- Use scope boxes to keep floor plan, elevation, and section views consistent and organized across the entire project
- A sheet list schedule can double as a tool for creating placeholder sheets, allowing you to build your full cartoon set in one step
- Adding a custom sorting parameter to your sheet index gives you control over how sheets are ordered beyond simple alphanumeric sorting
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Once the building outline has been established in a residential Revit project, the next step is to clean up the plan views and set up the full drawing set. This involves removing elements that are no longer needed, establishing scope boxes for consistent views, and creating what is known as a cartoon set. The cartoon set is essentially a complete list of all the sheets you plan to include in the project, and getting it set up early saves time as the project develops.
Cleaning up the Plan View
The first task is to hide elements that are not needed in the floor plan views. The CAD import that was used during the tracing phase can be turned off through the Visibility/Graphic Overrides dialog (VV on the keyboard), under the Imported Categories tab. Setback lines and property lines can be hidden by right-clicking and selecting Hide in View by Category. Model lines such as those used for setbacks, can be selected using the Tab key to grab the full chain and then hidden by element so that other model lines in the project are not affected.
Establishing a Scope Box
With the plan cleaned up, a scope box should be created to define the view area for floor plans, elevations, and other views. The scope box is a tool for keeping views consistent and organized. For a residential project, the box can be named something simple like "Residence" and drawn around the area of the house. In a 3D view, the scope box can be adjusted vertically so that its bottom sits below the lowest level line. This prevents clipping issues when the scope box is applied to elevation or section views, ensuring that foundations and below-grade elements are still visible.
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Once the scope box is created, it can be assigned to each plan view through the view properties. Switching a view's scope box from "None" to the named scope box will adjust the crop region to match, keeping all plan views framed consistently.
Creating the Sheet List
There are two ways to set up the cartoon set. The first is to manually create each sheet by right-clicking in the Project Browser and selecting New Sheet. The second, more efficient method is to create a sheet list schedule and use it to generate all the sheets at once.
To create a sheet list, add the Sheet Number and Sheet Name fields to the schedule. Rows can be inserted directly into the schedule to define each sheet. A typical residential set might include sheets like A101 for the site plan, A201 through A203 for first floor, second floor, and roof plans, A401 and A402 for exterior elevations, and T100 for a title sheet.
Adding a Custom Sort Parameter
By default, Revit sorts sheets alphanumerically by sheet number, which can cause issues when title sheets (prefixed with T or G) need to appear first. Adding a custom sorting parameter solves this problem. In the schedule's Fields settings, a "Sort" parameter can be added and then used in the Sorting/Grouping tab to sort first by the custom parameter and then by sheet number. Title sheets might receive a sort value of "01" while architectural sheets get "02, " ensuring the title sheet always appears at the top of the index.
Maintaining Working and Display Versions
It is helpful to maintain two versions of the sheet list. The working version includes the sort column and is used for managing sheets as the project develops. A duplicate of this schedule can be created and renamed as the display version (such as "Sheet Index"), with the sort column hidden. This display version is what gets placed on the title sheet for the final drawing set, while the working version remains available for ongoing project management.
Generating Sheets from Placeholder Entries
Once all the sheets have been defined in the schedule, they exist as placeholder entries in Revit. To convert them into actual sheets, go to the View tab and select New Sheet. The dialog will show all placeholder sheets that have not yet been created. By selecting a title block and then shift-clicking to select all placeholder sheets, every sheet in the cartoon set can be created in one step. The sheets will then appear in the Project Browser, ready to receive views as the project progresses.
