How to Hide and Unhide Elements in Revit
Eight steps in Revit, or one sentence in Mira.
Do it with MiraClick 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 do it in Revit
Step 1: Turn on Reveal Hidden Elements
On the View Control Bar, click Reveal Hidden Elements, the light bulb (or type RH). The view gets a colored border, magenta on most screens, and hidden elements show in that color while everything else turns halftone (Autodesk Help: Reveal and Unhide Hidden Elements).
Step 2: Select what you want back
Click the highlighted elements you want to show again. To bring back a whole category, select any one element of it.
Step 3: Unhide the element or its category
Click Modify | <Category> tab › Reveal Hidden Elements panel › Unhide Element (EU) or Unhide Category (VU). You can also right-click and choose Unhide in View › Elements or Category. Unhide Element works only on an element hidden by element, and Unhide Category only on a category hidden by category.
Step 4: Leave reveal mode
Click the light bulb again, or click Toggle Reveal Hidden Elements Mode on the ribbon. The view goes back to normal, with the elements showing.
Step 5: Clear a temporary hide
A border around the view while you work means a temporary hide or isolate is on. Click Temporary Hide/Isolate, the sunglasses on the View Control Bar, and choose Reset Temporary Hide/Isolate (HR). Everything hidden that way comes back (Autodesk Help: Temporarily Hide or Isolate Elements).
Step 6: Undo a category or filter hide
Elements a view filter hides show in reveal mode, but Unhide stays greyed out for them. Open Visibility/Graphics (VV or VG): check the category's Visibility box, or on the Filters tab, check the filter's Visibility or clear Enable in View.
Step 7: Check the rest if it still won't show
Reveal mode shows only what Visibility/Graphics and filters hide. If an element still doesn't appear, check the crop region, the view range (VR), the view's phase and phase filter, worksets and design options (Autodesk Help: Objects Are Not Visible).
Step 8: Hide it again, on purpose
To hide something in one view for good, select it and click Modify | <Category> tab › View panel › Hide in View › Hide Elements (EH) or Hide Category (VH). For a quick look while you work, use Temporary Hide/Isolate instead: HH hides the selection and HI isolates it.
What to watch for
Hiding is per view. Hide in View affects only the view you're in. The same element still shows in every other plan, section and 3D view, and on the sheets those views are on. If something is missing from a plan and nothing is hidden, the view range may be leaving it out. See how to change the view range.
Temporary hides don't stay or print. A temporary hide or isolate goes away when you close the project, and it doesn't affect printing. To keep it, click Temporary Hide/Isolate › Apply Hide/Isolate to View.
Hiding an element hides its tags and dimensions. Anything that references the hidden element disappears with it. Hiding a revision cloud can also drop its revision from the sheet's revision schedule. More on clouds and the revision schedule in how to add revisions.
Greyed-out Visibility/Graphics means a template. If you can't change a category in Visibility/Graphics, the view's template controls it. Edit the template, clear Include for that property, or set the view's template to None. More in how to create and apply view templates.
Hidden elements travel with copied views. Duplicate a view and its hides come along, so a furniture plan and a life safety plan can each be missing something nobody remembers hiding. It usually shows up on a printed set, not on screen. Hiding by category in the view templates your firm standards start from, rather than element by element, lets the next person see what is hidden and why.
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
Show me everything hidden in this view and unhide it.
Mira lists what's hidden in the view and how (by element, by category or temporarily) without changing anything, then waits for your OK before it unhides. It leaves filters and the crop region alone, since those are view settings.
How do I unhide an element in Revit?
How do I unhide a category in Revit?
What is the shortcut to unhide in Revit?
Why is Unhide Element greyed out in Revit?
What is the difference between HH and EH 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 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.
- How to Create and Lock a 3D View in RevitClick 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.
Try it yourself.
Or bring it to the firm.
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