Discerning parameters - display parameters, families and types in different UI color depending on author?

[yannis_beier]

TL;DR: is it possible to display parameters, families or types in different colors in the UI, depending on author?

Hi all,

my office is currently making the switch to Revit and so far we're very happy with it, albeit still learning the ins and outs. The change wasn't entirely voluntary since it was required by a big client, but it's still a step in the right direction.

The client also provided project templates, families and a shared parameter file for their parameters.

This is creating a bit of a sticking point, because not all their shared parameters are prefixed by their company prefix or come with proper descriptions. 

So while learning Revit itself and creating our own standards and shared parameters, we're often left wondering if a parameter in the project template was created by our clients, if it's a default parameter, or if it's a leftover from whoever first created the project template..

The problem became very apparent when I created a family for title blocks while working on a project created in the default BIM Architecture template. I changed one of the premade title blocks, connected all the parameters and it worked very well. But when using it in the project template provided by our client, many of the project information parameters had different names, causing the title block to not work at all.

So apparently, one has to be VERY mindful when creating families with shared parameters, or only use your own parameters for everything, making sure to prefix them with our company letters and always adding a description.. Which finally leads me to the question at hand: is there an easy way to quickly discern the author of a parameter (or family or type)? I think it would work well to have them color coded, ie. blue parameters are default Revit parameters, green ones are ours, red ones are from company XYZ.. is there something like this in native Revit or maybe a PlugIn?

I'd be very grateful for any advice, help, links or best practices in that regard!

Thanks!

And while we're at it, if there's a way to purge parameters (and other stuff) from a project based on author, that might also be helpful.

[Simon_Weel]

Shared Parameters are a b*tch. A concept hard to grasp for most users. And poorly implemented.

Anyway, as far as I know, there's no default file for shared parameters. You have to make your own. And make sure everybody uses the same file, so you probably want to store it on a network share.

A couple of things to keep in mind:

A) the shared parameters file is only used once - the moment you define a shared parameter in a family and / or project. It doesn't maintain a link between project and family. I.e. if you added a shared parameter to a family and later decide to change it, like for example the name, that modification won't 'sync' with the families / projects using that parameter. In fact, after assigning shared parameters, you can just delete the shared parameters file.

BTW: you can't change existing shared parameters from within Revit - you need a text editor for that.

B) you can create multiple shared parameters with the same name and you'll never know which one to use. That's because every shared parameter has a unique GUI. And that's why you need to use a single file for your shared parameters.

To make sure you use the right shared parameters within a third party project, it's best to export them from that project. Tab Manage > Project Parameters > Modify > Export.

Imaginit has a couple of nice articles about shared parameters, see Revit Shared Parameter (imaginit.com) and Investigating Revit's Shared Parameter File (imaginit.com).

[yannis_beier]

Thank you for the input and the links! I will take a look at exporting shared parameters and how it works.

I think I have a decent grasp of how shared parameters work and how they're used, I just wish it was more easily apparent who created them and where they appear in the project / families. Especially since, like you said, it's possible to create shared parameters with the same name multiple times.

I guess I will have to beat it into my employees to be extremely careful with shared parameters and always add a prefix and a description and to make sure we only use our own shared parameters for our families. Otherwise it seems like this can only ever end in chaos.

Also I just discovered that apparently you can manage shared parameters in Autodesk Docs - it says it's only available on US servers but since it appears in my Docs, I'll play around with that as well.

Edit: Playing around ended very quickly, since clicking the function in Docs leads to a '404.

Something as important and integrated as shared parameters really should be more intuitive and easy to use imo!

[Alfredo_Medina]

A project just needs a few shared parameters. It's not an overwhelming burden as it seems to sound in this thread. Make sure you don't create shared parameters for things that already exist.

[Simon_Weel]

Also I just discovered that apparently you can manage shared parameters in Autodesk Docs

That's if you use Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC).

I guess I will have to beat it into my employees to be extremely careful with shared parameters

We have a single file stored on a network share and only one person's able to modify it. And I have the domain Login script to check every persons revit.ini for the correct file. If not, it's changed.

But. There's always a but. Some projects need specific parameters. In that case, we create a specific shared parameters file for that project only. As always - many ways to skin a cat.

[yannis_beier]

We have ~100 shared parameters from our client. Granted, a few of them are superfluous and just kind of duplicate project information, but others are very specific. We do only need a handful of those parameters, but they need to be present in the families so the client and other firms can continue to work on the model after handover. Guess we'll eventually learn all of them and be more careful.

My main issue was discovering that my title block family didn't work in their template because the project information parameters were different from the template I used. Having an easy way to identify the few default Revit parameters would have prevented that.

[yannis_beier]

Some projects need specific parameters. In that case, we create a specific shared parameters file for that project only.

I will definetely do that in the future. Let's hope Autodesk will make the parameter manager in Docs available in EU, because keeping track of those different files and their content sounds like a hassle.

Anyway, thanks all for the input!

[Simon_Weel]

There's lots of shared parameters apps, so maybe one of them will make life a bit easier?

[Alfredo_Medina]

---

@yannis_beier wrote:

Some projects need specific parameters. In that case, we create a specific shared parameters file for that project only.

...

---

I think that approach is part of the problem. Shared parameters can be recycled, used over and over for different purposes and projects, using the same parameters and the same file.