Hide Categories in View Using a Shortcut

Quick tip: Do you always turn off categories in views via the Visibility Graphics? Why not use a shortcut instead?

When we select a component in Revit, we can right click for 'Hide in View' with 3 options available: Elements, Category & Filter. 

Now, most seasoned users will tell you, 'Hide in View > Element' is full of problems (which I agree with), so if you are using this method a lot, I would recommend learning some better methods. For me, the main problem with this method of hiding is you can't add it to a View Template. 

The next option however is more useful. This is Hide in View > Category. Using this method, is actually the same as going into your Visibility Graphics and un-ticking the box. 

This is why, when a view template is active on a view, this method of hiding is greyed out. 

There is a shortcut assigned to this right click menu combination too! VH = Hide in View>Hide Category. I find this most handy for 3D views, which don't always have view templates assigned. Simply select multiple components on various categories, hit [VH] on your keyboard, and your done! 

If you want the reverse, activate your 'Reveal Hidden Elements' window, select your components and hit [VU] for Unhide Category. 

Browser Sorting, View Templates & Dependent Views - Resolved.

Waaaaaayyyy back, in the Spring of November, 2014 I wrote this post about the discovery of a problem with dependent views and view templates not updating parameters. 

In summary, if you applied a view template to a view and subsequently created a dependent view afterwards, changing a custom text parameter via the view template would result in the value updating in the the parent view, but not in the dependent view.

Dependent View not updating custom project parameter

I am pleased to report that a test on Revit 2018.1 today seems to demonstrate this problem as resolved! 

Finally! Now we can confidently make changes to things like browser sorting without 'left over' parameter values hanging around. 

Unfortunately though, it doesn't seem like a fix ever made it to Revit 2016 or 2017, which a number of users are still on. If you are curious, to replicate the problem, follow the below steps:

1. Open a blank architecture template
2. Create a text project parameter for the 'views' category (eg: For browser sorting)
3. Apply a view template to your ground floor & type a value in the new parameter.
4. Now create a dependent view of the ground floor
5. Check the parameter for each view... they will match
6. Go to view templates and change the value for the custom parameter, click apply
7. The parent view will report the new parameter, the dependent view does not.