Revit-lution: Unleashing the Power of Custom Templates
As we progress into the latter part of 2024, it's evident that numerous companies in the AEC industry have yet to adopt Revit for their principal design software. In August, I took part in a webinar led by BetterPros where Nicolas Catellier from BIM Pure spoke about From CAD to Revit: Strategies for a Successful Transition. The session was rich with insights and can be viewed on YouTube. One key takeaway, number thirteen on his list, was the importance of creating an effective template. Although he didn’t delve deeply into this topic, I have decided to expand upon what constitutes a strong, continuously enhancing 'living' template file.
To refresh your memory, in the April 2022 issue of AUGIWORLD, I discussed the Successful BIM Implementation for Revit MEP. A segment of that article highlighted the advantages of using a Starting File or Template, illustrating key components to include. This piece intends to further explore the various "project configuration elements," divided into seven specific categories.
While my experiences are drawn from my Buildings MEPF specialty, most concepts I’ll cover are applicable across various templates regardless of the discipline. Personally, I’ve shifted from using traditional template (.rte) files to something I call a Starter File (.rvt), which is essentially a workshared project. For the purpose of this article and ease of reference, let's continue to call it a template. This process allows for certain actions that a typical template does not, which I will explain further on.
An effective template is predicated on the inclusion of the standards you and your company have discussed/created as evidenced by the things discussed here. If you take anything from reading this article, you should evaluate what you want to include within your template which includes thoroughly looking at each and every settings dialogue mentioned below as well as any other suggestions provided.
The first question you may have could be, “What version of Revit should I be using to create my template?” Well, the answer to that question is not that simple and can depend on several factors. If you are an architectural firm, you can easily use the latest version (currently 2025) and upgrade each year or every few years. For and Engineering firm, both MEP and Structural, you are beholden to whatever your client (the architect in most cases) is using. We have clients still using Revit 2021 and have projects in versions 2022, 2023 and 2024. Most of our new projects are using Revit 2023 and I have recently upgraded our template and Revit families from Revit 2021 to Revit 2023. All of the screenshots therein have been captured using Revit 2023. What I am trying to say here is, you need to create your template in the oldest version you are using. Now let’s get into what you should customize to help streamline your projects.
MEP Settings
The Manage tab in Revit is the home to many of Revit’s Project Settings. Let’s start with MEP Settings. Here you will find Mechanical/Electrical Settings, Fabrication Settings (if you use that at all), Load Classifications, Demand Factors, Building/Space Types, Electrical Analytical Load Type Settings and P&ID Settings.
Figure 1 - Manage Tab
Mechanical Settings is where you will define your Mechanical/Plumbing Hidden Line style and its gaps. For Duct/Pipe Settings, you can define angles used for fittings, Duct Sizes, and Pipe Segments and Sizes. You will also find a section for the Calculation method you want to use when defining Duct or Pipe Pressure Drop and Pipe Flow. Duct/Pipe sizes are what sizes you have available to you in the size drop down which can vary for the Pipe Segment you are specifying when laying out piping.
Figure 2 - Mechanical Settings: Duct Settings
Under Electrical Settings there are quite a few more options here: Hidden Line for Electrical, General, Wiring, Voltage Definitions, Distributions Systems, Cable Tray/Conduit Settings, Load Calculations, Panel Schedules and Circuit Naming. Voltage Definitions and Distribution Systems are very important to define here, without them you will not be able to circuit any of your Revit families that require power to your Electrical Panels/Equipment. As seen in Figure 3 – Electrical Settings – General, you can define your Electrical Connector Separator, Circuit Naming by Phase, Default Circuit Rating for your Panel Schedules (this does not change automatically unfortunately) or the Circuit Sequence (Numerical, Group by Phase or Odd than Even) amongst a few other options.
