Automated Revit dimensioning using Dynamo!

[@marwanbeaino5377]

Thank you for the very inspirational work ! This is as usual very helpful.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You're welcome!

[@liu5916416]

Follow u 2 years ago, thanks for ur passion and really helpful~

[@AussieBIMGuru]

I remember when you first commented on the channel videos - you've been here since almost the beginning! Thanks for your ongoing support :)

[@marwanbeaino5377]

Thank you for the very useful workflow !

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You are welcome!

[@moelprenselprens1425]

excelent as usual .thanks alot for your efforts

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You're welcome!

[@lecg_arq]

I love your content. I've learned a lot thank you

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Glad to hear :)

[@juanramon8652]

hahahah Gavin really good one ! .... no Request to make 100 Videos about Dimensioning :-)

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Much appreciated haha!

[@adrianoelemperador8824]

Eres el mejor, mi hermano!!

[@AussieBIMGuru]

¡muchas gracias!

[@trungbuiduc1674]

I love your content. I've learned a lot thank you. I hope you will make some video autodim mep by wall. Thanks!

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Not usually the sort of thing I work with unfortunately, so I don't really have a good reference model to work with for that. I'd suggest trying to apply some of the concepts I ran through here to see how far you can get!

[@user-ik1qo7ws1h]

Si las familias a acotar estuviesen en un vínculo el funcionamiento del scrip sería el mismo ?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

I'm not quite sure what you mean unfortunately, maybe you mean families in a row (bond)?
If so yes you can add multiple references to the final node for a dimension and it makes a single dimension string for them.

[@mavs013]

Great work,I just hope I would have watched this earlier.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Now you know at least!

[@joseluisgarciagalan3988]

thank you

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You're welcome!

[@carlosmunoz1041]

Awesome!

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Cheers!

[@jedsanford7879]

i built an absolutely cracked AIO dimensioning utility based on this video. thanks for the great content as always! btw you dont by chance know a node that creates subregions in topo from lines? working on the old floor topo problem lol

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Linked a thread on your Dynamo forums post - hopefully it helps!

[@khattaraoun8923]

Good morning....
Really appreciate the time you're putting to produce this material. I got a couple of problems with the script :
1 - It works with structural columns with rotation 0 or 180 degrees, when the columns are rotated to values different from 0 or 180 the dimensions are not created in revit, even if they show in the dynamo node of Genius Loci
2- The dynamo node of Genius Loci retuns NULL on all the list when I hook the dimension style part.
I'm using dynamo 2.0.3 and revit 2019 by the way.
Thank again and appreciate any feedback ...
Regards,
K.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yes this is only really made to deal with columns at a regular rotation based on their references. You could probably use an element rotation check (familyinstance.getrotation) to swap the references whenever a family is rotated by 90 degrees, but it isn't possible otherwise as the references wouldn't be parallel. I'm not quite sure why the node would return null with the dimension style - best check in on the dynamo forums for that one.

[@brizzieish]

Having a similar issue as well 😕

[@rashedalawrtani7460]

Thank you for the very inspiring work! This, as usual, is very useful. Can you attach the explanation file? script ?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You can find all my scripts date stamped to my videos on my github:
github.com/aussieBIMguru/Dynamo_Scripts

[@linlai1507]

I would like to ask how to solve the problem if I want to mark the column edge closest to the axis instead of the column center.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Assuming you aren't mirroring columns you can use the vector from grid to column to determine if its on the left/right of grid then call out left/right reference instead. Same for front/back.

[@gool49]

THANK YOU

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Youre welcome

[@nguyenminhkhoi6830]

Thanks you so much.
I tried to do and got the problem. I want to dim the window in Legend view but i can't get the reference. However, in other view i can get the reference of window.Can you help me for this ?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yes unfortunately it appears that legend components do not expose their references to Dynamo unfortunately.

[@marcotuliopinheiro2937]

I did the same thing in my dynamo in revit 2024, but in the last node every line appear like null, i have the ironpython 2.7 and 3 and all the organization of the lists are identical of the video. What could be wrong?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

My best guess is your named references might not be parallel to the grids, rather some are rotated 90 degrees.

