About Rule-Based Filters

Create filters that identify elements based on categories and parameter values. Apply these filters to views to change the visibility or graphic display of the elements.

Videos: Create a Rule-Based View Filter

For example, if you need to change the line style and color for 2-hour fire-rated walls in a view, do the following:

1. Create a filter that selects all walls in the view that have the 2-hour value for the Fire Rating parameter.
2. Apply the filter to the view, and define the visibility and graphic display settings (such as line style and color).

As a result, all walls that meet the filter criteria display in the view with the specified visibility and graphics settings (assuming no other settings override these; see Element Visibility Override Hierarchy).

Rules and rule sets

A rule-based filter contains one or more rule sets . Each rule set contains one or more rules and/or nested rule sets.

There is no limit to the number of rules and rule sets you can define.

Each rule set uses the AND condition or the OR condition:

• AND: All of the rules and rule sets nested within this set must evaluate as true.
• OR: One or more of the rules or rule sets nested within this set must evaluate as true.

Plan filter rules carefully using AND and OR conditions and nesting to make sure you get the desired result. See Examples of Rule-Based Filters.

Tip: Create a sample model that contains elements with the categories you want to use in the filter. Experiment by creating filters with rules and applying the filters to views until you achieve the desired result. Then use Transfer Project Standards to transfer the filters to your project.

Categories and parameters

When creating a filter, you first select one or more categories. Then you create rule sets. For each rule in a rule set, specify a parameter, an operator, and a value.

The parameters that are available for creating rules depend on the categories that you select for the filter. Before creating a filter, consider carefully what you are trying to accomplish, and how you can best identify those elements. Determine the categories to use for the filter.

For example, to create a filter that identifies 2-hour fire-rated doors, select the Doors category. To create a filter that identifies 2-hour fire-rated doors and walls, select the Doors and Walls categories.

When you select multiple categories for a filter, you must specify the category of each rule before you can select the parameter to use for the rule.

The parameters can include any of the following:

• Instance parameters
• Type parameters
• Project parameters
• Shared parameters

You can use a global parameter as a value for a rule. In this case, use the operator "is associated with" or "is not associated with".

If worksets are enabled, the Workset parameter is also available.

Operators and values

When you create a rule, the operators that are available depend on the type of parameter. For a list of operators, see Filters Dialog.

When entering a value for the rule, you can do one of the following:

• Select a value from the drop-down list, which shows values from elements in the current model.
• Enter a value. For numeric values, you don't need to specify the unit. Text values are case-insensitive.

If you want to select multiple values for a parameter, add one rule for each value. Nest these rules under a rule set with an OR condition.

When you use a shared parameter in a rule, you can use the "parameter exists" operator, and omit a value.