Autodesk Revit Building's Linework and Paint Tools

Peter Gehring
Director of Building & Infrastructure Solutions, Synergis Technologies, Inc.

Many architectural modeling tools make it difficult to change the visibility or display of distinct plan object edges because we are dealing with intelligent objects, not separate lines and arcs. Changing the color, linetype, or lineweight usually applies to all edges, not just one.

This article will cover a few tools in Autodesk Revit Building that allow users to override the default line style applied to model objects' edges. We'll also examine another technique that allows you to override a face's default material.

I am going to start with the Linework tool. This will allow you to change the Revit Line Style of any existing line work in your views. Remember, Line Style in Revit is a combination of the line weight, line pattern and line color. Some different applications of this tool are, as shown below: to have the edges of buildings, doors and windows look different in elevation views; to have certain line work disappear; to reveal edges that are present in the model but not in the view; or to have cut or projection lines to appear differently.

Changes made with the Linework tool are view specific. It can be activated by the icon on the tools toolbar, or from the tools pull down menu, or by typing LW.

When engaged, the cursor changes to a pencil that allows you to select the line you want to change. You can also use Tab to select the whole element. In the first illustration below, I selected (with Tab) the whole door to change to wide lines. In the second illustration below I selected just the door swing to change it to a dashed line.

This tool does not draw additional line work in the view; it overrides the display of the object's category Line Style with a different Line Style. To get it back to the original line style you can use the same Linework tool set to By Category and select the edges or object again.

The Linework tool cannot modify the line style of dimension or other annotation lines like door tag geometry. It is limited to model elements, line work in families, and cut and silhouette edges. The edges it will apply to will highlight before selection and the status bar and tooltip will reveal the name of the component and the current line style it is set to.

To limit line work from extending along the whole model edge you can use the blue grips to have it apply to shorter segments. You can also use the Linework tool in perspective views, as shown below, but it does not seem to allow the blue control grips to limit it to segments.

Another tool that will apply an override on model elements is the Paint tool. This will allow you to override the material on a model element's face. It does not change the structure or finish components of the element, it only overrides the surface. An additional tool to use with this is the Split Face tool which allows you sketch distinct areas on a face to paint. Both these tools are located on the Tools toolbar.

When you launch the Paint tool, you select the material to apply in the Type Selector pull down, and then you select the face on a model element to apply it to. The face will highlight before selecting. You can apply it to walls, roofs, masses, families, and floors.

You cannot apply the Paint tool to instances of a family but you can use it within the family editor. Like the Linework tool, you can reset the face to the default material by setting the type of material to By Category in the Type Selector. The Paint tool will not be active in perspective views.

A common use of this tool is to split faces of walls or floors to create areas of different materials. Instead of creating two floors for carpeted and tiled areas you can define each area as a split face with different materials applied to them. In the preliminary design phase, you can also experiment by painting materials on different areas.

Launching the Split Face tool and selecting a face will enter you into sketch mode on that face and allow you to draw sketch line work to define the split faces. A split face needs to completely divide the face or define a closed loop on the face. The illustration below shows line work done in sketch mode of the Split Face command.

Below is an illustration of that split face painted with a different material.

The Split Face tool is also not active in perspective views but can be used in elevation or 3D views, as shown below.

About the Author

With 18 years of industry experience, Peter Gehring is Director of Building & Infrastructure Solutions for Synergis' Engineering Design Solutions, an independent division of Synergis Technologies, Inc., a leading Autodesk Value Added Reseller for Manufacturing, Infrastructure, and Building Solutions in the Mid-Atlantic region. He is responsible for spearheading the delivery of solutions, technical expertise, and resources to increase customers' productivity and profitability in the Building & Infrastructure industry. Gehring is an Autodesk Architectural Desktop Certified Expert, an experienced CAD instructor, and architectural and engineering designer. He graduated from Bucknell University with a B.A. in Fine Art and previously worked for 10 years with Perks-Reutter Associates, an architecture and engineering consulting firm. He can be reached at: peter.gehring@synergis.com.

Tips & Tricks > Autodesk Revit Building's Linework and Paint Tools > Printer-friendly format