How do I put different materials on parts of a wall face?

This post is regarding one particular query, you can see the full list by clicking here.

Let's say you want to show half of the same wall white and half black, or maybe just a diagonal black stripe on a white wall? Being able to change portions of an elements material is essential to produce accurate elevations.

Firstly, filled regions should be avoided. They may cover important geometry and will not update with your model changes.

The Paint tool (available under the Geometry section of the Modify tab in the Ribbon) allows you to assign a material to a single face of a wall or slab. Simply click on the paint tool, select the desired material and then select the face you would like to apply it to.

What if you want to change the material of only a portion of a face? Then you can use the Split Face tool (Modify>Geometry>Split Face). Click this and then select the face you want to subdivide. You will be shown an orange outline of that face. Use Revit's sketch tools to draw lines where you want the face to be split. Lines must run from one orange boundary to another or be a closed loop entirely within the orange boundary.

How do you print the line that represents a view's crop region?

This post is regarding one particular query, you can see the full list by clicking here.

The line that represents the crop region for a view can be made printable by changing the print settings. After pressing print, press the Setup button. Here, a few options are available such as: hide unreferenced view tags (hide sections that are not placed on sheets), hide crop regions, etc.

Once you set the crop region line to be printable, you can actually override the graphics of the line to display any line style you wish.

How do you change the material of a toposurface?

This post is regarding one particular query, you can see the full list by clicking here.

The material that is displayed when a Toposurface is cut in section can be changed under the Massing & Site Tab in the ribbon. There should be a small arrow pointing down and right near the section heading Model Site.

Pressing this arrow brings up a dialogue. There is a section of this dialogue titled Section Graphics. Changing the Section Cut Material will change what is displayed what a section cuts through the toposurface. Changing the Elevation of poche base will change the depth this material is displayed to - i.e. its thickness

Why is the whole family showing when cut in section? / Sections do not cut through families?

This post is regarding one particular query, you can see the full list by clicking here.

In Revit, some Family Categories are "cuttable" and others are not.

If you wish your family to be shown in section when cut by a section line, or cut plane of a floor plan, the Family Category must be of the "cuttable" variety.

This page gives a list of what Family Categories are cuttable and what are not.

To change the Category of a Family you must open the Family file. In the Properties Portion of the Home Tab in the Ribbon, look for the icon with the little yellow folder in the lower right-hand corner. Pressing this will bring up a dialogue allowing you to choose the Family Category.

It is important to choose a Family Category that is generally in accordance with what the Family in question actually is, because a Family's Category is what dictates how it is drawn in views graphically.

How do I show high level items in floor plans?

This post is regarding one particular query, you can see the full list by clicking here.

The elements that are displayed in a floor plan are determined by the View Range. Most importantly, anything below the level of the Cut Plane is drawn. Items that intersect this level are shown as being Cut (note: some families will display in their entirety even if only a small bit intersects the Cut Plane. More on that here).

If you have high elements such as high-cill strip windows, you may need to raise the cut plane in order to show these. However, you may find that it needs to be very high for some elements but lower in most other cases. If this is the case you can use Plan Regions to define areas of differing View Range levels.

To do so, select the Plan Views drop-down in the Views Tab on the Ribbon and then select Plan Region (Views>Plan Views>Plan Region). Draw the Plan Region over the area where the View Range needs to be different. Select this Region and in the Properties Window, change the View Range.

A nice and simple description of the View Range can be found here.

How do I change the material of a family?

This post is regarding one particular query, you can see the full list by clicking here.

Materials applied to any individual elements (extrusions, blends, etc.) can be overwritten in any project that the family is loaded into. Find the material in question by accessing the Material Browser under the Manage Tab in the Ribbon.

When creating families it is often useful to assign the material of an element to a type parameter, so the material can be changed by the type properties of that family. To do this, select the element in question (note: joined elements are required to use the same material and will do this automatically), in the Properties Window, find the Material property and click the small grey square to the far right of the window. This will open the Associate Family Parameter dialogue. Press the Add Parameter button. This will open a dialogue requesting you to define the properties of the parameter you are about to create. It is recommended materials are left as type parameters (not instance parameters), as they are generally similar among many families. Give the parameter a name - something like, "Cushion Material" and press OK. Now Press OK on the Associate Family Parameter Dialogue.

When this family is loaded into a Project, with the family selected, press Edit Type and you should be able to find the material parameter you created. Change this to the material desired.

How can I show the line of a roof or slab overhang in a floor plan?

This post is regarding one particular query, you can see the full list by clicking here.

The best way to show the elements on a level above, such as roofs, slabs, or voids, is to set the level that the element is on as an underlay on the floor plan and then use the linework tool to change the style of the line you want to show.

To do this, in the properties of the floor plan, go to the Underlay setting and choose which level you wish to see elements of (usually the one directly above). Change the Underlay Orientation to Plan. You will now see the plan of the level selected shown as thin grey lines. Next, under the Modify tab select Linework Tool. Choose the style of line you wish to show. For example, drawing the outline of a roof over, you may wish to use a dashed line style. Then, simply click on the thin grey lines that you wish to show and they will change to this new line style. Now, when you go back and change the Underlay setting to None, all of the thin grey lines disappear, however, the lines that you changed the style of will remain.

It is important to use this method as opposed to drawing detail lines because it ensures the lines shown for elements "over" are always accurate. It is easy to change the outline of a roof but forget to update the lines on the plan below showing its overlay. This way, you don't have to!

One final note, Underlays are not always predictable, so to see elements on a level above sometimes instead of choosing Underlay: level above, Underlay Orientation: Plan, you may have to choose Underlay: current level, Underlay Orientation: Reflected Ceiling Plan.