Revit Topography

Tips and Tricks

Interface Importing Data Modifying Toposurfaces

Emre Ozkan
GAUDREAU INC. Revit Implementation Group

Revit is a great tool to create and modify Toposurfaces!

The Toposurface tool defines a topographical surface (a toposurface) using points. You can create toposurfaces in 3D views or site plans.

Toposurfaces in Revit are simply faces. Faces are infinitely thin. Faces are made up of THREE points

Always Check Site and Topography Visibility Graphics and View Range

Triangulation edges. Triangulation edges for toposurfaces are turned off by default. You can turn them on by selecting them from the Model Categories/Topography category in the Visibility/Graphics dialog.

Revit 2009 Interface

2009 versus 2010

Creating a Toposurface from Imported 3D Data

You can automatically generate a toposurface based on 3D contour data imported in DWG, DXF, or DGN formats. Revit Architecture analyzes the 3D contour data and places a series of elevation points along the contour lines. Make sure that your imported data information is on correct layers All the lines, polylines those define an area surface shall form a closed loop

When you import data with the Current View Only option selected, you cannot use the data to create a toposurface.

Importing Options

Current View Only Imports a CAD drawing into the active Revit Architecture view only. For example, you might want an AutoCAD 2009 object to appear only in a Revit Architecture floor plan view and not in a 3D view. If you set this option, any text in the imported file is visible and can be cropped by the crop region of the view. If you are using worksharing, the import will belong to a view workset. If the option is not selected, only lines and geometry are imported, and the import behaves like model geometry: it can be cropped by the crop region of the view. This option is not available in 3D views. If you are using worksharing, the import will belong to a model workset. Note: If you are importing data from a CAD file for use in creating a toposurface, do not select this option.

Importing Options-Link

Links a CAD file instead of importing it. Linking is similar to having an xref in AutoCAD 2009. When the original linked file changes, these changes are reflected (if possible) in the file when you reload the project. See Implications of Importing vs. Linking for Xrefs.

Importing Options-Color Management

Colors: Invert inverts the colors of all line and text objects from the imported file to Revit Architecture-specific colors. Dark colors become lighter, and light colors become darker. This can improve readability when the file is in Revit Architecture. This option is set by default Preserve: Preserves the colors defined in the imported document. Black and White: Imports the document in black and white.

Importing Options-Layers

All: Imports or links all layers. Layers that are non-visible in the link are turned off in the current view in Revit Architecture. Visible: Imports or links only visible layers Specify Allows you to select the layers and levels to import or link (on the dialog that displays). Layers not selected are deleted. If you select Visible or Specify and you are linking the file, when you later reload the linked file, still only the selected or visible layers originally linked are loaded. Any layers not selected or visible are not linked. If you later want omitted layers to be linked, you must delete the link and relink the file.
Tip: If you want to be able to see and hide layers as needed, you can link to all layers, and then click View menu Visibility/Graphics to control the visibility of different categories in a view. (See Visibility and Graphic Display in Project Views.) Or you can link to all layers, and then query the import and hide a selected layer in the active view. (See Querying Objects in Layers.)

Importing Options-Import Units

Import Units Explicitly sets the unit of measure for imported geometry. The values are Auto-Detect, feet, inch, meter, decimeter, centimeter, millimeter, and Custom factor. If you specify AutoDetect for an AutoCAD 2009 file created in Imperial (English), then the file imports with feet and inches as the units. If the AutoCAD 2009 file was created in metric, then the file imports into Revit Architecture with millimeters as the units. For MicroStation files, Revit Architecture reads the units from the file and uses them. Feet, inches, meters, centimeters, decimeters, millimeters are all supported. If the DGN file has custom units, then the unit in Revit Architecture defaults to feet.
Note: If you import a file into a project with opposing units (for example, a metric file into an Imperial project), the units in the host project prevail. If the imported file has a custom unit, select Custom factor for Import Units. This enables the text box adjacent to the selection list so that you can enter a scale value.

For example, the file has a unit called widget where one widget equals 10 meters. When importing the file, select Custom factor for Import Units and specify a value of 10 in the adjacent text box. Each unit from the source file is now equal to 10 meters in the Revit Architecture file. The value you enter here displays in the Scale Factor type property of the import symbol. If the units are known, you can select Custom factor and enter a scale factor. This can increase or decrease the size of the imported elements in Revit Architecture.

Importing Options- Positioning

Auto - Center to Center: Revit Architecture places the center of the import at the center of the Revit Architecture model. The center of a Revit Architecture model is calculated by finding the center of a bounding box around the Revit Architecture model. If most of the Revit Architecture model is not visible, this center point may not be visible in the current view. To make the point visible in the current view, set the zoom to Zoom View to Fit. This centers the view on the Revit Architecture model. Auto - Origin to Origin Revit Architecture places the imports world origin at the Revit Architecture projects internal origin. If the import object has been drawn at a large distance from its origin, it may display at a large distance from the Revit Architecture model. To test this, set the zoom to Zoom View to Fit. Auto - By Shared Coordinates Revit Architecture places the imported geometry according to its location with respect to the shared coordinates between the 2 files. If there is no current shared coordinate system between the files, Revit Architecture notifies you, and uses Auto - Center to Center positioning. See Shared Positioning. NoteThis option is for Revit files only. Manual - Origin The imported document's origin is centered on the cursor. Manual - Base Point The imported document's base point is centered on the cursor. Use this option only for AutoCAD 2009 files that have a defined base point. Manual - CenterSets the cursor at the center of the imported geometry. You can drag the imported geometry to its location. Place at Select the level to place the origin/base point. Orient to View Revit Architecture places the import at the same orientation as the current view. This option is available only for nonview-specific imports.

