21-Day pyRevit Challenge
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21-Day pyRevit Challenge

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03-name-swapper

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03-name-swapper

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03

pyRevit

Challenge

Day

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pyRevit

Challenge

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21-Day pyRevit Challenge

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Tool Of The Day:

"Name Swapper"

Watch Bonus Training:
- Follow pyRevit FastTrack Setup
- Watch P.R.O.C.E.S.S. Masterclass

Renaming can get really repetitive in Revit…

So, why don't we create a tool to batch rename your views? Plus, the same logic applies to renaming anything you want in Revit!

Today We're Practicing:

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How to Read/Write Properties

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How to Read/Write Properties

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How To Make Changes

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How To Make Changes

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pyRevit Select Form✨

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pyRevit Select Form✨

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Simple UI FlexForm✨

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Simple UI FlexForm✨

Let's Create

"Name Swapper"

Using 7-Step PROCESS

Let's Create

"Name Swapper"

Using 7-Step PROCESS

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PLAN

Manual Renaming Sucks…

Just think of days where you had to create a new set of views and sheets and then name them correctly. 🤮BOOOORING… Plus, very slow…

So, The Goal for Today's Tool:

Create a tool that can batch rename views.

For this tool we need to select views and modify their names using Find/Replace logic.

This tool will save you a lot of time and you'll be able to adjust the code to rename anything else you want (Properties, Parameters, Names…)

So, let's dive in.

Today's Tool Demo:

Batch rename views with Find/Replace Logic.
Plus, the same logic can be adjusted to anything else!

This takes less than 40 lines of code!
excl. comments and spaces…

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PLAN

Manual Renaming Sucks…

Just think of days where you had to create a new set of views and sheets and then name them correctly. 🤮BOOOORING… Plus, very slow…

So, The Goal for Today's Tool:

Create a tool that can batch rename views.

For this tool we need to select views and modify their names using Find/Replace logic.

This tool will save you a lot of time and you'll be able to adjust the code to rename anything else you want (Properties, Parameters, Names…)

So, let's dive in.

Today's Tool Demo:

Batch rename views with Find/Replace Logic.
Plus, the same logic can be adjusted to anything else!

This takes less than 40 lines of code!
excl. comments and spaces…

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RESEARCH

Coding CheatSheet

Here's everything you might need for today's challenge.

Coding Blocks

1. Get Selected Elements

3. Read/Write Property

5. Custom UI (RPW FlexForm)

7. Rename Unique View Name

2. Select Views (pyRevit form)

4. Create Linkify Object

6. Revit Forbidden Symbols

1. Get Selected Elements

2. Select Views (pyRevit form)

3. Read/Write Property

4. Create Linkify Object

5. Custom UI (RPW FlexForm)

6. Revit Forbidden Symbols

7. Rename Unique View Name

Revit API Docs

  1. Transaction() Constructor

  2. Transaction.Start() Method

  3. Transaction.Commit() Method

pyRevit Dev Docs
Notes

🔸Use Transaction to make changes with API
Revit has protection from accidental API changes. You can only change something if you explicitly Start and Commit transaction. (simple)

🔸Unique View.Name Exception

View names must be unique. However the same name can exist across different view types (Section, ViewPlan, AreaPlan, StructurePlan…)

Extra Resources
AI Prompt

You can ask AI to help you with the research
but it's NOT 100% perfect solution. Do not rely too much on AI.

AI Research Prompt

AI Prompt

You can ask AI to help you with the research
but it's NOT 100% perfect solution. Do not rely too much on AI.

AI Research Prompt

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RESEARCH

Coding CheatSheet

Here's everything you might need for today's challenge.

Coding Blocks

1. Get Selected Elements

2. Select Views (pyRevit form)

3. Read/Write Property

4. Create Linkify Object

5. Custom UI (RPW FlexForm)

6. Revit Forbidden Symbols

7. Rename Unique View Name

Revit API Docs

  1. Transaction() Constructor

  2. Transaction.Start() Method

  3. Transaction.Commit() Method

pyRevit Dev Docs
Notes

🔸Use Transaction to make changes with API
Revit has protection from accidental API changes. You can only change something if you explicitly Start and Commit transaction. (simple)

🔸Unique View.Name Exception

View names must be unique. However the same name can exist across different view types (Section, ViewPlan, AreaPlan, StructurePlan…)

Extra Resources
AI Prompt

You can ask AI to help you with the research
but it's NOT 100% perfect solution. Do not rely too much on AI.

AI Research Prompt

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OUTLINE

Step-by-Step Plan

Break down logic of the tool idea into smaller chunks so it's easier to brainstorm, find hidden steps and code.

OUTLINE

Step-by-Step Plan

Break down logic of the tool idea into smaller chunks so it's easier to brainstorm, find hidden steps and code.

1

Select
VIews

card-background

2

Define
Naming Rules

card-background

3

Rename
Views

card-background

4.

