A structural plan that is modelled correctly but carries no tags still sends the site team back with questions: what is this beam called, how big is it, how thick is this slab, at what level is its top. In CAD every answer is a line of typed text, and every model change means hunting down those lines again.
Structural annotation in Revit works differently: tags read the parameters of each element, so changing a beam section or dropping a slab updates the text on the drawing. This article walks fifteen steps in Revit 2027, from beam and floor tags and opening marks to legends, grids, levels and sections. For the full modelling and documentation workflow, the Institute runs a Revit Structure course.
What structural annotation covers
The level 3 plan of the sample building below carries the five kinds of annotation a Vietnamese structural plan needs.
| Annotation | On the plan | Where Revit gets the text |
|---|---|---|
| Beam tag | DY3.1-(220x400) | Beam parameters, through a Structural Framing Tags family |
| Floor tag | S120 (+7.450) | Floor parameters, through a Floor Tags family |
| Opening mark | Two diagonals over the stair well | Lines drawn in the view, not part of the model |
| Grids and levels | Grid bubbles 1–4, A–B | Grid type and Level type |
| Section | Mark KC-02.8 on the right | Section type, sheet number read from where the section is placed |
Plain text, general notes and Vietnamese fonts are covered in the article on tags in Revit; dimensions and spot elevations are in dimensions in Revit. This article goes deep on structural tags and symbols only.
Preparing the plan before you annotate
You need three things. First, a model with real beams, floors and openings; the modelling is covered in structural floors and walls in Revit. Second, a structural plan at its print scale, 1 : 50 in the sample building, because tag size is measured in millimetres on paper. Third, tag families for each category already loaded in the template, see the Revit structural template.
This article is part of the Institute's Revit Structure series.
Beam tags in Revit: placing them and reading their parameters
Step 1 — Open the structural plan
In the Project Browser, type the view name into the search box and double-click the Structural Plan. Check the scale in the Properties palette; changing scale after tagging makes tags pile up on each other.
Step 2 — Start Tag by Category on the Annotate tab
On the Annotate tab, Tag panel, click the arrow under Tag.
There are two items. Tag by Category looks at the element under the cursor and picks the matching tag: a beam gets a beam tag, a floor gets a floor tag. Tag by Example is new in 2027: pick a placed tag as the model and keep tagging in exactly that style.
Step 3 — Set orientation and leaders on the Modify | Tag tab
While the command runs, the ribbon switches to the contextual Modify | Tag tab. Every tag option sits on this tab.
Orientation offers Horizontal, Vertical and Model; Angle rotates the tag. Leader Line turns the leader on, with a default length of 12.7 mm beside it. Leader Start and Leader End choose whether each end stays attached or is free. Beam tags on a plan usually have no leader and sit parallel to the beam.
Step 4 — Tag the whole plan with Tag All
Clicking beam after beam is slow. Tag All, right next to it, opens Tag All Not Tagged, which only tags elements that have no tag yet.
Tick Structural Framing; the Loaded Tags column shows the family that will be used, here @P=Tag Dam. Select a few beams before opening the dialog to use Only selected objects in current view. Click OK and every untagged beam is tagged at once.
Step 5 — Open the beam tag with Edit Family
What a tag says is decided by its family, not by the person placing it. Click one beam tag on the plan.
The Modify | Structural Framing Tags tab shows Edit Family, a Host group for changing which element the tag reads, and Tag by Example. Click Edit Family and Revit opens the tag as a separate document.
Step 6 — Read Edit Label: Mark and Type Name
In the tag family, click the sample text, then click Edit Label on the ribbon.
The tag DY3.1-(220x400) joins two parameters. Mark belongs to each beam; the sample building stores DY3.1 under Identity Data. Type Name is the beam type 220x400, with Prefix -( and Suffix ). Naming beam types after their section is therefore the cheapest way to keep tags right. Close the family tab and answer No when Revit asks to save.
Floor tags in Revit and opening marks
Step 7 — Read the floor tag: thickness and top elevation
Repeat steps 5 and 6 on a floor tag. The @AS-TAG SÀN KC family is built differently from the beam tag.
S120 is not the floor type name: it is the letter S plus Default Thickness, the thickness of the floor type. The (+7.450) part is Elevation at Top, read from the model. Level 3 alone has +7.170, +7.400 and +7.450; all three follow the model, so lowering a slab changes its tag.
Step 8 — Tags need shared parameters for custom data
Many offices want tags to show data Revit does not have, such as concrete grade or an in-house element code. Go to Manage › Project Parameters and click the add button.
The Parameter Properties dialog says it plainly: a Project parameter can appear in schedules but not in tags. To show a value in a tag, define it as a Shared parameter and add that same parameter to the tag's Edit Label.
Step 9 — Draw the opening mark with Detail Line
Two diagonals across an opening are the familiar Vietnamese convention. In Revit they are not part of the floor.
