I can’t place lights into my project

[Anonymous]

I can’t place lights into my project   . I am loading them but when I go to place the family shows a forbidden icon, so I can’t place them.

thank you.

[aRcHiTeCt.JM · Accepted solution]

…. hi @Anonymous

… let’s go for parts

… do you have a ceiling ?

....did you already draw one?

…. Are you in a ceiling plan view?

… are you in a 3d view?

…. Are the lights ceiling based ?

…. Are those face based?

… when trying to place those lights can you see these buttons components?

… check the view range as well

…. Check if the ceiling you draw (if) covers that part

[Anonymous]

@aRcHiTeCt.JM Yeah, you are right .opps I did not have drawn a ceiling

[Anonymous]

I have ceilings.  I have placed other lights.  I have a certain light I want to place but this one in particular will load into my project but it will not show up or place anywhere in my project.  Other lights I brought in worked fine.   Why?????????

[RobDraw]

Without the family, we can only guess.

My guess is that it is an unhosted family and your other families are face based.

[Anonymous]

I downloaded this light which I'm using in a project: 

https://www.creelighting.com/products/indoor/surface-ambient/ls-series#

I opened up the revit family in 2020 revit and it looks normal but when I bring it into my project it says I can choose it to place it but then it says Model in place or load family and won't place anywhere.

[RobDraw]

It is ceiling hosted. Do you have ceilings to host it to?

[Anonymous]

Yup.  All of the other lights i have are ceiling hosted as well.

[RobDraw]

How do you know?

The main reason I ask is that you didn't say it earlier when I mentioned the hosting. Another reason is that most lighting fixture families that I've seen are face based.

[RobDraw]

I have no problem placing it on a ceiling.

[RobDraw]

Hello?

[Anonymous]

Rob thanks for trying to help.  I am in Revit 2020 and I can't place it on a ceiling.  I don't understand.  

[Anonymous]

I have 10 other lights that work and host to the ceilings.  This particular one will not work. It's not a ceiling problem.

[RobDraw]

I'm not convinced that the other families are ceiling hosted. Select one and tell me what it says it is hosted to. 

[Anonymous]

Sorry for delay.  I have been away for the weekend.  I am still not sure why I couldn't get this light to work but I have another light that won't host to any of the walls.  I have the architects plans xrefed into my project.  I have other lights that host to walls that will host to the architects walls.  I have a certain family of light that hosts to walls that I brought into the project and they won't host to any walls.  If I make my own wall in the project it will work and host to that one.  Do you know why it will host to a wall I make but not the architects plans?  

[Anonymous]

Basically if I create* a wall in the project it will host to the wall but it will not host to the architects walls that are xrefed into the project which I need.

[RobDraw]

Yes, this is about hosting. When dealing with a link, the elements in the link do not exist in the project. That is why families that are designed to host to specific types of objects can't be placed. 

Your families need to be face based or non hosted allowing them to be placed on any surface including links or on a work plane in your model. Not all content is created equal.

[Anonymous]

Ahhh thank you! Is there a way to change the family to be face base hosted?  This is a problem that I constantly have with lighting. 

[RobDraw]

Yes, it's a multi step process involving changing the category of the family to one that can be copy/monitored through a link and then editing the copied family. I don't have the link handy but there us a recent thread that has it. Throw some relevant keywords at search. You should be able to find the thread.