Troubleshooting Views

Transcription

1 . Table of Contents Troubleshooting Views... 4 Problems that can occur with views... 4 Process to troubleshoot view display problems... 4 Tips and Tricks for solving view problems... 9 Family creation and family display troubleshooting Problems that can occur with family creation and family display Process to troubleshoot family problems Tips and Tricks for solving family creation and display problems Corrupt file error messages Problems that indicate file corruption Process to troubleshoot corrupt file errors Tips and Tricks for corrupt files Troubleshooting Memory usage within Revit Problems in Revit that indicate a memory usage problem Process to troubleshoot memory issues Tips and tricks for memory problems Rendering problems Problems that indicate a Rendering issue Process to troubleshoot Rendering issues Ensuring Proper Installation of Rendering content Checking Lighting Checking Materials Checking Rendering Settings Tips and tricks for memory problems Talking to Product Support Conclusion

2 Troubleshooting Views Problems that can occur with views View problems can manifest themselves in a number of ways, but normally, the symptom of a view display problem is that an object or graphic in the view is not displaying the way you would like it to display. Often this is just an object that does not appear in the view and you would like it to, or the object displays, but it does not look correct. Sometimes the entire view looks incorrect or garbled or the view is inconsistent with other views that are similar. Process to troubleshoot view display problems The troubleshooting process for view display problems consists of checking and rechecking a number of settings and dialog boxes within the product. The process starts by attempting to recreate the same problem in a blank project. The reason for recreating the problem is that many problems could be related to the project that you are currently working on, and recreating the problem in a blank project is an important step to attempt to limit options and diagnosis what is happening. Recreating the problem in a blank project instantly helps you to find out what caused the problem, and enabled you to reverse your steps in your own project to find the solution. If you are not able to reproduce the problem then you can proceed to try the following 2

3 View properties: This is the place to start looking in Revit for View problems. Figure 1: View Properties View Properties lets you have access to and controls the settings for the view. More often than not, these are the settings that you need to modify for your view to display correctly. Here are the five most common things to check in this dialog: Visibility/Graphics Overrides Discipline View Range Phase Filter Phase Visibility/Graphics Overrides: Since V/G controls the display of the Revit model this is the first place to look, especially if an entire category of an object is affected. 3

4 Figure 2: The Visibility/Graphic Overrides Dialog box. Check and recheck to make sure the category you need to display is turned on and set correctly. Make sure that your override is applied correctly. I always make the mistake of using the Cut lines and patterns instead of Projection/Surface lines and patterns. Pay special attention if you are using Worksharing (worksets). Workshared projects add a tab to Visibility/Graphic Overrides to control the display of different worksets. Discipline: The discipline setting is hard coded into Revit, and these setting controls how different categories of objects display in a view. This has more of an impact if you are using Revit MEP and Structure than Revit Architecture because Revit MEP and Structure are more likely to have different views that utilize different disciplines to display objects. If you see 4

5 an entire category of objects that are half toned and Visibility/Graphic overrides doesn t show the objects halftone, change your discipline setting for the view to Coordination. The coordination discipline shows all objects the same (as solid, non-half tone lines). If changing to this setting fixes your problem then great, but know that you will need to leave your view in coordination to have the objects stay that way. Currently, you cannot customize the display of different disciplines or create your own. View Range: View Range frequently influences view issues. View range normally affects the view with regard to the cut plane of the view more often than with the top of bottom range or the view depth setting. In order for most objects to display, they must be within the Top and Bottom of the Primary Range. Figure 3: The View Range dialog box The view depth only pertains to holes in the floor (or ceiling for reflected ceiling plans) and how far through the hole you can see. The best way to troubleshoot the view range is to change the cut plane so that it cuts directly through the problem object. This is because many family types only display if they are cut by the cut plane. The cuttablity of a family is a visibility setting in the family which we will talk about in the Family troubleshooting section of this paper (see page 11). Phase Filter: The Phase filter set for the view can also cause some objects to display a certain way. To troubleshoot a Phase filter issue it is always good to start by changing the Phase filter to none. This will turn off filters for the view and let you see how the view would 10

