How to Hide Or Unhide Elements in Revit: 11 Easy Steps

Welcome to our latest blog post on how to hide and unhide elements in Revit.

Revit is a powerful building information modeling (BIM) software that allows architects, engineers, and designers to create detailed building models. One of the many features of Revit is the ability to hide and unhide elements in Revit model, making it easy to focus on specific parts of your design or to make changes without disrupting the entire model. In this post, we’ll dive into the different ways to hide and unhide elements in Revit, including how to use the visibility graphics tool, the filter tool, and the element properties tool. Whether you’re new to Revit or a seasoned user, this post will give you a deeper understanding of how to use these powerful tools to enhance your workflow and improve your Revit models.

1. Why can you not find elements in Revit?

Have you ever experienced a family not showing up in your Revit model after inserting it? Have you linked a CAD file in your Revit Model multiple times but still can’t see it in the active view? Have you ever struggled to Unhide Elements in Revit View even though it is visible in another view on the same level? One of these causes listed below may be the reason for your problem:

1.1 Causes of Hidden Elements in Revit

1. The element or category is temporarily hidden
2. The category is hidden in the view
3. The element is being covered by another element
4. The element is outside the view’s view range
5. The view’s far clip depth is not sufficient to make the element visible in the view
6. The element is in a workset that is not visible in the view
7. The element is in a workset that is not loaded in a linked file
8. The element is in a workset that is not visible in a linked file
9. The element is in a group (detail group or model group ) and it has been excluded from the group
10. The element is part of a design option that is not visible in the view
11. The element is part of a linked file that is not visible in the view
12. The element is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible in the view type
13. The element is a family and none of its geometry is set to be visible at the view’s detail level
14. The element has been placed outside the view’s crop region (visible extent)
15. The element is an annotation element and does not reside entirely within the annotation crop region
16. The element’s phase settings or the view’s phase settings prevent the element from displaying in the view
17. The view’s discipline is prohibiting the visibility of the element
18. The element is affected by a filter applied to the view
19. The element is subject to an element override, set to background color
20. The element is subject to a category override, set to background color
21. The element style is set to background color
22. The element is constrained to a scope boxes that is not visible in the view
23. The element’s host view has been deleted (area boundaries)
24. The view’s scale is prohibiting the element’s visibility
25. The element is a linked instance with coordinates too great for Revit to handle
26. The element is in a link that is not in its correct position

2. How To Hide and Unhide Elements in Revit?

2.1 Try to View Hidden Elements (RH Shortcut)

The First Easy method to hide elements in a view in Revit is by

1. Click on the elements that you want to hide
2. Right Click > Hide in View > Elements ( if you want to hide only this elements) or Category ( if you want to hide all elements in this Category)
3. Then the elements will be hidden in this view and you can unhide these elements by following the steps below in the next Part.

Unhiding elements in Revit can be easily done by using the reveal hidden elements command. This can be activated by pressing “RH” on the keyboard and will cause all hidden elements to appear in magenta.

Steps to unhide elements in Revit:

• Press “RH” on the keyboard to activate the reveal hidden elements command.
• Use the View control bar (lower left side) and click the bulb icon labeled “Reveal Hidden Elements”
• Left-Click and drag the selection to select all hidden elements in magenta.
• Right-click and select “Unhide in View” and click on “Elements” (Shortcut: EU)
• Select everything, right-click, and then select the option to unhide all.

2.2 Verify Visibility/Graphic Overrides To unhide Elements ( VV Shortcut)

In Revit, it is possible to hide or unhide elements in Revit view based on their category or sub-category. This can be done by using the View-Specific Category Graphics dialog and the Visibility/Graphics dialog.

Steps to show or hide elements based on category or sub-category:

• Right-click an element in the drawing area, and click “Override Graphics in ViewBy Category”
• To hide all elements of the selected category in the view, in the View-Specific Category Graphics dialog, clear the Visible check box.
• To hide other element categories or selected subcategories, click “Open the Visibility Graphics dialog”
• As an alternative, click “View tab graphics panel (Visibility/Graphics)” or type the keyboard shortcut “VG”
• If you open the Visibility/Graphics dialog from a drafting view, only those categories that can be shown in a drafting view will display.
• Click the “Model Categories”, “Annotation Categories”, or “Imported Categories” tab.
• (Optional) Use the Filter list to filter categories by discipline.
• If the Filter list is disabled, select “Show <type of> categories in this view”.
• To show or hide elements, select or clear the check box in the Visibility column for the category or a subcategory.
• If you clear the check box for a category, all subcategories for that category will not be visible in the view.
• To hide all categories, clear the check box at the top of the tab. For example, to hide all model categories, clear the check box for “Show model categories in this view”
• Click “Apply” to view your changes, and click “OK” to exit the dialog.

2.3 Verify Applied Filters to this View

If you can’t find out until now why your elements are not yet visible, verify if there is any filter applied to this view.

In our example, we checked that there is a filter applied to hide doors, that’s why we can not see all doors on this view

1. to Hide doors untick the visibility Checkbox
2. To Show Doors Tick the Visibility Checkbox

2.4 Verify Applied Phase

If you can’t find out yet why your elements are not visible, verify if there is any Phase filter applied on this element.

In our example, we checked that the wall is demolished, that’s why is now hidden in this view, and to see this wall you need to change the phase to “Show All” ( in our example it’s “Afficher Tout” in French) .

