Why Hidden — Karo (Karo.WhyHidden) v1.2.1 Installation & Documentation ========================================= How to Use ---------- What it does Why Hidden — Karo instantly explains why a selected element is not visible on the current Revit view. Instead of manually checking Visibility/Graphics, filters, phases, crop regions, and many other settings, you get a clear list of possible causes — often with the exact filter name, category, or view template involved. Typical workflow 1. Select the element — on any view where you can pick it (Project Browser, another plan, a 3D view, etc.). 2. Switch to the view where the element should appear but does not. 3. On the Karo ribbon tab, click Why Hidden. 4. Review the results window: - Each reason is shown as a card with a short explanation and, where relevant, the specific setting name (filter, category, workset, template, etc.). - Multiple reasons can appear at once — Revit often hides an element for more than one reason. 5. Optional quick fixes — for some causes a Fix button is available: - Unhide — element was hidden via Hide in View → Elements - Reset invisible lines — element has an Invisible Lines graphics override - Reset temporary hide — a Temporary Hide/Isolate session is active on the view 6. Click Copy to paste the full analysis into an email, task, or report. 7. Switch language anytime with the EN / RU toggle in the footer (your choice is remembered). Supported view types Works on plans, sections, elevations, and 3D views. Does not work on schedules, sheets, panel schedules, or report views — switch to a graphical view first. Important - Select exactly one element. - Run the command on the view where the element is hidden, not visible. - If the element is actually visible, the plugin will tell you and ask you to confirm you are on the correct view. What the plugin checks Cause | What it means -------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------- Direct hide | Hidden manually via Hide in View → Elements Category hidden | Category turned off in Visibility/Graphics (VG) View filter | A view filter hides the element or applies Invisible Lines View range | Element is outside the cut plane / top / bottom range Section box | Element is outside an active Section Box (3D views) Phase / phase filter | Element phase or the view's phase filter excludes it Design option | Element belongs to a non-primary design option Workset | Element's workset is hidden on this view Crop region | Element is outside the view crop boundary Annotation crop | Annotation lies outside the annotation crop Detail level | Element is not shown at the current detail level Temporary hide | Active Temporary Hide/Isolate session View-specific element | Detail item belongs to a different view (cannot appear here) Override graphics | Element overridden with Invisible Lines on this view Revit link | The link instance is hidden via VG settings View template (context) | A template controls VG, filters, and other settings on this view Installation ------------ Safe to install. Why Hidden is digitally signed by Karo Modum. Windows may show an "Unknown publisher" notice on first download — this is expected for independent software and does not indicate malware. The installer registers the publisher certificate automatically so you only see this once. Before you start - Close all running Revit sessions before installing or updating. - You need Windows administrator rights for installation. This is normal: the installer places files in a shared system folder and registers the publisher certificate once (see below). - Make sure at least one supported Revit version (2023–2027) is installed. Step-by-step 1. Download Karo.WhyHidden-1.2.1-Setup.exe from your purchase confirmation email or account page. 2. Right-click the file → Run as administrator (recommended). 3. If Windows SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" or "Unknown publisher": - Click More info → Run anyway. - This message appears because the plugin is signed with a self-signed publisher certificate, not a commercial Extended Validation (EV) certificate. The file is safe — see the explanation below. 4. The installer detects installed Revit versions automatically. - Full install — installs for all detected versions. - Custom — choose specific Revit years. 5. Click Install and wait for completion. - During installation the setup automatically registers the Karo publisher certificate in Windows trust stores. You do not need to do this manually. 