Figure 3 - Electrical Settings: General
Load Classifications and Demand Factors also go hand in hand here. You cannot have one without the other. Load Classifications, while they may be defined in your template and could be visible in your Panel Schedules, the Demand Factor is what tells Revit how much of the load is being used. The Load Classifications must be assigned to the Electrical Connector within your families. Your Load Classification list can be customized to what you want those loads to look like in your Panel Schedules by Name or Abbreviation, but you cannot go wrong using the Load Classifications/Demand Factors defined in the Electrical Code.
Figure 4 - Load Classifications
Finally, under MEP Settings, let’s talk about Building/Space Types. This originally was one of those Revit settings that was “what you see is what you get” but thankfully you have been able to create custom types since Revit 2018. Each Building Type has specific Energy Analysis values. When a Building Type is assigned within the Energy Settings dialogue, is the default value assigned to your MEP Spaces. Spaces, if not assigned a specific Space Type, which allows you to further customize your Energy Analysis values, will follow the values assigned to the Building Type. You will not find the Energy Settings under the Manage Tab; you will find it on the Analyze Tab under Energy Optimization.
Figure 5 - Building/Space Type Settings
Additional Settings
Besides MEP Settings, Project Units are another important aspect you should modify to your needs. There are seven groups of Project Units for you to look at: Common, Electrical, Energy, HVAC, Infrastructure, Piping, and Structural. Each Unit: Area, Length, Air Flow, Apparent Power, for example, can have a multitude of unit type options for you to choose from, typically imperial vs metric (Figure 7). For each one, you will need to define that unit type, the rounding, what the Unit Symbol is and whether you are suppressing trailing zeros, using digit grouping and suppressing spaces. It is imperative that you set this within your template, schedules and tags will display the Unit Symbol by default and you would not want them to be incorrect. This is something that unfortunately cannot be transferred from project to project using Transfer Project Standards so take your time to get it right the first time.
Figure 6/7 - Project Units and Format
In Revit, parameters are fundamental pieces of information associated with elements in a project. They help define and describe those elements. Parameters can be categorized into different types:
- Project Parameters: These parameters are specific to a single project file. They are added to elements by assigning them to multiple categories of elements, sheets, or views. Project Parameters are used for scheduling, sorting, and filtering in a project. Most of the Project Parameters I am using in my template (45 of them) are used for Project Information, in my title blocks and for my Starting View (something I will discuss later).
- Global Parameters: These parameters are specific to a single project file but are not assigned to categories. They can be simple values, values derived from equations, or values taken from the model using other global parameters. Global parameters are used to drive and report values. Global Parameters are one of those things I mentioned at the beginning of the article that cannot be included if the file is a .RTE (Revit Template) file. I am using Global Parameters to control North Arrow rotation for the project, identifying what version of Revit and Starter File version that are used for the project.
- System Parameters: These are built-in by default in Revit and cannot be removed, renamed, or modified. They control the properties of elements in the project. These parameter types are not something that you would have control over in your template.
- Shared Parameters: These are parameter definitions that can be used in multiple families or projects. Shared parameters can be tagged and scheduled, and their definitions are stored in a separate file, making them protected from change. I use Shared Parameters for my Global and Project Parameters and the location of your company’s Shared Parameter text file can be mapped within your template, so users have easy access to add additional parameters if needed.
- Family Parameters: These parameters control variable values of the family, such as dimensions or materials. They are specific to the family and can be used to control a parameter in a nested family by associating the parameter in the host family to the parameter in the nested family.
Halftone/Underlay is one of those global settings that controls how any linked models look. If you want them to “fade” into the background so your work stands out more, check the box for Apply halftone and play with the Brightness slider to dial in how dark/light you want those background models to be.
Figure 8 - Halftone/Underlay
Object Styles and Definitions
These elements define how your plans look. Aside from nailing down your settings, this is probably the single most important aspect of your template. You will want this to conform to the standards you have established and if they are still a work in progress, you can always revisit them after you knock out a couple of projects.
