Revit determines the Structural Usage property of a beam automatically, based on the structural elements that support the beam. The structural usage parameter value determines the line style of the beam in a coarse-scale view.
Structural usage can be changed before or after the beam is placed. Use the Object Styles dialog to change the structural usage. For more information, see Object Styles. The structural usage parameter can be included in a structural framing schedule, allowing quantity calculation of girders, joists, purlins, and horizontal bracing. For more information, see Specifying Schedule Properties.
Structural usage values for beams
Beams can be attached to any other structural element, including structural walls. For more information, see Structural Walls.
The default Structural Usage setting can be changed using the Properties palette. The following table lists the default automatic Structural Usage setting for beams, based on which elements are being connected:
| - | C | B | HB | G | J | P | O |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wall | G | O | HB | G | J | P | O |
| Column | G | O | HB | G | J | P | O |
| Brace | O | O | O | O | O | O | |
| Horizontal Brace | HB | HB | HB | HB | O | ||
| Girder | J | J | P | O | |||
| Joist | P | P | O | ||||
| Purlin | P | O | |||||
| Other | O | ||||||
| Key. HB: Horizontal Bracing; G: Girder; J: Joist; P: Purlin; and O: Other. | |||||||
For the properties of beams, see Beam Properties.