Suppose you are working on a project that involves designing a house with three parts: the main house, the patio, and the garage.

Many sheets show different views or details of the same house, such as floor plans, elevations, sections, and so on. How do you show your audience how each sheet fits into the big picture? How do you highlight the different parts of the house you want to focus on for each sheet?

The best way to do this is to use a key plan. A key plan is a small map that shows where an area is located in a larger context. It can also have different shaded zones or phases that you can easily turn on and off for each sheet. This allows you to draw attention to the specific part of the house you want to focus on for each sheet.

In this blog post, you’ll learn how to create a key plan in Revit that has different zones that you can easily turn on and off per sheet.

Step 1: New Generic Annotation Family

Create a key plan using a generic annotation template.

A generic annotation family is a type of Revit family that can contain any 2D elements, such as lines, text, symbols, etc.

Note that the default location for generic families is C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\RVT 2024\Libraries\English\US\Annotations.

To create a generic annotation family:

  1. Go to the File tab > drop-down New menu > click Family.
  2. Select the Generic Annotation template > click Open.
create key plan in Revit
  1. Use the Line tool to draw the outline of your key plan.
  2. Use the Text tool to add a zone name for each part.
add detail lines

Note: We added dimensions so you know the limits for your symbol to be reasonably sized. You don’t have to add dimension lines in this type of family.

add text elements

Learn about other annotation symbols.

Step 2: Add Filled Region for Each Zone

Add filled regions to represent different zones or phases of your original plan in the key plan.

A filled region is a 2D element that can have a solid or patterned fill. Learn more about creating hatch patterns to customize their appearance.

To create filled regions:

  1. Go to the Create tab > Detail panel > click Filled Region.
  2. In the draw panel, select the Pick Lines tool.
  3. Click on the outline of your key plan to create a filled region that covers it.
  4. Click Finish Edit Mode.
add filled region elements
  1. In the Properties palette, uncheck the Visible parameter.
  2. Click on the small box next to the Visible parameter.
  3. Click Add Parameter.
  4. Name the zone.
  5. Select Instance.
  6. Drop-down the group parameter menu > select Graphics.
  7. Click OK.
create key plan family
  1. Select the parameter that applies to the selected filled region.
  2. Click OK.
parametric annotation family

Repeat these steps for each zone or phase you want in your key plan, creating a new parameter each time.

Revit key plan creation

Step 3: Load Key Plan Family

The last step is to save and load the key plan family into your project. To do this, follow these steps:

  1. Go to File tab > drop-down the Save menu > click Family.
  2. Name your new parametric key plan family > click Save.
  3. In the Family Editor panel, click Load into Project.
  4. Select your title block project > click OK.
load family in title block

In the Project Browser, find the name of the key plan family under the Families category. Drag it to any view or sheet where you want to place the key plan. Learn how to create and use a title block to customize your sheets.

Step 4: Select Zones to be visible

The final step is to select the zone or phase you want to show on each view or sheet. To do this, follow these steps:

  • Select the key plan family on the view or sheet.
  • In the Properties panel, check the box for the zone or phase you want to show. For example, if you want to show Zone 1, check the box next to Zone 1.
  • Repeat these steps for any other view or sheet where you want to show the key plan.
Key plan in Revit

Because the key plan family is an instance-based family, you can control the visibility of zones independently for each view or sheet.

Want to learn more about parametric families? See how to create reference planes.

With these Revit Key Plans, you can highlight different zones with a switch that you can turn on and off.