Click a diagonal over the stair in the sample building: Properties reads Lines, Detail Line is ticked and the style is @ HIDDEN LINE 0.8. To draw new ones, use Annotate › Detail Line, pick a style in Line Style and join opposite corners of the opening. These lines belong to one view only, so each plan with the opening needs its own.
Legend in Revit: one symbol key for many sheets
Step 10 — Create a legend view
Go to View › Legends. The menu has Legend and Keynote Legend; choose Legend.
The New Legend View dialog asks for a name and a scale. The scale sets the printed size of everything inside: a pile detail drawn at 1 : 10 needs 1 : 10, while a text-only key works at any scale.
Step 11 — Place sample elements with Legend Component
In the legend view, go to Annotate › Component › Legend Component. The Modify | Place Legend Component tab has three boxes.
The Component Type list is long, so it has a search box; typing 220x400 leaves one column type and one beam type. View Direction picks plan or section, and Host Length sets the length of the sample. Legend components use the same families as the model but are not counted in schedules.
Step 12 — Put the legend on every sheet that needs it
The sample building already has a legend that gathers every drawing symbol used in the set.
Drag the legend from the Project Browser onto a sheet. Unlike a plan or section, which can sit on one sheet only, Autodesk's About Legend Views page states that legends can be added to multiple sheets. The common symbol key is made once.
Grids, levels and section marks
Step 13 — Edit the grid type
Select a grid and click Edit Type in Properties. Click Duplicate first, because editing the type in use changes every grid of that type.
The sample 6.5 Bubble type uses M_Grid Head - Circle, with end segments in Center 1/8" and grey RGB 128-128-128. Center Segment is Continuous; set it to None and the middle disappears, leaving only the ends, a style many offices use to keep plans clean. Plan View Symbols End 1 and End 2 decide which end shows a bubble.
Step 14 — Edit the level type
Open a section, select a level, click Edit Type.
The line worth checking is Elevation Base, which has only Project Base Point and Survey Point. Pick the wrong one and every level head disagrees with the spot elevations on plan. The sample model uses Survey Point; if the project datum ±0.000 is the ground floor, check that the two points coincide.
Step 15 — Edit the section mark and its hide threshold
Select the section line on the plan. Properties now shows the section view itself.
Hide at scales coarser than is 1 : 50: the section mark hides itself in views at a coarser scale, so a 1 : 100 overall plan stays readable. Click Edit Type; the dialog is short. Section Tag names the head and tail family, so changing the arrow means editing that family. View Template applied to new views assigns a template to every section created from this type.
When tags do not show correctly
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Tag shows a question mark | The parameter in the tag is empty on the element | Fill in Mark or the matching parameter in the element's Properties |
| Tag All tags no beams | Every beam is already tagged, or Structural Framing is not ticked | The dialog only tags untagged elements; check the ticked row |
| A new parameter is missing from Edit Label | It was created as a Project parameter | Recreate it as a Shared parameter and add it to the tag |
| Floor tag shows thickness, not type name | The tag family reads Default Thickness | Open Edit Label and switch to Type Name if the set needs it |
| Opening diagonals missing on another level | Detail lines belong to one view | Copy them to the other view or redraw them |
| Section mark disappears from a plan | The plan is coarser than Hide at scales coarser than | Change the threshold in the section's Properties |
Five myths about structural tags
| What people say | What Revit 2027 actually does |
|---|---|
| Beam tags are typed text you edit with Text | Tags read Mark and Type Name; edit the element and the tag follows |
| Any project parameter can appear in a tag | Parameter Properties states that project parameters cannot appear in tags |
| Opening marks appear when you cut the slab | The diagonals are view lines you draw |
| A legend can only sit on one sheet, like a plan | One legend can be added to many sheets |
| Change the section arrow in Type Properties | Type Properties only names the family; the arrow lives in the symbol family |
In short, structural annotation in Revit comes down to picking the right tag family and the right parameters, and letting the model supply the numbers. Section marks follow the same logic.
Frequently asked questions
Where do beam tags in Revit get the beam name?
From each beam's Mark parameter; the section comes from the beam type name. The two are joined in the tag family's Edit Label.
Why does the floor tag say S120 when the floor type has another name?
Because the sample floor tag reads Default Thickness with an S prefix, not the type name. Change the parameter in Edit Label if you want the type name.
Do tags need redoing after a beam section changes?
No. Tags read parameters directly, so changing the beam type updates every plan.
The section mark is too large on a 1 : 100 plan. What now?
Set the section's Hide at scales coarser than to 1 : 50 so the mark hides at coarser scales. To change its size, edit the family named in Section Tag.
How is a legend in Revit different from a drafting view?
A legend can be added to many sheets and can hold sample elements read from real families. A drafting view sits on one sheet and holds static linework.