113 Dockable Element Dialog

Overview

The Dockable Element Dialog is a persistent dockable panel that shows a live data grid of elements being affected by Bonus Tools operations. As elements are added, modified, or deleted by a running tool, they appear in the grid with their Revit ID, element name, category, and the type of change. This gives you visibility into exactly which elements a tool is processing before and after the operation completes.

Table of Contents

• Key Features
• Requirements
• Running the Tool
• Tips and Best Practices
• Common Use Cases
• Troubleshooting

Key Features

• Persistent dockable panel — tabs alongside the Project Browser
• Read-only data grid displaying elements as they are processed
• Four columns: Id, Change Type, Element Name, Category Name
• Three change types tracked: Added, Modified, Deleting
• Grid auto-clears when a new "Added" event begins, or after 3 successive update cycles
• Panel can be shown automatically by supporting tools when element changes occur
• Docks tabbed behind the Project Browser by default

Requirements

• Must be run from a Revit project document — not available in the Family Editor
• Requires a supporting Bonus Tools tool to populate the grid — the panel itself only displays data fed to it

Running the Tool

Launch

Find Dockable Element Dialog on the Bonus Tools Ribbon or use 115 Search Tools.

Clicking the button shows the Element Dialog panel. If it is already visible, running the tool again brings it into focus.

Reading the Grid

The grid updates in real time as elements are processed:

For Deleting events, the element has already been removed from the model, so Element Name and Category Name cannot be retrieved and will be empty.

Grid Reset Behaviour

The grid clears automatically in two situations:

1. A new "Added" event occurs — the grid resets and starts fresh, showing only the new batch of added elements
2. After 3 successive update cycles — to prevent the grid from growing indefinitely, it resets after three consecutive update events

This ensures the grid always shows the most relevant recent changes rather than accumulating all changes over a session.

Tips and Best Practices

• Open the panel before running tools that modify many elements. Having it visible lets you confirm the correct elements are being targeted before committing the operation.
• Use it alongside the Dockable Dialog (112). The Element Dialog shows which elements changed; the Output Dialog shows what messages were generated. Together they give a complete picture of what a tool did.
• Review Deleting rows carefully. For deleted elements, only the ID is shown (the name and category are unavailable after deletion). Note down any unexpected IDs to investigate.

Common Use Cases

Verifying element selection before a batch change — When a tool processes elements based on a selection or filter, the Element Dialog shows exactly which elements were captured, allowing you to confirm the set is correct.

Auditing element deletions — When a tool deletes elements, the grid captures each element ID with the change type Deleting, providing a record of what was removed during the operation.

Reviewing modifications in bulk operations — After running a rename or parameter update tool, the Modified rows confirm which elements were actually changed versus which were skipped.

Troubleshooting

Grid is empty after running a tool The supporting tool may not send data to the Element Dialog panel, or the tool found no elements to process. Check the Dockable Dialog (112) for output messages that explain what the tool did.

Panel does not appear after clicking the button The panel may be hidden behind another dockable. Look for the Dockable Element Dialog tab along the Revit panel edges. Restart Revit and click the button again if the tab is not visible.

Tool is not available (greyed out) The Dockable Element Dialog cannot open in a Family Document. Open a project file and try again.

This tool has been decommissioned If the ribbon button is missing from your version of Bonus Tools, this panel is no longer included. Refer to the 112 Dockable Dialog for the current output panel.