When working in 3D in Revit, you *can* use the normal dimension tool *if* you first set the Workplane. However, this can get annoying. Why not make a 2 point adaptive family, with a reporting parameter, so that you can just place the family (two clicks) and then check the instance parameter as shown below?

Update: V2 with arrowhead and tag in project Download here

Adaptive dimension family (2016), Download here

 

 

Revit wants you to make your own better, faster way sometimes…

Over the years I have used many workarounds to get things done in Revit, and usually I post about how to do it, and sometimes I offer a family or RVT download too. However, some of these resources are now deeply buried in the blog history (hard to believe I’ve been doing this since 2008!)

With that in mind, I have created this post to share some of the more useful and interesting downloads with you… again 🙂 I’ll try to keep this page updated with the current set of What Revit Wants freebies and downloads.

I hope you enjoy the huge range of samples, workarounds, hacks and scripts linked below. Typically the title of the download is the link to the family, and the next line is the source post:
Download Link
Source Link

Feel free to comment to let me know if these are useful, or if they are not 🙂 In some cases, Revit has ‘caught up’ and the older workarounds are no longer necessary.

Also, for resources I create and share I will now use the tag WRWdownloads for easy discoverability.

UPDATE: Refer to this page and use the Search Feature to find the files you want


FAMILIES and PROJECTS

Slanted Wall Family
What Revit Wants: Three ways to Model a Slanted or Tilted Wall in Revit (download)

Spot Slopes on Ramps
What Revit Wants: How to tag Ramp slopes in Revit 2013 and Revit 2014 with Slot Slope tool

Topography to Lofted Mass Surface Conversion
What Revit Wants: Convert Revit Topography into Massing Forms

Random Tree Heights and Locations
What Revit Wants: Random Tree Heights and Locations in Revit – make a forest in just a few clicks

Repeated Component Array
What Revit Wants: Why a Repeated component on a Divided Line Path is better than an Array

Issue Tracking Tool in Revit
What Revit Wants: Intelligent Issue Tracking in Revit, with download.

Gradient Annotation Family
post?

Detail Item for Scaling Images
What Revit Wants: Take the Guesswork out of Scaling an Image in Revit

Datum Scope Box Visibility
What Revit Wants: How to Show Linked Scope Boxes and Grids in a Host Plan View by Default

Level Parameter Tag workaround
What Revit Wants: Getting access to the Level parameter in Tags for Categories that don’t normally allow it

Detail Item Family with Adjustable Text (can be for dimensioning)
What Revit Wants: Detail Item Family with Adjustable Text – Dimensioning Tool

Generic Model family with a Scope Box in it that you can copy to other families:
Download family
From What Revit Wants: How to create a Scope Box in the Family Environment

2009 Mass
What Revit Wants: Using legacy mass forms in 2010 and 2011

Generic Label (automatic embedded tag)
What Revit Wants: How to add a label to a Component Family (automatic tag)

Mobius Strip
What Revit Wants: Mobius Strip Attempt with download 

URL Annotation for Hyperlink

or
Linker Symbol
From What Revit Wants: Launching Scripts and Programs directly from Revit

Super Void Generic Model Family for cutting anything
SuperVoid Family download
From What Revit Wants: Using a Super Void Generic Model to Cut Anything

Seamless Sphere
From What Revit Wants: Making a Seamless Sphere in Revit

Symbol for Use in Locked 3D Views
From What Revit Wants: Using Annotation Symbols in Locked 3D Views in Revit

Swappable Profiles in Adaptive Models
From What Revit Wants: How to Setup Adaptive Profiles to Allow Swapping between completely different Profile shapes (with free download)

Room Category Families
From What Revit Wants: You can break Revit by making Room families

Room Calculator for X and Y dimensions
From What Revit Wants: Room Dimensions X by Y – 2 methods in Revit

Family with RVT and DWG Link
What Revit Wants: Live and reloadable RVT and DWG Link inside a component RFA Family

Family with IFC Link
What Revit Wants: Link an IFC file into a Revit Family RFA File

Custom Railing Connections
From What Revit Wants: Custom Railing Connections in 10 steps (free sample download)


SCRIPTS

Make Link Index to all of your Revit Families
From What Revit Wants: Use a CMD script to create a Hyperlink index to all your Family RFA files

Enable and Disable Revit 2015 Addins
You can download both Powershell scripts here
From What Revit Wants: Script to Disable All Revit Addins  


ADDINS

Add Materials from Excel
From What Revit Wants: Add New Materials to Revit using an Excel file: including Cut and Fill Patterns, Transparency and RGB Values


EXCEL and Other

Duplicate Element Finder
What Revit Wants: Parse Element ID for quick deletion of “identical instances in the same place” errors

logo.png