Family Creation

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Should this be called Family Editing or Family Editor instead? Or HOWTO... etc.?

See also Families, Family Version, and Family Templates

NOTE: "Specialty Equipment" was originally intended for owner-provided equipment that Mechanical needed to make connections to. That's why you can't cut it with a section. (per Don Rasmusson at 41:45 of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryD09Dm4ZU8)

In-Place Families

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See conversion idea below for workaround steps to convert from an in-place family to a loadable family.

Preview Images

The Type Selector preview appears to come from the {3D} view Back-Left-Top corner, but some settings such as Visual Style (display of material) and even visibility of the analytical model appear to be coming from somewhere else (see Glulam-Western Species.rfa)?

TODO: check if name matters - can make a different view?

The File preview comes from the active view when saved (or other view, depending on the option setting).

NOTE: The default {3D} view will revert to the default Front-Right-Top corner unless you Save Orientation and Lock View (using a different name). So, if the family is not symmetrical (Footing-Rectangular w Void.rfa, for example), you may need to adjust the view every time you open/upgrade...? [TODO: try above]

Try:

  • in 3D:
  • right-click view cube > set current view as Home [sets Start View?]
  • > save view [to view from back, etc.?]

Type Catalogs

A Type Catalog is a list of Types (and parameters for those types) in a text (*.txt) file with the same name as the family. You are asked which types to load as a second step when loading the family from the project. NOTE: If you use either of the Family Editor's "Load into Project..." buttons, only the types INSIDE the Family (seen in the Family Types dialog) are loaded. See also Load a Family with a Type Catalog [R2016 Help].

To have a quotation mark (inch symbol) in the Type Name, use double quotes ("") - see Create a Type Catalog [R2016 Help] or [R2024 Help].

NOTE: Can have blank lines in Type Catalogs (will be ignored by Revit).

WARNING: If you have a line with just commas, it might pass a first check (if it has the correct number of commas) which would tell you the line number, but may fail a value check depending on what parameters are in the catalog (for example, ##OTHER## can be blank, but ##SECTION_PROPERTY##MILLIMETERS must have a value (can be 0). The value check will NOT tell you which row is causing the first problem, but tells you the first column instead (NOT helpful; TODO: submit).

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See also Parameter Types below.

