Model Patterns: Aligning to Elements

Fill patterns in Revit come in two different types: Model and Drafting.

Fill patterns of the Model type are actually part of your overall 3D model and behave accordingly. For example, they view correctly in perspectives and can also be snapped to. Another fact about Model Fill Patterns is that they can be aligned to elements. That is, you are not stuck with the default placement of the Model Fill Pattern on the face of your object. Let’s take a look at this by example…. Take a section of wall with a door in it….

If we take a closer look at how the Brick Model Fill Pattern meets the door….

You can see that the lines that make up the Brick fill pattern have no relationship to the door opening. In reality, we would probably want the brickwork to “course in” with the door opening. Revit allows us to re-align the model fill pattern. To do this we select Align from the Tools drop-down menu…..

We now go ahead and select the item that we wish to Align TO. Ie the side of the door frame. In the image below you can just about see that the edge of the door frame has been highlighted as I hover the cursor over it….

Now go ahead and select the a reference line (on the fill pattern) that we want re-aligning to the previously selected element. So we can just go ahead and click on any vertical joint in the brickwork. As soon as we do this, the whole of the fill pattern is shifted over to the left to align with the side of the door frame.

We can do the same thing with the top of the door frame and the horizontal bed joints of the brickwork. Just remember to get the order in which you make your two selections correct. The item to be moved is always selected second. Here is the brickwork re-aligned both vertically and horizontally, to align with the door opening....

Notice how you are also given the option to lock the aligned pattern to the elements- you do this by clicking on the padlock icon.