Category Manifesto Part 1

So, in light of the selection of "The Future of Revit Categories" for AU2010, I should probably get started with the setup.

Basically, the idea for the series of Revit Futures classes I submitted came from several conversations with the peeps managing the Revit development process. A few of us Revit Geeks got an e-mail chain going that included them and would basically debate what we thought Autodesk should do with some of these key foundations of the program to make it better. During one of these discussions it was suggested to me by one of those guys that I should do this as an unplugged class so it was recorded and could be listened to after the fact at the factory. So, here we are today!

Categories was selected, and I'm not going to read anything into that beyond that it is the principal organizational structure at the heart of the program so why not start there? 

So, what do we have exactly anyway? We have a bunch of "categories" of objects that each have their own special rules they play by. Most behave more or less similarly, but we do have some super-special categories out there...

1. Some categories are so special that we shouldn't see them the same way as other categories... Instead, when we tell the model we want to cut it in half with a section and look at it, these categories don't cut and hide all sorts of useful information behind them! Ugh... 
2. Some categories are "system" categories and only officially allow creation of elements in those categories through Wizards in the project environment. Walls, Curtain Walls, Curtain Systems, Floors, Ceilings, Roofs, Ramps, Stairs, Railings, and anything that uses a profile family are the ones that come to mind in Revit Architecture on the modeling side. On the annotation side this is both less of a big deal (because no one quantifies tags) and more of a problem because basically every annotation is a "system" family to some level - though some are worse than others (like Dimensions!). Once again, anything that has a wizard is basically limiting what you can actually do by definition.
3. Generic Categories! Yes, just in case we didn't create the right category for your object there is a generic one just for you! So, take your pick between generic models and specialty equipment and go to town modeling everything AND the dog in these categories to make up for the inability to model all those system families the way you really want to! These ARE the miscellaneous drawer in your desk where you can never find what you're needing...ever.
4. On a need to know basis categories are those that your wife / consultant doesn't tell you about until the day before a project deadline and 6,000 orange lines show up on all your floor plans out of nowhere because "analytical lines" somehow got magically turned on... Basically, all those categories (and subcategories) that show up when you hit the "show categories from other disciplines" checkbox. Because, really, we don't need to know what those "other disciplines" are doing anyway...right?

So, those are some of the problems with the category system we have currently in Revit. Those, and the inability to create new ones to meet specific needs. So, more to come. I'll try and break down each of those 4 items and give some detailed listings of the different categories and which have these...downsides.

Until next post...