6 look without a filter applied. Phases: Phases are a little tricky to handle in Revit when it comes to view display problems. The Phase and Phase filter both impacts the display of a view together. They work together to display the graphics of the view when phases are being used. Often the biggest problem with phases is that users have created a Demolish phase. Demolish is actually a phase state within Revit and should not be used as an actual phase. Troubleshooting view display issues involves trying to reproduce the problem in a blank project, and checking view settings in your project. View display problems can have a number of cross over issues with other areas of the product such as phasing and family creation. Tips and Tricks for solving view problems Cut Copy Paste Cutting an object from a view and pasting it back to the same place using Paste Aligned -> Same Place can very quickly resolve a refresh or single incident display problem. It also works well on wall cleanup issues. Figure 4: Paste Aligned, Same Place. 10

7 View Templates Applying a default view template to a view can often resolve any view range issues quickly by using a default template setting. View Templates in 2009 products also have added power by allowing you to control which settings the view template applies to in order to troubleshoot the problem. Reveal Hidden Elements Click the Reveal hidden elements button to display items that are somehow hidden in the view. This can reveal things that were accidently hidden in the view. Elevation and Section marks Figure 5: Reveal Hidden Elements If these objects are not displaying, try increasing your scale setting (make your scale closer to 1 to 1) for your view. Elevation and Section marks have a setting on their properties that can prevent them from displaying at scales coarser than the scale listed. Change this setting in the element properties of the mark to allow the mark to display. Detail Level Figure 6: Hide at scales coarser than Change the detail level for the view. Some geometry may not display at certain detail levels. Grid Lines and Reference plane visibility In order for Grid lines and reference planes to display they need to be perpendicular to the view they are to display in. This means that angled grid lines will not display in elevations or sections unless the elevation/section is perpendicular to the grid line. Also, Grid lines and reference planes must touch the cut plane of the view they are intended to display in. If they do not touch the cut plane for the level they will not display. Simply switching to an elevation or section view will often reveal the problem. 10

8 Family creation and family display troubleshooting Problems that can occur with family creation and family display Family creation and display issues troubleshooting are a little more fluid that other types of troubleshooting within Revit. This primarily comes from the fact that users can create content however they want. Finding the answer to these problems can be time consuming and require a lot of trial and error. A typical problem with family creation is that the family does not flex (change) when it is loaded into a project, but works inside the family editor. A problem with a family could manifest itself as a display problem within your project. Perhaps the family is should display as cut in the view but it does not when inserted into a project. Another problem that can occur is an error message like below: Figure 7: Family creation error message 11

9 Process to troubleshoot family problems The process for troubleshooting family issues within Revit is to keep things simple and often times, working backwards. To simplify the problem try to work on a copy of the family and break it down to discover the problem. You can start by trying these things: Delete pieces of geometry that don t appear to impact the problem, flex the family and see if the problem still occurs Re Align and constrain geometry to reference planes or lines. Try not to constrain geometry to other pieces of geometry Remove constraints from the model one at a time around the problem geometry For Formula parameters, replace the formula with a logical value Allow Revit to remove constraints in a warning and see what constraints were removed Remove parameters one at a time Pin reference planes that do not move like the planes that define the origin Remove any Groups from the family and flex again. Instead of groups (except for arrays) use nested component families Edit the sketches of Geometry and remove any dimensions and parameters from inside the sketch Check the Visibility setting of each piece of geometry in the family to make sure it is set correctly Check the Family Category and Parameters under Settings and change the family to generic model. Does the family look correct when inserted into a project? This could mean that the family s category is impacting the display, (More information provided in paragraphs below) Edit sketches of geometry and check to see if the sketch is constrained as well as the actual geometry Check different views of the family and undo constrained geometry and sketches For families that are hosted to geometry (like a wall or ceiling) make sure that the geometry in the family is not constrained directly to the host. Instead, host a reference plane to the host geometry and align the family geometry to the reference plane. This will prevent can t make type errors when trying to place a hosted family in a project. This error is caused when the hosted geometry in the project is of a different type than the host that currently is placed in the project Simplifying the family as much as possible is one way to help pin point the cause of the problem along with providing a way to resolve the problem. Families frequently have visibility problems that may cause them to display incorrectly. This is often caused because of the category that the family is assigned to must touch the views cut plane in order to display. Revit Architecture families are either cuttable or non-cuttable. If a family is cuttable, the family displays as cut when the cut plane of a plan view intersects that family in all types of 12