Revit 2010 Import Rule

Check the DWG. There is something, could be a tiny line or a point or something, out beyond the 2 mile limit. 2010 added this check to help reduce problems associated with DWG imports which are very large.

The problem existed earlier, but Revit did not prevent you from importing it. That tended to create problems in the Revit file, so now they block it. Make sure the items in the Autocad file are drawn near the origin point (0,0,0). There may be a stray object way off in the x, y or z direction, look from all directions with all layers on/thawed. It could even be an empty line of text. Try flattening if it is a 3d Autocad file (after saving a copy!). I have had success also by copying only the objects I wanted out of one Autocad file and pasting into a clean one. And finally, in the worst case I've run into the problem was actually in a block inside of the dwg. Once that block was deleted, the import worked fine.

Creating a Toposurface from a Points File

You can automatically generate a toposurface based on a points file. A points file is typically generated by a civil engineering software application. The file provides contour data using a regularized grid of elevation points. The points file must contain x, y, and z coordinate numbers as the first numeric values in the file. The file must also be in a comma-delimited file format (a CSV or TXT file). Additional information in the file (such as a point name) is ignored. Any additional numeric information for a point must occur after the x, y, and z coordinate values. If the file contains 2 points with the same x and y coordinates, Revit Architecture uses the point with the largest z value.

Simplifying a Toposurface
Simplifying a surface can improve system performance, particularly on surfaces with a large number of points.

Open the site plan view and select the toposurface. On the Options Bar, click Edit. On the Toposurface tab of the Design Bar, click Simplify Surface. Enter a value for surface accuracy, and click OK. On the Design Bar, click Finish Surface.

Subregions

Toposurface subregions are areas that you sketch inside existing toposurfaces. For example, you can use subregions to draw parking lots on a graded surface, roads, or islands. Creating a subregion does not result in separate surfaces. It merely defines an area of the surface where you can apply a different set of properties, such as material.

Splitting a Toposurface

You can split a toposurface into 2 distinct surfaces and then edit those surfaces independently. After splitting a surface, you can assign different materials to these surfaces to depict roads, lakes, plazas, or hills. You can also delete entire portions of the toposurface.

Merging Toposurfaces

You can merge 2 separate toposurfaces into one surface. This command is useful after previously splitting the surface. The surfaces to be merged must share a common edge or overlap.

Graded Regions

To create a graded region, you select a toposurface to modify. The surface should be an existing surface in the current phase. Revit Architecture marks the original surface as demolished and makes a copy with a matching boundary. Revit Architecture marks the copy as new in the current phase If you drag the new graded region, notice that the original remains. Select the original and click (Element Properties). Notice that the Phase Demolished property has the value of the current phase.

Site (Building) Pads

You can add a building pad to a toposurface and then modify the pad's structure and depth. You add a building pad by sketching a closed loop on a toposurface. After sketching the pad, you can specify a value to control the height offset from the level and other properties. You can define openings in the pad by sketching closed loops inside the perimeter of the building pad, and you can define a slope for the building pad. If you add a building pad to a graded surface, you will see cut and fill reported separately for the pad and the toposurface in a topography schedule. This is because the pad divides the graded surface into 2 surfaces: one is the surface under the pad (the graded surface), and one is the surface that is not under the pad (the pad surface). You should name both the graded surface and the pad surface in order to distinguish them in your schedule.

Parking Components

Parking components are parking spaces that you can add to a toposurface. After placing a parking component, you need to define the toposurface as its host. When you use the Pick Host command, you are deliberately setting the parking component on top of the toposurface. If you move the parking component around on the toposurface, it remains attached to the toposurface.

Site Components

Use the Site Component command to place sitespecific components (such as trees) into a site plan. The Type Selector lists site-specific components to choose from. If no site components are loaded into your project, an error message indicates that no appropriate families are loaded

Creating Property Lines with Survey Data

Open a site plan view. Click Site menu Property Line, or on the Site tab of the Design Bar, click Property Line. In the Property Lines Creation dialog, select Create Property Lines by Table of Distances and Bearings, and click OK. In the Property Lines dialog, click Insert and add the distances and bearings from your survey data. To describe a property line as an arc, do the following: For Distance and Bearing, enter values that describe a line segment between 2 points on the arc. For Type, select Arc. For Radius, enter a value. The radius value must be greater than half the length of the line segment. The larger the radius, the larger the circle becomes, resulting in a flatter arc. For L/R, select L if the arc appears to the left of the line segment. Select R if the arc appears to the right of the line segment. Insert additional lines as needed. Click Up and Down to modify the order of the property lines. If the From Last to First Point value is not Closed, you can insert a new line or click Add Line to Close. Click OK. Note: If you sketch an open loop and click OK, Revit Architecture issues a warning that it will not calculate the area. You can ignore the warning to continue. In the drawing area, move the property lines to their exact placement and click to place. If the property line boundary does not have the desired look, select the boundary and click Edit Table from the Options Bar. Note: You can snap the property line to a benchmark using the Move command

Adding Contour Labels

Create a topographic surface with different elevations. Open a site plan view. Click Site menu Label Contours, or on the Site tab of the Design Bar, click Label Contours. In the Type Selector, select the appropriate contour label line. Tip: You may want to select a line type that places labels only on primary contour lines. The labels will be easier to read. To set the interval at which primary contour lines occur, use the Site Settings command. On the Options Bar, click (Line). Sketch a line that intersects one or more contour lines. If the line does not intersect a contour line, Revit Architecture issues an error. Labels display on the contour lines. (You may need to zoom in to see the labels.) The label line itself is not visible unless you select a label.

Thank you!
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