6. Start Revit. The Why Hidden button appears on the Karo ribbon tab. About the self-signed certificate (please read — this is normal) Why Hidden is distributed by an independent developer (Karo), not a large software vendor. Commercial EV code-signing certificates cost hundreds of dollars per year and require legal entity verification — for a focused Revit tool this is often impractical. Instead, the plugin uses a self-signed code-signing certificate issued by Karo Modum. This means: What you may see | What it actually means ------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------- SmartScreen: "Unknown publisher" | Windows does not recognize the publisher yet — not a virus warning Publisher name: Karo / Karo Modum | The same certificate signs the installer and all plugin files Admin prompt during install | Needed to copy add-in files and register the certificate once What the installer does for you automatically: - Copies plugin files to C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\{year}\Karo.WhyHidden\ - Registers the public certificate in Trusted Root Certification Authorities and Trusted Publishers - After this one-time step, Windows treats future updates from the same publisher as trusted You do not need to: - Disable antivirus - Change Revit security settings - Manually import certificates (unless your IT policy blocks the automatic step) Corporate / IT-managed computers If installation fails at the certificate step, ask your IT administrator to either: - Allow the installer to run with administrator rights, or - Manually deploy the public certificate (KaroModumPublic.cer) to Local Computer → Trusted Root Certification Authorities and Trusted Publishers via Group Policy The plugin only reads your Revit model through the standard Revit API. It does not send project data over the network. Updating Run the new installer over the previous version. No manual uninstall required. Uninstalling Use Windows Settings → Apps → Karo.WhyHidden → Uninstall, or run the uninstaller from the Start menu. Plugin files are removed from all Revit Addins folders. System Requirements ------------------- Requirement | Details ---------------------|-------------------------------------------------- Software | Autodesk Revit 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, or 2027 (any edition that supports add-ins) Operating system | 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11 (Revit platform requirement) Architecture | x64 only Permissions | Administrator rights for installation Disk space | ~5 MB per installed Revit version Revit project type | Any — architectural, structural, MEP; workshared and non-workshared models Network | Not required for daily use (plugin runs entirely inside Revit) Additional runtime | None — all dependencies are included in the installer Compatibility notes - One installer covers all supported Revit versions; only versions detected on your PC (or manually selected) are installed. - Revit must be restarted after installation for the add-in to load. - The plugin supports both English and Russian Revit installations. Tips and Limitations -------------------- Tips for best results - Workflow trick: If you cannot select the element on the problem view, select it elsewhere (Project Browser → Select by ID, or another view where it is visible), then switch views and run Why Hidden. - Multiple reasons: Revit can hide an element for several reasons simultaneously. Fix them in order — start with direct hide or temporary hide, then check filters and categories. - View templates: If a View Template is listed, it may be locking the setting that causes hiding. Edit the template or temporarily remove it to change VG or filters. - Workshared models: Workset visibility is checked per view — confirm the element's workset is visible in VG → Worksets. - Copy for coordination: Use the Copy button to share findings with colleagues without screenshots. - Language: Toggle EN / RU at any time; preference is saved to %AppData%\Karo\WhyHidden\settings.cfg. Quick fixes vs. manual changes Automatic Fix is available only for: - Direct element hide - Invisible Lines graphics override - Active Temporary Hide/Isolate All other causes (filters, categories, view range, phases, etc.) require manual changes in Revit — the plugin tells you exactly where to look. Known limitations - One element at a time — multi-selection is not supported. - Graphical views only — schedules, sheets, panel schedules, and report views are not supported. - Element must be hidden on the active view — if the element is visible, the plugin stops with an informational message. - Undetermined cases — in rare situations the element is hidden but no checker identifies the cause (e.g. an unsupported or future Revit visibility mechanism). The plugin will say "No hiding reasons detected" rather than guess. - View-specific elements cannot appear on other views by design — this is a Revit limitation, not a bug. - View filters — when several filters match, only the highest-priority active filter is reported (same logic as Visibility/Graphics → Filters order). - Section Box check — applies only to 3D views with an active Section Box. - No batch mode — analyze one element per command run. - Read-only analysis — except for the three quick-fix actions, the plugin does not modify your model unless you click Fix. Privacy The plugin does not collect or transmit project data. Logging is limited to debug diagnostics inside Revit and is not written to disk by default.