[@HiepNguyen-pz2dr]

Hi! Thank you for sharing this amazing workflow. May i ask if there is a way to filter out those references with 0 distance? (for example there are columns placed in a same vertical grid that return 0 as horizontal dimention)

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Youre welcome! The key there would be to do two things and use that to filter the inputs before creating dimensions.
1. Check for null outcomes for the location line (a point to a point at same location should usually fail)
2. In case tolerance allows very close points, get the length of location lines instead then replace nulls with 0 (clockwork or crumple have replacenull nodes), then filter by location lines less than a small value

[@s4saifali]

Can you please guide how to restore the dimensions after Mirroring the project

[@AussieBIMGuru]

I always advise against the mirror project tool as it causes a lot of issues related to annotations. There isn't really a good way to fix the damage the tool does in my experience as it always differs.

Hello,
I assembled my Generic Model. But this method doesn't work? What should I do?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Make sure the intended references are parallel to the reference orientations and named correctly. I used structural columns here so they are a bit different.

[@1insp3ru16]

this is amazing, would it be possible to select a floor plan and one click dimension generate? i know there is one plugin that does it but its crazy expensive.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Most things are possible, but it would take a lot of code and Revit API to determine what dimensions are required in a plan. Think about how you would do it manually, then use that to deternine the steps to automate that, including the logic applied as to what is dimensioned and where.

[@1insp3ru16]

@@AussieBIMGuru yeah I am a final year architecture technologist, I am really interested in revit Api with c# imma start learning it as you have inspired me from these videos Anyways, I also love computational designs using Rhino + grasshopper… maybe we can see some rhino inside revit content ? 👀

[@AussieBIMGuru]

@1insp3ru16 decent amount over on my rhino inside playlist. Will probably fit some more in this year hopefully!

[@1insp3ru16]

@@AussieBIMGuru amazing I will check it out. Thankyou for your content it’s absolutely golddddd

[@atharvapurohit3585]

Hi Gavin!
I've always wondered what do you guys use for aligning the nodes?
Like at exactly 9:20 time stamp, you do a box selection and some temporary option for alignment appears.
I hope I'm asking the question correctly else do let me know for paraphrasing it.
Regards,
Atharva.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

This is enabled by installing the Monocle package.

[@atharvapurohit3585]

@@AussieBIMGuru thank you!

[@srivickykumar8733]

Can you explain about the very and hori code block

[@AussieBIMGuru]

In this case I'm just getting the two items from the reference lists, which represent horizontal and vertical references in two separate lists. I can then deal with them in two pathways later in the script.

[@josephkirkpatrick345]

Something strange is happening when I use it on mine. I'm running 2023.1 and even tested against the git hub and still ran in the issue. But when I run it, it does work and shows no errors. It creates the dims, but you can't see them. But if you nudge the grid lines, they show up. Any thoughts?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Hrm havent seen that one before so not sure... Revit or Dynamo forums might be the go here.
My only guess is maybe something to do with element bindings, but if its the genius loci node it shouldnt be binding anyway as it uses python.

[@zeynepsozuer3175]

Hi again. The second code block at 5:40 does not working. It's something about input button i guess. I can't connect code block node with previous node. Thanks :)

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Most likely a typo, usually if you use the syntax 'x = ...' it will create a variable for x as an input. It sounds like youre fairly new to dynamo and code blocks, make sure to practice fundamentals via dynamo primer too.

[@sridharelumalai5735]

I have started using revit for the past 1 year i am right now working on small scale house design project i dont know how to get start learning dynamo even if i learn i dont know how to implement small projects.Like get a suggestion from you how to get started with dynamo by self learning and how to remember the codeblocks

[@AussieBIMGuru]

The key is to know why you want to learn it. Find repetitive tasks you do on a daily or weekly basis that might be automatable and use them as research goals for how you learn Dynamo. Following along with tutorials will only get you so far in learning, it is important to explore and play with it in your own ways as well.
I have a learning series on my channel which has a part about code blocks (part 5) so these may help also. I didn't use code blocks that much when I first began, over time you will come to find ways they save you time but I would begin mostly using nodes instead.

[@sridharelumalai5735]

@@AussieBIMGuru Thank u so much for Your tutorials it has helped me to land in a full time BIM Modeler job

[@AussieBIMGuru]

That's fantastic, congratulations! I wish you the best of luck in your new role.

[@abdlrhmanyoussef]

I built the script and run only for lines put didn't place the dimension
However the dimension type show the ID

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Generally the script should work as long as the references and grids are parallel. If they aren't then the scenario is probably more complex (e.g. the families are rotated 90 degrees). For detailed troubleshooting I suggest using Dynamo forums as this is just a demonstration of concept.

