All inserts in the element will be deleted.

[duncan.lithgow]

I am trying to find the cause of the error

"Switching element type to Curtain element. All inserts in the element will be deleted."

It seems to be triggered in a veriety of circumstances usually, but not only, related to curtain walls. Here are some other threads which have not really gotten ot the bottom of this issue:

• http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?66986-quot-Switching-element-type-to-Curtain-element-All-inser...
• http://www.revitforum.org/architecture-general-revit-questions/23058-switching-element-type-curtain-...

In both cases the actual cause of the error seems unclear, and thus unclear what to do to avoid it. In my case I am getting this error when an external database synchronization tries to make some parameter (not geometry) changes to a curtain wall.

[duncan.lithgow]

So now I have an example file. See the attached RVT 2015 files

In the file 'Can't switch type' if I try to switch the CW with the other type I get "Switching element type to Curtain element. All inserts in the element will be deleted." ... and the Window is deleted! The ID number mentioned is that of the Curtain Wall. The same happens if you try to change the length of the CW. That's a very serious failure of the error system!

The only thing I can glean from the error message is that the Window is somehow being regarded as an 'element' of the CW. This makes no sense to me.

In the file 'Can switch type' I am unable to reproduce the problem.

The first file is a piece of a real project with as much as possible removed, the second one is just testing.

I'd love to pin down the cause of this issue.

[loboarch]

The wall is hosting the window. A basic wall family can host "inserts" (i.e. windows and doors), a curtain wall family can NOT host "inserts". Because a CW can't host an insert if you are converting a basic wall to a CW and it has any inserts they need to be deleted to complete the conversion. This is what the warning is telling you. it is letting you know some "inserts" (doors and windows) have been deleted from the model.

[duncan.lithgow]

Hi Jeff, thanks for your answer Your explanation of the warning messages meaning is clear, thanks. Please take a look at the file where you will see that the inserts which are being deleted are hosted in a completely different wall. The ID number given is that belonging to the curtain wall and not the window about to be deleted. In the project file where this issue comes from, an attempt to change the type of a CW resulted in the deletion of five windows in three separate standard walls, none of which were mentioned in the warning message.

[duncan.lithgow]

I'm still looking for a clean answer to this question. Anyone got an idea what's going on?

[Anonymous]

We know what the message is supposed to mean.  However, it does not only appear in it's 'intended' circumstance - as the other commenters have indicated.  This is a "bug" of sorts based on some kind of recondite Autodesk workflow that is either in error or unobvious to the mass of AD/Revit users.  By the way, I have seen a curtain wall natively host a door.  It was certainly a "glitch," but it certainly also did host the door.  No, the wall's profile had not been edited and another element inserted into the void.  It was a real-live curtain wall-hosted door.  It was moveable, however uncopiable and irreplicable.  This also shows that AD can (and should) add this functionality to curtain walls.

I do appreciate your time and effort,
Thanks!

[bmooreSWE7F]

I know I'm years too late on this, but I was having a similar issue that I think I just solved for myself. 

Problem:
Adjusting curtain wall next or perpendicular to non-curtain wall door caused door to be deleted with the same error message. It turned out the wall the door was being hosted on was a fraction of a degree from perpendicular and causing this issue.

I copied the wall with the door in to an empty space outside the plan, rotated it arbitrarily, then rotated it back to perfectly horizontal as snapped to by Revit. I placed this wall with the same door back in place and the adjustment of the perpendicular curtain wall no longer deleted the door.

I believe this was caused by a sneaky snap caused by the CAD underlay we were converting.

[jagostinho74]

Just happened to me now.  When editing the Mark parameter from CW "A", Door "B" would get deleted after the ""Switching element type to Curtain element. All inserts in the element will be deleted." warnings is produced.

Door "B" was not hosted to CW "A", however.

For my case, "Picking a new Primary Host" for the Door family using Wall "1" worked.

[timo.jyrinki]

Hi,

I solved this by selecting the door, clicked "pick new host" and selected the same wall again.

Best Wishes,

Timo

[_dalewfd]

Would be interested if anyone can shed light on the root cause of this issue. We had perfectly square wall with doors hosted as normal, and further along the wall a curtain wall was embedded. Trying to adjust the length of the curtain wall caused multiple doors to be removed, the same error and issues others have reported in this thread. 

Cutting the curtain wall and pasting it back to the same place worked, and it seems like picking a new host for the door and putting it back where it already was might work, but both methods can then require rework. So would be good to know how to avoid the issue to begin with or if there are less destructive solutions.