Organizing Electrical Plans and Sheets in Revit

Let's get started setting up our sheets for our midterm. If we take a look in our Project Browser, we will find our Sheets area down near the bottom. Right now, we have one sheet available.

It's E001. We'll double-click to open that up, and there's not a whole lot going on yet—but we'll add to this sheet and create several more. At the top, we have the title: Elementary School Electrical.

Let's go ahead and add another line below that. We can use the Text tool and choose a size. Right now, it's 1/8", which is pretty small.

Let's go ahead and try 3/8", and we'll click just below the "E" in Elementary School. We can type "Midterm" and add our full name. Click the Modify button to adjust it. Make sure it's placed just below the main title.

That looks pretty good. Now, we want to add in our list of sheets, which is found under Schedules > Quantities > Schedule/Quantities > Sheet List. We'll drag that in and drop it to the right of the "L" in the title block.

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It's pretty minimal right now, but it will grow automatically as we add more sheets. Now let's make this look more official by adding some electrical specifications. If we go up to our Legends, we'll find Specifications—Electrical.

We can drag and drop that in, and it will fit right on the right side next to the Title Block. Try to center it on that right side. Click to place it.

Now, we might notice there's a title above and a title within the legend. We don’t need to be redundant, so in the Properties of this view, we can change it to Viewport: No Title since the legend already contains its own title. Now that's looking pretty good.

Let's zoom in to the Title Block and see what we can change here. For the Project Number, we can call this Midterm. For Drawn By, we can add our own name.

So first and last name, and that’s it. That looks pretty good for our cover sheet for the midterm at this point.

Now let's go ahead and add some additional sheets. First, we'll go back to our Sheets section in the Project Browser, right-click, and select New Sheet. We want the VDCI 30x42 title block, and then click OK.

That opens it up. This sheet will be for our electrical analysis. So let’s scroll down to the Title Block and update the information.

Set the number to E010. The sheet is currently unnamed, so we'll click there and rename it Electrical Analysis. We've got the “Midterm” text carried over from the previous sheet, and that will remain until we change it. We can also add our Drawn By information again—first and last name.

That looks pretty good for our Title Block. Now we need to add some views. If you recall, the views for our analysis are located in the Project Browser under Electrical > Floor Plans > Electrical Analysis.

Let’s double-click on the first one, L1 Electrical Analysis. It’s currently set to 1/8" = 1'-0", which is a bit large for the sheet, and it’s more of a diagram. Let’s drop the scale down to 1" = 20'-0". That will adjust the scale appropriately.

Give it a moment to update. Now we see the elevation markers on this view.

We don’t need to display those on this sheet, so we’ll click once on the elevation tag, right-click, and choose Hide in View > Category. We don’t need to show those elevations here.

This view looks good. Now let’s go to L2 Electrical Analysis and make a few of the same adjustments.

First, change the scale to 1" = 20'-0". Once it updates, we can close both views—L2 and L1.

Now we can drag and drop them onto our sheet. Start with L1 Electrical Analysis. Once it loads, click once to place it near the top.

Then do the same for L2. Drag and drop L2 right below it. If you move your mouse slightly, you’ll see a slight alignment line that helps center the two views.

Look for the little green dashed line and drop it there. Those look pretty good.

I might click the top view and adjust the title bar downward to bring it closer to the plan. Then I’ll click on L2 and make a similar adjustment. Sometimes I’ll move it near the first view to help with alignment.

You can see that aligns the views. Then I can click on the view and adjust the title bar tail length. Now I know they’re exactly the same and properly lined up.

Now I can drag the lower view straight down to ensure both are aligned. Alright, those look pretty good. Now we can add some additional information to our analysis.

Let’s go to our schedules. We have the Electrical Analytical Load Schedule. Let’s drag and drop that into the top-right corner of our sheet—somewhere around there. Next, we have our Bus Schedule.

We can drag and drop that just below the Load Schedule. We can line those up to keep things clean and consistent. Now let’s go back to our Legends.

We’re looking for our Area-Based Load Legend. We’ll drag and drop it right below our schedules. We’ll notice it comes through with its own title, even though the legend already contains a title, so we can click the viewport and change the viewport setting to No Title.

That looks pretty awesome. We’ve got a lot of content here explaining the analysis for our building. That was fun!

Let’s create another sheet. In the Sheets section, we can right-click and choose New Sheet. Select the VDCI 30x42 title block.

Click OK. I want to zoom in and give this sheet a name and number. Right now, it’s E011.

It should actually be E130. Press ENTER to apply the change. For the name, we’ll enter: Lighting Plan – Level 1.

We can add our Drawn By information as well—first and last name. We’re all set.

We’ve got our Title Block set up. Now we need to actually add that lighting plan. Let’s scroll up to locate it.

We’re looking for our Electrical Ceiling Plan for Level 1. Let’s make sure the entire sheet is visible so it’s easier to drag and drop. I’ll drag and drop that Lighting Plan onto the sheet.

We’ll let it load. Here it is. It’s pretty large, so we’ll click to place it.

We’ll need to set the scale. If I double-click inside the view, it’s currently set to 1/8" = 1'-0", which is a common architectural scale—but it doesn’t fit well on the page.

We might need to change the scale from 1/8" down to 3/32". Let’s do that. Hmm—it’s not letting me change it.

Why is that? If we recall, we created a View Template for this. We have to change the scale in the View Template itself. Let’s go back up to Properties and we’ll find the View Template setting.

It says Electrical Ceiling. We'll click that, and here is where we can change the view scale. It's currently set to 1/8".

