Adaptive Family Reporting Parameters - Errors

[Anonymous]

I am working in an adaptive family and I want to drive the dimension of an embedded family with a reporting parameter.

I am able to do this if I make a reporting parameter going from the edge of the adaptive grid. I can take this dimension as a reporting parameter and feed the embedded window height.

However, if I try to create a dimension that is a reporting parameter from a reference point or a reference line, it gives me the error message: 'A reporting parameter can be associated to an element property only if its dimension references are all to host elements in the family'

There is an article about the topic here:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2014/EN...

It says:

A reporting parameter can be used in a formula only if its dimension references are to host elements in the family (such as levels, curtain panel boundary reference planes). If any of the dimension's references is to family geometry, the dimension can be labeled with a reporting parameter, but this parameter cannot be used in formulas.

In this case, I am not snapping to geometry, but to reference lines and I do not have access to reference planes in adaptive families. Is it normal hat this does not work? Is there anything else I can snap to as a reporting parameter?

I am trying to have the window opening determine the window height size.

[barthbradley]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I am working in an adaptive family and I want to drive the dimension of an embedded family with a reporting parameter.

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Revit can't do this. But, why a Reporting Parameter? You can drive a nested family's parameter with a host family parameter by associating the Nested Parameter to Host non-reporting Parameters.  

[Anonymous]

It seems that if I use a non-reporting parameter, the parameter dimension wants to move the geometry it is dimensioning rather than just read the dimension, so this break the geometry.

[barthbradley]

I'm confused.  

Here's what I mean:

Family A has a labeled dimension controlling it's "Width"

Family B has a labeled dimension controlling it's "Width"

If Family A is nested into Family B and Family A's "Width" parameter is associated to Family B's "Width" parameter, then Family B's "Width" will drive Family A's "Width".  

If this breaks the family, it is a due to improper constraints -- not the act of associating parameters.   

[Anonymous]

Here is the test family if you want to play around.

The main problem is that I would like a parameter to just read the dimension that is variable in the middle of the family. Right now, there are no formulas determining this dimensions. The bottom and top panel openings are always at a certain distance and the empty space in the middle is that one that moves.

I guess I could feed it information with numbers i a formula or dummy parameters to hold these two dimensions, but I would prefer if Revit could just extract the opening width from the reference lines and feed the embedded family.

The other thing I noticed is that not making the parameter a reporting parameter seems to break the relationship when I load the family into the project. So the embedded window will flex inside the panel family, but not in the project.

[ToanDN]

Didn't open your family but I have the feeling that the nested family better be adaptive as well.

[Anonymous]

I was able to drive the embedded family with many different parameters.

I think the issue may be more related to the strategy I want to use to extract the window opening dimension in the parent family. That and the limitations of reporting parameters.

[Anonymous]

For now, I've place a dumb value in an instance parameter to drive the dimension feeding the window opening.

My total opening is 'WallPanel_Height_Level'

The top panel eats into this dimension, so 'WallPanel_Opening_Delta' = 1025, how much is taken out of the total dimension

So my final window opening is 'WallPanel_Height_Level - WallPanel_Opening_Delta'

'WallPanel_Opening_Delta' is an instance parameter dimension with a default

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Ideally in the future, I'd prefer to detect the dimension from reading between reference lines.