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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Place grid lines to help plan the building layout.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
6 min.
Transcript
00:00
A grid is a type of datum element, a non-physical item that is used to establish project content.
00:10
Similar to levels which help manage vertical information, grids help organize the project horizontally.
00:17
Grids consist of a series of lines along with bubbles which contain the grid name.
00:23
You can create grids in any 2 dimensional view, such as a floor plan or elevation.
00:29
To place a grid, on the architecture ribbon, in the datum panel, click Grid.
00:35
As soon as you start the tool, the ribbon changes to the Modify Place Grid contextual ribbon.
00:42
In the Draw panel, in the gallery, you can see the various sketch options available to create grids.
00:49
For example, you can create grids as straight line segments or arcs.
00:54
You can also use the Pick Lines tool to place grids based on existing geometry.
01:01
The Multi Segment tool lets you place a grid made up of more than one segment,
01:06
such as a grid line with a small jog in it.
01:09
For this example, click the Line tool.
01:13
Before creating the grid, in the Properties palette, you can expand the type selector to choose the type of grid.
01:21
Leave this set to the default.
01:23
In the level one floor plan view, click in the lower left of the drawing area to place the start point.
01:31
Then as you move the cursor, a temporary angle dimension appears showing the angle of the grid.
01:38
You can press Shift to constrain the grid placement to vertical or horizontal.
01:45
With the grid aligned vertically, click to specify the endpoint.
01:51
When you do, the grid is created and Revit automatically numbers the grid.
01:56
The default start number is 1.
01:59
You can select or clear the checkbox at either end of the grid line to show or hide the grid bubble.
02:08
The tool remains active so you can place another grid.
02:13
When the cursor is aligned with the end of an existing grid,
02:15
Revit displays an alignment line so that you can match the start or endpoint.
02:20
You also see a listening dimension indicating the offset distance.
02:26
To create another grid, you can click to select its start point or type a distance.
02:33
For example, type 30 feet or 9000 millimeters in the metric file.
02:39
Then click to place the endpoint so that it is aligned with the end of the other grid.
02:47
When you align the endpoints of grids, they are also constrained.
02:52
You also see a temporary dimension showing the distance from the next closest grid.
02:59
You can change this dimension to change the distance between the grids.
03:04
For example, click the temporary dimension to make it active
03:08
and then enter 20 feet or 6000mm.
03:14
You can continue creating grids manually or use the Copy and Array tools to quickly create large layouts.
03:23
For example, press Escape or click Modify to end the command.
03:28
Then select Grid line 3.
03:31
The ribbon changes to the Modify Grids contextual ribbon.
03:36
In the Modify panel, click Copy and then create several copies of that grid.
03:42
Regardless of the method you use, Revit automatically numbers grids and increments the numbering based on the most recent setting.
03:52
Click Modify to end the command.
03:56
Switch back to the Architecture ribbon.
03:60
Start the grid command again and make sure that you are using the Line option.
04:05
Click in the lower left and then move the cursor to the right to place a horizontal grid line.
04:11
Revit initially assigns that grid the next number in sequence.
04:16
To change this to a letter, click the grid number,
04:21
type A and press enter.
04:24
Then create a second horizontal grid.
04:28
The next grid is assigned the next letter in sequence.
04:32
Revit is not actually differentiating between horizontal and vertical grids.
04:37
It simply recognizes that you switched to an alphabetical rather than a numerical sequence,
04:44
so the next grid would receive the next letter in sequence,
04:48
even if the next grid was a vertical grid.
04:51
While you can always go back and change grid names later, to save time,
04:57
the best practice is to create all grid lines in one direction first
05:02
and then create all of the grids in the other direction.
05:06
Since the program will not allow you to create duplicate grid names,
05:11
you should plan your numbering scheme and take care when adding grid lines late in a project.
05:16
But again, you can always rename grids and those names can include schemes
05:22
such as grid 1.5 or A.2.
05:26
Be aware that Revit will not warn you if you place grids on top of one another.
