NEWSLETTER

What Are Keynotes, and Why Does BSD LinkMan-E Include Them?

Not everyone in architecture and engineering uses keynotes, and for good reasons: 1) employing them effectively requires training the drafting staff and applying strict discipline; 2) there are no standards, so frequently the keynotes vary from project to project (as well as from office to office); and 3) managing keynotes without the use of specialized software is difficult or impossible.

Why Use Keynotes? Not everyone even knows what they are. Keynotes are short notations intended for use on construction drawings — especially drawing details — that take the place of verbose, sometimes conflicting or contradictory ad hoc notes. They typically consist of a specification section number in combination with a short suffix, so the contractor is referred both to a numerically organized legend on the drawings and to the appropriate specification sections for more detail. For example, a keynote 042000.A might correspond on a legend to “Clay Facing Brick,” and a keynote 042000.B might correspond to “Common Brick.” The contractor would then be expected to go to Section 042000 – Unit Masonry in the specifications to find the detailed requirements for clay facing brick and common brick. Of course, for maximum effectiveness, the keynote number should correspond exactly with the section number in the specifications, and the terms in the drawing legend should correspond exactly with the terms used in the specification section.

As mentioned earlier, one of the problems associated with keynotes is the lack of a definitive standard, so “042000.A” might mean something totally different on the next project and would almost certainly mean something different at the next firm. Learning to use predefined keynotes instead of creating notes on the fly and having the discipline to apply them consistently throughout a firm requires a lot of effort. In addition, it helps to have specialized software for placing the keynotes, managing them to prevent conflicts, and generating accurate legends that can be placed and updated easily.

Revit and LinkMan Jointly Manage Keynotes  Autodesk’s Revit does have keynoting capability, including automated generation of keynote legends, but it has never been easy to create, assign, or make use of the keynotes. Now BSD LinkMan-E includes features that will help manage the keynotes more effectively. Think of LinkMan-E as a keynote editor, organizer, and assignment tool. Think of Revit as a keynote placement and updating tool. Together, they comprise a coordinated system for keynoting.

When we connect a Revit project to a LinkMan-E Group and click on Update LinkMan-E Data, Revit sends to LinkMan information about elements and materials currently included in the model. When we Refresh the data in LinkMan, this data is displayed on the Revit Project tab. The Revit data displayed includes any keynotes included in the model, plus any corresponding LinkMan-E keynotes. It is possible to modify the keynotes in the Revit columns (keynote number in one column, and keynote text in the other), but the LinkMan master keynotes cannot be altered. Right clicking on any element allows us to copy the LME default keynote to the Revit keynote column. There is also a command — Apply Default Keynotes — that will automatically copy all the master keynotes to any blank fields in the Revit column, without overwriting any keynotes that already exist.  In other words, with this command we can easily merge existing project keynotes with master keynotes. There are also other ways to create or modify the project keynotes, which will be discussed below. Why would anyone want to do this? It’s really very simple: When the Import/Replace Keynotes command in Revit is clicked, any keynotes in the R columns in LinkMan-E will automatically be assigned to the corresponding elements in Revit and will replace any keynotes that may have already been placed in the Revit project. This is a far more efficient way to assign and update keynotes than would be possible within Revit, where keynotes must be individually assigned to each element.

The LME Keynotes Tab  The Keynotes tab was added in the fall 2011 release of LinkMan-E. This tab includes all the LME master keynotes, organized according to UniFormat for assemblies and according to MasterFormat for products. These keynotes have already been assigned to the corresponding LinkMan objects. What is their function, and how would these keynotes be utilized? As already noted, the Revit tab already displays all the LME master keynotes applicable to the Revit elements in the particular project. However, there may be many elements on the Revit tab with no Revit keynote and no LME master keynote. The Keynote tab offers another way to modify the keynotes on the Revit tab that will be imported into the Revit project.

