NumberingSchema

Public Class

A class to support assigning numbers to elements of a particular kind for the purpose of tagging and scheduling them.

Inheritance Hierarchy

System.Object
Autodesk.Revit.DB.Element
Autodesk.Revit.DB.NumberingSchema

Assembly: RevitAPI (in RevitAPI.dll) Version: 25.0.0.0 (25.0.0.0)

Syntax

public class NumberingSchema : Element

The NumberingSchema type exposes the following members.

Properties

Name

Description

Public Property

AssemblyInstanceId

The id of the assembly instance to which the element belongs.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
BoundingBox

Retrieves a box that circumscribes all geometry of the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Category

Retrieves a Category object that represents the category or sub category in which the element resides.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
CreatedPhaseId

Id of a Phase at which the Element was created.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
DemolishedPhaseId

Id of a Phase at which the Element was demolished.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
DesignOption

Returns the design option to which the element belongs.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Document

Returns the Document in which the Element resides.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
Geometry

Retrieves the geometric representation of the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property

GroupId

The id of the group to which an element belongs.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
Id

A unique identifier for an Element in an Autodesk Revit project.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
IsModifiable

Identifies if the element is modifiable.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
IsTransient

Indicates whether an element is transient or permanent.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
IsValidObject

Specifies whether the .NET object represents a valid Revit entity.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property

LevelId

The id of the level associated with the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
Location

This property is used to find the physical location of an element within a project.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Static Member
MaximumStartingNumber

A static property defining the maximum number a numbering sequence can use as its starting number (the lowest number in the sequence).

Public Property
Name

A human readable name for the Element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
NumberingParameterId

Id of the parameter that stores values of the numbers on enumerated elements.

Public Property

OwnerViewId

The id of the view that owns the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
Parameter.BuiltInParameter.

Retrieves a parameter from the element given a parameter id.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Parameter.Definition.

Retrieves a parameter from the element based on its definition.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Parameter.Guid.

Retrieves a parameter from the element given a GUID for a shared parameter.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Code Example
Parameters

Retrieves a set containing all of the parameters that are contained within the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
ParametersMap

Retrieves a map containing all of the parameters that are contained within the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
Pinned

Identifies if the element has been pinned to prevent changes.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property

SchemaType

Identifies the kind of elements/objects this numbering schema is used for.

Public Property
Code Example
UniqueId

A stable unique identifier for an element within the document.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
VersionGuid

Get the element version Guid.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property

ViewSpecific

Identifies if the element is owned by a view.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Property
WorksetId

Get Id of the Workset which owns the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Methods

Name

Description

Public Method
AppendSequence

Appends all elements of one numbering sequence to the end of another sequence.

Public Method
ArePhasesModifiable

Returns true if the properties CreatedPhaseId and DemolishedPhaseId can be modified for this Element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
AssignElementsToSequence

Assigns the input elements to a sequence identified by the given partition name.

Public Method
CanBeHidden

Indicates if the element can be hidden in the view.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

CanBeLocked

Identifies if the element can be locked.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

CanDeleteSubelement

Checks if given subelement can be removed from the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
CanHaveTypeAssigned.

Identifies if the element can have a type assigned.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
ChangeNumber

Replaces an existing number with a new one (that does not exist yet).

Public Method
ChangeTypeId(ElementId)

Changes the type of the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

DeleteEntity

Deletes the existing entity created by %schema% in the element
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
DeleteSubelement

Removes a subelement from the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
DeleteSubelements

Removes the subelements from the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

Dispose

(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

Equals

Determines whether the specified object is equal to the current object.
(Inherited from Object)

Public Method

EvaluateAllParameterValues

Evaluates all the parameters’ values of the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

EvaluateParameterValues

Evaluate the parameters’ values of the element on the given parameter ID set.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetDependentElements

Get all elements that, from a logical point of view, are the children of this Element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetEntity

Returns the existing entity corresponding to the Schema if it has been saved in the Element, or an invalid entity otherwise.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetEntitySchemaGuids

Returns the Schema guids of any Entities stored in this element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetExternalFileReference

Gets information pertaining to the external file referenced by the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetExternalResourceReference

Gets the ExternalResourceReference associated with a specified external resource type.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetExternalResourceReferenceExpanded

Gets the collection of ExternalResourceReference associated with a specified external resource type.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetExternalResourceReferences

Gets the map of the external resource references referenced by the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetExternalResourceReferencesExpanded

Gets the expanded map of the external resource references referenced by the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
Code Example
GetGeneratingElementIds

Returns the ids of the element(s) that generated the input geometry object.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetGeometryObjectFromReference

Retrieve one geometric primitive contained in the element given a reference.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetHashCode

Serves as the default hash function.
(Inherited from Object)

Public Method

GetMaterialArea

Gets the area of the material with the given id.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetMaterialIds

Gets the element ids of all materials present in the element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetMaterialVolume

Gets the volume of the material with the given id.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
Static Member
GetMinimumNumberOfDigits

Returns the minimum number of digits to be used for formating the Number parameter of all enumerable elements of the given document.

