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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing
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Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Create grids in your Revit project.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
3 min.
Tutorial resources
These downloadable resources will be used to complete this tutorial:
Transcript
00:04
Grids are annotation elements that help define the context of a project and organize its design plan in your Revit model.
00:11
You can use grid lines to help plan the layout of a building.
00:14
A grid is a type of datum element, a non-physical item used to locate columns and structural elements in your project.
00:22
Grids help maintain the project horizontally.
00:25
They consist of a series of lines along with bubbles that contain the name of each grid line.
00:30
To place a grid in your Revit model, on the Structure ribbon, in the Datum panel, click Grid.
00:36
On the contextual ribbon, in the Draw gallery, select the Line tool.
00:41
To specify the starting point, or head of the grid line, click in the drawing area.
00:47
To constrain the grid placement to horizontal or vertical, press SHIFT.
00:52
To specify the ending point, or tail, click again in the drawing area.
00:57
When creating a grid line that is parallel to another grid in your model, a listening dimension appears.
01:02
After you create that grid line, a temporary dimension appears.
01:08
Click the temporary dimension value to activate it.
01:11
Type in a new value, and then press ENTER.
01:14
Continue to create heads and tails for each grid line.
01:18
For large grid layouts, instead of creating lines individually, you can streamline the process by using the Copy function and/or the Array tool.
01:28
When you are done, click Modify to end the command.
01:33
Select your grid and adjust the Name in the Properties palette.
01:39
Keep in mind that Revit automatically numbers each grid line.
01:42
If you want to change a number, click it, enter the new value, and then press ENTER.
01:48
There are a few quick tips that will make working with grids easier.
01:52
Number one, to change the length of a grid line, select it, click the open dot control at the end,
01:59
and then drag to adjust its length.
02:01
To move or resize a grid line that is locked into alignment, click the locked padlock icon to unlock it first.
02:08
Number two, for better readability with lines placed close together,
02:13
add an elbow to relocate a grid bubble.
02:16
Next to the bubble you want to modify, click the Add Elbow drag control, which looks like the letter Z.
02:23
Then, drag the two controls to position the elbow.
02:26
Keep in mind that this is a 2D override, so it will only appear in the view used to make the change.
02:32
Number three, you can display grid changes in similar parallel views for more consistency.
02:39
To do this, first select the grid lines with the 2D changes you want to make visible in other views.
02:45
Then, on the ribbon, click Propagate Extents.
02:50
In the Propagate Datum Extents dialog, select the views you want to apply the 2D overrides to.
02:55
Click OK and save the file.
02:58
You now know how to quickly and efficiently create grids within your Revit design model.
Video transcript
00:04
Grids are annotation elements that help define the context of a project and organize its design plan in your Revit model.
00:11
You can use grid lines to help plan the layout of a building.
00:14
A grid is a type of datum element, a non-physical item used to locate columns and structural elements in your project.
00:22
Grids help maintain the project horizontally.
00:25
They consist of a series of lines along with bubbles that contain the name of each grid line.
00:30
To place a grid in your Revit model, on the Structure ribbon, in the Datum panel, click Grid.
00:36
On the contextual ribbon, in the Draw gallery, select the Line tool.
00:41
To specify the starting point, or head of the grid line, click in the drawing area.
00:47
To constrain the grid placement to horizontal or vertical, press SHIFT.
00:52
To specify the ending point, or tail, click again in the drawing area.
00:57
When creating a grid line that is parallel to another grid in your model, a listening dimension appears.
01:02
After you create that grid line, a temporary dimension appears.
01:08
Click the temporary dimension value to activate it.
01:11
Type in a new value, and then press ENTER.
01:14
Continue to create heads and tails for each grid line.
01:18
For large grid layouts, instead of creating lines individually, you can streamline the process by using the Copy function and/or the Array tool.
01:28
When you are done, click Modify to end the command.
01:33
Select your grid and adjust the Name in the Properties palette.
01:39
Keep in mind that Revit automatically numbers each grid line.
01:42
If you want to change a number, click it, enter the new value, and then press ENTER.
01:48
There are a few quick tips that will make working with grids easier.
01:52
Number one, to change the length of a grid line, select it, click the open dot control at the end,
01:59
and then drag to adjust its length.
02:01
To move or resize a grid line that is locked into alignment, click the locked padlock icon to unlock it first.
02:08
Number two, for better readability with lines placed close together,
02:13
add an elbow to relocate a grid bubble.
02:16
Next to the bubble you want to modify, click the Add Elbow drag control, which looks like the letter Z.
02:23
Then, drag the two controls to position the elbow.
02:26
Keep in mind that this is a 2D override, so it will only appear in the view used to make the change.
02:32
Number three, you can display grid changes in similar parallel views for more consistency.
02:39
To do this, first select the grid lines with the 2D changes you want to make visible in other views.
02:45
Then, on the ribbon, click Propagate Extents.
02:50
In the Propagate Datum Extents dialog, select the views you want to apply the 2D overrides to.
02:55
Click OK and save the file.
02:58
You now know how to quickly and efficiently create grids within your Revit design model.
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