If we open both the Keynotes and the Revit tabs in the same window, we can navigate to desired keynotes in the Keynotes tab, and then drag and drop them to appropriate elements on the Revit tab. If none of the keynotes are exactly right, we can right click on any keynote in the Keynotes tab to open a dialog box that allows us to Create New Keynote (see below). This new keynote can then be dragged and dropped into the Revit tab.



The latest release of LinkMan-E also features a new Import Keynotes icon on the Keynotes tab. This new command opens a dialog box that allows us to enter a file name or browse for a file, such as a user-generated master keynote file, and import it into LinkMan. When the correct file has been located, clicking on the Import button will automatically merge the data with the LME master keynotes, ordering them numerically (the imported keynotes are differentiated from master keynotes by a “U” for user in the Origin column). Why would anyone want to do that? It’s really pretty simple: for any firm that has an established master list of keynotes, the merged list allows the office master keynotes to be dragged and dropped to the Revit tab, as described above, so they will be assigned automatically to the corresponding Revit elements. The user also has the option to augment the current office master — or even to replace some or all of the office master keynotes with LME master keynotes that are already coordinated with SpecLink.

Importing Keynotes to Revit   One more change to the keynoting function has been made in the winter release of LinkMan-E. On the LinkMan Add-In for Revit, the Assign Keynotes icon has been replaced by one labeled Import/Replace Keynotes. When the user clicks on this icon, three choices are offered. The choices and their consequences are as follows:

• “All Keynotes” includes all LinkMan master keynotes, all project keynotes, and all user keynotes that have been imported into LinkMan. All these keynotes are organized automatically into a single file in numerical order.
• “All Master and Project Keynotes” is the same as “All Keynotes” except that user keynotes are excluded (user keynotes are any marked “U” that have been imported into LinkMan).
• “All Project Keynotes” includes only those keynotes that are currently in the Revit keynote columns – including any that have been copied from the LinkMan master keynotes or the user keynotes.

Regardless of which choice is made, any keynotes in the R columns in LinkMan will automatically be assigned to the corresponding elements in Revit, as previously described. However, the choices will determine what additional information – if any – will be imported into the text file that can be used for subsequent keynote selection and placement. That, in turn, depends on how much latitude the Revit users will be given for selecting and placing additional keynotes.

The last option ― which limits the export to keynotes provided in the Revit columns in LME ― restricts the project keynotes to what the LinkMan editor has determined are suitable for the particular project. All Keynotes, on the other hand, makes available in Revit all master keynotes and all imported user keynotes in addition to the assigned keynotes from LinkMan. The middle choice simply eliminates any user keynotes that have not been copied to the Revit tab.

Conclusion  Currently, keynotes are not used by many firms. Despite their potential benefits, the software tools available to manage and apply them have not been powerful or flexible enough to justify the significant investment in training and ongoing management necessary to use keynotes effectively.

The new keynote features recently added to BSD LinkMan-E have changed that equation. LinkMan now works smoothly with Revit to permit centralized editing and assignment of keynotes to Revit elements. In fact, the powerful keynote features added to LinkMan can be used even without connecting LinkMan to a SpecLink project. However, because the LME master keynotes have been carefully coordinated with the products specified in SpecLink, the keynotes that appear in Revit will match the text in SpecLink if master keynotes are used.

For maximum flexibility, LME has been configured to accommodate firms that have already established an office master list of keynotes, by allowing such a list to be imported into LME for subsequent editing or merging with the master keynotes provided. In addition, the new Import/Replace options in the LME Add-In for Revit automatically assign keynotes to the project elements in the Revit model, instead of requiring individual assignment within Revit — a tremendous productivity advantage. Finally, the keynotes available within Revit can be limited to those associated with pre-edited and pre-linked elements, or they can be expanded to include all LME master keynotes and all user-defined keynotes, as well.

In short, the new keynote management features in BSD LinkMan-E, combined with the Revit keynote placement and legend generating functions, now make keynoting a viable option for firms that appreciate the improvements in communication and project coordination that are made possible by this innovative concept.