Revit Graphics Appearance (III)

Visibility / Graphics Override by View

Choosing how we want to see elements.

First of all I want to clarify that I’m speaking about visibility for construction views and not for presentation views, those will need other tips and tricks.

Graphic settings “by default” are configured in Object Styles where we have to choose general visibility for our elements. But then happens that for an architecture view we want to see things in a different way than we want to see them in a structural view. And here is when we have to configure Visibility settings by View.

Dialog Box for Visibility / Graphic Overrides by View opens usually with “VV” shortcut or by: View / Graphics / Visibility/Graphics.

First thing to do is set out whether an element is shown or not, we saw already it in Revit Graphics Appearance (IIa). Let’s see now how we configure how elements are shown or printed.

I don’t recommend to control visibility using Materials. I think more versatile changing propierties by Category, then by Subcategory and finally by Filter. (Notice Revit sets hierarchy in the inverse order). Materials can be applied but I recommend to put “none” in the menu for Surface and Cut Pattern and in the Model Display Options I always select Hidden Line.

But all that controlling is not enough… Sometimes we have to finish our view at hand. That’s when we have to look at Lines Styles and at pen priority in Override Host Layers.

Lines Styles is in Manage / Additional Settings / Line Styles. Once we have configured our Lines Styles we can modify some element’s lines in view. We can do that in Modify / View / Linework. You can always return to previous state changing to “By Category” Line Style.

Override Host Layers is a subtab located in Visibility / Graphic Overrides by View (“VV”). Using it we control visibility for cut edges in host layers in plan and section views.

Once we have configured the visibility properties for a view, best thing we can do is convert it into a View Template. So we will be able to easily and quickly control visibility rules for various views at a time.