2.5 Verify Revit View Range

If you are trying to unhide elements in Revit, Verify if the Revit view range is set to show elements in your level.

In Revit, the “View Range” is a set of settings that control the visibility of elements in a view. These settings allow you to define the range of levels, grids, and elevations that are visible in a view, as well as the visibility of elements that are out of that range. The View Range can be set for each individual view, and it can be adjusted to show only the elements that are relevant to the task at hand.

2.6 Unhide Elements in Revit By Verifying Detail Level and View Specific Display

The Detail Level feature in model categories allows for the display of varying levels of detail in the view, depending on the settings chosen. There are three options to choose from Coarse, Medium, and Fine. Coarse shows fewer details, while Fine displays everything.

These settings can be customized for each category separately. If an element is missing, one can check the Visibility/Graphic (VV/VG) settings and locate the category that is set to Coarse, for example, and change it to Medium or Fine. The default setting is By View.

If an element is still not visible after checking the Detail Level and Visibility/Graphic settings, you may need to check the family’s settings for Detail Level and View Specific Display. This can be done by opening the family editor, selecting the missing elements in the model, and then navigating to Visibility/Graphics Overrides in the Properties browser. Here, you can adjust the View Specific Display and Detail Levels by checking or unchecking the appropriate boxes. This could help in making the hidden element visible.

2.7 Unhide Elements in Revit By Verifying Worksets

Worksets allow for the organization of various elements such as walls, doors, floors, etc for collaboration with other team members in your model. These worksets can be assigned to specific individuals for editing at a given time. When working with advanced settings and predefined Worksets, it can be a cause for elements not being visible.

If an element is not visible in the Reveal Hidden Elements mode, you can check the Worksets in the Visibility/Graphic Overrides (VV/VG) panel. Look for Worksets that are set to “Hide” or “Use Global Setting (Not Visible)” and change them to “Show” or “Use Global Setting (Visible)” by adjusting the settings within the Workset. This could help in making the hidden element visible.

2.8 Unhide Elements in Revit By Verifying Design Option

Design Options are a useful tool for displaying variations in a model. However, if the views are not set correctly, it’s possible to miss elements that have been modeled. If you are missing elements, you may want to check the Design Options feature to ensure it is enabled.

To do this, open the Visibility/Graphic Overrides (VV/VG) panel and navigate to the Design Options tab. You will notice that the view is set to <Automatic> by default, which means that the active design options will be displayed. If you are working on the Main Model, the option will not appear. In this case, you will need to change the Design Option to the one in which you created the elements to make them visible.

2.9 Unhide Elements in Revit By Verifying Extents

When you are looking at an elevation and still missing your Levels or Grids, even after trying all other options to make them visible, it could be because the Levels and Grids do not cross through your view. Levels and Grids have 3D extents that can be modified in elevations and plan views. These extents should cross through the whole model to make them visible in all views.

To unhide the levels for a cropped view, you can simply uncheck the “Crop View” option or “Do Not Crop View” and select one of the Levels that are currently visible. Look for the 3D indicator and drag it over the entire model. Make sure to do this for each level, or constrain them first before dragging. You can also do this for the side elevation to make it cross the whole model.

2.10 Unhide Elements in Revit By Verifying View Discipline

The View Discipline property in the Properties browser of a view is a feature introduced by Autodesk to make it easy for different disciplines such as Structural and MEP to integrate their views. This parameter aims to create a kind of visualization package for all the different disciplines. Each discipline has its own usage and representation of a view. For example, a construction engineer may only want to see structural elements.

There are a total of six Disciplines in the View Discipline parameter:

1. Architectural
2. Structural
3. Mechanical
4. Electrical
5. Plumbing
6. Coordination

The View Discipline parameter controls the following behaviors:

1. Which element categories should be visible
2. Which view tags should be visible
3. Whether the view range and cut plane control the representation of elements in plan views
4. Whether hidden lines apply to the view.

By setting the right View Discipline, it will help to streamline the workflows and make it easy for the different disciplines to work on the same model without cluttering or missing important elements.

2.11 Unhide Elements in Revit With Dynamo Script

Dynamo is a visual programming tool that functions with Autodesk Revit. Dynamo enhances the ability of Revit by delivering access to the Revit API, which stands for Application Programming Interface, more handily. Instead of typing codes, Dynamo helps you create programs by using graphic elements called “nodes”. It’s a method of programming better appropriate for visually oriented types, like architects and engineers, or even BIM developers.

If you are not friendly with Dynamo yet, you can take a free basic course from DiRoots to learn some basics and how to use Dynamo first, or navigate through some practices videos on dynamobim.org . 

I developed this Dynamo Script to show all elements that are hidden in a View you can remake this Dynamo Script and it will Unhide elements in Revit in seconds. Note that there are some packages that you need to install for dynamo in order to run this script.

Contact us if you faced a problem with this Dynamo Script.

Conclusion

When elements are not visible in the Reveal Hidden Elements mode, it could be due to a variety of reasons. In this article, I have provided a list of the most common and less obvious reasons why elements may be hidden.

By following the steps outlined in this article, you should now have a better understanding of how to unhide elements in Revit when they are missing. By going through each of these possible reasons and eliminating them, you should be able to uncover any hidden elements.