Revit View Naming

Revit allows you to name views whatever you desire within a project.  This can be beneficial and aid in your workflow process, or it can be detrimental to your productivity.  It is important that views be named for easy retrieval and purpose definition, especially on larger projects.  Larger projects can have hundreds of views when the drafting views for details are included in the overall quantity.  Without an effective view naming process, a user can easily lose a great deal of time searching for the correct view.  When multiple users work on the same project, the impact to productivity is compounded.

The last thing users should be doing is naming views without any standards.

There are various methods of naming views, and there are many fine methods of determining naming conventions.   The important thing is to have established naming standards and to follow them.

If you do not have a view naming system in place, I’m offering up this system as one alternative.  Feel free to use it or modify it as desired.

Sample View Naming Guidelines 

• View names will use title case for easy reading.  The “Title on Sheet” parameter is typically filled out separately and should use uppercase text for what will actually appear on the sheet.
• Views that are used for working or reference purposes only should be prefixed with “W-“ to drop the view near the bottom of any alphabetical lists and be grouped together.  Example:  W-Plan-Above Ceiling
• Floor plans should be prefixed with “FP-“, and contain the floor level number (2 digit) along with a short description.  Example:  FP-01-First Floor Furniture Plan.
• Enlarged floor plan views should be prefixed with “EP-“, and contain the actual room number and name in the view name.  Example:  EP-A110 and A111 Toilets
• Partial floor plans for large buildings divided into units should be prefixed with “PP-“, and contain the floor level number (2 digit) along with a short description and the unit.  Example:  PP-01-First Floor Plan – Unit A
• Exterior elevation views should be prefixed with “EE-“, and contain the direction, then the specific unit (if the building is divided into unit plans).  Example:  EE-East Elevation – Unit A
• Interior elevation views should be prefixed with “IE-“, and contain the actual room number, room name, and wall direction in the view name.  Example:  IE-A110 Toilet – East
• Views that are used for exporting purposes only should have the “X-“ prefix and contain a clear description of the view purpose.  Example:  X-Kitchen Consultant Background
• Section views are not to be left as the basic section number such as Section 1, Section 2, etc.
• Building section views are to be prefixed with “SB-“.  When column grids are used, it is helpful to include the column in the description.  Example:  SB-Grid C – North-South
• Wall section views are to be prefixed with “SW-“, followed by a short description or contain the actual room number and room name where the section is cut.  Example:  SW-A110 Toilet Exterior
• Drafting views should contain an accurate description of the information and have a prefix that will group similar items together.  Examples:
  • Roof – Equipment Curb
  • Stair – Concrete Tread
  • Wall – Interior – CMU Control Joint
  • Door – Jamb – 2×5-3/4” HM Frame – 8” CMU Wall
  • Case – Base – 3 Drawer

Drafting View naming consistency is also important to building a detail library that can be imported into future projects.

Whatever view naming convention that you utilize, ensure that it is used by all users in your office for all projects.  It can be modified and refined for different projects, but its usage is very important to the productivity of your project.

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