Display
Changes

card-background

1

Select
VIews

card-background

3

Rename
Views

card-background

2

Define
Naming Rules

card-background

4.

Display
Changes

card-background

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OUTLINE

Step-by-Step Plan

Break down logic of the tool idea into smaller chunks so it's easier to brainstorm, find hidden steps and code.

1

Select
VIews

card-background

2

Define
Naming Rules

card-background

3

Rename
Views

card-background

4.

Display
Changes

card-background

NB!

TRY BUILDING
THIS TOOL YOURSELF
DON'T RUSH TO SOLUTION

Unless… You're a Beginner


According to GENERATION EFFECT

The Harder You Work, The Deeper It'll be Wired in Your Brain

NB!

TRY BUILDING
THIS TOOL YOURSELF
DON'T RUSH TO SOLUTION

Unless… You're a Beginner


According to GENERATION EFFECT

The Harder You Work, The Deeper
It'll be Wired in Your Brain

NB!

TRY BUILDING
THIS TOOL YOURSELF
DON'T RUSH TO SOLUTION

Unless… You're a Beginner


According to GENERATION EFFECT

The Harder You Work, The Deeper It'll be Wired in Your Brain

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CODE

Code Quick-n-Dirty.

The Goal is to create a proof of concept. Don't try to make it perfect. Skip steps if necessary. Keep it ugly. Keep it slow. JUST. MAKE. IT. WORK…

CODE

Code Quick-n-Dirty.

The Goal is to create a proof of concept. Don't try to make it perfect. Skip steps if necessary. Keep it ugly. Keep it slow. JUST. MAKE. IT. WORK…

NB!
You'll notice my extension looks different… That's because I decided to upgrade StarterKit 2.0 after I made this video. Just use prepared button

Proof Of Concept

This tool is very straight-forward and there's not much we can skip. But nevertheless, let's focus on bare minimum functionality and simplify a few steps.

For now, we will:

  • Select View/Views

  • Define Naming Rules (Simplify)

  • Rename Views

  • Show Changes (Simplify)

Keep it all as simple as possible at first.
Let's dive in

Proof Of Concept Works!

SCRIPT: PROOF OF CONCEPT

SCRIPT: PROOF OF CONCEPT

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CODE

Code Quick-n-Dirty

The Goal is to create a proof of concept. Don't try to make it perfect. Skip steps if necessary. Keep it ugly. Keep it slow. JUST. MAKE. IT. WORK…

NB!
You'll notice my extension looks different… That's because I decided to upgrade StarterKit 2.0 after I made this video. Just use prepared button

Proof Of Concept

This tool is very straight-forward and there's not much we can skip. But nevertheless, let's focus on bare minimum functionality and simplify a few steps.

For now, we will:

  • Select View/Views

  • Define Naming Rules (Simplify)

  • Rename Views

  • Show Changes (Simplify)

Keep it all as simple as possible at first.
Let's dive in

Proof Of Concept Works!

SCRIPT: PROOF OF CONCEPT

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EDIT

Refactor Everything

Once proof-of-concept works - we can focus on all steps to make everything more structured, optimized and easier to read.

EDIT

Refactor Everything

Once proof-of-concept works - we can focus on all steps to make everything more structured, optimized and easier to read.

REFACTOR CODE

Now, it's time to refactor our proof of concept.

Most steps already work well. But users need to set their own naming rules, and it's best to add a custom UI Form.

UI Forms can be a complex topic, but luckily pyRevit has a great option for creating simple forms using rpw.forms.FlexForm.

REFACTORED CODE

REFACTORED CODE

REFACTORED CODE (with Function)

REFACTORED CODE (with Function)

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EDIT

Refactor Everything

Once proof-of-concept works - we can focus on all steps to make everything more structured, optimized and easier to read.

REFACTOR CODE

Now, it's time to refactor our proof of concept.

Most steps already work well. But users need to set their own naming rules, and it's best to add a custom UI Form.

UI Forms can be a complex topic, but luckily pyRevit has a great option for creating simple forms using rpw.forms.FlexForm.

REFACTORED CODE

REFACTORED CODE (with Function)

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STRESS-TEST

Time To Break It!

Don't rush sharing your tools.

Try breaking it before your team does it… You don't want to hear how your tools fails at the cost of your reputation.

STRESS-TEST

Time To Break It!

Don't rush sharing your tools.

Try breaking it before your team does it… You don't want to hear how your tools fails at the cost of your reputation.

Test #1 - Cancel View Selection Form

If you use any UI forms then you need to test it:

  • What if you select nothing?

  • What if you cancel UI form?

  • What if you select wrong item (if possible)?

UI forms can very often trigger errors if they're used wrong. But don't worry, it often requires just a few extra lines of code to fix.

In this case you'll probably get an error if you cancel the form. So let's make sure that we get selected views from the form or stop execution with a warning.

