Understanding Revit's Weird Coordinate System

Learn the difference between the Project Base Point, the Survey Point and the Internal Origin. Learn how to spot the super secret invisible internal origin of the project.

Adjust the base points height in an elevation view. Edit a level type to select the elevation base. Learn how to use the spot elevation and spot coordinate tool.

Be careful when moving the coordinate points. Learn what is the effect of the clip, which can have big consequences on your project.

In your Revit template, always place the Survey Point, the Project Base Point and the Internal Origin together at the intersection of a grid. Use a red text annotation and reference planes to spot the internal origin.

When exporting and linking CAD files, you have the option to use the Internal Origin or the clipped survey point as coordinates origin option.

When linking Revit files, the Auto - Origin to Origin option is the best.

Stay tuned! This is the first part in our video series about coordinates.

Read our coordinates guide:

[gabrielepiacentini]

0:25 > Project Base Point
0:35 > Survey Point
0:45 > Internal Origin
2:34 > Setting Levels Elevation Base
2:58 > Using Spot Elevation
3:37 > Using Spot Coordinates
4:24 > Moving the Coordinate Points (IMPORTANT)
5:05 > How to move Survey Point > Never move it unclipped as it will cause confusion. Survey point is set to an invisible point called "shared site origin" by default. This point is used to create a shared coordinate system
6:05 > Setting True North
6:46 > Exporting to CAD (NOTE: Revit will never use the "Project Base Point" when exporting. You can either export referring to the the "Internal Origin", so 0-0-0, or the "Survey Point", which is used for shared coordinates)
8:11 > Linking CAD files
9:32 > Linking Revit files

[AussieBIMGuru]

Brilliant and clear summary, nice work!

They can be weird indeed. As a BIM manager they even do my head in sometimes...

[MostafaGuda]

This is so helpful, I understand everything now with the simplest demonstration and quickest way.
Thank you

[MrVanengelenhoven]

I also found this to be a very clear explination of the differnet base and survey points in REVIT. Great work, keep it up and thank you.

[trollenz]

Now that's a video every architect using Revit should watch over and over again, like in a clockwork orange, with the eyelids opener and the eye drops !
I'm sick of those people importing a scan, selecting it and moving it around to please their needs, and start modelling... like if the whole universe should move around their project.

[lotus]

i haven't even finish watching and i learn alot. thanks for this!

[Apsis]

You guys are awesome! Clear consistent and concise..!
Now if we can get Autodesk to just use the origin to define the orientation and XYZ in the civil coordinate systems we will bet set.

[sahardarwich]

So far you are one of the pro. !
Thanks a lot!!

Do all your videos in your website are fast like this one?
English is my 3rd language. I want to be sure that I can learn from them before i pay.

[chadchristensen]

Thank you for creating this, it was incredibly helpful

[MrJai]

Revit Pure is more systematic is producing clean video, blogs, information in website... 1000 thumbsup and likes...

[Peleloify]

Ok, so heres the thing I can't figure out. How do I set my project survey point to be at an actual shared coordinate? If I am trying to bring a handful of point clouds, all tied to their actual position on the earthly coordinate system, the point clouds are imported as some absurd distance away, never to be found. How do we set the internal origin's 0, 0, 0 to be at an actual coordinate?

[MAIRENASEV]

Thankyou very much. Very useful explanetion.

[Dennyspp]

Incredible video! is there a way to show both numbers, sea level, and project elevation? in the elevation views?

[anakrino]

This is brilliant! Explaining the irrational implementation of the age old coordinate systems by Revit.
Conclusion, don't use such a engineer flaw to coordinate between DWG and Revit model. Use an intermediate DWG that acts as interface between real world information and the flawed system.
The intermediate DWG should XRef the real world information and translate the coordinate system by placing the "shared coordinates" at drawing origin (0, 0, 0). Thereby the rotaion of true north can be accommodated by rotating the survey XRef'd drawing on the one hand and on the other, the architectural drawing (obviously in DWG format) can be positioned correctly to interact in a logical way. The intermediate DWG point of origin should be 0, 0, 0.
1 Thus, the survey XRef level needs to be adjusted by setting the "XRef Properties", rotation, height and position of the DWG to present in the manner you need eventually in Revit (remember to have contours of the surface in this drawing). The XRef properties' "insertion point Z" should be manipulated to indicate the value which needs to be applied to the contours in order to be on the "building reference level". One can order the survey XRef at a position in the intermediate DWG such that the "Z" of the 0, 0, 0 origin of the intermediate coincides with the lowest contour value. This would be the level at which Revit would place the "link cad file" in height.

2 Same with the architectural building DWG. The XRef should be positioned in the intermediate drawing relative to the XRef'd survey drawing as intended. Most often the parcel boundary would be the reference building layout positionally. In terms of building level, there needs to be an initial method of determining the building level, it can be as simple (on a flattish surface) as placing it on the preferred contour, or as elaborate by determing optimum cut to fill in another terrain type programme.

3 Set up Revit only in terms of a level which would be used for "link cad file", and if as suggested above, this level is the relative height of the lowest contour from the building reference level. (Say the lowest contour value is 1250 and the building level is at 1260, this Revit level should be set at "-10")

4 Link this intermediate drawing with the XRef'd information into a Revit model with both survey and orgin at the same position, thus, in the link window, using the option "auto- origin to internal origin" for positional and for "place at" "a level in the Revit model that represents the reference height" (For the above example, the level set at -10).

In this manner, the Revit modeller is not confronted by an irrational positioning method and can use any DWG information that is correctly orientated in the intermediate drawing. And the bonus is, any DGW generated by Revit would also seemlessly XRef to the original DWG information.

Hope this helps those that think rationally about space and a building's position in the real world.

[gabrielepiacentini]

3:13 > How do you get the spot elevation that shows the internal origin value? I can't get my head round it. Do I need to use the type that shows the "relative" height?

[bbglenncai]

Thanks for sharing! I don't understand why the survey point coord values have allways be 0. unless you don't care the geolocation of the project. Should the survey point repesent the geolocation of the project site? It is very unlikly to have a survey point with 0 value from any survey data or after acquire coordinate from civil DWG.

[ksnjos]

How do you see the "clip" in the project base point? Please help

[regisxnaldochatodanet]

what about to insert points cloud of a site? How to deal with coordinates and elevations?

[cookitect.official]

How do I create a spot elevation type to pick "internal origin" My options are "Project Base Point / Survey Point / Relative" when I create a new type. I'm using Revit 2022.

[paymansalehishafa]

If you're never suppose to move the survey point without unclipping it, then why is there the option to do so?