10 views. If the family is non-cuttable, it displays in projection regardless of whether it is intersected by the cut plane. You can determine if a family category is cuttable in the Object Styles dialog by clicking on the Settings menu, Object Styles. If the Line Weight Cut column is disabled, the category is non-cuttable. For some cuttable families in the families Element Visibility Settings dialog, there is an option called When cut in Plan/RCP. This option determines if family geometry is displayed when the cut plane intersects that family. For example, in door families, the geometry for plan swing is set to be displayed when the door is cut in plan views and not displayed when the door is not cut. This option is never made available or selected for non-cuttable families. For some cuttable families, the option is made available, and you can select it. For other cuttable families, the option is never made available, but it is always selected. The next page contains a table listing the categories in Revit Architecture and whether each category is cuttable or not cuttable. If a category is cuttable, it also shows whether it has an option that users can control. Family Category Cuttablity Casework Yes Yes Balusters No Ceilings Yes Not Applicable (system Family) Columns Yes Yes Curtain Wall Panels No Detail Items No Doors Yes Yes Electrical Equipment No Electrical Fixtures No Entourage No Floors Yes Not Applicable (system Family) Furniture No Furniture Systems No Generic Models Yes No Lighting Fixtures No Mechanical No Equipment Parking No Planting No Plumbing Fixtures No Roofs Yes Not Applicable (system Family) Site Yes Yes 13

11 Specialty Equipment No Structural Columns Yes Yes Structural Yes Yes Foundations Structural Framing Yes Yes Topography Yes No Walls Yes Not Applicable (system Family) Windows Yes Yes Tips and Tricks for solving family creation and display problems Cut Copy Paste Cutting a piece of geometry from a view in a family and pasting it back to the same place using Paste Aligned -> Same Place can quickly remove all constraints from that piece of geometry and let you correctly align that geometry back in its original place. See Figure 4 on page 9 for an example. Invisible line trick Certain types of families need to be cut by the Cut Plane in the view which they are placed in a project. This can cause some problems for the display of ceiling fixtures and other items that you might want to display in a floor plan that are not cut by the cut plane. A trick to allow the family to display is to modify the family and draw a model line in the family that extends below the family so that the line would cross the cut plane in that view. Next, you can assign that model line to a new sub category and make that sub category display all objects on the category as white. This makes the line invisible against a white background and allows all the geometry in the family to display if the single model line crosses the cut plane. Conceptual Model Families Model conceptual masses using reference lines, not model lines. Utilizing Reference lines allows you to delete the form, but the reference lines will remain so that you do not lose the shapes that you drew to create the form. Model lines will be absorbed into the form and when the form deleted, the model likes will go as well.. 14

12 Corrupt file error messages Problems that indicate file corruption When you attempt to open a RVT file you get an error message like one of the following: Figure 8: File past its End Figure 9: Seek Failed Figure 10: Manual Upgrade 15

13 Process to troubleshoot corrupt file errors Corrupt file troubleshooting is much simpler than other problems; however solving the problem is usually not as easy. Figures 8 and 9 above are both what we call bad corrupt file message. These messages typically mean that the files are hopeless and cannot be recovered. This is most often caused by an interrupted download or file exchange where some of the data was lost during the exchange. Exchanging the file again will usually allow the data to be transferred correctly. Figure 10 above is a good corrupt file message, as the file can sometimes be recovered. You can attempt to open the file with the Audit option turned on which may help to recover the data. Figure 11: The Audit Option If you receive any of these error messages you should contact your local reseller or submit a support request through the subscription center. (Please refer to the Talking to Support section the end of this document.) 16

