How to Create and Lock a 3D View in Revit
Eight steps in Revit, or one sentence in Mira.
Do it with MiraClick View tab › Create panel › 3D View › Default 3D View and rename {3D} in the Project Browser. Tick Section Box in Properties to cut it to one level, then click Save Orientation and Lock View on the View Control Bar.
Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to make a locked 3D view of one level.
How to do it in Revit
Step 1: Open a 3D view
Click View tab › Create panel › 3D View › Default 3D View. Revit opens the unnamed {3D} view, looking down from above the southeast corner of the model (Autodesk Help: Create an Orthographic 3D View).
Step 2: Give it a name
Right-click {3D} in the Project Browser and choose Rename. A named 3D view is saved with the project, and the next Default 3D View opens a fresh {3D}. Revit can't lock the default {3D} view, so do this first.
Step 3: Cut it to one level
Right-click the ViewCube, choose Orient to a View and pick the Level 2 floor plan. Revit adds a section box that matches that plan's extents; click a ViewCube corner to get back to an angled view (Autodesk Help: ViewCube Menu).
Step 4: Or size the section box yourself
In the Properties palette, under Extents, tick Section Box. Select the box and drag its arrow controls to the floor and the level above. To size it in plan, right-click the 3D view in the Project Browser and choose Show Section Box (Autodesk Help: Change the Extents of a 3D View).
Step 5: Or box a selection
Select elements in any view and click Modify | <Element> tab › View panel › Selection Box (BX). Revit puts a section box around them in the default 3D view, or in the current view if it's already 3D.
Step 6: Lock the orientation
Orbit to the angle you want, then click Save Orientation and Lock View on the View Control Bar. You can't orbit a locked view, and its read-only Locked Orientation property shows that it's locked (Autodesk Help: Add Tags and Keynotes in a 3D View).
Step 7: Tag it
Tags and keynotes can only go in a locked 3D view. Material, room, area and space tags aren't allowed in 3D, and a locked perspective view takes no tags at all. See how to tag all elements.
Step 8: Orbit again and come back
To orbit again, click the lock control on the View Control Bar and choose Unlock View. Its tags hide until you choose Restore Orientation and Lock View. If you save a new orientation instead, Revit warns that the tags already placed will be deleted.
What to watch for
The default {3D} view can't be locked. If you try, Revit asks you to rename it first. Name 3D views for what they show, such as "3D - Level 2", so nobody reuses one by accident.
Section box edges cut. Anything the box slices through draws in its cut style, like a section. To hide the box itself, use Hide in View › Elements, or clear Section Boxes on the Annotation Categories tab of Visibility/Graphics.
Untick the box to see everything. Clear Section Box in the view's Properties palette and the whole model comes back.
Perspective views take no annotation. You can lock a camera view, but you can't tag it. Use an orthographic 3D view for anything you'll tag or keynote on a sheet.
Clear clutter without moving the box. Hide furniture or a whole category in the locked view with Hide in View, the same as in a plan. See how to hide and unhide elements.
One axon per floor, set up by hand. A set of 3D views, one per level for coordination or a tagged axon on each floor's sheet, means dragging the same section box into place again and again. A section box isn't tied to the levels, so when a floor-to-floor height changes, every box needs dragging again. That's repetitive work an AI agent for Revit can take on, with you approving each view.
Or, just ask Mira to do it.
Mira is an AI thinking partner for Revit that automates the work you repeat and builds tools your team needs.
- Type this in Mira
Make a 3D view of Level 2 only, with a section box, and lock its orientation.
Mira reads the levels and asks where the section box should stop before it builds anything. Creating the view, setting its box and locking it need a small tool Mira writes, which asks Allow first, and Mira checks the result with a screenshot.
How do I lock a 3D view in Revit?
How do I make a 3D view of one floor in Revit?
Why can't I tag in a 3D view in Revit?
How do I unlock a 3D view in Revit?
How do I remove a section box in Revit?
How do I save a 3D view in Revit?
Related Revit how-tos
- How to Create and Apply View Templates in RevitOn the View tab, open View Templates and click Create Template from Current View, or duplicate a template in Manage View Templates. Assign it with the View Template property to link and lock a view's settings; Apply Template Properties copies them once. Or, just ask Mira to assign a template to every plan that doesn't have one.
- How to Hide and Unhide Elements in RevitClick Reveal Hidden Elements, the light bulb on the View Control Bar. Hidden elements show in color. Select one, click Unhide Element or Unhide Category on the ribbon, then click the light bulb again. Clear a temporary hide with Reset Temporary Hide/Isolate. Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to list everything hidden in a view and unhide it.
- How to Use Scope Boxes in RevitIn a plan view, click View tab › Create panel › Scope Box, click two opposite corners and name it. Set a view's Scope Box to it and the crop follows the box. Grids and levels assigned to it show only where views cut it. Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to apply one to every floor plan.
- How to Add an Elevation in RevitOpen a plan and click View tab › Create panel › Elevation › Elevation. Move the marker near a wall, press Tab to turn the arrow, and click to place it. For interior elevations, click the marker's square and tick each wall. Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to add interior elevations to every room you name.
- How to Change the View Range in RevitOpen the plan, click Edit next to View Range in the Properties palette (or type VR), and set Top, Cut Plane, Bottom and View Depth. Click Apply, then OK. If View Range is greyed out, change it in the view template. Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to set the cut plane on every plan without a template.
- How to Create a Section View in RevitOpen a plan and click View tab › Create panel › Section. Pick a section type, click the start and end of the section line, and drag the dashed crop to set its width and depth. Double-click the section head to open it. Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to cut a named section along a grid line.
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