I often forget to include north arrows in my Revit plan views, despite knowing that they are the best way to orient myself and others when viewing a project.
It was finally time to bring them in – and in style!
Fill in the form to get a gallery of north arrow symbols, and then keep reading to learn how to add them into your views.
Download North Arrows
We will be looking at how to add north arrows into Revit views, and then edit their shapes and line styles.
The third step is to copy and paste the arrow from a specific position and rotation into all views.
Adding Revit North Arrows
To add north arrows to Revit views and sheets:
- Go to the Annotate tab > Symbol panel > click Symbol.
- In the Properties palette, drop-down the type selector.
- Select North Arrow 2 > insert symbol into view.
If the family is not loaded: Within the Modify | Place Symbol tab > Mode panel > click Load Family > select the file of the symbol.
You can find their default location at: C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 20XX\Libraries\English\US\Annotations.
Learn about other annotation symbols
Edit The Symbol
To edit north arrow families:
- Select the annotation.
- Go to the Modify | Generic Annotations tab > Mode panel.
- Click Edit Family.
- Select the annotation to delete the lines of the old symbol.
- Go to the Create tab > Use the tools under detail, dimension and text panels.
Draw a typical north arrow symbol using the line, filled region, and text tools.
Copy A North Arrow To All Views
To insert the arrow in the same place and with the correct rotation in all views and sheets:
- Set up a true north view and correctly orient the north arrow on.
- When you need a north arrow on a view, move it to the desired location.
- Select the annotation > Copy (Shortcut: CTRL+C).
- Within another view, go to the Modify tab > Clipboard panel.
- Drop-down Paste menu > select “Aligned to Same Place”.
It will arrive pointing true north when placed on rotated views.
Mohamed Fakhry has helped thousands of architects and designers find their next project with step-by-step guidance on his blog, mashyo.com. About Mohamed
His journey began during his university years when he recognized the need for information-rich 3D models to accelerate learning and improve production processes. Now, Mohamed shares his expertise through Revit tutorials that are accessible to all.