We'll change it to 3/32" and click OK. That will take a moment to process, and it should now fit better on our sheet. There it is.

I want to double-click outside the view to deselect it and move it into place. That's looking pretty good. My view title here is kind of large.

You can see this super big line here. I might move it up a little bit. If I click on the view, I can adjust its length.

We'll pull that across and move it into place. Oops—I moved the whole thing accidentally, so I'll hit CTRL+Z and make sure I'm only selecting the title bar. Move it into place.

That’s a lot better. Alright, what this sheet could use are some sheet notes.

Let's do that. Let's go back to our Legends section. We have a Lighting Plan General Notes legend.

We'll drag and drop that into the upper-left corner of the sheet. It looks like we have some space there, so we'll drop it in that corner. Click once to place it.

Again, we have the issue of a title showing on top of another title, so we’ll change the viewport to No Title. That looks pretty good. Maybe use the arrow keys to fine-tune the position, and we are all set.

That looks really good. Let's duplicate this plan since it’s all set up so nicely. I’m going to right-click on it and select Duplicate Sheet.

This time, I’ll choose Duplicate with Views. I want everything to come through, so I’ll also choose Duplicate with Detailing.

One of the views on the sheet is not compatible for duplication in this way, so I’ll cancel for now. Right-click again, select Duplicate Sheet, and this time choose Duplicate with Detailing. That will bring over the relevant information.

It did bring over one view—the Lighting Plan General Notes—and that’s perfect. It's a great starting point.

Now let’s zoom in and change our title block. Now let's make a few easy changes. Instead of Level 1, change the name to Level 2. Instead of E130, the sheet number should be E140.

Everything else came through looking great. All we need to do now is drag and drop our other view. Let’s go back to our Electrical Ceiling Plan for Level 2, Lighting Plan, and drag and drop that here.

It’s going to take a moment to process, and then we’ll place it on our sheet. Here it is. I’ll hover around the target position and click once to place it.

That’s looking good. I’ll click on that view and shorten the view title line to tighten it up a bit.

Click away and click it again to reposition it. Now it looks like this plan needs to move down and to the left slightly. Let me share a tip I often use, since it can be tricky to align plans across sheets.

If I go back to E130 and assume this is my base plan, I can zoom in to a known reference point—for example, this corner of the building right here. I’ll draw a detail line touching that corner and drag it out to the side.

Now I’ll select that line and copy it—Copy to Clipboard. Then I’ll go to E140 and choose Paste > Aligned to Current View.

There it is. That line is in the same location on both E130 and E140.

Now if I move the Level 2 plan, I’ll drag it to the end of that line, and the two plans will be aligned on both pages. A simple way to keep your views consistent. Just remember to delete the line afterward.

That looks great. Just two more sheets to go. Let’s go down to our Sheets and create those final two sheets.

I’ll right-click on Sheets and select New Sheet. I’ll select the VDCI 30x42 title block and click OK. Let’s name this sheet.

This one is going to be called Enlarged Lighting Plans. I’ll enter that name: Enlarged Lighting Plans.

We need to fill in the Drawn By field with our first and last name. The number for this sheet will be E430.

First, we need our Lighting Plan Notes. The good thing is we already have them on the previous sheet. Let’s go back to E140. I’ll select the Lighting Plan General Notes.

There it is—selected. I can copy it, go to E430, and then paste > Aligned to Current View. It shows up in the exact same place.

Now I can add my Enlarged Lighting Plans. We’ll need to make a few adjustments to get these to fit. We’ll start with the gymnasium.

It's pretty big. If we drag and drop that in, it will likely fill the entire page. Let's click once to place it.

There it is—filling the whole page. Let's double-click into the view and change the scale at the bottom.

We’ll set it to 1/8" = 1'-0" scale. Click away a couple of times, and then adjust the length of the view title tag and pull it down slightly. Now we can drag in our typical classroom lighting plan.

It's a much smaller room, so we can drag it in as-is. Line up the view titles and shorten the tag length. Once I have these positioned, I can center them on the page—and I’m happy with this sheet.

Just one more to go. Let's go down to our Sheets section again, right-click on Sheets, and select New Sheet. Choose the VDCI E1 title block and click OK.

Now we want to include our Switchboard Schedule and One-Line Diagram.

Let’s give this sheet a name: Switchboard Schedule and One-Line Diagram. Its number is E700, and it’s drawn by us—so we’ll enter our first and last name in the Drawn By field.

We want to populate this page with a few items. First, we’ll add our Switchboard Schedule. Let’s go back to our Schedules.

We’ll find Panel Schedules and expand that section. Open the Main Distribution Board schedule. Drag and drop that onto the sheet.

Click once to place it. It’s not fully populated yet, but as we continue working, Revit will add additional load information to the schedule. That looks good for now.

Next, let’s add a Panel Board Nameplate. This is something an electrical designer might include to help the contractor apply appropriate labels to each panel board. Let’s go to our Legends section—we have a Panel Board Nameplate there.

Drag and drop that onto the right side of the sheet. Again, it has its own title, so we can change its title setting to Viewport: No Title. That looks really good.

Last but not least, let’s place our detailed One-Line Diagram.

We’ll find that in our Views under Drafting Views—look for One-Line Diagram. Drag and drop that into the bottom-center area of the sheet.

There it is—our detailed One-Line Diagram. Click on the view and change the view title. We don’t need duplicate titles, so go ahead and change the setting to No Title.

We are all set. That completes all of the midterm sheets.