Revit 2013 New Features - View Templates

by Stuart Tanfield

So the new 2013 release has introduced an improved View Template feature. Now I’m not sure about you, but for me the way they work now is the way I would have expected them to work in the first place. However they are now here and I’ll explain a little about them. I have also provided a tutorial for this feature in my following blog, so check back for this.

First off we still have the old way of creating and using view templates. So if you have managed to master the way they used to work and you have a set workflow for this, then rest assured you can still utilise this feature.

With regards to the new feature, my ignorance based understanding of view templates when I first started to look at Revit a fair few years ago now, was one that didn’t seem to quite add up. I thought that if I had created a view template and then applied this to any view, then this would be updated as and when I make any changes to the view template. This however was not the case for 2012 and previous versions of Revit. Now in 2013 this is how the new feature works, which seems to be a process far more in tune with BIM.

By creating a new view template and then applying this to the view, this locks the user from changing any of the view settings.

Once the view template settings have been cleared from the view, you can adjust the individual view settings as required.

When creating new plans, sections or elevations, you can also specify which view type you want, with the correct view template applied.

By simply duplicating the view type, when you specify a new view, you can choose the type required.