Revit Family Types and Templates with Donnia Tabor-Hanson

kate.merriman · ‎03-19-2021

To learn more about Community Conversations, including how to become a presenter, please go to: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/community-conversations/welcome-to-community-conversations/td-p/10167...

Kate Merriman
Program Manager

rachel.hartley · ‎04-01-2021

There were some awesome questions and resources shared during the live session today. If you'd like to reference back to the questions asked and resources shared, you can do so below:

Q: Is importing from Inventor or other solid modeling software possible into Revit families?

A: Here's a video about importing e.g. from Inventor to Revit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlbDCKuDfSs

Q: Why is it when you set to shared family and when you click on non-shared, it won't allow you to do it

A: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/revit-tips-tricks-and-troubleshooting/swap-out-shared-families-and...

Q: Ramp will not report slope using slope annotation. Anyway around that?

Check out the Revit Public Roadmap. This is a feature under development. https://trello.com/c/PieMnIto/43-spot-slopes-and-elevations-on-ramps

Q: I am in the process of looking for an add-in, or Dynamo script, to help me load multiple parameters at once. There's a few to buy on the app store. Has anyone used one, do you like it? Which one are you using?

A: I have used the Family Processor from the CTC tools. Check out the Family Processor from CTC software. It is part of their Revit Express tools. https://www.ctcsoftware.com/product/bim-manager-suite-2021/
A: I have also used the CTC Family Processor for years. Works really well for adding/deleting many parameters to families. We also use it to upgrade our family library each year.

Rachel Hartley
Community Program Manager

donnia.tabor-hanson · ‎04-01-2021

I have also used the CTC tools for adding parameters. The thing about that is I cannot be in the family that I want to add parameters to. The benefit of the Dynamo is that instant gratification of doing it right there. The benefit of the CTC Family Processor to add parameters is batch running it on several families at once.

Thanks y'all,

Donnia Tabor
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CADMama and Revit Family Counselor
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Jason_Peckovitch · ‎04-02-2021

If you have the CTC BIM Manager Suite, if you are in a single family, you can use the Shared Parameter Manager and Load Parameters from a "selection set" of parameters to the family you have open. Caveat is that it does not replace a parameter that already exists of the same name/type.

Jason Peckovitch
BIM Manager - Garver
Revit MEP Certified Professional
AUGI World Revit MEP Content Manager
BIMxt Network Advisory Board Member

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Jason_Peckovitch · ‎04-02-2021

Apparently you cannot edit your posts. At any rate, you really should be manually verifying the correct parameters (from your Shared Parameters file) are being used anyways if a family has the same named parameters that you are using. At least this will give you a report of what parameters did not get added so you can look at those individually.

Jason Peckovitch
BIM Manager - Garver
Revit MEP Certified Professional
AUGI World Revit MEP Content Manager
BIMxt Network Advisory Board Member

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donnia.tabor-hanson · ‎04-02-2021

Hey Jason,

I like your comments and the perspective of using the CTC tool. I can but my team members do not have the Paid tools, just the free ones. Dynamo works best for that type of situation for us.

Thanks y'all,

Donnia Tabor
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CADMama and Revit Family Counselor
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donnia.tabor-hanson · ‎04-01-2021

WOW - no matter how much you plan..... That was still a lot of fun.

As promised, the Dynamo...

His name is Gavin Crump but you can search for him as the Aussie BIM Guru, I have done two Dynamos that he taught. The one I showed today is for adding Shared Parameters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Az1G0pla_k

and the other is for setting parameter values and it includes formulas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arEYfAJp7Y8

Thank you so much for joining today. I hope you found some new things out about Revit. I do look forward to our upcoming sessions!

Thanks y'all,

Donnia Tabor
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CADMama and Revit Family Counselor
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suzanneYPTZ3 · ‎04-02-2021

You can add shared parameters to multiple families using the KCL ribbon in the PROJECT and linking it to your own shared parameters file. Either all at once, click on a few, or make a dummy project. You can populate them using Kobitools. Much cheaper than CTC.

donnia.tabor-hanson · ‎04-02-2021

See, now there is a fellow kitchen designer because not everyone knows as much about KCL. I have not heard of Kobitools, I will have to look them up. I know that CTC is a cost. I have the paid tools but all my team has just the free tools. They can do a lot and as we get more builders to take over some of this they will probably get the paid CTC as well. For now, my Dynamo works with the excel files I have customized to our shared parameters and everyone it happily moving along.

I love the sharing of the different tools here, thank @suzanneYPTZ3

Thanks y'all,

Donnia Tabor
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CADMama and Revit Family Counselor
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GLHN_TJS · ‎04-02-2021

Thanks for sharing those @donnia.tabor-hanson. I attempted to recreate those, but I am missing a node, system.user, from the Clockwork package(?). I'll try it again soon. and still need to look into the add-ins people have mentioned.

donnia.tabor-hanson · ‎04-01-2021

OH, and one more thing, April Fool's

Thanks y'all,

Donnia Tabor
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David_W_Koch · ‎04-02-2021

One thing to keep in mind when creating custom family templates: any geometry or dimensions you add will become "permanent" - you will not be able to delete them when you create a family from that template. If you include forms and constrain their sketches to reference planes, that constraint becomes permanent as well. That can be a good thing - just be aware of that and do not add things that you do not want in every family you create from that template.

Parameters you add can be deleted, including those set up a labels for dimensions. You can also remove or change the labels on a dimension or remove the "EQ" from a string of dimensions, but you cannot remove the dimensions.

David Koch
AutoCAD Architecture and Revit User
Blog | LinkedIn

BDMackey · ‎04-03-2021

You can delete dimensions that were part of a template. You simply need to draw a new reference plane, reassociate the dimension string to that reference plain, then delete the reference plane.

donnia.tabor-hanson · ‎04-05-2021

Oooo goodie, we are all getting ready for next month's session on Reference Planes and Shared parameters and family parameters! Hope you both get to attend!

Thanks y'all,

Donnia Tabor
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donnia.tabor-hanson · ‎04-05-2021

@David_W_Koch he got us there. I had to go check that one myself. @BDMackey I had never thought of assigning the dimension to a new ref plane and then deleting it. I just developed my own templates. ha ha

Thanks y'all,

Donnia Tabor
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David_W_Koch · ‎04-06-2021

Good to know. The reference planes and any geometry are there forever (unless there is a trick for them, too).

David Koch
AutoCAD Architecture and Revit User
Blog | LinkedIn

BDMackey · ‎04-06-2021

No I don't have any special trick for those elements. It drives me crazy too because there are some OOTB templates that will allow you to delete ref planes and or lines

donnia.tabor-hanson · ‎04-19-2021

If you liked the first round of my Family Counseling sessions, then you won't want to miss the next one:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/community-conversations/computational-geometry-model-physical-types-w...

Sign up today!

Thanks y'all,

Donnia Tabor
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CADMama and Revit Family Counselor
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