Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> Render problem in 2009 with existing phase

themacguy

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I'm having a render issue in 2009 with my windows.  The project has an existing phase as well as a new phase and for whatever reason windows that I have added in the new phase in a new wall are rendering gray.  The weird part is that only some windows (same family) are rendering gray while others are not.  Even stranger is the fact that in the normal 3d view with shading on, as well as in plan and elevation views, the windows appear fine and as new construction.  It is only when I render them out that they go gray.  I believe I have narrowed the problem down to a phase issue because when I render the viewport as "Show Complete" everything renders fine (in other words all the walls and windows render as if they were new construction.)  However when I render as "show previous and new" the render shows these windows grayed.  Rendering the scene as "Show Complete" isn't an option since the architect wants to be able to visually portray the existing and new work.

This is a very weird problem and maybe a bug with Revit.  I have tried reimporting the family to no avail.  And inserting new windows of a different family works fine.   As a temporary fix I am going to render out a scene in Show Complete and Show Previous and New and the merge the two in photoshop to get the look we want.  But I am interested in the problem that is causing this issu.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

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lbrooksher

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Any chance that you have drawn these windows in a new plan and later changed the phase that they are in, instead of inserting them in the new construction view the first time?  We have had issues with phasing going haywire when you move the phase that an object is in, particularly dependent items like windows and doors.  Try deleting the window and insert it again while viewing a plan in the phase you want it to be in.

Also, until the rendering sees it as a new object it will render grey (existing).  Change the rendering by setting the view setting to "show all" instead of "new with demo" etc.

I hope that helps. 

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timbo89

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themacguy

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lbrooksher:  That is what I thought at first too.  So I tried deleting the window and inserting it again and no luck.  The only thing that is making sense to me is a program bug since that same window is rendering fine in other places in the same view.  And its not the wall either because inserting and window of a different type shows up fine. What I am going to do is try inserting a new window of the same family in a wall that already has a window rendering well in it.  Maybe that will help narrow the problem down.  I'll report back.

 timbo89: thanks for the suggestion but changing the filter to "by category" will make the existing part render like it's new and the architect wants it to be grayed out.  Thanks.

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themacguy

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themacguy

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That didn't help either.  I deleted the wall and its windows and redrew the wall in the new phase as well as well as inserted new windows and it's still rendering gray. 

HOWEVER... I did one more test and I think I found the problem.  I redrew the wall but this time as a different wall type and this time the window rendered fine!!!  FINALLY...progress.  However now I am stuck again.  Why would a wall drawn on a new phase and showing up as a new wall cause a window to render existing.  Again, this is only in the renderings.  In plan, elevation, and sections, the windows shows as new.  Any suggestions?

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timbo89

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Can you please upload your file so we can have a look at it? 

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themacguy

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Solution:

Well, after a lot (and I mean a lot!) of trial and error I have found a solution to the problem.  First let me explain what I think the problem is.  I continue to believe it is a bug with Revit. The bug happens when you use the same window that you used to do the existing phase in a new phase AND when the wall type the window is placed in is the same in both phases.  I believe both conditions have to be met for the problem to happen.  (However, trying to replicate it with a different type of window didn't work, so it may be a problem with my window as well as what I mentioned before)

Anyway, there are a few solutions that worked for me.  One is to just duplicate the window type and rename it something else.  The other way (and the way I chose) is to add some type of instance parameter to the window family and then turn it off/on according to which phase it is.  In my case, the window family I had built had muntins and so I added a "yes/no" instance parameter to the window.  I did a quick reload into the project, selected all instances, temporary isolated the windows, and then picking the existing windows, I unchecked the yes/no box.  This worked perfectly for me since I really didn't need to see the existing muntins anyway.  It could probably be something as easy as a line or something that you can apply an instance parameter to. There just has to be something different between the the existing window and the new one.

So, I don't really know why this is happening, and maybe it's a very isolated bug.  But if anyone has the same problem, I hope the above solution will be helpful. 

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