presents

PAMPHLETS
by: Nicolas Catellier, Architect

ISSUE #32
Reference Planes

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PAMPHLETS DESIGN / PRESENT
ORGANIZE / AUTOMATE
COLLECTION CULTURE / TECH

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ORGANIZE / AUTOMATE
COLLECTION CULTURE / TECH

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GROUPS GROUPS NESTED FAMILY
PART 1 PART 2 STRUCTURE VISIBILITY

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AUTO EXCEL FAMILY REFERENCE
NUMBERING DIMENSIONS PLANES

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PAMPHLETS Reference Planes

WHAT IS THIS “PAMPHLET”?

BIM Pure Pamphlets are published 4 times a year by email. Each
edition covers a particular Revit theme. We like to pick themes that are
complex and confusing. Our job is to make these topics simple for you.

ABOUT REFERENCE PLANES

This is part of our new course about Revit families called HEROIC
FAMILIES. This course is part of the new BIM Pure platform.

This pamphlet focuses on the use of reference planes inside of Revit

families. You will learn subtle features that have a huge impact on
families.

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PAMPHLETS Reference Planes

WHAT ARE REFERENCE PLANES?

Reference planes are used as tools to define and control the
placements of elements and the organization of project and family
structures. Reference planes are:

• Only visible in the model, and don’t print by default.

• They have an infinite length, but you can adjust the visible portion.
• They are represented as dashed green lines by default.
• Created as linear 2D elements, but form a plane in the 3D model.
• You can use them as a reference to place geometry.
• They can be used both in the project environment or inside families.

REFERENCE PLANES ARE THE SKELETON OF

FAMILIES

This pamphlet focuses on the use of reference planes inside of Revit

families. In families, reference planes form the skeleton. They act as
bones that can move around to accommodate the skin (geometry).

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10 TIPS TO MASTER REFERENCE PLANES

#1: SET THE “ISREFERENCE” PARAMETER

When adding new reference planes, setting up the IsReference

parameter is crucial. When opening the dropdown menu, you will see
all these options:

Not a reference: The reference plane can be used to constraint

geometry, but it cannot be used as a reference once loaded in the
project.

Strong/weak reference: The reference planes will appear as

“references” once the family is loaded in the project. That means that
the reference plane can be used for dimensions and alignment.

Strong has priority over weak for dimensioning.

Left / Right / Center / etc...: Used to represent specific sides of a

family. They act the same way as strong reference planes. Properly
setting these up helps when a family is replaced by another.

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#2: UNDERSTAND WEAK VS STRONG REFERENCES

Weak and strong references aren’t that different. The differences can
be subtle and vary from a family category to another.

But let’s give an example. This is a furniture family. In the first one, we
used weak references on all sides of the family. In the second, we used
strong references.

Let’s align the families to a wall. With weak planes, the entire family is
moved, because the geometry has priority over the reference plane.
With strong planes, the family stretches to match the wall.

This behavior is inconsistent, though. If we switch the family category

to Generic Model, it doesn’t behave that way.

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#3: SET A NAME TO THE REFERENCE PLANE

In addition to the IsReference parameter, make sure to enter a name to

the reference plane. If it is a major side of the family (front, back, right,
left, etc) you can use the same name as the IsReference parameter.

If it is not a name side like left or right, try to give a descriptive name.

To be clear, not setting up a name isn’t the end of the world. It will not
break your family. But it will make it much easier for the end-user to
use and modify.

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#4: REFERENCES CAN BE USED FOR DIMENSIONS +

ALIGN

Unless you have used the “Not a Reference” option for IsReference,
you can put dimensions, snap, and align the family using this reference.

Once inside the Revit project, the IsReference value and reference
plane name will be displayed when you hover your cursor over it.
Accurate naming is helpful.

If you switch the same reference plane to Not a reference, it cannot be

used as a reference in the project anymore.

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#5: SET THE ORIGIN PLANES

To set the origin of a family, check the Defines Origin box. Set the
origin to two reference planes: vertical and horizontal.

For example, this family origin is located at the center of the family (as
indicated by the 0,0 text).

When the dimensions are changed, it will be relative to the center. You
can see what happens when you switch types:

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In this example, the origin is set to the back and to the left. When the
type is changed, the origin doesn’t move relatively to the project.

Plan the origin position: Decide the origin position when you start
building a family. For example, a family that will be placed on a wall
(such as casework) should probably have its origin on the back side.
This way, it won’t intersect with the wall if the dimension changes.

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#6: SET A COLOR CODE

Some families can have dozens of reference planes! It can get

confusing to navigate and understand the family. A possible way to
make things more clear is to add different colors to the reference
plane.

When you create or select a ref. plane, click on Create New

Subcategory in the ribbon. Set a descriptive name. Then, select a
different color and make sure the line pattern is set to Aligning Line.

Don’t go too crazy with the different colors. 1, 2, or 3 colors are

enough. There are a few ways to use the colored planes. You can
indicate the origin of the family. Or you can place them on rough
dimensions for door and window families.

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#7: NAMED REFERENCE PLANES CAN BE USED FOR

MODELING

In addition to bringing more clarity to your families, naming reference

planes can make them helpful for modeling.

In this example, we’ve just created a new reference plane. Let’s give it a
name. We call it Pamphlets.

Now, let’s model a new extrusion. Before you start modeling, set a new
work plane. In the dropdown menu, you can pick among reference
planes that have been named. Reference planes without a name
cannot be selected here.

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Then, draw the shape of your extrusion. After it’s finished, you can see
that the extrusion origin is on the Pamphlets reference plane.

If you select the extrusion, the “Extrusion End” and “Extrusion Start”
values are relative to that Pamphlets reference plane.

Using named reference planes is available not only for extrusion,but

also for sweeps, revolve, and other modeling tools.

In addition, it is also possible to place nested face-based or work plane-

based families on a named reference plane.

Important note: it is possible to model geometry on an unnamed

reference plane. But you’ll have to use the Pick a Plane tool instead of
selecting it from the dropdown list.

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#8: REFERENCE PLANES HAVE A DIRECTION

Reference planes have a “front face” and a “back face”. This affects on
the orientation of geometry assigned to the plane.

To know the “front” and the “back” of a reference plane, you need to
look at the position of the reference plane name.

The location of the name text is on the back side. In this example, the
back side of the reference plane is above:

Why is this important? When creating geometry such as an extrusion,

it will go towards the front side by default:

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#9: CREATE REFERENCE PLANES

COUNTERCLOCKWISE

Now, how do you control the orientation of reference planes? A quick

rule of thumb is to draw the planes counterclockwise. This way, the
back side will always be away from the center.

For a reference plane on the top, the first

click would be on the right, and the
second on the left.

For a reference plane on the right side, the

first click is at the bottom, and the second
on top. You get the idea.

Maybe the orientation isn’t essential for

all reference planes. Well, at least you are
prepared for it.

If you want to flip to orientation, drag the open blue circle further away
from the other one. You’ll see the location of the name text flip.

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#10 - MODEL EXTRUSIONS WITH NEGATIVE VALUES

The most common way to set dimension parameters to extrusion is by

constraining the geometry to two reference planes.

But there is another way to do it that unlocks a powerful feature.

Negative length values!

Start by modeling an extrusion set to a specific work plane. Set a

parameter label by clicking the small rectangle next to “Extrusion End”
when the extrusion is selected.

You can set a negative value to that parameter, and the family won’t
break. If the value is negative, it will go towards the back of the ref
plane.

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That’s it! There are even more special tricks like this you can learn in
our new HEROIC FAMILIES course for Revit. Click here to get to learn
more.

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