Making the Most Out of the Revit View Range

Understanding and effectively using the Revit View Range is essential for producing clear, accurate drawings and models. This powerful tool determines what elements are visible in a plan view, based on specific height parameters. While it may seem straightforward, mastering its nuances can significantly enhance the readability of your drawings, especially as drawing complexity increases. 

In this article, we’ll break down the basics of the View Range, including its components, accessibility, and modifications, and some tips on how to make the most out of this necessary tool.

What is the Revit View Range?

The Revit View Range is a set of parameters in Autodesk Revit Software that controls the visibility of elements in a plan view by defining specific height ranges. It determines what parts of the model are visible based on their vertical position relative to a defined “cut plane.”  We will cover the cut plane as well as the other components in the next section.  

This allows users to focus on the most relevant elements for a particular vie,w such as walls, doors, windows, or other necessary features. Elements outside of the View Range, unless specified, will not be visible, which helps to declutter the resulting view field.

Components of Revit View Range

The Revit View Range comprises two main sections. The Primary Range contains the top plane, cut plane, and bottom plane; and the View Depth, which allows for viewing items below the primary range (i.e. foundation elements).

1. Top Plane – The top plane is a plane specified on the plan view that notes the highest boundary for which to display elements. Elements above this plane will not be displayed.
2. Cut Plane – This plane notes the desired “slice” through elements that will be seen in the resulting top-down drawing orientation. Generally, the cut plane will slice through important elements such as windows, walls, doors, etc.
3. Bottom Plane – In contrast with the top plane, the bottom plane notes the lowest boundary for items to be displayed.
4. View Depth – Additionally, the “View Depth” extends below the Bottom Plane to show elements farther down, if necessary.  These parameters can be adjusted to customize the appearance of each view, providing flexibility in displaying specific portions of a model.

How to Access and Modify View Range in Revit

Accessing and modifying the view range is simple when following these steps:

1. Select your desired plan view from the project browser.
   1. Be sure to click somewhere in the view to activate it.
2. Find the properties palette and scroll down to the View Range (found under the “Extents” category).
3. Click Edit to open the View Range Properties Panel.
4. Once you have the View Range Properties Panel open; you will see where you can edit the top plane, cut plane, bottom plane, and the view depth.  
   1. Modifications of these planes can be accomplished by selecting a “level” or specifying a numerical offset.
5. After adjustments have been made to your liking, click OK to apply.

Display Expectations in the View Range

Now that we have accessed and modified the View range, let’s discuss what you can expect to see. Depending on the category of the element and where it falls in the view plane, the drawing elements will be displayed with either a thicker “cut line weight” or a thinner “projection line weight.”

1. Between the Top and Cut Planes – The only categories of elements that will be displayed in a plan view in this region are windows, casework, and/or generic models.  Items drawn in these 3 categories will be displayed with a projection line weight.
2. Intersected by the cut plane – In general, elements that are cut by the cut plane will be displayed using the cut line weight of the element. However, walls shorter than 6 feet and some families of drawn elements are considered as “uncuttable.” These items in the view range will be displayed using the projection line weight.
3. Between the Cut and Bottom Planes – The elements below the cut line (not intersected) are shown in the projection line weight. For a floor plan, this could be chairs, tables, sofas, etc.
4. Below the Bottom Plane in the View Depth – With a few exceptions, most elements are drawn using the “beyond” line style. In a floor plan, this region would likely show the foundation elements in the drawing.

Tips for Making the Most Out of Revit View Range

I’d now like to go over some helpful tips for enhancing your experience while using the Revit View Range.

1. Take your time to understand the Cut Plane.
   1. Looking for a simple set-up for the cut plane?  In general, the cut plane is set at 4ft (1.2m), which works great for standard floor plans.
   2. Double check the cut plane level if there are certain elements that are not displaying properly.
2. Control the View Depth for enhanced clarity.
   1. Footings, foundation, and other underground elements should be made visible using the View Depth instead of the bottom plane. This keeps the floor plan more readable.
3. Utilize filters and other advanced tools for further control
   1. You can override the view range in specific regions. This can be especially useful for split-level or multi-height floor plans.
   2. Filters can be used to hide specific elements such as furniture or structural elements that do not need to be displayed.

Conclusions

Mastering the Revit View Range is essential for creating clear and precise plan views.  By understanding how the Top Plane, Cut Plane, Bottom Plane, and View Depth interact, you can fine-tune visibility to suit your project’s needs.  Accessing and adjusting these settings through the View Properties Panel ensures that critical elements appear correctly and legibly.  

Additionally, using tools like Plan Regions, View Depth adjustments, and Visibility Graphics Overrides can help refine your views for complex layouts.  With these strategies, you can take full control of your Revit workflows, improving both efficiency and clarity in your designs.