How to tag in Revit comes down to this: a tag reads data from the element. A door tag shows D1 because it reads that door's Mark, not because someone typed it. Typed text is different; change the door and the text stays put. With tags, the plan never says D1 while the schedule says D2.
This article covers text, tags, parameters and find-and-replace, ordered the way you work, with screenshots from Revit 2027 in English. Dimensions and levels are in how to dimension in Revit. To learn the documentation stage in full, see the Revit Architecture course.
Step 1 — Revit text notes with the Text tool
The tool sits on Annotate, Text panel.
| Tool | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Text | Place a note, with or without a leader |
| Check Spelling | Spell check |
| Find/Replace | Find and replace text, see its own section below |
The question every Vietnamese user asks first: does accented text come out right? Below is a string with every kind of diacritic, typed in the Metric template's default text type and captured straight from the screen.
Every mark is in place, with no font change or add-on needed. Revit uses Unicode, and Windows system fonts carry the Vietnamese characters.
Two places where fonts can still go wrong:
- Exporting to 2D CAD, where the CAD program uses its own fonts; a font without Vietnamese breaks the text. See how to export Revit drawings to CAD and PDF.
- Schedules placed on sheets: the letter Ủ turns into a box with Trebuchet MS, and switching to Arial fixes it; see how to create a schedule in Revit.
Step 2 — text types: open Type Properties and read them
Select a text note and click Edit Type.
| No. | Element | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Type name | Called 2.5mm Arial |
| 2 | Text Font and Text Size | The real font is Trebuchet MS; the size is indeed 2.5 mm |
Note. The type name lies about the font, and it ships that way in Autodesk's Metric template. The general lesson: do not trust type names, open Type Properties and read them.
Text size is paper size. 2.5 mm text prints at 2.5 mm at every scale, unlike 2D CAD where you multiply by the scale. One text type works at every scale. Sizes common on Vietnamese drawings, measured on paper:
| Size | Used for |
|---|---|
| 1.8–2.0 mm | Dimension text, small notes |
| 2.5 mm | General notes, room names at small scales |
| 3.5 mm | Room names, note group headings |
| 5.0 mm and up | View titles, title block headings |
Tip. Build four types for these sizes and name them by size, such as CHU-2.5 and CHU-3.5. Then nobody has to think, and the name never lies. Autodesk covers text in Text Notes.
Step 3 — Tag by Category and Revit Tag All
Learning how to tag in Revit starts on the Tag panel, the longest on Annotate, because each category has its own tagging tool.
| Tool | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Tag by Category | Tags one element at a time, with Revit picking the tag by category. The most used |
| Tag by Example | Pick a sample tag, then tag elements of the same kind |
| Tag All | A separate button next to Tag: tags every untagged element of the chosen categories in the view |
Door tags are the classic case: run Tag All, pick Door Tags, click OK, and every door on the level gets its mark.
Step 4 — load tags and fix a Revit tag question mark
Each category needs a tag family loaded. Without one, the Tag tool says there is no tag for that category and offers to load one. Check beforehand in Loaded Tags And Symbols (the drop-down under the Tag panel title).
| No. | Element | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Category name search | Type a few letters to filter hundreds of categories |
| 2 | Three-column table | Category is the category; Loaded Tags the loaded tag family; Loaded Symbols the loaded symbol |
Where Loaded Tags is empty, load a family with Load Family before annotating, so you do not lose your flow.
A tag showing a question mark is not broken: it reads a parameter that has no value yet. For example, a door tag reads Mark, but the new door has not been numbered. Fix it in four steps:
- Select the element whose tag shows a question mark.
- Open Properties and find the parameter the tag reads.
- Enter a value and click Apply.
- If you do not know which parameter the tag reads, select the tag and click Edit Family to look.
Step 5 — project parameter or Revit shared parameter tag
A tag can only read parameters the element has. To show something Revit lacks, such as an office door code, add a parameter. Check the list first under Manage › Project Parameters.
| No. | Element | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Count | How many added parameters the project has. The Metric template has 14 |
| 2 | List | Ceiling Height, Finish, Frame Finish, Glazing Thickness, Glazing Type, Hardware, Head, Jamb, Material, Occupant, Sheet Group, Sheet Sort, Sill, Under Cut |
Several parameters a door schedule needs already exist: Frame Finish, Glazing Type, Hardware. They are project parameters, so use them in schedules rather than tags.
| Kind | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Project parameter | Lives in one file. Schedules can read it, but it cannot appear in a tag, and it does not travel to other projects |
| Shared parameter | Stored in a separate text file, used across projects and families. Both tags and schedules read it |
Autodesk says so in Shared Parameters: for a parameter's information to be used in a tag, it must be a shared parameter. So anything office-wide, or anything a tag must print, should be a shared parameter from the start.
Tip. Name parameters without accents and with an office prefix, such as VP_MaCua. The prefix avoids clashes with Revit's and other teams' parameters when files are linked.
Revit find and replace with Find/Replace
Changing WC to VỆ SINH in thirty notes is nobody's idea of fun. Click Find/Replace on the Text panel.
| No. | Element | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Find and Replace with | Search and replacement strings; both remember earlier entries |
| 2 | Scope | Current selection, current view, or entire project. The first is greyed when nothing is selected |
| 3 | Results table | Match, Found in, View Type: which view each hit is in and what kind |
| Scope | Objects |
|---|---|
| Found | Text notes in any view, drafting views included, and Text inside detail groups. Text in a detail group can only be replaced through Edit Group |
| Not found | Tag contents, room names, view names, element parameters, schedule cells |
To rename rooms in bulk, edit the room schedule instead. The tool is also greyed out while a schedule view is active.
Try it: door tags and Vietnamese notes
Door tags on the plan. Work on plan 1F with dimensions done.
- Run Tag All to tag every door on the level. Note which doors show a question mark and why.
- Fill Mark for the doors as D1, D2, D3. Check the question marks disappear.
- Open Loaded Tags And Symbols and note three categories with no tag loaded.
Notes on the section. Work on section MC-A-A at 1:50.
- Duplicate the text type as
CHU-2.5and check which font Text Font shows. Note it and compare with the type name. - Type a Vietnamese note with full diacritics, such as a floor build-up layer. Check it displays correctly.
Common tag and text problems
| Problem | Cause and fix |
|---|---|
| Tag shows a question mark | The parameter it reads is empty. Select the element and fill it in |
| Tagging asks to load a family | No tag family for that category. Load it in Loaded Tags And Symbols |
| A new parameter will not show in a tag | It is a project parameter. Recreate it as a shared parameter |
| Printed text size differs from the screen | Text size is paper size. Check the print scale, not the text size |
| Find/Replace is greyed out | A schedule view is active. Switch to a view with text |
Frequently asked questions
How is a tag different from text in Revit?
Text is typed and does not change with the element. A tag reads a parameter, so changing the Mark or type updates it at once.
Does Revit have problems with Vietnamese fonts?
Text notes display full diacritics with the default font. Watch exports to CAD and schedules placed on sheets.
Why can't my tag read the parameter I just created?
It is a project parameter. Tags read only built-in or shared parameters.
Related articles
- How to dimension in Revit — dimension strings, spot elevations, slopes
- Revit filled regions and 2D details — detail lines, legends, drafting views
- How to add doors in Revit — placing and flipping doors, the Mark parameter
- How to create a schedule in Revit — reads the same parameters as tags
- How to create a Revit family — shared parameters inside families