Discipline Type of parameter Units in Revit Sample in Revit in Type Catalog Header Values in Type Catalog
Type Units blank?[1] sample
Common Text ... ##OTHER## The quick brown fox
Common Integer 1 ##OTHER## 0 1
Common Number 1.000000 ##OTHER## 0 1
Common Length 1235 ['] 1.000 ##LENGTH## FEET 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Length 1' - 5 11/32" 1'  0" ##LENGTH## FEET 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Length 1235 ["] 12.00 ##LENGTH## INCHES 0.000000000000 12.000000000000
Common Length 17 1/2" 12" ##LENGTH## INCHES 0.000000000000 12.000000000000
Common Length 1235 [m] 0.3048 ##LENGTH## METERS 0.000000000000 0.304800000000
Common Length 1235 [dm] 3.048 ##LENGTH## DECIMETERS 0.000000000000 3.048000000000
Common Length 1235 [cm] 30.48 ##LENGTH## CENTIMETERS 0.000000000000 30.480000000000
Common Length 1235 [mm] 304.8 ##LENGTH## MILLIMETERS 0.000000000000 304.800000000000
Common Length 1234.568 [m][2] 0.3048 ##LENGTH## METERS 0.000000000000 0.304800000000
Common Area 1234.57 [SF] 1.00 ##AREA## SQUARE_FEET 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Area 1234.57 [in2] 144.00 ##AREA## SQUARE_INCHES 0.000000000000 144.000000000000
Common Area 1234.57 [m2] 0.093 ##AREA## SQUARE_METERS 0.000000000000 0.092903040000
Common Area 1234.57 [cm2] 929.03 ##AREA## SQUARE_CENTIMETERS 0.000000000000 929.030400000000
Common Area 1234.57 [mm2] 92903.04 ##AREA## SQUARE_MILLIMETERS 0.000000000000 92903.040000000008
Common Area 1234.57 [acres] 0.0000[3] ##AREA## ACRES 0.000000000000 0.000022956841
Common Area 1234.57 [hectare] 0.0000 ##AREA## HECTARES 0.000000000000 0.000009290304
Common Volume 1234.57 [CY] 0.04 ##VOLUME## CUBIC_YARDS 0.000000000000 0.037037037037
Common Volume 1234.57 [CF] 1.00 ##VOLUME## CUBIC_FEET 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Volume 1234.57 [in3] 1728.00 ##VOLUME## CUBIC_INCHES 0.000000000000 1728.000000000000
Common Volume 1234.57 [m3] 0.028 ##VOLUME## CUBIC_METERS 0.000000000000 0.028316846592
Common Volume 1234.57 [cm3] 28316.85 ##VOLUME## CUBIC_CENTIMETERS 0.000000000000 28316.846591999998
Common Volume 1234.57 [mm3] 28316846.59 ##VOLUME## CUBIC_MILLIMETERS 0.000000000000 28316846.592000003904
Common Volume 1234.57 [L] 28.32 ##VOLUME## LITERS 0.000000000000 28.316846592000
Common Volume 1234.57 [gal] 7.48 ##VOLUME## GALLONS 0.000000000000 7.480519053672
Common Angle 12.35° 1.00° ##ANGLE## DECIMAL DEGREES 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Angle 12° 34' 57" 1° 00' 00" ##ANGLE## DECIMAL DEGREES[4] 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Angle 1235 [rad] 0 ##ANGLE## RADIANS 0.000000000000 0.018049613348
Common Angle 1235 [grad] 1 ##ANGLE## GRADS 0.000000000000 1.149074074074
Common Slope [1:] 1235 57.29 ##SLOPE## RATIO1 0.000000000000 57.289961630759
Common Slope 1235 [:12] 0.209 ##SLOPE## RATIO12 0.000000000000 0.209460779139
Common Slope 1235 [:10] 0.175 ##SLOPE## RATIO10 0.000000000000 0.174550649282
Common Slope 17 3/8" / 12" 27/128" / 12" ##SLOPE## RISE_INCHES 0"" / 12"" 54909/262144"" / 12""
Common Slope 1' - 5 1/2" / 1' - 0" 0'  0 27/128" / 1'  0" ##SLOPE## RISE_FOOT 0' - 0"" / 1' - 0"" 0' - 0 54909/262144"" / 1' - 0""
Common Slope 1235 / 1000 17.5/1000 ##SLOPE## RISE_MMS 0.000000000000 / 1000 17.455064928218 / 1000
Common Slope 12.35° 1.00° ##SLOPE## SLOPE_DEGREES 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Slope 12 [%] 1.7455 ##SLOPE## PERCENTAGE 0.000000000000 1.745506492822
Common Currency 1234.57 1.00 ##CURRENCY## CURRENCY 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Mass Density 1234.57 lb/ft3 1.000000 lb/ft3 ##MASS_DENSITY## POUNDS_MASS_PER_CUBIC_FOOT 0.000000000000 1.000000000000
Common Mass Density 1234.57 kg/m3 16.018463 kg/m3[3] ##MASS_DENSITY## KILOGRAMS_PER_CUBIC_METER 0.000000000000 16.018463373960
Common URL ... ##OTHER## https://www.google.com
Common Material ... ##OTHER## <By Category> Glass
Common Image ... ##OTHER## <None> Family Parameters - Common.png
Common Yes/No [  ] ##OTHER## 1 [checked] or 0 [unchecked]
Common Multiline Text ... ##OTHER## "First Line
Second Line"
Common <Family Type...> [TODO]
Structural Surface Area per Unit Length 1234.57 ft2/ft 0.000 ft2/ft ##SURFACE_AREA## SQUARE_FEET_PER_FOOT
Structural Surface Area per Unit Length 1234.57 m2/m ##SURFACE_AREA##

Restricting Parameter Values (pull-down list)

You need to use a nested family with intermediate/"middle-man" parameters set to each possible nested type - needed because Formulas can't evaluate the nested type directly, but CAN compare parameters (see Steve Stafford's 2013-11-16_Controlling User Choices in Families). See Combo box idea below. TODO: Test if it's possible to get length (or other parameter types) directly, see Dropdown dimension value in Revit? (select incremental value).

Constraints

Array

Select the line (not the number of array elements) to be able to Label it. See Wood Fence - Horizontal.rfa.

...

Nested Families

per Select Nested Families Individually [2021-01-29] TripleM-Dev.net [TODO: check]

"shared [families] (if not used) can be purged from the project and so the family won't have [access] to that one any more."