Public Method

GetMonitoredLinkElementIds

Provides the link instance IDs when the element is monitoring.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetMonitoredLocalElementIds

Provides the local element IDs when the element is monitoring.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
Static Member

GetNumberingSchema

Returns an instance of the specified Numbering Schema in the given document.

Public Method
GetNumberingSequences

Returns all numbering sequences within this numbering schema.

Public Method
GetNumbers

Returns all numbers currently used in the given numbering sequence

Public Method
GetOrderedParameters

Gets the parameters associated to the element in order.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetParameter

Retrieves a parameter from the element given identifier.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetParameterFormatOptions

Returns a FormatOptions override for the element Parameter, or a default FormatOptions if no override exists.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
GetParameters

Retrieves the parameters from the element via the given name.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetPhaseStatus

Gets the status of a given element in the input phase
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
Static Member

GetSchemasInDocument

Returns a set of Ids of all Numbering Schema elements for a given document.

Public Method
GetSubelements

Returns the collection of element subelements.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetType

Gets the Type of the current instance.
(Inherited from Object)

Public Method
Code Example
GetTypeId

Returns the identifier of this element’s type.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

GetValidTypes.

Obtains a set of types that are valid for this element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
HasPhases

Returns true if this Element has the properties CreatedPhaseId and DemolishedPhaseId.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

IsCreatedPhaseOrderValid

Returns true if createdPhaseId and demolishedPhaseId are in order.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

IsDemolishedPhaseOrderValid

Returns true if createdPhaseId and demolishedPhaseId are in order.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
IsExternalFileReference

Determines whether this Element represents an external file.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
IsHidden

Identifies if the element has been permanently hidden in the view.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

IsMonitoringLinkElement

Indicate whether an element is monitoring any elements in any linked models.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method

IsMonitoringLocalElement

Indicate whether an element is monitoring other local elements.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
IsPhaseCreatedValid

Returns true if createdPhaseId is an allowed value for the property CreatedPhaseId in this Element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
IsPhaseDemolishedValid

Returns true if demolishedPhaseId is an allowed value for the property DemolishedPhaseId in this Element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
Static Member
IsValidPartitionName

Tests if the given string can be used as a name for a numbering partition.

Public Method
IsValidType(ElementId)

Checks if given type is valid for this element.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
LookupParameter

Attempts to find a parameter on the element which has the given name.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
MergeSequences

Merges all elements from given numbering sequences to a new sequence.

Public Method
Code Example
MoveSequence

Moves all elements of a numbering sequence from one partition to another.

Public Method

RefersToExternalResourceReference

Determines whether this Element uses external resources associated with a specified external resource type.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
RefersToExternalResourceReferences

Determines whether this Element uses external resources.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
RemoveGaps

Removes gaps, if any, in a numbering sequence

Public Method

SetEntity

Stores the entity in the element. If an Entity described by the same Schema already exists, it is overwritten.
(Inherited from Element)

Public Method
Static Member
SetMinimumNumberOfDigits

Sets a new value for the minimum number of digits to be used for formating the Number parameter of all numbered elements of the given document.

Public Method
ShiftNumbers

Shifts all numbers in the sequence so the starting number has the given value.

Public Method

ToString

Returns a string that represents the current object.
(Inherited from Object)

Remarks

Each NumberingSchema controls numbering of elements of one particular kind, typically of the same category such as Rebar or Fabric Reinforcement. Instances of NumberingSchema are also elements and there is always only one of each type in every Revit document. Available types of all built-in numbering schemas are enumerated in NumberingSchemaTypes class. At present, schema elements cannot be manually added, deleted, or copied. Attempts to do so will result in a failure warning and/or exceptions thrown.

Elements (e.g. Rebar) belonging to a particular schema (e.g. NumberingSchemaTypes.StructuralNumberingSchemas.Rebar) are organized and numbered in sequences. A sequence is a collection of elements that share the same numbering partition as defined by their respective values of the Partition parameter (NUMBER_PARTITION_PARAM). For a numbering sequence to exist it must contain at least one element. In other words, a sequence is established once there is at least one element of which the partition parameter has a value that differs from other elements (in the same numbering schema). If the last element is removed (deleted or moved to a different sequence) the then empty sequence ceases to exist.

