Overview of Selecting Elements in Revit
Selecting elements in Revit efficiently is essential for streamlining your workflow. This guide details various methods for selecting single elements, multiple elements, and specific categories of elements in your Revit project, offering step-by-step instructions to enhance your proficiency.
Selecting Individual Elements
To select a single element within your Revit environment:
Direct Selection: Hover over the element you wish to select. Click the left mouse button when the element is highlighted. The selected element will be outlined, indicating your selection.
- Using the Project Browser: Navigate to the Project Browser panel. Locate the specific element or family type you want to select. Right-click on it, and choose ‘Select’ from the context menu that appears.
Selecting All Instances of a Specific Type
To select all instances of a particular element type in your view:
Right-click on an Element: Find an instance of the element in your current view. Right-click on it to reveal the context menu.
- Choose Select All Instances: From the menu, select ‘Select All Instances,’ then opt for either ‘Visible in View’ to select only those elements visible in your current view or ‘In Entire Project’ to select every instance of that element type within the project.
Selecting Multiple Elements
To select several elements at once, you can use a few different approaches:
Ctrl + Click Method: Hold down the Ctrl key and click on each element you want to include in your selection. Each element will be added to your selection set.
Selection Box Method: Click and hold the left mouse button to create a rectangular selection box. Start from one corner of the desired elements and drag diagonally to the opposite corner, releasing the button to select all elements within the box.
- Tab Key for Connected Elements: While hovering over a collection of connected elements, press the Tab key to cycle through all connected instances. Once the desired element is highlighted, click to include it in your selection.
Advanced Selection Techniques
Using Filters: To create more complex selections based on categories:
- Draw a selection box around the desired elements.
- Navigate to the ‘Modify’ tab and find the ‘Filter’ option in the multi-select panel.
- Open the filter dialog, select the specific categories of elements you want to include, and click OK.
- Leveraging Selection in Dynamo: If you are using Dynamo, you can utilize nodes designed for selection. The ‘Select Model Element’ node can be used for single selections, while the ‘Select Model Elements’ node allows for multi-element selections. Locate these nodes in the node Library under Revit > Selection.
Deselecting Elements from a Selection
If you ever need to remove an element from your selection, use the following method:
- Hold down the Shift key while clicking on the element you wish to remove from your current selection set. This allows for easy modifications to your selection without starting over.
FAQ
1. What is the difference between ‘Visible in View’ and ‘In Entire Project’?
‘Visible in View’ allows you to select only the instances of an element that you can currently see in your active view. In contrast, ‘In Entire Project’ selects all instances of that element throughout the entire Revit project, regardless of whether they are visible in the current view.
2. Can I select elements by category?
Yes, you can select elements based on their category using the selection filter. After drawing a selection box, choose the Filter option to specify which categories you want included in your selection.
3. What should I do if I accidentally select the wrong element?
If you make an incorrect selection, simply hold the Shift key while clicking on the undesired element to remove it from your selection set.