Object Styles, of all the things from this group, are paramount to your template and control how the Revit Categories (model, annotation, analytical, and imported) look on your plans. However, you cannot define your object styles without defining a few other things first. Those things are Line Weight, Line Patterns and Materials. These control how thick your work is, if the lines are solid or some other pattern and if they have a material assigned to them by default. The out of the box Line Weights are something I do not recommend using. You have sixteen available Line Weights to use within your template. The sixteenth one from Autodesk is a ½” thick. Who uses a ½” thick line? You can also create different line weights for different scales if you wish. At any rate, you should modify these to be something more reasonable.
Figure 9 - Line Weights
There is already a healthy amount of line patterns already defined within Revit when your template is created, like Center, Dash, or Hidden. For MEP, I have specific line patterns for Domestic Water Cold, Hot and Recirc, Return Systems, Vent and Waste. This way if the other similar patterns get changed, they don’t affect the ones needed for my Piping Systems. You can create new patterns using specific Dash/Dot and Spaces set to a specific length.
Figure 10 - Line Patterns
Materials, which can be assigned to any modeled Revit family, can get a little out of control in your template if you do not keep an eye on it. Revit includes several dozen materials already. I highly recommend coming up with a material naming convention so that you can quickly identify when a rogue material is loaded into your Starter File or Project. I also highly recommend keeping your material list lean and mean. Materials will get loaded into your project from the content you load into it during the life of your project.
Figure 11 - Material Browser
Now that you have defined your Line Weights, created any additional Line Patterns you need as well as any Materials you wish to include in your template, you are ready to define your template’s Object Styles. Within the Object Styles is a list of all the Revit Categories and the default/created subcategories for those main categories. You will need to assign each of those categories a line weight for project and cut, line color, line pattern and material. Projection lines are seen from a distance. Cut lines are usually thicker and are used when an element intersects the cut plane of the view. For our MEP Template, I have our MEP categories set to a line weight of five, while the Architectural and Structural categories are set to a line weight of two.
Figure 12 - Object Styles
Line Styles are another “setting” that should be evaluated. Revit of course comes with some Line Styles already defined and those can be identified with < and > before and after the Line Style name. Any category as they are called whether out of the box or custom will need to have a Line Weight, Line Color and Line Pattern assigned. Your Line Styles are your 2D elements within your template that could get used on your plans or in your details.
Figure 13 - Line Styles
Next on the list is Text Styles. This is where you define the text types you wish to have within your template. These contain the text font, text size, tab size, width factor, line weight (of the leader), background (opaque or transparent) color, show border, leader arrowhead and whether it is bold, italic or underlined. You can create as many text styles as you need. We have several text styles for different text sizes, different backgrounds and some different colors.
Figure 14 – Text Type Properties
Revit also comes with several out of the box Dimension Styles you can use as is or customize to your needs. With Dimension Styles you have way more options to choose from as you can see from figure 15 so I won’t get into the weeds here. If you are showing dimensions on your plans, you will want to make sure these look the way you want them too.
Figure 15 - Dimension Type Properties
Ok, “one” more thing when it comes to the look and feel of your plans and that is Filled Regions and Fill Patterns. Think of Filled Regions as Hatch Patterns in AutoCAD. Filled Regions are defined by their Fill Pattern. You can have Drafting or Model Fill Patterns, and those Patterns are assigned to your Filled Regions. Your Fill Patterns can be basic or custom. Basic lets you define your settings for parallel or crosshatch, the angle, and your line one and two spacing. Custom lets you import a custom .pat file that was created in another program.
Figure 16 - Fill Patterns
Sheets and Views
The sheets and views consist of several elements: Drafting Views, Legends, Pre-Defined Sheets, Placeholder Sheets, Plan Views, View Templates, Levels, Browser Hierarchy, Starting View definition and working Schedules.
