Revit Tips & Tricks

Revit Line Weights: Object Styles, View Overrides and Custom Line Styles

Revit line weights are set in two places. Object Styles (Manage tab > Object Styles) set the default line weight for each category across the whole project. Visibility/Graphics overrides change how lines look in one view, or for one object. To make your own line for detail lines, add a new line style under Manage > Additional Settings > Line Styles.

Revit line weights

What are the two kinds of line weights in Revit?

  • Global line weights (Object Styles). The project defaults, set per category and subcategory. A door, for example, has separate weights for the frame, the panel and the swing, and they’re the same in every view.
  • View-specific line weights (overrides). Also called Visibility/Graphics overrides. They change how a category or one object looks in one view only. You don’t need layers like in AutoCAD.

How do I change line weights for the whole project?

  1. Turn Thin Lines off, or you won’t see any change. It’s on the Quick Access toolbar (shortcut TL).
Thin Lines button turned off
  1. Go to Manage tab > Object Styles.
Object Styles button on the Manage tab
Object Styles dialog box
  1. Find the category and expand it. In this example we’ll change Stairs.
Stairs category expanded in Object Styles
  1. The Projection line weight is 1 by default. Change it to 3 and click OK.
Projection line weight for stairs in Object Styles

The plan view updates right away.

The numbers 1 to 16 are pens. The actual width of each pen, for each view scale, is set under Manage > Additional Settings > Line Weights.

How do I change line weights in one view?

  1. In the view, right-click the object.
  2. Pick Override Graphics in View, then By Element for just that object, or By Category for every object of that category in the view.
  3. Set the line weight, color and pattern, and close the dialog.
View-specific line weight override dialog

The change shows up right away, and only in that view.

How do I make a custom line style?

  1. Go to Manage > Additional Settings > Line Styles.
Line Styles under Additional Settings
  1. Click New.
Adding a new line style in Revit
  1. Type a name and click OK. I called mine “Thin Line Red”.
Naming a new line style
  1. Set the line weight, color and pattern, and click OK.
Line weight, color and pattern of the new line style

The new line is now in the list when you use Annotate > Detail Line:

New line style in the Detail Line list

Why aren’t my line weights changing?

  • Thin Lines is on. Every line shows at one width. Press TL to turn it off.
  • A view override wins. An override in Visibility/Graphics beats Object Styles. Check the view’s V/G settings.
  • A view template controls it. If the view has a template that controls V/G, change the template instead.
  • Wrong scale. Model line weights change with view scale. Check the Line Weights table for the scale you’re using.

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