Serial Number Autodesk Revit 2022

[Trudi Miranda]

Ive been trying to make lookup tables for Mechanical Equipment to return values for KVA based on HP but I can't seem to get numbers to work despite the WikiHelp stating that you can. Lookup tables seem like they would be a great solution and would really help streamline things if they worked as stated. The only parameter type I've been able to get to work is length, though I haven't tried area, volume or angle, but certainly other and number don't work. I could take all of my parameters and create duplicates defined as length and convert them back and forth to get the lookup table to work but I'm wondering if anyone else has had success in getting numbers to return?

An interesting thing I've discovered is that there are 2 sub-folders in the Lookup Tables directory for Pipe and Conduit and the csv file for the Mechanical Equipment ONLY works if the file is in the Pipe folder and not in the main Lookup Tables folder.

Certainly. Attached are two files; the Revit Family (.rfa) (2012 format) and the Type Catalog (.txt) file. Place both of these into the same folder, and load the Family into a Project using the "Load Family" function in the Project. If you use "Load into Project" from an open Family, the Type Catalog will be ignored. For more information, refer to these Help pages:

I could find no way to make any of my number parameters work, I ended up using an IF statement that when I was finished typing it out took up most of my screen and looked at 3 different parameters to determeine the output. It would have been a huge time savings had I just been able to program a lookup table to pull my KVA values. I'm going to go back and revisit the problem and see if I can get it to work somehow.

I was trying to write my table based on the NEC 2011 reference table 430.250; and have shared parameters tied to Mech so that I could more then likely pick up 80% of the design to be automated. Then I could add more to pick up my Disconnect sizes based on a factor of 1.75 for VFD and 2.25 for Starting current.

"...I could find no way to make any of my number parameters work, I ended up using an IF statement that when I was finished typing it out took up most of my screen and looked at 3 different parameters to determeine the output. It would have been a huge time savings had I just been able to program a lookup table to pull my KVA values. I'm going to go back and revisit the problem and see if I can get it to work somehow."

"...but only one suggestion has worked and the person posting said he was told by Autodesk to use length and then convert it to unitless by dividing by 1' or 1". This seems to work but it's not accurate because the value .528 KVA turns into 135/256" which then converts to .527344. I could probably change the units to feet instead of inches and gain a bit more resolution but I feel I should be able to bring in numeric values to populate my family without all the goofey workarounds..."

I know that in you earlier post here, you stated that you wanted to do without the work-arounds, but unfortunately, the MEP side of Revit is abundant with them. As an alternative to the above, could you not enter the values in VA (still in inches format, but to avoid the decimal) and then have the Revit formula divide it by 1000?

I just slapped my forehead; could you hear it from there? I just got it to work after fiddling with it for a minute. Attached is my example Family file (Revit 2014) (the Lookup Table files is embedded in the Family). This Family looks up an ##OTHER## value from the table based on the "box size". Perhaps when I was doing this before, I forgot that every time you change the Table file, you have to re-import it into the Family, under 'Family Types'. Please take a look at the attached and see if I am again mistaken...

Here's how I did mine, see attached txt. I paste this into my KVA formula. The nice thing about laying out your formula in notepad and then pasting into revit is that revit ignores the returns so you can lay out each if statement to make sure you don't miss any.

Regarding the .cvs file, it is embedded in the Family file. Open the Family and go to Family Types. On the right side, you'll see "Manage..." under 'Lookup Tables'. From there, you can export the embedded .cvs file to look at it. If you change it, you have to re-import it with this same dialog, overwriting the previous version.

The Box_Size/0'-6" part is a random default value I entered if it cannot find a valid lookup value on the .cvs file. For instance, if you entered a box size of 1'-6", it would not find that size on the Lookup Table and resort to the default of 18"/6" = 3, and then 3 * 1kVA = 3kVA. Got it?

I exported the file and the units come up as feet. How can you go from feet to kva without dividing by 1' first? That's what hurts. But hey, if it works I'll give it a whack and see what I come up with.

