Material Tags and Keynotes in Revit 2024: A Step-by-Step Guide

Revit 2024 offers two separate ways to display material information on sheets: material tags and material keynotes. Autodesk’s help documentation explains that these methods use different tag categories and different sources of information. The right choice depends on whether you want to show a material description or information from the keynote table. The steps below are based on Revit 2024 documentation; don’t assume that the older interface and parameter details in a 2012 source work the same way in the current version.

The difference between material tags and keynotes

A material tag uses a tag family assigned to the material category. By default, it displays the value entered in the material’s Description parameter. So, if you want to show the description from the material properties in a view, a material tag links directly to that information. If the Description field is blank, the default tag has no description to display.

A material keynote uses a tag family assigned to the keynote category. According to Autodesk’s Revit 2024 documentation, the family can display one or both of the values found in the keynote table and assigned to the material’s keynote parameter. If no keynote has been assigned to the material, Revit prompts you to select a value when placing the tag. A keynote is therefore not just another type of tag that replaces the description text; it’s an annotation method based on a separate category and table.

Choose the right method and place the tag

1. Decide what information needs to appear on the sheet. Use Material Tag for the description in the material’s Description field, or Material Keynote for a value linked to the keynote table. If you need to show different fields for the same material, decide in advance which information should be readable in the view.

2. Check whether the tag family you need is available in the project. Material Tag uses a family assigned to the material category; Material Keynote uses one assigned to the keynote category. If a keynote family hasn’t been loaded into the project, Revit prompts you to load one when you place the tag. These categories aren’t interchangeable, so choosing the correct family is essential to displaying the right type of information.

3. For a material tag, check the material’s Description value. Revit’s default material tag displays this parameter when it has a value. If the value doesn’t appear, first check the description on the material, then inspect the tag family used in the view. The tag being visible doesn’t, by itself, confirm that the text is coming from the right field.

4. If you’re using a keynote, check the material’s keynote value and the keynote table. If no value is assigned to the material, a selection dialog may appear when you place the tag. After selecting the right value, verify that the tag uses a family in the keynote category configured for the project. This helps prevent confusion between text in the Description field and information in the keynote table.

Menu path for Material Keynote: Annotate tab › Tag panel › Keynote drop-down › Material Keynote.

Menu path for Material Tag: Annotate tab › Tag panel › Material Tag.

What to do if keynote data can’t be found

If Revit can’t access the keynote file, it may show an error that the keynote data couldn’t be loaded. The solution described by Autodesk is to specify the correct text file location again in Keynoting Settings:

1. Go to Annotate tab › Tag panel › Keynote drop-down › Keynoting Settings.

2. In the Keynoting Settings window, click Browse.

3. Navigate to and select the keynote text file you need.

4. Once the file location has been specified, check that the keynote data is accessible and that the tag uses the expected value.

This doesn’t change the contents of the file or edit all the keynote values in the project; the documented step is to point Revit to the file it can’t access. If the issue is that the file can’t be found, fix this connection first. Selecting a file with different or incorrect contents won’t guarantee that the expected keynote value is used just because the path has been corrected; verify that you’ve selected the right file.

Use in architectural and interior design workflows

In architectural and interior design projects, presenting material information consistently in views helps distinguish drawings, sheets, and material descriptions. A material tag is useful for displaying the text in the Description field directly. A keynote uses values defined in a table. This distinction makes it important for the project team to decide in advance which information belongs in the material properties and which belongs in the keynote table.

Before getting started, check that the tag families used in the project belong to the right categories and that the relevant files are accessible. The location of a keynote file can cause problems, especially in project files received from another team member. The Revit 2024 documentation shows using Browse in Keynoting Settings as the solution, but doesn’t specify where the file should be stored or how it should be distributed across a team. Office file management should therefore be verified against the project team’s own workflow.

Common mistakes

• Assuming that material tags and material keynotes use the same information source. By default, the former uses the Description value; the latter uses the assigned value from the keynote table.

• Treating a visible tag as proof that it’s displaying the right text. Check the family category and material parameter as well.

• Replacing the tag when keynote data won’t load. Autodesk’s recommended solution is to specify the location of the keynote text file in Keynoting Settings.

• Using parameter details from Revit 2012 help without verifying them in Revit 2024. Because of version differences, don’t treat information in older documentation as a current workflow step.