can be set up through links, particularly using placeholder links to establish specific visual settings that are retained when actual files are linked.

💡Phases

Phases in Revit refer to different stages in the evolution of a building's design, such as Design, New Construction, or Demolition. The video briefly mentions phases in the context of setting up a template, which can be used to control the visibility and display of model elements based on their phase.

Highlights

The importance of using Revit and BIM for design teams is emphasized, particularly for architects.

Maintaining the model even after drafting is recommended for better design management.

Paul's question about managing links within a template is introduced as a valuable concept.

The concept of placeholder links is introduced to manage specific files like MEP and structural files within a template.

Placeholder links allow for setting up visibility, graphics, and filters within the template, streamlining the process for new projects.

Demonstration of how to insert and manage placeholder links in a Revit template file.

Customizing visibility and graphics settings for linked files directly within the template for consistency.

The process of replacing placeholder links with actual files while retaining all the settings is explained.

Use of view templates and assigning them to views for a consistent look and feel across different projects.

How to apply view templates to links, ensuring that specific settings like halftone or color filters are maintained.

The advantage of setting up visibility graphics and filters through links rather than a global project setup.

Explanation on how to deal with specific parameters for linked files without affecting the main model.

The efficiency of setting up recurring settings for MEP or structural files by using placeholder links.

How to ensure that specific elements like walls or floors in linked files are hidden or displayed as desired.

The practical application of using placeholders to set up filters and phasing in a project before replacing with actual files.

The benefits of using a combination of placeholder links and view templates for a more efficient and consistent design process.

The final step of replacing placeholder links with actual files and verifying that all custom displays and settings are retained.

Transcripts

you can have it turn off walls but your

walls stay on so that's why it's in

there right yes that's it or like or

filter

[Applause]

[Music]

to process that if you are using revit

if you're using bim

every single design team should be doing

this i've got a lot of my architect

friends out there you are actually the

ones who need to hear this more than

anything

[Music]

but keeping even if you draft everything

you should still keep the model on

[Music]

[Applause]

