FilterToSchedule (F2S) is an Autodesk Revit add-in from underbim, a BIM consultancy with experience in BIM, Revit training, consulting, and software development since 2001. It is one of eight add-ins in ub.Suite Edition 1, released in late October 2026, and can be purchased individually or as part of the suite. underbim summarizes its purpose as “Filter once. Keep the result.” The add-in turns defined Revit filter results into persistent native Revit schedule snapshots that can be reviewed, refreshed, duplicated, and carried into the next workflow, either as a stored .ubr result or directly in ModelData.
This summary is based primarily on the text of the official FilterToSchedule product page, supplemented by the ModelData product page, underbim’s website and suite announcement, and Autodesk documentation on native schedule filters. The product page is marketing material: some feature areas are described in detail, while others are only named. No user guide, independent review, or hands-on testing was available, so the remaining gaps are listed as open questions rather than filled with assumptions.
Core Concept: Make the Result Persist
underbim observes that a filter is useful while it is being evaluated, but its result is not otherwise retained. FilterToSchedule turns that result into a native Revit schedule snapshot with its own identity, provenance, and controlled lifecycle. The product page frames this in four stages:
- Scope: model, category, and context.
- Logic: Filter A and Filter B with AND/OR.
- Result: a native Revit schedule snapshot.
- Continue: refresh, create a .ubr, or open in ModelData.
The page’s workflow graphic shows source elements passing through Filter A (parameter, operator, value), an AND/OR connector, an optional Filter B, and a stored, persistent schedule snapshot. This indicates that a result is built from one or two parameter conditions; the page does not state whether more conditions or nested groups are possible.
Six-Step Workflow
underbim describes the workflow as “Define it. Materialise it. Keep it useful.” It moves from scope and filter logic to a persistent schedule, after which the user decides when the factual result should be refreshed, duplicated, or continued:
- Scope: choose where the result comes from and which category is evaluated.
- Filter: build the conditions that define the result, including A/B logic where needed.
- Context: refine the result with phase, design option, and workset context.
- Create: materialize the result as a persistent native Revit schedule snapshot.
- Refresh: re-evaluate deliberately when the model changes instead of updating silently.
- Continue: keep the schedule, create a .ubr, or open the result directly in ModelData.
Feature Explorer: A Controlled Lifecycle
underbim says FilterToSchedule manages more than the initial query, keeping the scope, identity, state, and next step of each result visible throughout its lifecycle. The page names eight feature areas: Scope, Filters, Context, Output Fields, Persistent Schedules, Refresh & Re-run, Edit & Duplicate, and Continue. Scope and the snapshot lifecycle are described in detail; Output Fields is named but not explained.
Scope: Define Where the Result Comes From
The model scope and category are established before the filter is evaluated, keeping each result tied to a clear, reconstructible starting point:
- Model scope: work from the intended model context instead of treating every query as global.
- Category: define the Revit category that gives the schedule its working scope.
- Links: use supported linked-model context where the task requires it.
Filters, Context, and Output Fields
- Filters: Filter A is defined by a parameter, an operator, and a value. An optional Filter B adds a second condition, combined with AND or OR.
- Context: the result can be refined by phase, design option, and workset.
- Output Fields: named as a feature area; how fields are selected for the resulting schedule is not described.
Snapshot by Design: Stable Until You Choose to Refresh
FilterToSchedule schedules are snapshots. Their values do not update automatically when the model changes; the stored result remains factual until the user deliberately refreshes or re-runs it. This is the most important behavioral difference from a native Revit schedule. Each result displays one of these states:
- Snapshot current: The schedule represents the result currently stored by FilterToSchedule.
- Update available: The source can be re-evaluated; the existing snapshot remains unchanged until Refresh snapshot is explicitly requested.
- Cannot refresh: The original context cannot be resolved safely, so the stored snapshot remains available.
- Result Info: Shows provenance: scope, category, filter identity, result ID, and relevant dates.
Refresh, Edit, and Duplicate
- Refresh snapshot: re-evaluates the existing result when explicitly requested.