"I exported the file and the units come up as feet. How can you go from feet to kva without dividing by 1' first? That's what hurts. But hey, if it works I'll give it a whack and see what I come up with."

Are you saying that if you open the .CVS file, the type is no longer ##other## (which is unitless)? I suspect that a Length Parameter may automatically take this value as inches (or whatever the default Length units are), but I'm not certain about that.

A product vendor has provided me a jpeg with all of the details drawn, labeled and numbered. I'm trying to create callouts to reference each of these details but can't figure out how to do it. I created a drafting view with the detail jpeg inserted, created a callout referencing that view, then tried to change the number from, say 1/A105 to 2/A105 but can't figure out how to do it. The only way I have come up with is to cut out each of the details in Photoshop and save them individually then create drafting view of them, but there are 38 details! Surely there has to be a way to reference the one drafting view and change the callout number.

His wasn't a solution. It was an explanation of why Revit won't do what I want it to do. It seems strange to me that as often as a full sheet of details is provided by vendors who still hold onto old Cad drawings saved as jpeg or PDF files, that Revit won't allow me to use them but must cut the sheet up into individual details, create drafting views of all of them, then reassemble them in Revit to look just like they did in the first place. Maybe this won't be an issue when everyone uses Revit, but in the interim, Photoshop will again save the day.

There is a reason Revit works the way it does. Having separate views for each drawing, with each view having an assigned number and pulling the sheet number allows for all of that information to be automatically updated if its changed anywhere.

And why is your vendor giving you jpegs? That seems insane to me. They don't have DWGs or some other format that would allow you create vector based drawings? If not, it sure seems like you should recreate their drawings anyway.

More accusatory than helpful. A lot of "why this" and "why that." Do you think I haven't considered everything you mention? Obviously you've never dealt with little ma and pop shops from 2nd and 3rd world countries that can't afford Revit or AnyOtherCad but supply an essential product at a good price that fills a niche that makes them invaluable. I was just hoping that Revit had taken this into consideration and would allow me to manually populate the callout reference, a very simple thing to implement IMHO. Oh, and one last thing, I use Revit because our 300+ employees and consultants use it to build over a million square feet a year.

If you know that is going to be part of your workflow, then you should expect to have to redraw what they give you. Especially if you are in that large of a firm. I would never put jpegs into our drawings and we only have five employees.

And again, you CAN make manual callouts if that's what you really want. We have some that we use in rare circumstances, but it is not a part of the typical workflow and is usually a last resort, but you're not in last resort mode. There is a better way to do what you're doing.

Or, I can request that Revit do it once so I and others don't have to spend hours redrawing details that have already been created, and do it over and over in different countries where building techniques and available resources are unique, and reusing details that are sometimes hand drawn in a foreign language, something that can't always be done. But then, coming from a five person firm, you've probably not had to work on projects in Mongolia, Republic of the Congo, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe, Pago Pago, or Sierra Leone, or dozens of other locations. If you have, then I apologize.

No, we don't. But I do work with old scanned drawings all of the time, which is essentially the same thing. I don't just make a copy and put it in the model. I redraw them to match our standards. I'm not telling you to do something that I wouldn't do.

And, once more, I don't know what you're expecting Revit to do for you. I am telling you that you can make a callout symbol that allows you to manually put in a detail and sheet number. It would not take hours to create. It might take time to actually place and number all of them, but that's what you're asking to do.

Been using autocad for 28 years and revit for about 10. Revit is a loooonnngggg long way from being as productive as autocad given that it is very much less forgiving than autocad. The automation limits production as we spend too much time creating workarounds when we shouldn't have to. This simple feature in this thread should be built into the symbol library. Not everything can and should be linked to automation and there are alot of examples why call-outs should have a simple "non-linked" insertion capability. Revit is finicky, unforgiving and at least 5-10 years from where it should be. Sooner or later there will be a product from a rival that will have more robust object based technology with simple commands and far fewer bugs not to mention simpler to use! Autodesk needs to fix these silly expensive bugs that cost our industry alot of lost time and therefor money because we sell time not the drawings!!

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