14 File Backup: If you receive error messages like Figures 8 and 9, you should attempt to recover the file from a backup or exchange the file again. For Non-work set enabled files, Revit saves automatic backups for you when saving to a network location. During save, if Revit detects that the file is not work-shared and saved to a location over the network, it will place a copy of the file in the journal folder (typically in C:\Program Files\Revit Product Name\Journals). The file name will have the following format: [project name]_yyyymmdd-hhmmss-mmm.rvt [project name] is the name of the original file, and the trailing digits represent the date and time at which the save occurred in Greenwich Mean Time. For instance, a file called ProjectOnTheNet.rvt may have a local backup with the following name, to indicate that it was saved on April 24, 2007 at 19:23: GMT: C:\Program Files\Revit Structure 2008\Journals\ProjectOnTheNet_ rvt Revit will also purge older backups. For any given project, if there are more than three (3) backup copies, Revit will keep the three most recent copies and delete the rest. For Workset enabled projects you can use the backup feature within Revit to recover a backup of a previous version of a central file. File Recreation: There may be methods to recreate your project if corrupted. These methods have varying degrees of success, and some are more successful than others. Recreating a central file from a Local file: If a central file becomes corrupt, it may be possible to avoid a loss of work by saving an up to date local file as the projects central file. This method works well if one local file is completely up to date, and no other local file contains work that needs to be saved back to the central file. You can save your up to date local file as a new central file and have all other users create new local files to continue working. Before saving the local file as a central file, make sure to Audit and Purge unused in the file to ensure that it is in good condition. Rebuilding the backup with Journal files: This method is not recommended or supported by Autodesk Product Support 17

15 If users working on the project have been very careful, it is possible to rebuild a file using journal files that are recorded during sessions of Revit. Journal files can be dragged and dropped onto the Revit Architecture shortcut on the desktop which will open a session of Revit and run the recorded journal file, replaying what occurred during that session. There are a number of problems with this approach that prevents it from being successful. This approach only works if the files have not changed locations on the network, been renamed, or moved in any way. This approach will only work if users never caused Revit to lose focus in Windows. This means that a user never switched to another open application or window. If a user did lose focus on Revit, an error message will occur and the journal playback will not complete and the remaining tasks will not occur. This approach will only function if you can tell exactly which version of the file you have to work with. If the Revit file is in a different state than the journal file run, tasks will be completed to the file in an incorrect order which could result in errors, crashes, and incorrect elements and objects causing more corruption. These problems are the reasons why journal file playback is not a supported method for file recovery and rebuilding, and has been shown to cause problems with Revit files. 18

16 Tips and Tricks for corrupt files Is there anything that you can do to recover a corrupt file? Most of these corruptions occur deep within the file structure and require assistance from Autodesk Product Support to recover. In my experience, there is a small indicator that you can use to understand your chances of having your file successfully recovered. If you can see the preview of the project when you attempt to open the file via the open dialog box, there is a high chance that the data can be recovered. If you cannot see the preview, there is a high likelihood that the data will not be recovered and you should consider recovering from backups before contacting your local reseller or Autodesk Support. Figure 12: File preview 20

17 Troubleshooting Memory usage within Revit Problems in Revit that indicate a memory usage problem The most common memory related problems are rendering, plotting, or exporting tasks. Memory issues can arise for saving, view manipulation (panning, zooming, etc.), and even with network licensing within severe situations. Most commonly output related tasks such as rendering and plotting is among the first to have problems. Two examples of these problems include black renderings after attempting to render at a high resolution, and not being able to export a rendering. A frequent symptom of a system memory issue is what I call clicking the button but nothing happened syndrome. In these cases, usually the machine runs out of memory while performing the task and then cancels it, but tells you that the task was completed. This most often happens with rendering, plotting or exporting. Another example of a memory problem occurs while exporting a view to a DWG file. After clicking save, Revit tells you it is completed, but there is not a DWG file from the export where you told it to save the file. 21

18 Process to troubleshoot memory issues If you suspect a memory problem you can do a few things to check it out. First, open the windows task manager while attempting the task and see where your memory usage is heading by looking at the Page file Usage History and Physical Memory. Figure 13: Task Manager If your total available physical memory dips below 100 MB, you are having serious problems. Typically, you would like to have total physical memory on your machine that is 20 times the size of the file you are working on. For example, a 10 MB file would have at least 22

19 200 MB (10x20) of physical memory. If you are working on a 100 MB file, you should have a minimum around 2 GB (200x10 = 2,000 MB) of memory. There is another troubleshooting method available to you with Revit for memory usage, and it is provided in the Revit Journal file. Journal files provide a record of what occurred during a single session of Revit and can help to shed some light on what is happening with regard to memory usage. Journals are typically stored in C:\Program Files\Revit Product Name\Journals. Journal files record the memory usage within Revit during certain activities in the session. You can search though journal files to find this information. Figure 14: Journal file memory information Figure 14 shows an example of memory usage information in a journal file. It displays the amount of memory available and the total amount. Revit also displays statistics on the amount of Virtual Memory (VM) available. Virtual memory includes space on your hard drive available for the application to use. Tips and tricks for memory problems There are a number of things you can do to free additional memory for your applications. Here is a short list of affective methods: 23

