Revit Tag Not Showing? Fix Missing Tags and Question Marks

A missing tag and a tag showing ? have different causes. Pick the case below that matches what you see in the view.

1. The tag does not appear at all

Work through these four checks in order:

1. Test Tag by Category on one element. Go to Annotate, Tag by Category, and click a visible element. If you used Tag All Not Tagged, check that a tag family is loaded and its category was selected. See Revit Tag All not working for the full Tag All checklist.
2. Check annotation visibility. Press VG (or VV), open Annotation Categories, and confirm the tag category (such as Pipe Tags or Duct Tags) is ticked. If a View Template controls the view, check the template's Annotation Categories. Turn on Reveal Hidden Elements (the lightbulb on the view control bar) to see whether someone hid the tag manually.
3. Check the model crop and annotation crop. If the host element sits outside the crop region, or the tag sits outside the Annotation Crop boundary, Revit hides the tag.
4. Check the label's Visible property in the family. Select another instance of the tag, click Edit Family, select the label, and check Visible in Properties along with any family type parameter controlling it. Reload the family into the project.

2. The tag appears, and shows ? or blank text

When you see ?, Revit placed the tag and the label could not read a value from the element.

1. Check which parameter the label reads. Select the tag, click Edit Family, select the label, and click Edit Label. Note the exact built-in or shared parameter in the label list.
2. Check the element's properties. Back in the project, select the duct, pipe, or equipment and check both its Instance Properties and Edit Type properties for that parameter. Fill in the value if it is blank.
3. Check shape-specific parameters. A rectangular duct tag that reads Width and Height will show ? on a round duct that uses Diameter. Use a tag whose label reads Size, or use separate tag types per shape.
4. Check shared parameter GUIDs. If the tag reads a custom Shared Parameter, the parameter bound to the project category must come from the exact same shared parameter definition (same GUID), not merely a project parameter typed with the same name. On linked models, the linked file must share that same definition.
5. Check for orphaned tags. An orphaned tag whose linked-model host was deleted also shows ?. See updating tags after model changes.

How RayCAD helps catch missing tag content

RayCAD for Revit automates MEPF tagging and lists placement exceptions or tags with missing content in its Review Tags panel, so you can click an item in the list and jump straight to the element in the view. RayCAD does not invent missing parameter values in your model or override Revit's Visibility/Graphics settings.

For views where tags are visible and colliding with each other, see how to stop Revit tags overlapping.

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