New Features added to Sort Mark Revit Tool: Split Parameter Values, Batch Numbering

Several new features have been added to Sort Mark, our tool for automatically renumbering Revit® elements. Let’s go through the latest updates.

Split parameter values

There are 4 new functions that let you split parameter values into parts, select a part, and select or remove characters. To show how the functions work, we’ll refer to the windows below that have as parameter values the “comments” S1_W1, S1_W2, and S1_W3.

In the Sort and Mark Elements window, notice that there are four new columns — Split by, Take Member, Take#, and Remove# — in the ‘Mark’ table:

Those correspond to some new functionality that allows Sort Mark to take an existing parameter’s values — and keep in mind that you can combine multiple parameter values –, split them into different segments, and place the desired text, symbols, or numbers into your newly calculated parameter value.

Let’s take a look at how each of those fields works.

Use Split by to indicate the symbol, letter, or number at which point you want a given text to be split. In this case, we’ll split the comment value S1_W1 by the “_” symbol.

Use the Take Member field to specify which part of the text you want to use. In this example, entering “1” will take the first member of the split text – ‘S1’. Entering “2” will take the second member – ‘W1’, ‘W2’, ‘W3’.

If Take Member = 1,	If Take Member = 2,
then the ‘S1’ value is taken.	then the ‘W1, W2, W3’ value is taken.

In the Take# field specify how many characters you want to TAKE from the member that’s been specified in the ‘Take Member’ column. A positive (+) number will start at the beginning of the taken member; a negative (-) will count from the end.

For example, say we’ve specified that the ‘S1’ member be taken by entering “1” in ‘Take Member’.

If we enter “1” in the ‘Take#’ field, then one character from the start of the taken member – S1 – will be taken, in this case the letter “S”.

If we enter “2”, then “S1” will be taken.

If we enter “-1” in the ‘Take#’ field, then one character starting at the end of the taken member will be taken, in this case the number “1”.

If we enter “-2”, then “S1” will be taken. (The order in which the characters are taken isn’t affected by the [-] sign.)

In the Remove# field specify how many symbols you want to REMOVE from the member that’s been specified in ‘Take Member’. Again, you can remove a number of characters from the beginning or end of the member by using a (+) or (-) sign, respectively.

For instance, say we’ve specified that the ‘S1’ member be taken by entering “1” in ‘Take Member’.

If we enter “1” in the ‘Remove#’ field, then one symbol from the start of the taken member – S1 – will be removed, in this case the letter “S”.

If we enter “-1” in ‘Remove#’, then one symbol from the end of the taken member will be removed, in this case the number “1”.

Entering “2” would remove “S1”. Entering “-2” would have the same result in this case.

Let’s apply the Split by, Take Member, Take#, and Remove# functions another way using the same comment parameter values for those windows we’ve been looking at. Suppose we want to use the trailing digits in those comments — the numbers 1, 2, 3 — at the start of our new Mark value. Here’s how we could do that.

First enter “2” in the ‘Take Member’ field to take the ‘W1’, ‘W2’, ‘W3’ member of our comment values. Then, we could enter “-1” in ‘Take#’ to take the trailing digit, but let’s leave it at “0” for this example. Instead, let’s enter “1” in ‘Remove#’ to remove one symbol at the start of the member, in this case the “W”.

That will leave the trailing digit to be written at the start of the new Mark value.

Result:

But what about a situation where the parameter value comment could be split into more than 2 parts? E.g. S1_W1_Z1

If we split by the underscore…

…then the value is split into segments wherever the “_” symbol is found, yielding 3 segments in this situation.

The number entered into ‘Take Member’ will take the 1st, 2nd, or 3rd segment accordingly:

So, if we enter Take Member = 3 in the configuration…

…then the last segment will be written to the start of my mark value.

Batch numbering of elements

The ‘Elements Batch Numbering’ function gives you the option to renumber several category parameter values at once.

Take this example project with Walls, Windows, and Doors.

After opening the ‘Elements Batch Numbering’ window, we need to create new rows.

Then select which categories you want to renumber.

Select which Sort Mark Configurations you want to use for renumbering your category parameter values. You can only choose those configurations that are linked to the category.

*Note that the parameters you want to renumber are saved inside the Sort Mark Configurations.

Save your new batch configuration and name it for future use.

Select the checkboxes for the categories you want to renumber.

Select “OK” to start numbering.

That wraps up the latest updates that have been added the Sort Mark. Current Sort Mark users, be sure to download these updates via the Tools4BIM Dock to start benefiting from them today.

Potential users of Sort Mark, we invite you download a free trial of this extremely useful Revit tool that can save you hours of tedious manual work in Revit. Keep in mind that Sort Mark is one of the 12 tools in our T4R Suite.

New Features added to Sort Mark Revit Tool: Split Parameter Values, Batch Numbering

Split parameter values

Batch numbering of elements

Related blog posts