- Edit & re-run: changes the definition and re-runs it while preserving the same result identity.
- Duplicate as new: intentionally creates a new result with its own lineage, leaving the original intact.
Connected Workflows: Keep the Schedule or Take It Further
FilterToSchedule works on its own. When a task continues, underbim says the result can move forward without rebuilding the same scope and context from scratch. Three paths are described:
- Native Revit schedule: keep the filtered result inside the Revit project as a persistent schedule with its own identity and lifecycle.
- Create .ubr from schedule: package the definition, context, and result together when the factual result needs to move beyond the current working surface.
- Open in ModelData: hand the persistent schedule to ModelData for deeper schedule and model-data work without recreating the result. Both product pages confirm this handoff. ModelData then adds fields, logical filters, grouping, calculations, investigation in the model, reusable .ubsd definitions, and CSV/XLSX export.
Result Identity and Output
underbim emphasizes preserving both the stored result and its identity, distinguishing continuation from duplication, and carrying context forward when another workflow needs it:
- Revit schedule—Persistent snapshot: The native schedule is the factual stored result, stable until an explicit refresh or re-run.
- F2S_ResultId—Persistent identity: An internal result identity ties each persistent schedule to its FilterToSchedule lifecycle.
- .UBR—Contextualized result: A result package created from the stored schedule when definition, context, and result need to travel together.
- Edit / Duplicate—Continue or branch: Edit & re-run preserves the result identity; Duplicate as new intentionally creates a new lineage.
The FilterToSchedule page does not list CSV or XLSX export or reusable .ubsd definitions; those options are available after the result is opened in ModelData.
The Problem Space: View Filters vs. Schedule Filters
FilterToSchedule operates in an area where native Revit schedule filtering is well documented as limited:
- AND-only logic: Revit allows up to eight schedule filters, and all of them must be satisfied for a row to appear. Native schedules offer no OR logic.
- Fields must be scheduled: filtering on a field requires adding it to the schedule; an unwanted column must be added and then hidden.
- Unsupported fields: material parameters and Area Type (in area schedules) cannot be used as schedule filters, and filters are case sensitive.
- View filters are more expressive: rule-based view filters can use AND or OR conditions and nested filter sets.
- Common workarounds: “contains” and “does not contain” rules (Autodesk’s own recommendation), Yes/No inclusion parameters, combined parameters, or filtering by workset.
- Longstanding demand: an Autodesk Community thread asking for OR logic in schedule filters dates from 2011 and has more than 60 replies and over 40,000 views.
FilterToSchedule addresses part of this gap. Its published workflow builds conditions from Filter A, an optional Filter B, and AND/OR logic, refines them with phase, design option, and workset context, and stores the matching elements as a schedule. This allows OR logic between two conditions in a schedule-based result, which native schedule filters cannot provide. However, the page does not state that existing Revit view filters can be converted, and its graphic shows two conditions rather than unlimited nested rules. The mechanism used to restrict schedule rows to the stored result is not described. Because results are snapshots, they intentionally do not behave like live native schedule filters.
Compatibility and Licensing
- Primary output: native Revit schedule, with an optional contextualized .ubr exchange format.
- Result model: persistent snapshot with explicit refresh, rather than silent automatic value updates.
- License model: perpetual by Edition. Edition updates are included; major Edition upgrades are optional.
- Checkout: secure checkout via Freemius.
- Updates and documentation: underbim publishes signed releases and update manifests on GitHub, and the product page links to setup and documentation resources.
Workflow Value for BIM Coordinators
The following are interpretations of the published capabilities, not verified performance claims:
- Stable review records: snapshots do not change while a result is being reviewed, coordinated, or issued, so a reviewed list remains the list that was reviewed.
- Traceability: Result Info shows scope, category, filter identity, result ID, and relevant dates, which supports auditable QA/QC and coordination records.
- Controlled change: the “Update available” status signals when the model can be re-evaluated, while the user decides when the result changes.
