How to export specific families from a model?

[Anonymous]

Hi guys/girls,

I hope this isn't too much of a stupid question. I am working on a model(a building), that myself and another company are working on. The company have sent us the model, so that we can populate it with our families, is there a way that I can export our families, without the building, send to the other company so that they can load these in direct into their model.

Thanks in advance

[L.Maas]

Normally when you cooperate with another company you would create you own project. Then link the file from the other company and start modelling in your stuff. If you need to send your project then you can just send it

If you just opened their project and started adding your own stuff. Then I would consider to delete all the items that are not made by you. If you need to continue to work in the project you can link the latest file of the other company

When you start this process make sure you have a backup. Pay close attention to hosted families (i.e. wall, floor or face based families). If they are hosted on items form the other company this might give some issues when you delete those host elements and might need to reposition you hosted families.

[psmGBPVX]

There's most likely an add on that will do this in a batch, try https://apps.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Home/Index 

but you could do each family individually,

or write a dynamo script to save them, once again there is probably already a script out there already written if you google it.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply, just to clarify, the other company are putting together the full model, we are just adding fire alarms. They have sent the building, that has nothing populated on it. I am then to add the firealarms, send them back so they can load these into their model, exactly how I have placed them. Is this possible? Thanks

[Anonymous]

Thank you for this, I don't just want to export the families though, I want to be able to export them, send them, so that the other company can just load them into their model, and they position themselves exactly how I have on my model.

[psmGBPVX]

Ah right, ok well to me the solution would be to put your fire alarms into the model they sent you and just send it back. 

It would be up to them to copy/paste them into their main model.

Other wise you just need to create a new model, link in the model they sent you, place the fire alarms in this model, then send the 'fire alarm model' back. (as L.Maas says you may have issues with hosted elements with this)

Really there should be a BIM coordinator that can say how they want it done, or at very least have a BEP in place.