20 Close other open applications when performing a memory intensive task (i.e. printing, exporting, and rendering) Before performing memory intensive tasks close Revit and restart it. This can free up additional memory that Revit may have been holding from a previous activity. It is a good idea to restart Revit at least once a day in the middle of the day. When going to lunch close the application and start again when you come back. This allows the application to dump any memory it may be holding on to. Closing Hidden Windows every so often (every hour) in a session can help to free additional memory. If you re a subscription customer, download the worksharing monitor from the subscription center. It provides a tool to manage work set enabled projects and memory usage within Revit 24

21 Rendering problems Getting use to producing a good rendered image in Revit 2009 and 2010 using the new rendering engine can be challenging. Problems that indicate a Rendering issue Rendering problems are fairly easy to spot. The rendered image does not look the way you would like. Most of the time, this is a material, lighting, setting, or content issue and most often can manifest as black objects, dark scenes, or lights looking incorrect. Process to troubleshoot Rendering issues The process of troubleshooting rendering issues is broken into these four areas. Making sure the rendering content is installed. Checking Lighting Checking Materials Checking Rendering Settings Ensuring Proper Installation of Rendering content 1. The first are to verify is that the Rendering Library was properly installed. On Revit Structure and Revit MEP the Rendering Library is not installed by default. It needs to be checked during the installation or deployment creation on Configuration, Content Selection. Make sure the Rendering portion of the content is included for installation. 2. If this was done normally, open the latest Revit journal file. Search for the line Protein : Initialize the Renderer to ensure the Rendering Library is active and running with the software. 3. Verify the type of view being rendered. Keep in mind rendering is only available from a Camera or 3D view. It is disabled in Plan, Elevations, & Section Views. 4. Lastly ensure their system hardware meets the minimum requirements for rendering. Requirements are listed on the product Features & Specifications page. Checking Lighting: Lighting plays a key role in any scene. Verifying that you are using the correct light setting for your view is the key to ensure materials display correctly. 25

22 From Rendering, Artificial Lights, Dimming verify the desired lights are checked to be included, and that Dimming is not 0. 1 is the default light settings, which will illuminate at the full light family settings. Upgrade Lighting Families Lights originally created in Revit 2008 must be upgraded to illuminate properly. This upgrade does not take place during the initial project upgrade. Each light family in the project must be manually opened, and loaded back into the project through the Load into Project button. The Light Source Definition There are several aspects to the Light Source Definition which can come into play when rendering a scene. 1. One area to keep in mind is that the Rendering Quality affects the accuracy of the Light Source Definition, Emit from Shape. When rendering below Medium quality, the Emit from Shape is generalized. This will not completely take the shape shown into account or rendering the scene. When rendering at Medium or above, the exact geometry of the Emit from Shape is utilized. 2. By default the Lighting Fixtures, Light Source is disabled in Views. Often the light source is being clipped or blocked with the ceiling plane. This will cause the light to appear dark or not illuminated in the scene. Open Visibility/Graphic Overrides, Model Categories, Lighting Fixtures, Light Source. 26

23 3. Check on Light Source to view where the Light Source falls in relationship to the ceiling plane. 4. Open the family to verify if there is imported geometry, such as from a CAD file. Imported geometry in a light fixture family may be blocking the light source definition from rendering. First test deleing the imported geometry to see if the fixture renders properly. If so, try adjusting the material through Settings, Object Styles, and Imported Objects tab. Locate the layer, and apply a transparent Revit Material under the Material column to see if the light source is visible afterwards in a rendering. Displaying daylight There are a few areas to verify for issues relating to daylight in a rendering. If Revit 2009 is being used, ensure Revit is running Web Update Daylight Portals determines whether glazing objects such as Windows, Doors and Curtain Walls are rendered for Interior Views which include sunlight. Under Rendering, Quality, Edit, ensure Daylight Portal Options are checked to allow glazing to function properly. 2. Verify the scene is calculating Sunlight. Under Rendering, Lighting, Lighting verify the Scheme contains Sun. 27

