Correcting an error in a family being created

[Anonymous]

I'm trying to create a new family - a window with sill and lintel. In the attached file, I'm fine until I add the reference planes to create the fixed window frame. Prior to that point, all geometry perofrms as intended when I change the width or hieght of the window. Once the frame reference planes are added, the height change draws an error message. I've tried individually eliminating the possible causes with no success. Can anyone figure out what I'm doing incorrectly and specifically the steps necessary to fix it?

[alan.quinn]

I found a few issues with the family. You had the Sill dimension coming off the one of the lower Family Reference Planes which was causing an issue, so I moved the bottom of the Default Sill Height dimension to the Ref Level. The Still Reference Plane (where the Sill sits) was set as Bottom, and that was causing an issue when the Still moved lower than a certain point (not sure why), but I change that to Not a Reference and that seemed to help. In the Exterior View the Window Frame Width on the right side was not locked, I locked it and now it flexes with the family. I also added two more Reference Plane for the top and bottom of the frame and they also flex with the family.

It’s hard to know what went wrong and where. Typically I recommend adding one Reference/Parameter at a time, flexing it in the family to make sure it works, then loading into a project and re-testing. However, and more important, is to check all the other Parameters to insure that the last one you just added did not adversely affect all the other Parameters already in the family.

Hope this helps and see attached file.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the input, Alan. I guess when you engage in these discussions your title evolves from "Anonymous" to "Doofus", but I need a litle more guidance. Not sure of the meaning of the second sentence where you "moved the bottom of the Default Sill Height dimension to the Ref Level". I've looked for the change in the Exterior View, the Properties dialog, and the Family Types dialog and can't figure out what has changed. I can see by selecting the reference plane in your corrected Family highlights the plane and a dimension of 2' 4" whereas mine highlights only the Reference Plane and locked lock when the Plane is selected. Can you take another try at explaining what you did and its effect?

I can see that you identified the reference plane at the top of the Window Frame as Top, but can't select any additional Reference Planes for the Top or Bottom of the frame. So far, I haven't been successful in making the corrections I did understand and getting the Family to flex properly - still get the error message and they rarely provide useful information on how to identify what's wrong.

[alan.quinn]

What I mean was instead of the dimension string going from the Reference Plane up to the Still I have it going from the Ref Level to the Reference Plane named Sill. To be honest I was more hunting and pecking than going through the family one thing at a time. I’d discover an issue, fix it, move on, and discover that it was affecting something else. What I wrote is the big stuff I remembered. I know it does not do you much good, but at least you have my family as guide.

Since this is not a fairly simple family it may be a worthwhile exercise to chalk this one up to experience and start a new one. This time work one piece at a time. Also, before I add anything extrusions I make sure all my parameters flex correctly, then I start adding extrusions, testing each time to insure they all work. And another notion, I know this is a window, but you could start off with Generic Model Wall Based and then turn it into a window. This way you don’t get all those system parameters and reference plane that you cannot delete. Something to think about!

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

Thanks once again, Alan for your patience and assistance. Truth is, I'm a student trying to learn how to do things with Revit. I'm pretty experienced with Autocad, but I find this stuff user hostile and esoteric by comparison. I know it will probably become more intuitive and less glitchy over the years as Autocad did, but this stuff makes me want to throw mouse through monitor!  I'm sure you're right about starting over and testing each step. I guess I should take consolation that with your expertice you had difficulty isolating  a root cause - although YOU were able to fix it. Thanks again for your time.

[alan.quinn]

Your welcome. It will get easier and trust me I still have days where I'm challenged! Ask lots of questions and keep trying.

Cheers,