[@abdlrhmanyoussef]

@@AussieBIMGuru thank you for replying.
I already considered this point while running the script but didn't place the dimensions.

[@christopherhanson9351]

Wonderful workflow, thank you for sharing! How did you show the "Centerline" symbols at the columns--are they dimensions, or a family you built into the columns, or something else?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

You're welcome. This is a generic annotation object I've assigned to the dimension style type parameters under the 'Centreline Symbol' parameter.

[@JonathanPohlner]

My testing files are all different from your starting point, but I've seen other people use this same column as a demo before. I was wondering if there is somewhere we could down load the same file?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Hi there, yes my files are all available on github here:
github.com/aussieBIMguru/Revit-Files/tree/master/Families
I've broken them down by starting point in the file names.

[@JonathanPohlner]

@@AussieBIMGuru
Thank you, I've found the github once I checked your about section instead of the just the video discription. But I'm not seeing the one with four columns. In the video it says Prtoject1. I know it's just 2 grids and four columns, and I've tried importing a few other objects for testing, but I'm new to most of this and something isn't clicking. If I could find the columns I could recreate the project and I know I've seen others using a column that looks just like that.. I just don't know where they are getting it from.

[@JonathanPohlner]

finally found `columns` it's under the architectural ribbon

[@atpnguyen]

it's awesome one, thanks heaps for your contribution. I try to follow how you script it but mine seems not work the last step : Dimension By Reference said null for all, please help

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Make sure you've got ironpython2.7 installed as genius loci depends on this in later builds of revit.

[@liu5916416]

Hi Gavin, May I ask a quesion about dimensions I was thinking recently. I am doing an apartment partition wall setout drawing recently, but I found the previous dimensions was drawn from wall face to wall face. I would like to change these dimensions to stud to stud (face of core). Is there any convinent way to change these dimensions on sheets no mater in revit or dynamo. Otherwise I need to change them one by one, it would be painful. Thanks

[@AussieBIMGuru]

In my research I haven't found a way to update dimension references, only set them initially unfortunately. You may need to get the dimensions current references and location line, delete it and recreate it with dynamo. You would need to identify the current references it is associated to and replace all face references with the centre reference of the same wall for the new dimension. It would be very complex, haven't tried it before myself.

[@amratef3134]

Hi sir, could you please share your dynamo script that make walls dimensions face to face😊

[@AussieBIMGuru]

I dont have a script for that unfortunately, maybe ask dynamo forums fof assistance.

[@Rome2]

Hi,
I get this message when I run my script.
I have rotated grids and columns but they are 90° with each other so the script should work?
"The References of the highlighted Dimension are no longer parallel."

[@AussieBIMGuru]

If any column is rotated at 90 degrees you would need to swap the centre front/back and centre left/right references in the sublists for the dimensions before making them. Dynamo doesnt have the ability to figure out which columns are rotated by 90 degrees on its own unfortunately.

[@thomasolsen8979]

Hi! Great video! this is just what I was looking for. I do get an issue with the Dimensjon styles in the end. First i do not find those nodes you use. Are they in some packege? I also get som lines that is referencing the solution is working, but it just dont put inn the dimensions. So since im not able to make the same pieces there.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

If you are using revit 2023 you will need to use the all elements of class node instead, I believe they removed element types from then onwards. Genius loci is the only package needed otherwise.

[@k1kE24]

Hello, do you think it can be done with linked elements? Thanks

[@AussieBIMGuru]

It could, you would just need to get linked elements and their references instead I think. Generally i try not to tag/dim links.

[@felipemeruane6637]

Excellent video ABG!!! exploring this approach, is there a way to filter references? some elements have references placed in the same position wich results in dimensions segment with 0 value. It would be usefull to filter them previously or be able to delete the 0 value segment of the dimension... is it possible? Thaks in advance!!!

[@AussieBIMGuru]

The only options for filtering that come to mind are by plane name and/or plane parallelism. Auto-dimensioning gets quite hard when you begin needing to infer complex/specific conditions (e.g. don't dim all planes in a family, just some specific ones).
To filter out a zero dim segment you would need to determine all planes by their origin/normal and filter out all but one of each to avoid planes in the same position being used as references.

