My Heart Breaks a-new

Another new Revit, another disappointment.

Yes, I know new features lists have been out for a while and people have been using 2015 for some time now, but some things just… the hurt is TOO MUCH, you know?

Seriously, now that View Templates are working like they should, and have been for some time, why must I still rely on the antiquated Phase Filter?

Just give me access to the Phase and Phase Demolished parameters in my View Filters! While we are at it, open up all the parameters to the View Filters!

Yes, this is a total recap of a previous post, and yes, kudos to you for remembering that, but this has got to be one of my biggest pet peeves at this point. Keep Phases. Dump Phase Override and Phase Filters. Give me one place (granted, it’s a BIG place) to control what my views look like.

Seriously, Phases?

The subscription prices may seem pretty high, but I do find real change with each release of Revit.  I may not like the priority they are giving to some thing, but I can honestly say that work does get done every year on the software, and they make strides.  Even if some of those strides are confusing and weird (I’m looking at you, Materials).

Now, I have been using the software for over half a decade now.  For as long as I remember, Phases and more specifically, Phase Overrides have always been handled the same way.  You want phased elements to look different?  Use the Override.  You want them to look different in a different view?  Tough.  Every override is the same in each view.

My friends, it is time for Phase Filters and the Phase Graphic Overrides to get some well deserved attention.

Why in the world can I not control the appearance of elements based on their phase in my usual View Filter?  It makes so much sense there!  But you can’t even access the parameters associated with phases.  It’s like they… don’t exist…

I’m not even saying to change the entire phase system.  The idea is sound and works about as well as it can, except for those stupid filters and overrides.  Phase appearance should be controllable just like any other parameter through my View Filters.  I think in the past, Revit was trying to be helpful and force some consistency, but now that I can lock down my View Templates, it’s time to let go.

And it only makes sense that the VG/VV window is your one stop shop for how this view looks different from the other view.  Let me control phase appearance there as well.  Don’t make me have to try to explain to someone how it works again.  I need a flowchart.  And it inevitably comes to blows (we are very passionate about our design software around here).

Granted, it’s not every view that needs to look different in terms of phases… demo is dashed… existing is light… new work is dark… MOST OF THE TIME.  On each project there are one or two views, especially with more than one discipline, that needs to have the appearance of existing elements look just a little different, or maybe the scale is so small that the override line weight makes the lines get lost, so for this one view I would like to use a heavier line but the same line style, I don’t want to change the lineweight for all the views, but with the current implementation, I am forced to.

All I’m saying is, open up those parameters to the View Filters.  Set them free!!