Guidelines for Creating and Modifying Grids

The following recommended practices for creating and modifying grids help you work with grids
effectively.
■ If you work with similar construction projects regularly, you should place grids at default locations
in the project template. You can always delete grid lines that are not required and modify grid
spacing to suit project requirements. This helps you start projects quickly without spending time
on individual setups.
■ After grids are set and are not likely to change, pin the location of the grids to prevent them from
being moved accidentally. To pin the location of grids, select the grid line and use the Pin tool on
the Modify panel of the Modify Grids tab.
■ After you add the grids, lock the dimensions between grids to fix the spacing between grid lines.
This prevents the grids from being changed inadvertently when you are working in the model.
■ If your projects use graphical column schedules that are based on grid intersections, add
intersecting grid lines at all column locations. This ensures that the columns appear in the graphical
column schedule.
■ When working on a project, add all level elements before adding grid lines. This is because the
grid lines placed in a plan view will extend vertically to the lowest and highest levels in elevation. If
more levels are added after the grids are placed, the grids need to be stretched accordingly in the
elevations. Therefore, adding level elements before grid lines saves time.
■ Control the extent of grids using a scope box. This enables you to extend multiple grids
simultaneously and save time.
■ When an architect is also using Revit, you can link the architect’s model to yours and simply copy
grids directly from the linked architectural model using the Copy/Monitor tool. You can then
use automated coordination tools to monitor the location of the copied grid lines with those in
the linked architectural model. These tools are also available for level, column, wall, and floor
elements. These tools enable you to save considerable time when starting the structural model
and facilitate coordination throughout the project.

For more information on Working with Linked Models, see the Revit Help.

Lesson: Creating and Modifying Grids ■ 141