Point to Point Steel Modeling

Use the automatic shortening option in Structural Settings to create steel element geometry starting from the exact start and end click point.

Where is it?

• Structure tabStructure panel
• Manage tabSettings panel (Structural Settings)

About automatic shortening of steel elements during auto-join

You can toggle the automatic shortening behavior of structural steel elements for new models or, retroactively, for current models with the following steps:

1. Click Structure tabStructure panel

or

2. Click Manage tabSettings panel (Structural Settings). The Structural Settings dialog opens.
3. In the Structural Settings dialog, click the Structural Steel Elements tab.
4. Check the box for Disable automatic shortening of steel elements during auto-join.
   Note: If a warning dialog appears, click OK.
5. Click OK to save your changes and close the Structural Settings dialog.

The steel elements from the drawing will be updated with the point-to-point geometry for existing project elements and for newly created elements.

Option	Example
Steel beams with automatic shortening enabled
Steel beams with automatic shortening disabled

Note:

• In the Properties panel, the following values sets changed:
  • Start Extension cannot be edited.
  • Start Join Cutback is removed from the list.
  • The Weight is re-calculated to match the length.
  • System Length and Cut Length are now equal.
  • Elements can be further edited by using steel modifiers or other Revit features like voids, etc.
• On the ribbon, when selecting a beam, the Change Reference feature is no longer available.
• Columns and slanted columns are not affected by the point-to-point option; the geometry will still be shortened as expected depending on the context.

Point to point workflow for slanted columns

When you add a slanted column using the point-to-point workflow, the column's geometry now extends to the end point of the system length.

If you turn off the point-to-point option, the slanted column will adjust to a secondary state. In this state, the column aligns with the bottom of the intersecting beam and attaches to the smallest intersection line.

Slanted column representation created with point to point ON. Top Geometry Alignment: Location Line. Attachment Justification At Top: Intersect Column Midline.
Slanted column representation created with point to point OFF. Top Geometry Alignment: Location Line. Attachment Justification At Top: Maximum Intersection