Revit - Formatting Coordinates

By Dennis Collin

Revit has had the ability to show a coordinate of a point on a view for some time. However, the coordinate tag family may need to be customised. This will ensure it shows the correct coordinate system, origin and format, as many engineers work in metres rather than Revit’s default millimetres. In addition, the order of the coordinates needs to be changed to show Eastings first rather than Northings which is usual on most survey and setting out plans.

Ideally this configuration needs to be set in a company project template, along with title sheets, labels, parameters, view types, project browser organisation etc. Once this is done it means all created projects will be consistent and follow a corporate standard.

To customise the coordinate tags, edit some type parameters in the families. If both local and national grid coordinates need to be shown, then duplicate the family and adjust the coordinate origin reference as appropriate.

• Units format allows users to override the default project settings which will measure lengths in millimetres but show site coordinates in metres.
• Coordinate Origin – lets users choose between different origins ie. Project Base Point (local) or Survey Point (typically the National Grid).
• Top / Bottom Value – Coordinate order, typically Eastings top.
• Indicator – Optional but usually in a metres East and metres North format. (mE, mN) Setting this as a suffix or prefix as desired.