Drafting Views are your 2D detail views. These can consist of line, text, filled regions or Revit families known as Detail Items. If you have some standard details that you know you will always have on every project, you can include them in your template, so you do not have to load them all the time. These views can only be placed on your sheets once. If you need to place them on multiple sheets, they must be duplicated.
Legends are another type of 2D view. The difference between them and Drafting Views is that they can be placed on multiple sheets. While they can consist of lines and text, they can also contain legend components. Legend components are 2D representations of the Revit families that are loaded into your template. I do not recommend loading all your modeled content into your template and I just create my legends using lines and text and some may disagree.
Before I discuss views, let’s talk about levels. Levels are defined as finite horizontal planes that act as a reference for level-hosted elements, such as roofs, floors, and ceilings. Levels are also needed to create your views. The number of levels you have in your template will depend on the types of projects you typically work on. If you primarily work on projects with one or two stories, create two levels and a roof level. If you work on high-rise projects create ten to twelve levels and a roof level. For the latter, you may want to create a few underground levels (for parking) as well. Right now, our template has two levels and a roof while an old firm I worked at back in Denver, we had fifteen levels, a roof, and two underground levels.
In tandem with your levels, you can generate all the necessary views for your project during template creation, allowing the deletion of unnecessary views when setting up the project. These views also come with specific View Templates already assigned. A Revit view template is a set of predefined view settings that can be applied across multiple views to ensure consistency and avoid unintended changes. View templates encompass nearly all the settings available in the properties dialog, such as view scale, detail level, visibility settings, and discipline. Utilizing view templates enables swift application of numerous visibility and graphic properties to a view, facilitating the maintenance of standard settings and ensuring uniformity throughout your project. There are Revit add-ins out there that will let you create levels, views, sheets, et cetera, on the fly and that may be more efficient to some, but I feel it is better to delete something than it is to create it every time.
Figure 17 - View Templates
My template also includes both Placeholder Sheets and Pre-defined sheets. Placeholder sheets are sheets that exist in a sheet list as data rows, but do not exist in the project under sheets. Our placeholder sheets have a sheet number, and a sheet name already filled out which can easily be modified to match any of the architects we work with using various methods. I have enough placeholder sheets in my template for all the subdiscipline views that correspond to each level I have. I also have placeholder sheets for enlarged plans, additional details, schedules and diagrams. For pre-defined sheets, these are sheets like Legends, Abbreviations and Notes and Details. The drafting views or legends are created within the template and placed on these pre-defined sheets so that this information is in the same exact spot on our sheets for each project and the end user does not have to recreate them every time.
Your template should absolutely contain some schedules, working or otherwise. What I mean by a working schedule is a schedule that contains information that you can manipulate as needed but that does not get submitted on your sheets. I have a Master Sheet List and Master View list as well as a Space Schedule. Everything else gets loaded into the project as needed. If you need additional design or calculation schedules, create them in your template.
You will access all of these elements: views, schedules, sheets, and legends from Revit’s Project Browser. Think of this like a table of contents in a document. You can customize how your Project Browser displays these elements. You can have different Browser Organization settings for your Views, Schedules and Sheets. The settings are controlled by parameters, either built-in ones or ones that were assigned to those categories using Project Parameters. You’ll want to set this up to work best for your company.
Figure 18 - Browser Organization
A Starting View can be defined as any view you want to be the first thing the user sees when they open the project. In the past, these were “2D” views that had minimal information, and it was recommended to synchronize your model with this view open. These starting views have evolved into something that gives the end user a plethora of information related to the project. I would create this as a sheet because it could contain Project Information and pull that information from parameters that are only found in your projects title blocks. I have seen these as dashboards of sorts or contain some design specific schedules. Use it to put any information you want the end-user to see right away.
When a view is placed on a sheet, Revit uses a Viewport Type. There is a default Viewport Type, but others can be created and customized as you need. These Viewport Types control the View Title used. View Titles are loadable Revit Generic Annotation families. You have the option to show the title, control its line weight, color and pattern. I have different view titles for different things like No Title, Plan Views (have north arrow built in) or Not to Scale.