[@felipemeruane6637]

Thanks ABG, I´ll try that!@@AussieBIMGuru

[@monicagonorazky6003]

Hi! Love your tutorials!
I don't know why in the second node (FamilyInstanceReferences) I got values 0 and 1 in the second level instead of the reference plane's names. I'm trying with columns just like you did.
I'm using Revit 2022, Dynamo 2.10 and Genus Loci 2022.9.16

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Hrm very strange, I can't seem to recreate it. Make doubly sure all planes are named and set, and if that's the case I'd say try a thread on dynamo forums to troubleshoot the node behavior.

[@MohamedAshraf-wk1ks]

HELLO THANK you for your effort
i try this script and it's working well
but if try this script with more than two grids it make dimension between the column and every grid
is there a solution ?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yes that would require you to find the two closest grids in each case, different scenario and requires more code. I have another video in this playlist for finding closest grids.

[@Coolener]

Can you help me pls? I dont undestand why i get 0 and -1 values in the "list.IndexOf".

[@AussieBIMGuru]

0 means the first item in the list and -1 means no match was found.

[@tim.7414]

Great work flow, Would this work on levels I wonder

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yes I seem to recall seeing that there was a node in Genius Loci for extracting the reference from a level element.

[@tim.7414]

oh great,i might have a look, i was using an outdated method placing string dimension by intersect (DL or ML), thank Gavin!

[@alle8all91]

Hi, I’m currently using 4-5 different dimensions (rvt 2020.2) but i wonder if it’s possible to change colour on all existing vertically aligned dimension with dynamo and how?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

I assume you reached out to me via my website also as I got a similar query there. In either case, Rhythm package has a node that can retrieve dimension curves.

[@just_a_statistic]

POINT AND GRIDS ARE AT DIFFERENT PLANES HELP

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Pull/project to plane node is your friend here!

[@just_a_statistic]

@@AussieBIMGuru package name?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Out of the box, no package. Search for project or pull in the node library, will be under the geometry section.

[@kp-rd8sf]

I'm looking for just SIMPLE how to put dimension from point A to point B in revit. can someone help me?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

If it's in Revit then just use the autodesk knowledge article maybe; knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2018/ENU/Revit-DocumentPresent/files/GUID-F52741E0-A4C2-451D-BDD2-6C31C62D0C19-htm.html
If it's using Dynamo, unfortunately this video is about as simple of a method as I can produce. Typically they are more complicated than this.

[@dibyendubiswas3562]

Tried the script, However for some reason instead of the dimension I am able to see only blue reference of the dimension. Any solution?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Make sure the references are all at 90 degrees and columns are not rotated. If any of these factors are present the script needs more work applied to account for this.

[@dibyendubiswas3562]

@@AussieBIMGuru Yes all references are at 90 & columns are not rotated. Still no luck

[@AussieBIMGuru]

@@dibyendubiswas3562 hrm worked in my case so must be something different. Maybe unnamed references.

[@timyoung2079]

Great video as always. This task is the most painstaking in my work. I know you said this video is just to show an example of dimensioning and you wouldn’t solve every dimensioning issue, but I don’t even know where to begin with mine. Is there a way to create long strings of dimensions parallel to walls showing openings (doors and windows) and and any wall corners. Where would you begin with this (if what I’m saying is possible). After watching your video here I was thinking should I create reference planes within door\ window families for dynamo to read ? Could be more hassle then just doing things manually ! Thanks

[@AussieBIMGuru]

In this case I would begin by getting all associated elements of a wall that is selected. From there get their left and right references (yes they must be named in the family), as well as any grids that intersect with the location line (or retrieve the closest grid to each reference and group them by grid). I think there is a node in clockwork package to get all associated elements to a host element if I recall correctly.
I'll add it to my list to cover at some point as it's a fairly common task for dimensioning.

[@timyoung2079]

@@AussieBIMGuru For anyone who may find this useful: I found a feature within revit that helped with this issue that I was not aware of before. Within the 'aligned dimension' there is an option to choose the entire wall and within the option you can choose to dimension to the openings and intersecting walls also.

[@aethelwolfe3539]

Different types of buildings are dimensioned differently, masonry buildings are rough openings, I’ve seen people do wood buildings measured from finish face of stud. And here with the wide flange columns he is dimensioning from centerline of stud. (The easiest possible one)

[@tznef]

@@AussieBIMGuru how would you go about creating the line for the windows and openings you would dimension from the wall? in the video the process is clear in regards for retrieving the references for the windows, but the line?

[@HARICSNAIR]

it was not working there are some erros on mine

[@AussieBIMGuru]

The sample script and model are on my github if you need to test a working version for comparison.