but paul did ask a very specific

question which i thought was cool a cool

a cool concept that i don't think a lot

of people know about is how do you

manage

how do you manage links within your

template so i think what you're asking

um and correct me if i'm wrong but i

think this is what is is when you're

bringing in files so maybe you have an

mep file a structural file uh the trust

file you're talking about whatever it is

right you have very specific and

probably pretty typical files that are

coming in um with the obvious being the

mep structure and you know any

consultants

um you know how do you how do you manage

those within a template so that you know

things like visibility graphics and

filters and all these things that are

coming up

how do you manage that in a template so

you're not doing those every single time

you bring in a new link if i was to open

up

one of my

a template file

so this is one of my older residential

templates which i still use i just

haven't upgraded uh i probably should

just upgrade and save it but

it's a 2016 template that i've just been

using and so this is kind of the

residential template but

um

what you what you do is you create

placeholder links um and what's cool

about a placeholder link is that it

exists within your file um initially you

you

you have to create a file for it there

doesn't necessarily need to be anything

in the file it's helpful when there is

because you can set these things up but

um so right now if this is my template

file if i go to insert manage links you

can see

i've got nothing here

but i have these

placeholder files which are just empty

revit files if you want to use existing

files you can but they're just empty

revit files right so i made mep site and

structural placeholder links so what i'm

going to do is i'm going to

so i'm going to

i'm going to insert all three of these

i should probably just go to manage

links it'll be quicker

so i have a site in mep and you can name

them however you want some people like

to put asterisks before it or something

so that they always get linked but those

are gonna make a huge difference or they

always get

pushed to the top or bottom

all right so these are just empty files

but now that you have a link in here

even if the template can't find those

links because they may not exist you

know down the road what you can do is

now you can actually set up right you

can set up your visibility graphics of

the links if you want so if you want to

go through custom and you know i want to

turn off

maybe i want to turn off

everything except for

i don't know maybe duct stuff

or something like that

um

and then maybe i want to have my my

structural model i want to have uh

it'll always be half tone you know that

kind of stuff right or i can even do

filters through links i mean you get the

idea so now what you can do is you can

actually these placeholder links have

all of your settings built into them

whether it's by view whether it's by

project etc

and that is built into your template so

then when you start a new project so now

i'm just gonna i'm gonna save this

template so remember this is my rte file

so i'm just saving this template

and i probably should have renamed it

2020 because now i just upgraded it but

that's okay it's a separate file so now

when i go to new

and i start my

my project

so now i still have right if i go to

manage links i still have these links

here if they were moved they would say

not loaded but they would still

right there would still be something

there

okay

and all of your settings are still there

even though the link's not loaded your

settings are still there so then when i

have my real file all i do is i click

this i use my placeholder and i reload

from and so i'm reloading from

but all of my settings still remain

okay

so now

if i

go here you'll notice the only thing

that's showing is ducks

and diffusers and it's halftone or

something like that right

because remember i set up those settings

through the link which i just reloaded

from i didn't replace i didn't remove i

reloaded from so you're using a

placeholder to set up all of your stuff

right all your filters all your phasing

whatever the heck you're doing and then

when you get the project when you start

the project you just replace that

placeholder with the real file and all

of your stuff notice how all of my

custom display is all still there and

that was built inside my template i was

gonna ask are you setting up in those in

those like

uh placeholder files

are you setting up um

all the views and everything because it

seems

like when you're doing what you had

shown when you're managing the links

um like you had a 3d

visibility i mean how does that apply to

all the other views can you set that up

first of all in a placeholder how you

want to have all of that seen

and then when you replace it does that

work or

yeah how does that work it does so so

what i was suggesting i was shown

quickly just using graph graphics

overrides but it but if you're if you're

talking about you know setting up the

full on template you know i would

definitely suggest creating view

templates and then having those view

templates assigned to your views and

then within those view templates right

you can have you can have the the

graphics settings so

um so you know if if i was to let's

maybe i go to the first floor

which probably won't when you're when

you say set up the view templates you

mean in the placeholder file or in the

the

parent file that you're importing

right in your template file not in the

place the placeholder files only exist

because revit needs an rvt to create

those links right and so so the reality

is once i create those placeholder files

they don't need to be seen anymore by

the template right so if i you know if i

went in and i

let me close this delete

so if i went and i took these

placeholder links and i

deleted them

yeah right and then i create a new file

of course it's not pointing there so i

gotta go find it again

you can see my screen right i'm sorry

yeah okay yeah so now i just created a

new project using that template which

had the placeholder links

um if i go under insert manage links i

got to get out of

drafting because it's annoying see so

they still exist oops yeah but they just

say not found

right right and so now that all the

settings still apply to those and you

can still just replace them but if you

were you know my settings were just the

3d view but if i

um i mean i'm in the project now i'm not

in the template the same the same rules

apply so in here if i went in and i said

you know this specific view

you know you know

for me creating templates was always

easier using good projects and taking

the good parts of it right and so you

know maybe you have a view set up or

even a view template already and a

specific project that works for you but

so let's just say this is the view so in

this one i'm going to do

half tone

and um

and i don't know i'm just going to half

tone on the nep

and so what i can do now this is only

the specific view but right i can make a

view template so if i

under uh under view if i say create

template from current view

i can call this one floor plan whoa

caps lock that's bizarre

floor plan

mep gray i mean obviously you want more

information than that but whatever so so

now

anyone that has this

anyone that has this view template and

so i can go through and manage this

stuff but right now the visibility

graphics override through links is right

here see how halftone's there

nice and so now i can assign these floor

plans and this can be done after the

fact or before the fact doesn't make a

difference but um

i'm going to assign these floor plans a

view template right here

and there's my view template

and now when i bring in my link

you know even even though you know again

it's all set up through the placeholder

if i replace this guy

with the actual file all those templates

are going to apply to all those views

so that'll work for filters graphic

overrides you name it whatever it is

and so i don't know where where this mep

stuff's going there it is see so it's

half tones

is that any better than just setting up

view templates inside your

um

inside your

template file and then anytime you link

to something

that you just use is it is it different

is it better

to have it first through the link or

just set up your view templates anyway

and then it just you know well it

applies

so i i think what you're saying is if

if in your view template you have some

linked information there right is that

kind of

the the problem is

um you need to have the placeholder

links here in order to create those so

so yes i mean i'm doing it in the

project but yeah ideally you're setting

myself in the template yeah i get it

right and then when you start your

project the templates are there but you

can't create the visibility graphics for

a link unless a link is there in your

template yeah this is this is just like

a view template

i mean i can have a view template that

says make all my ducts

you know dash lines right yeah and that

yes and that would be i could do that

just in a regular view template but if

i've got a link i can force the a lot

more stuff on the link right right so so

then just exactly so if you know

things like duck maybe not the best

example because you know that's that's a

category that you can you can affect the

global view right right but let's say

let's say your mep model has walls on it

and you don't want to see their walls

you can have it turn off walls but your

walls stay on so that's why it's in

there right yes that's it or like or

filter or filtering right you can't yeah

let's say you want to color all of the

duct work a specific color or a specific

you know based on a rule built in a

filter um you have to do that with a

link set up right you can't do that uh

using a global project set up right so

yeah but i think that i think that's

that's where you're getting i think yeah

i think we're both going no that makes

sense now because it seems like then

what you're doing is you're saying i'm

gonna take whatever is linked

get special parameters

on that and the views of that yes that

don't affect what my major model is what

my main model is exactly so if you

specific to a link yes so so like if

you're if you're always bringing in an

mep file or a structural file and every

time you bring it in you're hiding their

walls you're hiding their floors you're

you're you know you're making sure that

they're

they're wide flanges or half toned or

you know all that stuff that you do

every time you bring a lincoln you can

set all that up ahead of time um and

then this way

in this way all you're doing is just

reloading or replacing that placeholder

with the real file and then it's all

done for you

okay that makes sense