Visibility Checklist - 10 Ways to Find What You're Missing in Revit Views

No question about it, the number one reason people call me is to help them find something that’s gone missing in the view they’re working in. So I thought it would be helpful to create a checklist of where I look when something has gone missing.

Visibility Graphics Dialogue

This is the first place I start. Check to make sure the category of the element you're missing is on in the VG dialogue.
If the category is on, make sure the sub-category is on. This is often overlooked so be sure to expand the category to expose the sub-categories.
Sometimes, however it’s a nested family category that you have to watch out for. In the example below you’ll notice the door category and sub-categories are on in the VG dialogue. However there is part of the door family that is not displayed. That’s because the door contains a nested family from the Detail Item category. This is also true for any linked model. Each linked model has its own set of VG, so make sure you check them.

Worksets

Check to make sure all the worksets are visible. Even if set to visible or show, elements on a Closed workset will not be visible.

Make sure all the worksets are open. If any are closed you can open them in the Workset dialogue from the Manage Collaboration panel on the Collaboration tab on the ribbon.

Filters

To ensure a filter is not the culprit, make sure they're all visible. If a filter is the cause of the visibility issue you may have to edit it to avoid showing items that have been intentionally hidden with the filter. Check with your team members before editing or removing filters.

Design Options
Check the Design Options tab in the VG dialogue. The element you're looking for may be on a different DO than what's set in the view. You can temporarily change this setting to show any of the DO. Note: DO only work with 3D elements. 

View Range

Check to make sure the element you're looking for falls within the Primary View Range. If it's outside this range you won't be able to see it. If the element does fall outside the primary range, you may not want to change it right away. Discuss this with your team to make sure you're not affecting someone else's setting. 

Plan Region

Plan Regions control a separate view range in floor plan views. Check the VG dialogue for Plan Region visibility in the view. If Plan Regions are visible, check their view range settings. 

Hide at Scales Courser Than

If you're missing a callout, section, or elevation marker be sure to check the view properties setting "Hide at scales courser than" in the missing view. The scale of the view may be the reason why any one of these view markers are not showing up.

Detail Level

Any loadable family can have it's visibility set to Course, Medium, or Fine. If the visibility of the element is set to something other than what you have your view set to, it will not show up. This setting will also effect nested families so you may have to edit the family to get to the bottom of it.

Manually Hidden Elements

Don't forget to simply check for hidden elements by clicking the Reveal Hidden Elements button on the view control bar.

Phases

If your project has phases there's a good chance your missing element was created on the wrong phase and the phase filter in the view is causing the issue. Make sure to check both the view as well as the element phase settings. 

Ideate Revit Add-in to the Rescue!

X-Ray is an add-in tool the will help you find what you're missing. In addition to helping you find missing stuff it will explain why it's missing, which is always a good thing. 

When things go missing in Revit it's easy to blow your top. Just slow down and work through these 10 areas and you're sure to find what you're missing.

Worksharing

I've often find that instructing students on how to set up worksets is particularly difficult. The concept is so different from anything else they've done it seems to pass about ten feet above their heads. I must admit, when I first heard the term worksharing I didn't understand it either. So now after five years of Revit use I think I have it down. I'll try to explain it as simply as I can. A project doesn't just start out with Worksharing, one has to enable it. To do so open up a new file and select the Worksharing tool on the toolbar. If you don't see this tool, right click the toolbar area and select Worksets from the list. Next, click the Worksharing Icon to the left of the Active Worksets window. This will bring up the Worksharing dialog box. In the dialog box you'll see two boxes, one labeled Shared Levels and Grids, the other Workset 1. Leave the titles as they are and click OK. Once you've clicked ok there's no turning back. The now when elements are placed or coppied they well be assigned to a workset. You must pay very close attention to the active workset. While this workset is active everything is place on it automatically. I cannot stress this enough. It is, however, possible to select elements and change the workset they belong to, but it's much easier to place them on the correct worksets the first time. DO NOT TREAT WORKSETS LIKE AUTOCAD LAYERS. I've seen this happen time and time again. Worksets are use to break a project up so it is more managable. Worksets are not to be used solely for the purpose of visibility settings. This is what Visibility Graphics and Object Styles are for. For example, an obvious strategy to separate a project is by buildings. If a project has more than one building, then it's easy to separate them out and place them on separate worksets. Maybe it's by core and shell, and the interior of the building. Find a logical breaking point in the building to separate it out. Consult you BIM manager if you have one. That's it, as simple as 1 2 3...right?