Revit rotate project north vs true north

All models have 2 north orientations: Project North and True North.

Índice Show

Rotating True North
Rotating Project North
Changing the orientation of a view
Swapnil Bhalekar
Project North
True North in Real World
What is difference between Project Base Point and Survey Point?
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What is the difference between Project North and True North in Revit?
How do you change project north to True North in Revit?
How do you rotate a project north in Revit?
What does True North mean in Revit?

Project North is typically based on the predominant axis of the building geometry. It affects how you sketch in views and how views are placed on sheets.
Tip: When designing the model, align Project North with the top of the drawing area. This strategy simplifies the modeling process.
True North is the real-world north direction based on site conditions.
Tip: To avoid confusion, define True North only after you begin modeling with Project North aligned to the top of the drawing area and after you receive reliable survey coordinates.
In this site plan, a North Arrow annotation symbol indicates the direction of True North.

All models start with Project North and True North aligned with the top of the drawing area, as indicated by the survey point

and the project base point

in the site plan view.

Rotating True North

You may want to rotate True North for the following reasons:

to represent site conditions
for solar studies and rendering to ensure that natural light falls on the correct sides of the building model
for energy analysis
for heating and cooling loads analysis

You can use the Rotate True North tool in the site plan view.

The following image shows that the model has been rotated to True North, as indicated by the North Arrow annotation symbol and by the survey point. The project base point indicates its offset from True North.

Rotating Project North

You can rotate Project North for the entire model in plan views, changing the model's orientation to the top of the drawing area.

For example, if your office uses sheets with a portrait orientation, you can rotate Project North to align with the vertical axis of the model so views fit on sheets more easily. The following image shows the model with Project North set to the horizontal axis

, and then with Project North aligned to the vertical axis

of the model.

The Rotate Project North tool does the following:

It affects plan views whose Orientation property is defined as Project North. It does not affect drafting views, callouts of plan views, or other types of views.
It affects model elements and view-specific detail elements, including text notes, detail lines, filled regions, revision clouds, and more.
It preserves the relative position of links.
It rotates decals applied to surfaces.

Changing the orientation of a view

After adjusting True North and Project North for the model, you can decide whether each plan view reflects Project North

or True North

, as needed for that view. See Change the Orientation of a Plan View.

If you need to rotate a 3D view to True North, use the ViewCube.

Swapnil Bhalekar

BIM Lead at nCircle Tech

Published Jun 26, 2021

In Revit, in every file or project; there is Project and a True North. The Project North is a virtual orientation used to model your project. so it is orthogonal to your screen. By default, in every file there is Project North.

The True North is a real-world north used to properly locate the orientation of your building. To set the True North, you have to select project base point and simply enter the angle.

Project North

True North

True North in Real World

Why we actually used true north in Revit?

To represent site conditions
For solar studies and rendering to ensure that natural light falls on the correct sides of the building model.
For energy analysis.
For heating and cooling loads analysis.

What is difference between Project Base Point and Survey Point?

The project base point defines the origin (0,0,0) of the project coordinate system. We use the project base point as a reference point for measurements across the site.

The survey point identifies a real-world location near the model, such as a corner of the project site or the intersection of 2 property lines.

Others also viewed

Explore topics

What is the difference between Project North and True North in Revit?

The Project North is a virtual orientation used to model your project. so it is orthogonal to your screen. By default, in every file there is Project North. The True North is a real-world north used to properly locate the orientation of your building.

How do you change project north to True North in Revit?

Click Manage tab Project Location panel Position drop-down (Rotate True North)..

Select the rotation control that displays at the center of the model, and drag it to the guide..

Click along the guide to indicate the direction of True North..

Click again toward the top of the application window..

How do you rotate a project north in Revit?

Click Manage tab Project Location panel Position drop-down (Rotate Project North). In the Rotate Project dialog, for Maintain text note orientation during rotation, select this option if text notes should remain oriented to the view.

What does True North mean in Revit?

True North is the real-world north direction based on site conditions. Tip: To avoid confusion, define True North only after you begin modeling with Project North aligned to the top of the drawing area and after you receive reliable survey coordinates.