Creating complex Revit families often involves nesting components for better organization and flexibility. However, displaying 2D symbols for these nested families in plan views can sometimes be challenging. This article addresses the common issue of symbols not appearing correctly in plan views for nested Revit families and provides a step-by-step guide to ensure they are displayed as intended.
When constructing a nested family, such as a frame with interchangeable switches, you might encounter difficulties in representing these components with 2D symbols in plan views. The typical workflow involves creating the main family and then loading nested families within it. While the 3D geometry of these nested families might display correctly, the associated 2D symbols may not automatically appear in plan views.
To effectively display 2D symbols for nested families, particularly in plan views, the following steps are crucial:
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Create Annotation Symbols: For each component requiring a 2D symbol representation, you need to create a separate family using the Metric Generic Annotation template. This family will house the 2D symbol that you want to display in plan views. Design your 2D symbol within this annotation family, ensuring it accurately represents the component.
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Load Symbols into Component Families: Open the individual component families (e.g., the switch families in the example). Load the annotation symbol family you created in the previous step into each of these component families.
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Place Symbols in Component Families: Within each component family, place the loaded annotation symbol. This is typically done in the plan view of the component family. Position the symbol appropriately relative to the component’s geometry.
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Load Components into the Main Nested Family: Load the modified component families (now containing the 2D symbols) into your main nested family (e.g., the frame family).
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Verify Symbol Visibility in Project: Load the main nested family into your Revit project. Check the plan views to confirm that the 2D symbols are now visible for the nested components.
If the symbols are still not visible, consider these troubleshooting steps:
- Visibility Graphics (VG): Ensure that Generic Annotations are turned on in the Visibility Graphics settings of your plan view (VG shortcut).
- Family Category: Double-check the category of your annotation symbol family. It should be set to Generic Annotation or another appropriate annotation category to ensure visibility in plan views.
- Symbol Placement: Verify that the 2D symbol is placed within the plan view of the component family and not accidentally placed in a 3D view or on a different work plane that is not visible in plan.
By following these steps, you can effectively add and display 2D symbols for nested families in Revit plan views, enhancing the clarity and readability of your project documentation. Utilizing Generic Annotation families is key to managing 2D symbol representation for detailed components within your Revit models.
