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Dimensioning Hell!


Behemothrex

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Hey guys,

 

Well just started my class on Revit and all good so far but now I am doing a basic floor plan and as part of the tutorial I am supposed to change all the dimensions.

 

Sounds simple I know but its driving me batty!

 

I am following the books instructions and using the modify option to select a wall then simply click on the dimension box to bring it up then type in my new dimension.

 

The problem is that when I set a dimension then move on to the next wall, when I set that dimension it changes the dimension I just set, instead of just the one I am trying to change.

 

The only restrictions I have on the floor plan is that two walls are set up to be aligned.

 

But even when I am changing dimensions that do not effect those walls it still acts the same way.

 

I tried making the dimensions permanent and then locking them but that just seemed to muddle things up even more lol.

 

So any suggestions would be appreciated. I am fluent in AutoCad, and I have used Inventor, so I am not sure why I am having trouble with simply changing these dimensions.

 

Is there a way to do dimensions that build one upon the other so you can start in one area and change along the way etc.

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thanks.

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Are these Temporary Dimensions or Permanent Dimensions?

 

The problem is that when I set a dimension then move on to the next wall, when I set that dimension it changes the dimension I just set, instead of just the one I am trying to change.
I think what is happening is you are editing one of the two dimensional values, then editing the other of the two, which are altering the same Element. You see, if you click a wall, two temporary dimensions will appear. Unless you have permanent dimensions attached, then it'll simply turn the dimension text Blue, which anything "Blue" in Revit is "editable". Either way, if you have a wall running North and South, then you'll have two dimensions East and West of the wall. Edit one of those dimensions, it drives the other dimension and so forth.

 

Is there a way to do dimensions that build one upon the other so you can start in one area and change along the way etc.
Here's the way to think about it. Dimensions act in "reverse" of AutoCAD. Because in AutoCAD, you input values to draw things to the length you want and you dimension to the elements you drew. In Revit, the dimension "is" the value, and is what drives the lengths you want. The dimension in Revit isn't some abstract free-floating "value indicator" like in AutoCAD, the dimension "is" populating the value and cannot be overridden or altered without the element. It literally is constrained to the model element, in this case a Wall.

 

So in Revit, you place Dimensions, and when you're done you then click the object which activates the dimensions as the color Blue, which you then "use" the dimension to set your value. If you want to edit the other part of the dimension, you have to get out of the mindset of "editing the dimension" and first "select the object", THEN edit the dimension.

 

Watch the video below. First I edit Temporary Dimensions (the blue dims that pop up when a permanent dimension isn't available), then I run a continuous dimension string and edit them by selected the walls first:

 

http://screencast.com/t/COrkhFEcvBpq

 

Hope this helps. -TZ

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TZ,

 

Thanks for the vid, yes the dimensions are temporary to start as in the tutorial it just had me make the outline of a house by using the dimensions listed, then it wanted me to change the dimensions of the walls, basically all of them. What is happening to me is exactly what happened at the end of your video. The house is not simply four walls it has multiple steps both vertically and horizontally in the walls. So when I change a vertical wall from 20 feet to 10 feet, its fine, then I go to change the next section of the vertical wall which is offset in by 4 feet, lets say it was 3 feet long and it wants me to make it 2 feet. It does make it 2 feet but it then changes the longer vertical measurement to compensate. As the entire house is one connected outer wall.

 

I guess I could go around this mess by simply rebuilding the entire wall, which honestly would take about 2 minutes, but it would be nice to know how to change a walls length without changing the length of all the other walls.

 

I just confusing me as to why the wall I previously changed will not stay at the dimension I put in. I know Revit is all about modifying the drawing to fit the dimension but I don't want that dimension to change, why isn't it modifying the rest of the drawing to fit the new dimension I am changing.

 

I tried locking the dimensions in place by making the temp ones permanent and then clicking the lock icon, but that just seemed to restrict the drawing so much that it would not let me alter the other walls.

 

I think I will attach a pic of the project so you can see what I am talking about a bit better.

 

.Revit.jpg

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Okay, please attach the file if you can because I just got really confused, lol. And don't feel like that's an insult, it's just that you're new to Revit and I can't follow your use of terminology. I'll be glad to help you through anything you need if you can provide decent screenshots and especially if you can link to Revit model itself.

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I am in Campbellsville.

 

I think the issue I am having as shown by your vid is this. The house is a certain height and width, so when I go to change a section of the wall on top of the house, the bottom wall is still the same length, hence making it impossible to shrink the top dimensions to smaller than the overall width of the bottom wall, as the house cannot become a trapezoid LOL.

 

So when I attempt to make the first section of the upper wall shorter, the second section lengthens. And when I go to the second section of the upper wall to make it shorter, it lengthens the section I just shortened because overall the entire wall has to stay the same length as the bottom wall.

 

So maybe delete the bottom wall entirely giving the house room to shrink as I move the upper wall?

 

Just seems weird, I know you should be able to alter dimensions, even if that means making the upper outer wall physically shorter in total length than the bottom outer wall.

 

Bah LOL.

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LOL sorry TZ yah trying to explain what I am doing is kind of hard. I tried to upload the file but it would not let me so I am using an external source.

 

http://www.filedropper.com/floorplan

 

Since the floor plan is complete, as in, all four walls are connected I am not sure I can change the dimensions like I want to, as it may be impossible to make one wall shorter than the adjacent wall, while they are connected.

 

So I may have to delete the bottom wall entirely so I can then adjust the other three walls.

 

Basically the book wants me to change every wall length to a new length, and as I said before I change one wall segment to a certain length, then move on to the next wall segment and change that, but it just changes the previous segment back to adjust for the difference.

 

Well here is the file at least LOL.

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