Figure 19 - Viewport Types
MEP Systems
For MEP Systems, as with other things within Revit, there are some default systems already created for you. While you may be able to get by with the default, I am very confident that you are going to want to expand on these MEP Systems. For Duct, you get Supply, Return and Exhaust. These system types can be duplicated, renamed and additional type information modified. Under the Systems type properties, you can change how the system looks (graphic overrides), what material it uses if different than your global change to Ducts in Object Styles. You have options for calculations, the system abbreviation, description and how the rise/drop symbol looks. We change our graphic overrides to be a certain color based on the system for both duct and piping, so the different systems are easily identified on screen.
Figure 20 - Exhaust Air Type Properties
Similar to Duct, Piping Systems have some default systems already available that you will use to create other systems. Those types are Domestic Cold/Hot, Hydronic Return/Supply, Other (this is typically used for Gas and Air systems), Fire Protection Pre-Action, Wet, Dry and Other, Sanitary and Vent. Piping Systems have a lot of the same options as Duct Systems but there are quite a few additional options. These options, as seen in Figure 20, are Fluid Type and Temperature, Flow Conversion Method, and Two Line and Single Line Symbols.
Figure 21 - Domestic Cold Water Type Properties
Cable Tray and Conduit also work the same as Duct and Piping Systems and have pre-built system types already. Now these, for the most part, can be used as is. There are types for Conduit/Cable Tray with and without fittings. I highly recommend removing all of the without fitting types except one and renaming it to “Do Not Use” because you technically cannot delete all the types. You will also need to make sure that the Conduit/Cable Tray with Fitting types actually have fittings assigned to them.
In order to be able to layout your Duct and Piping Systems you need to create some Duct and Pipe Types. These are used to define your Duct or Pipe Routing preferences. These are what defines the duct/pipe. Under the Duct/Pipe types of settings you will find a button called Routing Preferences. Here is where you will have to tell Revit what duct/pipe fittings you want to use (1D radius elbow vs mitered for example). For Piping, you have to identify which Pipe Segment you want to use, copper, PVC, Black Iron or Carbon Steel are some options here. You also can change the segment and fittings you are using for Piping Systems as the pipe size changes.
Figure 22- Duct/Pipe Type Routing Preferences
Panel Schedule Templates are another aspect of the template that should be customized. The default ones will work, but you can pretty easily modify these schedules to match as close to possible how your AutoCAD Panel Schedules look. There are a lot of options to go through for a Panel Schedule – General, Circuit Table and Loads Summary, but I will let you take the time to go through each of those options to fine tune to your needs.
Figure 23 - Set Template Options
Annotations and Tags
To tie all the things mentioned previously together, you need generic annotation families for your documentation. These Generic Annotation families include all of your Revit Category Tags for loadable content, View Titles, Section/Callout/Elevation Tags, Title blocks, Level Heads, Gridlines, Room/Space Tags or View References. You can customize most of these tags to show the information you want using their built-in parameters or any custom shared parameters you have added to your families. Any standards you have created, like text styles, line weights, line styles and line patterns should also be replicated in your generic annotation and tag families.
Besides the Revit System families (which cannot be loaded), I recommend keeping your template free of most of your loadable content except for your tags and the generic annotation families mentioned above. In my opinion this keeps your template small and easy to manage. A Content Management System like Unifi, Hive or Avail to get that content loaded very quickly into your project.
Those tags and various other Generic Annotation families, as well as your Text Styles have an option for arrowhead type. These Arrowheads can be defined under the Additional Settings drop down menu on the Manage Tab (back where we started). There are some default ones here as well and they are also system families. There is a dropdown for some pre-canned arrow styles and depending on your choice, you can control if it’s closed or open, it’s angle and size.