Nested Annotation Symbols

2020-03-05_Ryan Lenihan (revit.com.au): Nested Annotation Symbols 101 (mostly MEP?):

  • use Visibility/Graphics Overrides (Detail Levels: Coarse, Medium, and/or Fine) instead of creating new checkboxes ["There is no need to get creative with visibility controls"]
  • electrical and communication families have a "Maintain Annotation Orientation" checkbox in Family Parameters
  • Movable Annotation Symbols (usually for power & data outlets, etc.)
  • if REALLY necessary (and the geometry is symmetrical), use a Flip Control instead of manual visibility controls
  • use "Keep text readable" checkbox in Family Parameters instead of up/down left/right parameters

Formulas

See also Valid Formula Syntax and Abbreviations [2022 Help] and Use Conditional Statements in Formulas [2022 Help]

NOTE: No "max()", "min()", etc. (need to construct with nested "if()"s, see Revit Formulas for "everyday" usage)

WARNING: Sometimes formulas don't appear to "stick" (especially Instance formulas) - after entering the formula in the "Family Types" dialog (where it appears ok), closing and reopening the dialog will show a blank formula. WORKAROUND: Try re-opening the family. Maybe needs to be the first time Family Types is opened for the file? Not sure under what conditions. [TODO: report] See Oval Mark - Inspection.rfa, etc. R2018?

Disabling a parameter with a formula

If you have a formula referencing a single other variable (such as B = A / 2), you will still be able to edit either variable (A or B). If you want to disable one of the variables (so that it's more obviously a calculated value), add an "if" to the formula: 

= if(1 > 1, 0', <your formula here>)

which causes the parameter to be disabled (the dummy 0' value will change based on the units of the parameter - you can usually just put a 0 and Revit will add the appropriate unit automatically).[5] See also idea Mark a Parameter as Hidden or Disabled.

Structural Parameter Formulas

Names / Symbols Formula for a Rectangle Units
b Width in
d Depth / Height h in
A Section Area bh SF in2
Ix Moment of Inertia strong axis bh3/12 in4
Iy Moment of Inertia weak axis b3h/12 in4
Sx Elastic Modulus strong axis bh2/6 in3
Sy Elastic Modulus weak axis b2h/6 in3
Zx Plastic Modulus strong axis in3
Zy Plastic Modulus weak axis in3
J Torsional Moment of Inertia in4

Sx & Sy = E = Young's Modulus / Modulus of elasticity

See also Section Shapes#Table of Parameters

See also Section modulus formulas for a rectangular section and other shapes, Moment Of Inertia Formulas For Different Shapes, or All about Section Properties – Area | Centroid | Moment of Inertia | Section modulus | Radius of Gyration (probably not the best ones - don't remember where I was looking the last time). Modulus of Elasticity - Definition, Young's Modulus, Formula, Unit, FAQs, How to Calculate Ductility, and the list goes on...

Parameter Types

"Discipline" followed by "Type of parameter", shown in default "Group". [TODO: Electrical, Piping, & Energy] [TODO: hidden expandable section & sortable table w/ additional separate unit column]

Cuttable Families

Except for the issue with 3D CAD Links not being cuttable, this doesn't usually impact us, but see Revit Sticky Notes: 2D Symbolic Line & ‘Show only if Instance is cut’ and IDEA: Cuttable vs Non-cuttable Families - Page 2 - Autodesk Community [IMPLEMENTED in 2023]

Show family pre-cut in plan views

See Revit Help#Structural Engineering > Structural Engineering > Structural Framing > Specify Precut Display for a Family in a Plan View for why the cut plane in the family must be at 0 if this is enabled (mainly for columns).

Ideas

Notes

  1. ↑ 2023-07-24: didn't test setting the value to blank in the Type Catalog yet [TODO] - just exported default settings
  2. ↑ How is "Meters and centimeters" different from "Meters" - besides no "Unit symbol" & "Suppress trailing 0's" options? Why is it even there if it's just a subset of functionality?
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 2023-07-24 LJC (R2019): doesn't conform to Project Units setting (for decimal round off)
  4. ↑ 2023-07-24 LJC (R2019): tried entering a value that used minutes & seconds, but still just exports decimal degrees
  5. ↑ originally started using =if(1 = 1, <your formula here>, 0') but it's better to put all the "extra" stuff together to make it more clear / easier to read
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