Can you add add leaders to text inside of a generic annotation family?

[drewbranson10]

Hello,

We are working on converting our old AutoCAD details into Revit details and I have noticed that when we create text inside of the generic annotation family, it will not let us add a leader to our text. We have been bringing in our old CAD details and converting our lines and text to Revit lines and text. Should I be doing this as a different type of family from the generic annotation that we have been putting them in right now and if so what would be the best family type?

 

Thanks in advance for any advice!

[RobDraw]

I wouldn't do details as families. I do them in drafting views.

[drewbranson10]

So do you have one Revit project file that has multiple drafting views to keep details in? We have many standard details that we use for projects that have been drawn in AutoCAD. Right now we normally just make some AutoCAD sheets to put them on when we do a Revit project. However, we are trying to get it to where we can actually place them in in Revit and since they are used in multiple projects we would like to avoid editing them inside Revit every time we want to use one of them. They come over into a generic annotation fine, except for not being able to use leaders on text.

[RobDraw]

Multiple projects actually, one for each MEP trade nicely organized. The drafting views can easily be brought into projects from these files.

[halam]

"..place them in in Revit and since they are used in multiple projects we would like to avoid editing them inside Revit every time we want to use one of them.."

 

There is a technique called "referencing". This should work in Revit, with DWG, as well. Demand it.

[drewbranson10]

Thanks RobDraw, I will have to set ours up in a similar fashion. Part of our problem is that we use a color based table in our AutoCAD drawings so when we would bring them into Revit they would not have the different line thicknesses that they normally do, so this has kept us from doing it that way. With us nearing the end of the year I should have some extra time so I was hoping to get them transferred into Revit in the downtime. When you transfer the drafting views you need into an actual project, do you just copy and paste them in?

[tzframpton]

Part of our problem is that we use a color based table in our AutoCAD drawings so when we would bring them into Revit they would not have the different line thicknesses that they normally do, so this has kept us from doing it that way.

The real problem is you guys are trying to get AutoCAD and Revit to come together in harmony and this simply will never happen. Definitely take Rob's advice on this one and just use Drafting Views to recreate your details. The way you want to do this is one Drafting View for every one detail. Keep these in your Template file so they're always there. Even drag/drop the ones you use often so they're already in place.

 

With us nearing the end of the year I should have some extra time so I was hoping to get them transferred into Revit in the downtime. When you transfer the drafting views you need into an actual project, do you just copy and paste them in?

Definitely use downtime to recreate your details library in Revit. You can link the AutoCAD files in Drafting Views and explode, which converts them to Revit linework. The problem is, Revit brings in a ton of AutoCAD junk with it. So grab all of the newly created Revit lines and set them to the proper linework, and purge like crazy. Then copy/paste into a new fresh clean and empty Template and purge some more. Then they'll be good to bring into your Template.

 

The only thing is you'll have to recreate all the text and leaders, one by one. This way you'll have perfect details in your Revit project now.

 

Hope this helps! -TZ

[drewbranson10]

Thank you TZ! Yes that was the plan to bring them in and use explode so that I can get them turned into Revit linework that is the proper weight. We are trying to get to where we do not need to mix AutoCAD sheets and Revit sheets in the same project and just to actually use Revit more efficiently. Being at a firm that has been around for over 25 years, we have many things in AutoCAD that are just handily available and it will help to have a lot of those things converted into Revit in at least some form.

[RobDraw]

Yes that was the plan to bring them in and use explode so that I can get them turned into Revit linework that is the proper weight.

 

When I converted a library of over 150 HVAC details to Revit, I started this way but there were a number of things that didn't import well and getting rid of all the imports was difficult. By the time I was done, I was just linking the .dwgs and tracing over them to save time. We were also making adjustments to out CAD standards at the time, so they were more suitable for Revit. Applying these new standards to the old details was time consuming because those drawings were not done very well to start with. Much easier to do it all in Revit. In fact, TZ was a proponent of doing it this way when I was asking similar questions. Not sure why that is different now.

[tzframpton]

In fact, TZ was a proponent of doing it this way when I was asking similar questions. Not sure why that is different now.

Just tired of telling people the right way to do it when I know they will do it the wrong way. Might as well let people know the easiest "wrong way" because that's the route that they're going to take, regardless haha.

 

-TZ