Figure 24 - Arrowhead Type Properties
Miscellaneous
OK ok, if I still have you since there was a lot of information to digest up until this point, we are in the home stretch. There are few things left to discuss that really did not fit into the other categories, so they fall under miscellaneous. Let’s go over those now.
Revit models can be created as a workshared model or a single person model. A workshared model requires worksets. When worksharing is enabled, Revit creates Shared Levels and Grids and Workset 1 for you. As the master of the template, if you are using a Starter File and not a template, you can create all the necessary worksets you may need. Worksets are not layers and while people use them to control visibility, they were not intended to be used to control visibility. They are intended to allow multiple people to work on similar things. There is no guarantee that what is modeled in your model is on the correct workset unless you manually change an elements workset or use a third-party tool to do it for you. So, it is best not to use them to control visibility at all. This is what filters are for. We have worksets for each Discipline: Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection. We also have some miscellaneous worksets for linked models (this is like xref in AutoCAD), Spaces/Zones and Reference Planes.
Figure 25 - Worksets
Speaking of Links, earlier I discussed View Templates and how those View Templates can control how a specific view looks. Within View Templates, there is a tab for Revit Links. These View Templates can control how a Revit link looks as well. If you add what I call Placeholder Links to your template, you can control how those links look on all future projects. This way you do not have to manually do this every time. I turn off things like Reference Planes, Gridlines, Levels, Matchlines. Actually, I just turn off all of the annotation categories in my links. I have 6 placeholder links in my template and to maintain those link settings you would “reload from” instead of link a new model.
Figure 26 - Placeholder Links
We are using Revit as a 3D modeling and design tool but 2D aspects as still needed to convey your design intent. This can come from linked dwgs in the form of details or sitework from Civil3D. There is a “hidden” setting within Revit where you are given a list with all 255 colors from AutoCAD and here is where you can map those colors to Revit Line Weights that you established earlier. How this works is that when a CAD file is linked or imported (please link) into your Revit model, it looks at this setting and changes the thickness of the DWG lines to match the line weights for that color.
Figure 27 - Import Line Weights Location
Figure 28 - Import Line Weights
In Figure 27, you may notice that everything is set to 1, this is because we try to use as little AutoCAD in our models as possible. In a previous firm I worked for, we had different values for all the colors. Please note that these line weights only apply to line/layers that are set to default and not overridden in AutoCAD.
Revisions are yet another thing to look at. On the View Tab you will see a button for Revisions. When you select it, a Revisions dialogue is opened, and this is where you set your Revision options. You can modify the numbering per project or sheet, any custom numbering and your arc length. The default arc length is set to 3/4".
Figure 29 - Sheet Issues/Revisions
One last thing to discuss and that is a new feature in Revit 2023 called Multiple Values Indication. This is a global setting but can be individually controlled within any of your schedules. What this means is that whenever you have something that has multiple values, like the cell of a schedule, Revit used to just show it as blank. It now says by default but it can be changed to show custom text. This comes in handy in Schedules for sure, like telling a specific column to say “SEE PLANS” or similar.
Figure 30 - Multiple Values
Conclusion
In conclusion, customizing your Revit Template is not just a technical task; it's a strategic move that can significantly enhance your workflow and project outcomes. By tailoring the template to meet your specific needs, you ensure that every project starts on the right foot, with the right tools and settings in place. This customization leads to increased efficiency, consistency, and quality in your work, ultimately saving time and reducing errors.
The importance of this process ties back to the title of the article, emphasizing that a well-customized Revit Template is the foundation of successful project execution. Just as a strong foundation is crucial for a building's stability, a customized template is essential for a streamlined and effective design process. It empowers you to focus on creativity and innovation, rather than getting bogged down by repetitive tasks and adjustments.
In essence, investing time in customizing your Revit Template is an investment in the future success of your projects. It sets the stage for excellence, allowing you to deliver high-quality results that meet and exceed client expectations. So, take the time to customize, and watch your projects soar to new heights.