Elements get assigned to sequences either upon their creation (based on the then current numbering partition value), or by explicitly modifying the Partition parameter of an element, or by using the AssignElementsToSequence method. It is highly recommended using that method over explicitly changing the Partition parameter, because the methods applies changes to sequences and element numbers immediately, while changed parameters get into effect only after the current transaction is closed.

In addition to directly or indirectly changing the Partition parameter of elements, numbering sequences can be reorganized by using methods of the NumberingSchema class. The MoveSequence method moves all elements of an existing sequence to a new sequence that does not exist yet in the schema, thus effectively renaming the Partition parameter on all the affected elements. The AppendSequence method removes all elements from one sequence and appends them to elements of another existing sequence while applying the matching policy. The method MergeSequences takes elements of all specified sequences and moves them all into a newly created sequence. All the merged elements will be renumbered and matched as needed based on the matching algorithm.

Elements in different sequences are numbered independently, meaning that there may be elements with the same number in two sequences even though the elements are different. Likewise, there may be perfectly identical elements in two or more sequences bearing different numbers. However, within each one numbering sequence any two identical elements will always have the same number, while different elements will never have the same number within a numbering sequence. Revit refers to this rule as the matching policy.

Enumerable elements are always numbered automatically upon their creation. Each new element will get an incrementally higher number. However, thanks to the matching policy, new elements that match existing elements within the same sequence will get the same number assigned. Elements will keep their assigned numbers as long as it is possible. This means, for example, that if some previously created elements (e.g. Rebar) get deleted, all remaining elements (within the same numbering sequence) will keep their numbers, which may result in gaps in the respective numbering sequence. Gaps can be removed by invoking RemoveGaps for sequences in which gaps are not desired.

Numbers are stored as values of a numbering parameter on each numbered element. The Id of the parameter is obtained by querying the NumberingParameterId property. The value of the number can be obtained by querying the parameter for the respective numbered element. The value is read-only and thus cannot be set; it is always computed based on relations of elements across numbering partitions and the matching policy within the numbering sequence of each element.

Even though numbers are always assigned automatically to all elements of a schema, the method ChangeNumber gives the programmer a way to explicitly overwrite a specific number as long as the new number is unique in the numbering sequence. The caller specifies a number to be changed and a new value that is to be applied, providing the value does not exist yet in the same numbering sequence. Although this operation may seem rather limited, it provides the programmer with freedom to change practically any number even if it may be achieved in multiple steps.

Example

/// <summary>
/// This function consolidates the numbers on Rebar elements by removing
/// any remaining gaps in numbering sequences and setting the start number
/// of each sequence so numbers in sequences do not overlap.
/// </summary>
/// <param name="document">The document in which Rebar numbers are to be consolidated</param>
private void ConsolidateRebarNumbers(Document document)
{
    // Obtain a schema object for a particular kind of elements
    NumberingSchema schema = NumberingSchema.GetNumberingSchema(document,NumberingSchemaTypes.StructuralNumberingSchemas.Rebar);

    // Collect the names of partitions of all the numbering sequences currently contained in the schema
    IList<string> sequences = schema.GetNumberingSequences();

    using (Transaction transaction = new Transaction(document))
    {
        // Changes to numbers must be made inside a transaction
        transaction.Start("Consolidate Rebar Numbers");

        // First we make sure numbers in all sequences are consecutive
        // by removing possible gaps in numbers. Note: RemoveGaps does
        // nothing for a sequence where there are no gaps present.

        // We also want to find what the maximum range of numbers is
        // of all the sequences (the one the widest span of used numbers)
        int maxRange = 0;

        foreach (string name in sequences)
        {
            schema.RemoveGaps(name);

            // Here we use First() from the Linq extension.
            // There is always at least one range in every sequence,
            // and after gaps are closed there is exactly one range.
            IntegerRange range = schema.GetNumbers(name).First();
            int rangeSpan = 1 + (range.High - range.Low);
            if (rangeSpan > maxRange)
            {
                maxRange = rangeSpan;
            }
        }

        // Next we give sequences different start numbers
        // starting with 100 and then stepping by at least
        // the maximum range we found in the previous step
        int startNumber = 100;

        // We round the range up to the closest 100
        int step = 100 * (int)((maxRange + 99) / 100.0);

        foreach (string name in sequences)
        {
            schema.ShiftNumbers(name, startNumber);
            startNumber += step;
        }

        transaction.Commit();
    }
}