I have found some good familes on Autodesk Seek, however, I need a more generic method of describing the object as we are not permited to sole sorce on my of our projects. When attempt to change the "Description" parameter it is greyed out. The Description parameter is a system parameter in all families (Except Detail components) and I cannot edit it in the family editor mode. Any ideas. See image.
By the way Autodesk, it you included a "Description" parameter in detail components we could simplify our notation by eliminating keynotes. Just a thought.
It sounds like you can't modify the Description once placed in the project because it's explicitly defined within the family. If you open the family and go to the Family Types dialog, it's likely that the Description has a string formula set (in the Formula column, after the '=' ). If you clear that value within the family, and then reload it into the project, you should be able to edit it within the Type Properties in the project.
I hope this helps!