Learn · Dimensioning in Revit
How to auto-dimension in Revit
Revit can build the dimension chain for an entire wall on its own, including openings and intersecting walls. Here's how to turn it on and configure it.
What this option does
It's the same Aligned Dimension tool used for manual dimensioning, just in a different mode: instead of clicking reference by reference, you select an entire wall and Revit builds the chain on its own, following the options you set beforehand.
Step by step
- Open the plan with the walls you want to dimension The tool works on the elements visible in the current view.
- Activate the dimension tool On the Annotate tab, Dimension panel, click Aligned.
- Switch the pick mode to Entire Walls In the options bar, the Pick field has two choices: Individual References (manual) and Entire Walls. Choose Entire Walls.
- Open the auto-dimension options With Entire Walls selected, an Options button appears in the options bar. Click it to open the configuration window.
- Decide what goes into the chain The window has three independent checkboxes. Openings includes doors and windows, with a choice between measuring to the center of the opening or its width. Intersecting Walls includes, in the same chain, the points where another wall crosses the selected one. Intersecting Grids uses, as a reference, the grid lines that cross the wall's centerline. Check only what you need for this specific chain.
- Confirm and click the wall Close the options window and click the wall you want to dimension. Revit shows a preview of the chain already built, following the boxes you checked.
- Repeat on other walls, if you want Still with the tool active, click other walls to include more than one in the same operation.
- Place it and finish Move the cursor away and click to place the chain. Press Esc to exit the tool.
What this tool doesn't do
It automates one wall at a time, not an entire floor plan. You still choose which wall to dimension and where to place each chain; for a plan with twenty walls, that's still twenty decisions. Elements from a linked file don't go through this automatic mode either: for those, selection is still by individual reference.
Common problems
An opening didn't make it into the chain. Check that Openings is checked in the Options window, and that the choice (center or width) is the one you expected.
A wall that crosses didn't show up in the dimension. Check that Intersecting Walls is checked.
A grid line didn't make it into the chain. Check that Intersecting Grids is checked, and that the grid line actually crosses the centerline of the selected wall, not just the area near it.
