Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
printed size. When used in a project or nested into a component family, the
annotation scales according to the view scale of the project or family.
If you already have a library of CAD symbols, you can use them to create
your Revit symbols by importing them into the annotation family and then
duplicating the linework with Revit lines. CAD files cannot be linked into
families, so you must use the Import CAD button on the Insert tab when
working in the Family Editor.
When you're importing a CAD file, the layers are imported as subcategories,
so if you subsequently explode the imported CAD file, any linetypes defined
are added with a prefix of
IMPORT-
. These subcategories are unnecessary
and only add extra weight to your files. Both the line patterns and
subcategories remain in your file even if you delete the imported CAD file.
There is a workflow that lets you convert your existing CAD symbols to
Revit without creating unwanted baggage within the Revit family. Linework
that is created in an annotation family can be copied and pasted to another
annotation family. You can start by creating a generic annotation family
into which you will import your CAD symbols. Once you have created the
linework in Revit, you can delete the imported CAD linework and copy
the Revit linework to your Clipboard. You can then create a new generic
annotation family and paste the Revit linework into it. By doing so, you
will have an annotation family that does not contain any of the imported
subcategories or line patterns.
Subcategories
There is a single annotation category for all generic annotations in a project.
To control the visibility and appearance of your symbol lines, you need to
create subcategories for them. Otherwise, all symbols for all families will
havethesameappearancethroughoutyourproject.Makesubcategoriesthat
are specific to the kind of symbol you are creating so that you can control
those specific symbols independently from other generic annotations.
Be as specific as you like with the names of subcategories to avoid any
confusion. One example of organizing your object styles in your families is
to follow the line styles in your project. For example, a line style named 01
- Continuous - Black gives you all the information you need for a line, and
youcanassignittoaspecificsymboloraportionofthesymbol.Ifyoudecide
that the line weight thickness is not appropriate, you can switch it from 01
