Nomen - Revit naming standardization

Nomen centralizes naming rules for views, families, types, and other model elements. The tool helps teams keep names consistent, review non-compliance, and apply bulk updates based on rules and catalogs.

General Description

The add-in works with categories, scopes, rules, and catalogs to propose structured names and validate whether elements follow the selected standard. It also supports field editing, name regeneration, change application, and profile management.

Key Features

• Three tabs: Manage (review and apply), Rules (define naming fields), Catalogs (supporting code/description lists).
• Naming rules: Fields can be Catalog, Fixed, Auto, or Free type, with separator, allowed/forbidden characters, max length, and an optional regex for the full name.
• Category-specific overrides: Use a general rule across a scope group, or override it per category.
• Compliance review: The Manage table flags each element as Compliant, Partial, or Non-compliant, with search and "Active only" / "Non-compliant" filters.
• Batch editing: Edit shared fields (Discipline, Use, Subtype, etc.) across a multi-selection at once, then Regenerate or Auto-complete proposed names.
• Excel round-trip: Export the current tab to Excel, edit offline, and import the changes back.
• Profiles: Save, save-as, and restore full rule/catalog configurations.
• Merge duplicate hatches: On the Hatch tab, Merge duplicates groups hatches with the same fill patterns, pattern colors, line weight and masking, keeps one per group and moves every region to it.
• DWG files tab: Lists every DWG import and link in the model with its view, layers, path and status, so you can find and delete them.
• Richer context for Excel and AI: Export Excel adds a context column to every tab with the pattern, color, weight or parameter facts of each element, so a model (for example through the MCP) can propose better names.

Requirements

• Applies to Revit categories with a name that can be edited (views, sheets, schedules, view templates, families, types, materials, line patterns/styles, text types, tags, filters, and similar).

Usage Procedure

1. Open Nomen from the Model panel on the Frata ribbon tab.
2. On the Rules tab, pick a category or scope group and define the naming fields (or enable Use category-specific rule to override the general rule for that category — otherwise the general rule applies).
3. If any field uses the Catalog type, go to the Catalogs tab and fill in the codes/descriptions it should offer.
4. On the Manage tab, pick a Category and a Scope (Current category or All group). The table loads with Current name, Status, and Proposed name columns.
5. Use Search and the Active only / Non-compliant filters to narrow the table, and Edit selection for batch field edits across multiple rows.
6. Press Regenerate (or Auto-complete) to refresh proposed names, select the rows you want to change, then press Apply changes.
7. Optionally use Export Excel / Import Excel to edit a large batch offline, or Delete selected elements to remove elements outright (this asks for confirmation and cannot be undone).
8. Save the current rules/catalogs as a profile if you plan to reuse this setup.

Merge Duplicate Hatches

1. Open the Hatch tab (Graphics group) and press Merge duplicates.
2. The window lists each group of identical hatches: the hatch it will Keep and the ones it Replaces. The kept hatch is, in this order, one whose name already complies with your rules, the most used one, or the oldest.
3. Untick the groups you do not want to touch, press Merge selected and confirm.
4. In a single step, every filled region of a duplicate switches to the kept hatch and the duplicate types are deleted. A group is skipped and left unchanged if a region cannot be switched or if deleting a type would remove anything else. Press Ctrl+Z to undo the whole merge.

Tip: hatches created by a DWG import (names such as Dibujo5.dwg-17) are not removed when you delete the DWG. Merge them here.

DWG Files

Open DWG files in the Documentation group. The table lists every placement of a DWG or other CAD file: file, kind (import or link), view, layers, placements, link status, pinned, workset and path. Use Search and the All / Imports / Links filters to narrow it, Select in Revit to select the checked rows in Revit and Delete selected DWG items to delete them. When you check every placement of a file, the file itself is deleted so no unused CAD type is left behind. Deleting is a normal Revit delete: press Ctrl+Z to undo it.

Recommendations

• Names that would collide with an existing element or with another proposed name in the same table are flagged before you apply — resolve those conflicts first.
• Use a category-specific rule only when a category genuinely needs different fields than the general rule; otherwise keep it on the general rule so future changes stay centralized.
• For large renaming passes, Export to Excel, edit there, and Import back rather than editing hundreds of rows in the grid.

Frequently Asked Questions

I got the message "Select at least one element before applying changes." Why? You pressed Apply changes without checking any rows in the table. Select at least one element first.

I got the message "No changes were applied. Check conflicts, proposed names, or selection." Why? Either none of the selected rows had a different proposed name, or all of them were blocked by a naming conflict (duplicate/existing name). Review the Status column for the flagged rows.

What's the difference between the general rule and a category-specific rule? The general rule applies to every category in a scope group by default. A category-specific rule is a local override for one category only — the tool shows a hint that changes there create a local override instead of editing the shared rule.

Is deleting elements from the Manage tab reversible? No — you're asked to confirm first, but once confirmed, the deletion is a normal Revit element deletion and follows standard Undo rules like any other delete, not a Nomen-specific safety net.