REFERENCE PLANE BEHAVIOUR

Reference Planes are infinite planes in Revit. They are represented by a dash green line when cut by a view.

So if you draw a Reference Plane in plan, you only see it other plans and elevations and sections that are perpendicular to it.

If a view cuts a reference plane obliquely you can’t see the reference plane.

Reference Planes don’t print (unless you tell Revit to in the print dialog).

NAMES

Reference Planes can be given a name (names display when they are selected) which is useful in identifying what a Reference Plane is being used for.

In fact ALL reference planes used to control something MUST be named. And named reference planes must NEVER be deleted unless the person who set it up says it is OK to do so.

USES

Reference Planes are generally used as a type of construction line.

They are bit more powerful than a construction line because objects can aligned and locked, as well as hosted to named reference planes.

So for example a reference line may define the top of a sloping wall, with the top of relevant walls locked to the reference plane.

Move the reference plane (including changing its angle) and all the walls change.

Or a reference plane may be used to define the underside ceilings (including sloping ceilings, which a Level can’t do). Then ceiling fixtures like lights, detectors etc. are hosted on the reference plane instead of the ceiling.

The advantage of hosting to a reference plane instead of the ceiling(s) themselves is that if the ceiling is deleted or radically edited everything it hosts also gets deleted. For example this is what happens when Rhino or DWG imports are updated.

DIRECTION

Reference Planes have a direction depending which end you start from.

Draw left to right and the top of the reference plane is up (great for floors and roofs).

Draw right to left and the top of the reference plane is down (great for ceilings).

You can tell which way a reference plane has been drawn by the end its name appears.

The name is always near the END of the line.

The orientation of a reference plane can be changed.

Either rotate it by 180 degrees, or grab a grip at one end and move past the grip at the other end.

Just be aware if you do that and things have already been hosted to that reference plane they will flip to the other side.