24 3. Lastly verify the sun location and time is correct for the specific scene. Change the Rendering, Lighting, Sun, and Edit\New. If using By Date, Time and Place make sure the sun is visible during this date\time. Try choosing one of the predefined Name settings for testing purposes. Dark Interior Scenes When rendering an interior scene check to make sure the exposure setting is correct. You can adjust the image exposure setting after the image has been rendered to increase its brightness. See the Rendering settings section below. To test the lights in the scene, add a new out-of-the-box lighting fixture. Navigate to Lighting Fixtures, Floor Lamp - Torchiere.rfa. Re-Render the scene afterwards to see if the lighting is the same. This is an easy method to isolate the issue to the existing fixtures or the rendering settings. Checking Materials Materials are an integral component of rendering. Without the correct materials, the best rendering will not be good enough. Discipline of the Object When rendering in Revit Structure or Revit MEP the Discipline of the View is crucial. Elements materials from other disciplines will render grayed out when it is set to the specific type. Instead, for rendering views that fall into this category, set the View Properties, Discipline to Coordination. This will render all objects at full opacity. Missing Materials in a Project Material definitions which may be missing in a project can be transferred in from another project. Revit cannot store materials in a network library. Instead a Revit file can be used to store materials, and they can be transferred into projects as needed. Open the Revit project containing the material. Navigate back to the project missing the material. Go to File, Transfer Project Standards. Click Check None, and then check 28

25 Materials. Verify Copy From is the file containing the materials. When prompted, choose New Only to only copy materials currently not in the active project. Checking Rendering Settings The final step in the process is to ensure your rendering settings are correct. 1. Under Rendering, Rendering Dialog, Adjust Exposure, try modifying Exposure Value to see if the scene is set too dark. Often the default settings can be darker than expected. 2. Under Rendering, Rendering Dialog, verify the Lighting Scheme contains some Artificial lights included. 3. Check the Light Source Definition settings under the previous Light Source Definition section. 29

26 4. Verify if there are any missing material texture map errors when rendering. Missing materials will be rendered black and could be affecting the scene. Tips and tricks for memory problems Background images Currently you can only use the default sky background for renderings. There is a workaround in Revit to place a custom background image. Steps are listed below: 1. Render the image in Revit 2. When the rendering is complete, under Image click Export 3. Choose.TIF or.png format, Save 4. From another project view, choose File, Import, and Image. Browse to the background image you want to use 5. Once the background image is place, repeat the last step to import the previously rendered image over the custom background image. 6. You may need to resize the background image behind the rendered image 30

27 Talking to Product Support There are a number of things that you can do to speed up your interaction with Autodesk Product support if you are not able to solve the problem (or for corruption issues) and need assistance. The guiding principle for interacting with Product Support is to provide as much information and detail as possible. Here are some things that you should always include that can help make the process smoother: Describe the problems with as much detail as possible. Include the text from any error messages. Include a screen capture (go to for a nice free tool for screen captures) to help you describe the problem. Explain your desired outcome. If it is hard to explain, include a picture or screen capture of what you want it to look like. Provide details on any recent changes made to computer systems. Explain if the problem occurs on multiple computers or just one. Let Support know if the problem seems to be random, or if it occurs at certain times. Tell Support what you have already tried to do to solve the problem. Let them know what you have done to troubleshoot, and if anything was partially successful. This helps to save time suggesting solutions that you might have already tried. Include a journal file from your machine when the error occurred and a few extra journal files as well. (located in C:\Program Files\Revit Product Name\Journals) If the problem seems related to a specific file, include the file. Be prepared for Support to ask you follow up questions for clarification of the problem, and to receive recommendations for resolving the issue that may include reinstalling the product. Some issues can only be fixed with a fresh start on the machine. Possible corrupt files can take time to investigate and to recover data. Be clear when you need the file returned so that Support can keep you informed of any issues that may prevent that from occurring. Remember, the more information you can provide on the problem, the smoother your interaction with Support. Conclusion Revit Architecture is a state of the art BIM modeling tool and sometimes encounters problems that require knowledge of the tools within the application to troubleshoot and solve. By understanding how the software functions and what these typical problems 31

28 are, you can use these procedures and tips and tricks to help solve common Revit problems faster and get your projects back on track. 32