Video transcript
00:00
A grid is a type of datum element, a non-physical item that is used to establish project content.
00:10
Similar to levels which help manage vertical information, grids help organize the project horizontally.
00:17
Grids consist of a series of lines along with bubbles which contain the grid name.
00:23
You can create grids in any 2 dimensional view, such as a floor plan or elevation.
00:29
To place a grid, on the architecture ribbon, in the datum panel, click Grid.
00:35
As soon as you start the tool, the ribbon changes to the Modify Place Grid contextual ribbon.
00:42
In the Draw panel, in the gallery, you can see the various sketch options available to create grids.
00:49
For example, you can create grids as straight line segments or arcs.
00:54
You can also use the Pick Lines tool to place grids based on existing geometry.
01:01
The Multi Segment tool lets you place a grid made up of more than one segment,
01:06
such as a grid line with a small jog in it.
01:09
For this example, click the Line tool.
01:13
Before creating the grid, in the Properties palette, you can expand the type selector to choose the type of grid.
01:21
Leave this set to the default.
01:23
In the level one floor plan view, click in the lower left of the drawing area to place the start point.
01:31
Then as you move the cursor, a temporary angle dimension appears showing the angle of the grid.
01:38
You can press Shift to constrain the grid placement to vertical or horizontal.
01:45
With the grid aligned vertically, click to specify the endpoint.
01:51
When you do, the grid is created and Revit automatically numbers the grid.
01:56
The default start number is 1.
01:59
You can select or clear the checkbox at either end of the grid line to show or hide the grid bubble.
02:08
The tool remains active so you can place another grid.
02:13
When the cursor is aligned with the end of an existing grid,
02:15
Revit displays an alignment line so that you can match the start or endpoint.
02:20
You also see a listening dimension indicating the offset distance.
02:26
To create another grid, you can click to select its start point or type a distance.
02:33
For example, type 30 feet or 9000 millimeters in the metric file.
02:39
Then click to place the endpoint so that it is aligned with the end of the other grid.
02:47
When you align the endpoints of grids, they are also constrained.
02:52
You also see a temporary dimension showing the distance from the next closest grid.
02:59
You can change this dimension to change the distance between the grids.
03:04
For example, click the temporary dimension to make it active
03:08
and then enter 20 feet or 6000mm.
03:14
You can continue creating grids manually or use the Copy and Array tools to quickly create large layouts.
03:23
For example, press Escape or click Modify to end the command.
03:28
Then select Grid line 3.
03:31
The ribbon changes to the Modify Grids contextual ribbon.
03:36
In the Modify panel, click Copy and then create several copies of that grid.
03:42
Regardless of the method you use, Revit automatically numbers grids and increments the numbering based on the most recent setting.
03:52
Click Modify to end the command.
03:56
Switch back to the Architecture ribbon.
03:60
Start the grid command again and make sure that you are using the Line option.
04:05
Click in the lower left and then move the cursor to the right to place a horizontal grid line.
04:11
Revit initially assigns that grid the next number in sequence.
04:16
To change this to a letter, click the grid number,
04:21
type A and press enter.
04:24
Then create a second horizontal grid.
04:28
The next grid is assigned the next letter in sequence.
04:32
Revit is not actually differentiating between horizontal and vertical grids.
04:37
It simply recognizes that you switched to an alphabetical rather than a numerical sequence,
04:44
so the next grid would receive the next letter in sequence,
04:48
even if the next grid was a vertical grid.
04:51
While you can always go back and change grid names later, to save time,
04:57
the best practice is to create all grid lines in one direction first
05:02
and then create all of the grids in the other direction.
05:06
Since the program will not allow you to create duplicate grid names,
05:11
you should plan your numbering scheme and take care when adding grid lines late in a project.
05:16
But again, you can always rename grids and those names can include schemes
05:22
such as grid 1.5 or A.2.
05:26
Be aware that Revit will not warn you if you place grids on top of one another.
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