[@ahmadalaya4969]

how can I dimension if i have walls? can someone help me?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Dynamo forums.

[@shihasp2020]

thnxz a lot
can you a video same as mep components dimension like duct,pipes etc,......
N pls provide dynamo script

[@AussieBIMGuru]

As i said in the video I'm really just showing how to do dimensioning scripts and didn't intend to build scripts for all scenarios - they're all very different to set up. I'd suggest using this video as a starting point to try out developing some scripts yourself so they work how you want them to!

[@krishnareddy4070]

How can I learn dynamo for mep model in revit.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

See my reply on the other comment you left. The best way to learn is begin with the primer and fundamentals.

[@TamepLAN]

Thank you so much for all your videos! My favorite channel, since I began to study Dynamo.
I have a trouble with GeniusLoci FamilyInstance References/ My Revit crashes 99% of time, when I run script with connected GeniusLoci node. I'm trying to get dimensions of 3 different door families on my legend view. Once I have succeeded to go to the final of the process, but dimensions did not appear. In next minute Revit crashed again and I gave up...Have no idea what's going on with that node.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

My best guess here is that maybe there are a lot of elements entering the node which is overloading the process. If it's only a few things though then I'm not sure why it would crash the session - it might be worth contacting the developer of this package via Dynamo forums (Alban) in case it's a bug or issue that could be solved in the node itself maybe.

[@TamepLAN]

​@@AussieBIMGuru I think big number of reference planes can be the reason. There are more than 15-18 references in each family. I'll definitely contanct the developer. Thank you for your help.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

@@TamepLAN you're welcome. Sometimes reference planes are needed. For example on average a door family I build has at least 30.

[@TamepLAN]

@@AussieBIMGuru yes, they are really needed. Just one more question. Is there any way to get reference lines in a family, not reference planes? I have just checked - they appear in GL node's lists as references, but they have no names and in the list they appear as blank rows, so I can not identify them. I tried to get them by ID (with Revit Lookup help), but couldn't.

[@AussieBIMGuru]

@@TamepLAN I tried this also but had no luck in identifying them. The only thing I could think to identify them by is their facing orientation if you know there's only one but otherwise I don't believe they hold other data to compare.

[@26Bry]

could you use this to do a string of dims on openings etc?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Yep you could use element references to dimension windows/doors in a wall.

[@26Bry]

@@AussieBIMGuru literally a hero

[@johannariad9342]

Hi! Thank you for an informative video :) I was wondering if you know how to create a "dimension by reference" between two points in Dynamo? I'm trying to create measurements where I need to snap to certain endpoints of edge curves within a family instance. I can find the points geometrically without a problem, but haven't managed to find the corresponding Autodesk.DB.Reference... Any ideas on how to do that would be greatly appreciated! //Johanna

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Not that I am aware of. Identifying specific geometric edges in a family is difficult if not impossible as they have no filterable name or reference to identify them from the rest. Might be one for the forums I'd say.

[@johannariad9342]

@@AussieBIMGuru Okay thanks! It does seem a bit tricky, I think we'll be looking at a workaround using reference planes instead.

[@juanbrizzi7400]

te quiero

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Thanks!

[@HARICSNAIR]

scripts having erros when writing...

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Try the one of my github. This isnt a one size fits all script, its showing a general principle. If your dimensioning objects or families differ in nature to mine it might not work quite the same way.

[@prateek7478]

Can we use this same method for rebars?

[@AussieBIMGuru]

If they have element references then yes. I am not familiar with rebar dynamo unfortunately.

[@prateek7478]

@@AussieBIMGuru got it

[@prateek7478]

@@AussieBIMGuru do you have video for placing dimensions for column’s at section and elevation etc

[@krishnareddy4070]

Can you please help me to learn dynamo for developing my career .
I am lagging behind with compitition in work area.
Please help me to develop my skills in mep modeling field

[@AussieBIMGuru]

I am architecturally focused unfortunately, but check out the work of Sean Fruin on Autodesk university as a starting point. I have a learning series playlist here and also 100+ tutorials to learn from as well, but read the dynamo primer as well. Hope that helps!

[@Tcs_Estudant]

Pro Dynamo get more 1 fan

[@AussieBIMGuru]

Welcome to the community Tiago!

[@just_a_statistic]

please provide the scripts

[@AussieBIMGuru]

They are on github.