Check Code Below:

Always test UI Forms:

- Cancel Form
- Select Nothing

SOLUTION #1 - Verify View Selection

SOLUTION #1 - Verify View Selection

Test #2 - Cancel Renaming Rules Form

Same as the previous form we need to test what if we:

  • Select Nothing

  • Cancel UI Form

  • Provide Wrong Values

Again, we just need to ensure that we get user input from the form or stop execution asking to try it again.

Always test UI Forms:

- Cancel Form
- Select Nothing

SOLUTION #2 - Verify User Input

SOLUTION #2 - Verify User Input

Test #3 - View Name Exists

When renaming views - new name has to be unique. Otherwise, you'll get an error saying that name is not unique.

There are different ways to handle it.
I like to add star-symbols (*) in the end so it actually gets a new unique name and indicates to user that similar name already exists.

Also, I prefer using for-loop to avoid getting stuck in infinite while loops. I'm sure that 10-20 iterations is more than enough to address this issue.

View names have to be unique, so test it too.

SOLUTION #3

SOLUTION #3

Test #4 - Forbidden Symbols

Not only view names have to be unique, they should also avoid using forbidden symbols ("\:{}[]|; <>?`~").

It's very unlikely that your users will try to use them, but nevertheless might be a good idea to address it.

Again, there are different ways to handle this case, but I'll just clear new_name from these symbols without notifying user. I hope they'll understand it…

Remember that Revit doesn't like a bunch of symbols.

SOLUTION #4

SOLUTION #4

Test #5 - API Changes

Lastly, let's make sure that we don't have any changes in different Revit versions due to API changes.

In the beginning it's best to test it manually, but first let's ask for ChatGPT to analyze and suggest any improvements to our code.

Test across multiple Revit Version, or at least ask ChatGPT to analyze it for you with suggestions.

PROMPT:

PROMPT:

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STRESS-TEST

Time To Break It!

Don't rush sharing your tools.

Try breaking it before your team does it… You don't want to hear how your tools fails at the cost of your reputation.

Test #1 - Cancel View Selection Form

If you use any UI forms then you need to test it:

  • What if you select nothing?

  • What if you cancel UI form?

  • What if you select wrong item (if possible)?

UI forms can very often trigger errors if they're used wrong. But don't worry, it often requires just a few extra lines of code to fix.

In this case you'll probably get an error if you cancel the form. So let's make sure that we get selected views from the form or stop execution with a warning.

Check Code Below:

Always test UI Forms:

- Cancel Form
- Select Nothing

SOLUTION #1 - Verify View Selection

Test #2 - Cancel Renaming Rules Form

Same as the previous form we need to test what if we:

  • Select Nothing

  • Cancel UI Form

  • Provide Wrong Values

Again, we just need to ensure that we get user input from the form or stop execution asking to try it again.

Always test UI Forms:

- Cancel Form
- Select Nothing

SOLUTION #2 - Verify User Input

Test #3 - View Name Exists

When renaming views - new name has to be unique. Otherwise, you'll get an error saying that name is not unique.

There are different ways to handle it.
I like to add star-symbols (*) in the end so it actually gets a new unique name and indicates to user that similar name already exists.

Also, I prefer using for-loop to avoid getting stuck in infinite while loops. I'm sure that 10-20 iterations is more than enough to address this issue.

View names have to be unique, so test it too.

SOLUTION #3

Test #4 - Forbidden Symbols

Not only view names have to be unique, they should also avoid using forbidden symbols ("\:{}[]|; <>?`~").

It's very unlikely that your users will try to use them, but nevertheless might be a good idea to address it.

Again, there are different ways to handle this case, but I'll just clear new_name from these symbols without notifying user. I hope they'll understand it…

Remember that Revit doesn't like a bunch of symbols.

SOLUTION #4

Test #5 - API Changes

Lastly, let's make sure that we don't have any changes in different Revit versions due to API changes.

In the beginning it's best to test it manually, but first let's ask for ChatGPT to analyze and suggest any improvements to our code.

Test across multiple Revit Version, or at least ask ChatGPT to analyze it for you with suggestions.

PROMPT:

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SHIP

Submit Your Code.

Congratulations! Another tool is complete.

Now let's reflect on what we've learnt and submit your code to keep track of your progress.

SHIP

Submit Your Code.

Congratulations! Another tool is complete.

Now let's reflect on what we've learnt and submit your code to keep track of your progress.

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SHIP

Submit Your Code.

Congratulations! Another tool is complete.

Now let's reflect on what we've learnt and submit your code to keep track of your progress.

Time To Celebrate

Share Your Win On LinkedIn
With #pyRevitChallenge

I'll Embed You Here!

© 2023-2026 EF Learn Revit API

© 2023-2026 EF Learn Revit API

© 2023-2026 EF Learn Revit API