- More flexible schedule results: OR logic between two conditions, plus phase, design option, workset, and linked-model context, may reduce reliance on helper parameters for some schedule-filtering tasks.
- Intentional branching: Duplicate as new allows variations without disturbing the original result and its lineage.
- Continuation: .ubr results and the ModelData handoff avoid rebuilding the same scope and filter logic for further analysis.
- Caution: because snapshots do not update automatically, a schedule placed on a sheet may become out of date until it is refreshed. Teams will need clear conventions for when results are refreshed and how snapshot schedules are identified.
Remaining Open Questions
- Filter depth: is the logic limited to Filter A and an optional Filter B, or are additional conditions and nested groups supported?
- Filter source: can existing Revit view filters be used as input, or are conditions built only within FilterToSchedule?
- Mechanism: how does the schedule restrict rows to the stored result, and are any parameters added to elements? Is F2S_ResultId stored as a parameter or as hidden internal data?
- Update detection: how and when does the add-in determine that an update is available?
- Output Fields: which fields can be included, and can they be changed after creation?
- Categories: is each result limited to one category, or are multicategory results possible?
- Linked models: what does “supported linked-model context” include, and how are linked elements shown in a host-model schedule?
- Worksharing and sheets: how do refreshes behave in workshared models, and on sheets where a snapshot schedule has been placed?
- Commercial terms: two-activation price, whether activations are per machine or per user, license transfer, and offline activation.
Suggested Trial Evaluation
- Use a copy of a representative project rather than a live model.
- Build results with Filter A only, A AND B, and A OR B, then verify the rows against a manual check of the model.
- Add phase, design option, and workset context, and confirm the result changes as expected.
- Include a linked model if linked-context results are needed.
- Change the model and confirm that the snapshot stays unchanged, that “Update available” appears, and that Refresh snapshot produces the correct result.
- Test a “Cannot refresh” case, for example by unloading a link or removing a design option, and confirm the stored snapshot is preserved.
- Compare Edit & re-run with Duplicate as new, and check the Result Info details for each.
- Place a snapshot schedule on a sheet and confirm its behavior before and after a refresh.
- Create a .ubr result and, if ModelData is being evaluated, open the result in ModelData to confirm what transfers.
- Check any parameters, schedules, or other content added to the project against office naming and template standards.
Overall Assessment
FilterToSchedule is a focused add-in that turns filter results into persistent native schedule snapshots. Its key distinction is deliberate control: results remain stable until explicitly refreshed, carry visible provenance and a persistent identity, report whether they are current or can be refreshed, and can be re-run or branched intentionally. Its A/B conditions with AND/OR logic, plus phase, design option, workset, and linked-model context, address part of Revit’s long-standing schedule-filter limitations. Results can also continue as .ubr packages or in ModelData. It suits BIM coordinators who need fixed, traceable filter results for QA/QC and coordination. The snapshot model requires team discipline around refreshing, and the depth of filter logic, the storage mechanism, and multicategory support should be confirmed through the 30-day trial.
Sources
- underbim — FilterToSchedule product page. Primary source for concept, workflow, features, snapshot lifecycle, connected workflows, output, compatibility, licensing, and pricing.
- underbim — ModelData product page. Source for ModelData capabilities after handoff, the Windows platform statement, and ModelData pricing.
- underbim — home page. Lists FilterToSchedule within ub.Suite Edition 1.
- underbim — ub.Suite 1 LinkedIn announcement. Suite context and release timing.
- underbim — official releases repository (GitHub). Signed releases and update manifests.
- underbim — About page. Company background since 2001.
- Autodesk Help — Filter Data in a Schedule. Native schedule-filter limits.
- Autodesk Support — Using multiple filters in a Revit schedule. AND logic and recommended workarounds.
- Autodesk Community — Schedule Filters. Comparison with AND/OR and nested view filters.
- Autodesk Community — Filter a Schedule using OR instead of AND. Long-standing user demand.
Advertisement
No comments:
Post a Comment