Don't Change That View Template!

One thing I find a lot of people hate about View Templates is the time it takes to make a temporary change... but they often overlook Revit's super-simple solution to this challenge. This feature came a version or two after hard-wired view templates were introduced, so this is partly why it is not used as much as it should be.

Before the solution... it is generally bad practice to turn off or change the view template applied to a view because you might forget to set it back. Both options can mess up one or more sheets - think printed set for bidding or code review. Plus, changing a view template takes time to be applied to all views in the project. And, while the template is changed, someone on the project might apply it to another view.

Solution... rather than changing the view template for a temporary adjustment, use the Temporary View Properties option on the View Control Bar as shown below.

Here you have two options:

• Enable Temporary View Properties
  This option allows all settings to be adjusted as if the view did not have a view template applied. This should be the go to option for a quick "look" at something.
• Temporarily Apply Template Properties...
  This option lets you pick from the list of view templates, which then applies its settings to the current view. Having a few "working view" or "coordination view" options can be nice.

To help you remember your view is currently messed up, Revit highlights the perimeter of the view and adds the label "Temporary View Properties" as pointed out below.

On a related note, I have seen some presentations on "Revit templates" which have a ton of working or coordination views that might be better handled with this temporary view template approach.