topic Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked in Revit Architecture Forum

yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

HVAC-Novice — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 01:27:09 GMT

I noticed yes/no parameters can either be a checkmark or show YES in a schedule. They all are type parameters. I found out the ones that show YES were locked in the family (use "1=1"or some other true condition in formula field). When I remove that formula and just have it checked for each type, it will look normal (checkmark)

How can I make schedules look consistent regardless of how the parameter was set? For some families I just use a formula to make sure every type is set to a value. That shouldn't really matter for the schedule yes is yes.

My preferred look would be the checkmark. Maybe there is an application where spelling out YES/NO makes sense. but it should be consistent in a schedule.

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

barthbradley — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 02:47:21 GMT

So, the ones that are checked/unchecked are user inputted and the one that are "Yes"/"No" are driven by formulas; right?

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

barthbradley — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 02:58:02 GMT

Hide the ones that have a checkmark and create a Calculated Parameter with the formula =[the name of the hidden Yes/No Parameter].

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

Alfredo_Medina — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 07:41:19 GMT

Can you remove the formula that forces the parameter to be true, and then simply check the value of those parameters to be true in a schedule? Then all rows will look the same, with the checkmark instead of the word "Yes". What's the point of making a parameter and then locking its value to be always true by a formula?

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

HVAC-Novice — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 14:40:37 GMT

I did that, but now it shows all of them "YES" instead of a checkbox. There wasn't an obvious way to force it to checkbox-format.

Alfredo Medina: that is what I ended up doing. But in some families it is just better to lock this parameter down when they always are supposed to be "yes". Like when i create a new type or someone inadvertently sets something I want to be sure this is checked.

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

Alfredo_Medina — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 14:59:56 GMT

If a parameter always must have the same value, most likely that parameter is not needed, and it could be replaced by something else, such as creating another type in the family.

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

barthbradley — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 15:05:20 GMT

I'm having a hard time following. The ones that say "yes" are driven by formulas. In order to make them a checkbox, you would need to remove the formula -- which I'm assuming is important in the parametric function of the Family.

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

barthbradley — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 15:11:24 GMT

If you want only checkboxes, why don't you just Filter the Schedule to remove the ones that say "Yes" or "No". I'm sure there's a rule that you can use to get rid of them.

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

barthbradley — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 18:04:27 GMT

You know, instead of having checkboxes in the Schedule, what about a dot or another character map symbol? That way you wouldn't need to mess with those formula-driven "Yes" Values. I mean, the bottom line is that this is just about how the Schedule looks on the Sheet; right? Format it differently then.

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

HVAC-Novice — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 19:19:18 GMT

Just to clarify this example a bit more. The parameter in this case declares a light fixture to be an emergency fixture. It does at least 3 things for me:

- in the family, it shows the emergency light symbol so the contractor sees which are emergency fixtures

- in an emergency light schedule I add up all the wattages to get the load for emergency power sizing. that schedule will be on a sheet, but the column with that yes/no parameter is hidden. So it isn't an issue.

- in another schedule it shows all light fixtures that are connected to a panel. That way I make sure none of the emergency fixtures are circuited to a regular panel (since they are powered by the inverter). I also make sure all non-emergency fixtures are circuited to a panel. this schedule doesn't go one a sheet, but it is easier to see if the yes/no is consistent. this also means the schedule needs to show all the instances regardless of if it is a checkmark or YES.

- for regular light fixtures the yes/no parameter is instance since only few fixtures are on emergency power. But AC-powered EXIT signs always will be set to "yes" since they always will be on the emergency lighting system. Contrary to that, a battery-EXIT sign would never be on emergency power. So if I create a new type for an AC-powered EXIT fixture, it automatically will have the correct parameter setting.

I'm sure there other reasons why in some cases we could use different ways to set the value of a parameter. But in all cases it makes sense that they all look the same in a schedule. If a parameter is instance, type, or driven by equation shouldn't matter. IMHO, this is a missing feature in Revit or an odd way how they display the yes/no. they probably should make that user-selectable (like format units).

So, in my current project I probably just remove the formula from the family. But I'm sure at some later point I will come across the same issue where it will be less practical to sue a workaround (or limitation of my family).

Hah, and it gets even weirder. When in schedule editor I see the checkmark and yes/no. but when I move the schedule on a sheet, all of those will be Yes/NO. This is opposite to WYSIWYG. so maybe I'm better off to do what Barthradley suggested and create a new parameter that will show the same in the schedule editor. This isn't what I want, but at least it is consistent and i can keep my family as is and use formula where needed.

Edit: I just noticed another advantage of Barthradley's method of using an interim parameter. it prevents me from accidentally unchecking. So maybe Revit actually is onto something here. They make it a checkmark where it can be edited in the schedule (type or instance parameter). and when it can't be edited, it has no checkmark. So, for this i do what Barthradley suggested with the additional yes/no parameter.

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

bdewilde — Mon, 01 Sep 2025 19:38:41 GMT

Great suggestion of the Dot. But I can't get it to show up. What exactly do I need to type and do I need to place it in " " marks?

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

RDAOU — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 05:26:51 GMT

@bdewilde It’s a text symbol/character so yes you need to place it between quotation marks “”

Re: yes/no parameter in schedule looks different when the family has that parameter locked

Mike.FORM — Tue, 02 Sep 2025 12:54:48 GMT

@bdewilde you need to create a calculated parameter for all the fields you want to show as a dot, then you hide (not remove) the original yes/no parameter in the schedule so that it doesn't show up. The formula would be if(Parameter Name, "●", "")