Schedules

[Cadmariner]

I am an electrical contractor trying to create a schedule that will aid in prefab and  layout of devices to be installed. My troubles include adding several instance labels to a component family that will report to a schedule in the format that I choose. In a perfect world these elements would already exist in the OOB objects. I am pretty good at reverse engineering things. I have been able to accomplish the afforementioned in the AutoCAD world through dynamic blocks. 

After I place the component, I would like to be able to change the instance label with information that will aid in my prefab/field lists. What direction do I need to head? I would also like to have the opportunity to have this information visible in plan view to help the installer correlate the ID Labels on the schedule to the shop drawing. I have already created parameters that can be reported to a schedule and be changed after component placement, I am interested in having dual purpose capability. Thanks.

[L.Maas]

It seems you want to use tags. Tags can read parameters from objects. In the libraries there are already several tags available and you can make your own (or modifying existing ones). You place an object in the model and then you can use tab "Annotate" group "Tags" (e.g. "Tag by Category") and se;lect that object. Tags are families like other objects. You can find the tags in the project browser under the Family Category "Annotation Symbols". If the right tag is not available you can load them from the library or make your own.

Depending on the parameter you read from the object you sometimes can even modify the paramter inside your label.

These annotations/tags are view dependent so they will only be visble in the view where you placed them and not in other views. Depending on the views and the tags used you can use same/different tags for your own purposes or for your installers.

I hope this answers your question.

[Cadmariner]

I would like to have the ability that is similar to an attribute within a block as in Autocad. Transitioning to Revit from Autocad MEP has become challenging to say the least. 

The problem with a tag is that it becomes another step that I need to perform; if Revit does not have similar capabilities as Autocad then this may be my only solution? I thought Revit was to be more capable. 

[CoreyDaun · Accepted solution]

In order to "embed" a Tag within a Family similar to AutoCAD's Attributes, you will need to create and embed a Generic Annotation Family.

1. Create a new Family using the Generic Annotation Template.

2. Create a Label. Upon placement, a dialog will appear. Use the "Add Parameter" icon to add a new Parameter to control the context of the Label. The name of this Parameter will be pretty much irrelevant. Set this Parameter to the correct Parameter Type (i.e. Text) and you can leave it as a Type Parameter. Click "Add" to load this Parameter into the Label.

3. You can combine multiple Parameters into a single Label or create separate Labels for different Parameters; whatever works better to suit the desired appearance. (As an example, in my lighting fixtures I display load and voltage in two different colors, so they are separate Labels.)

4. Position the Label(s) as desired. It's not imperative to center it exactly on the Reference Planes, but a trick to perfectly centering Text is to select it, create a Group, move the Group by the center to the desired location, and Ungroup. Load it into your Family.

5. Generic Annotation can only be place in the Ref. Level View. Note that their exact display behavior can vary based on the Family Category and orientation in the Project.

6. Place and instance of your Generic Annotation, select it, and go to Type Properties. You will see your previously created Parameter. Click on the grey button to the right of it and select a Parameter in this Family to link it to.

7. To control the visibility of said Generic Annotation, create a Yes/No Parameter, select the Generic Annotation, and click on the grey button next to Visibility under Properties. In the following dialog, select the appropriate parameter to Link this to.

That should do it. If you run into any issues, don't hesitate to post.

[Cadmariner]

That did the trick. Great information on this funtionality. Thank you for your help.