Door Panel Family Nested in Door Family

[cdohertyWRQJU]

Evening everyone,

I've been running into an issue with aligning a door panel family in place within a door family.  For starters, my idea was to create a door panel family that contains all different panel styles (flush, 1 panel, 2 panel, glass lite etc) that could then be loaded into the door family that only contains the door opening and frame.  This way, our Revit model would have minimal door families, and lots of sub-types within the door family itself.  I've essentially used this PDF I was referenced to for bringing in the door panel family, so that it snaps to a reference line tied to the door width that could also swing on an angle parameter.  The door panel width/height/thickness is then tied to the door family itself.  The panel "style" is then controlled by a label parameter so people can change the panel style as needed in each project.

https://forums.autodesk.com/autodesk/attachments/autodesk/133/84518/1/door%20swing1.pdf

One thing I could not figure out is how to get Revit to allow me to do what the PDF tutorial shows is place and snap the door panel family by it's end point.  Every time I load the family, and attempt to place it on the reference line, it will only allow me to place by the midpoint. 

Therein lies the next problem.  Since I could not get this to work correctly, I attempted to snap/lock (tried to set/lock a 0" dimension parameter also) the door panel family on the reference line.  I first tried snapping it to the end of the reference line, and then also tried doing an EQ dimension string to the center of the panel family within the reference line.   But the issue I run into here is that when I change the panel style, the panel breaks its 0" (or EQ) alignments even though the panel family is set up to replace it's geometry in the same exact place no matter the panel type (or "style").  I was under the impression I was locking/snapping these in place using the left/center/right reference planes nested in the door panel family, but when the panel style changes, the dimensions that were originally aligned completely shift from what they were originally aligned to.  For the life of me, I can not figure out why it's doing this.   

One other wildcard to this is that the snapping seemed to work just fine when the door family was only a single door, but when I started to do a double door and a bifold door, things quickly went awry.  

I've attached the door family with the nested door panel family within it for reference.  I also attached a few screen shots of what happens when I change the door panel family within the overall door family.  I know this is a bit of a doozie, but any help or insight would be greatly appreciated.  

[ToanDN]

I haven't had time to look at your family but you feel free to take a look at the attached family and see if anything applicable. 

[cdohertyWRQJU]

Thanks, Toan.  That family is great, and has given me some good ideas for how to alter mine.

But the issue I've been having comes from keeping the nested door panel family aligned to the same place, while the geometry within the nested panel family changes.  I've tried snapping it to reference lines, reference planes, invisible lines in the panel family itself and when I switch it to a different panel type (say 1 panel to louver), the panel comes unconstrained.  I also made sure it wasn't snapping to any actual geometry of the door, which would disassociate when it's hidden in a different panel type, but still no luck.

[cdohertyWRQJU]

Could this be an issue of having the same door panel family in multiple instances constrained to different reference lines? For the double door, I have it mirrored and placed/aligned on a new reference line.  For my single door family, I don't think I had any issue with this...

[barthbradley · Accepted solution]

I just looked at your "Test" family. I found that the panel wasn't constrained properly to it's pivot point.  I aligned the panel end to the end of the Ref. Line (@ the pivot point). It seems to flex correctly now.  Oh, and I did one other thing that may or may not have been necessary: I set the "Center (Left/Right) Ref. Plane in the family to "Defines Origin".  

[barthbradley]

I had a completely different experience fooling with this family in 2017. Try this one and see if you can break it. What I did was add another Ref Plane (in Plan View), locked it to the front edge of the wall, and then locked the 2 Ref Lines' end points to this vertical plane. Now both Ref Lines are constrained to Ref. Planes in both the x&y directions. Anyways, see how this one behave for you.  

[cdohertyWRQJU]

barthbradley--

Thanks for your response.  Honestly what worked was to click "define origin" and then when I placed the door panel family in the door family, it would allow me to place by that new point.  I flexed it a bunch to test, and seems to work.  Also seems like there's no need to lock the door family to the beginning of the ref line (where the hinge would be).  

How was your experience in 2017 different? Which release are you using now? I updated my service pack recently, and things seem to be behaving a bit funky, so I was wondering if that was the culprit...

[barthbradley]

@cdohertyWRQJU: Thanks for the solution credit.

When I first open your family, I open it in 2018 and seemed to correct the issues rather effortlessly. But, when I tried to recreate a 2017 file for you, it didn't go quite as smoothly. I have no idea why.  I seen this before too. Maybe that's what Autodesk means when they say "improved stability".  Anyhow, glad I could be of help. 

Cheers. 

[jonathon.hill8K6B4]

I know its been awhile since your post, but I am trying to do something similar with my door families and for whatever reason, I can't seem to find my error. My doors will not flex with the different panels. My Flush Panel works and that is it! Any insight?