Project Information in schedule - connected to model?

[Redrunner92]

TLDR: Would someone explain the logic as to how Project Information properties are connected to model elements?

I'm curious about one aspect of how Project Information works. A friend showed me some Multi-Category schedules he had made which each included one parameter from the Project Information. For example, he made one schedule which showed "Client Name," another for "Project Status," and so on. Upon dissecting these schedules, I found that when I checked "Itemize Every Instance," there were thousands of rows, all of which showed the value of the scheduled property. See the first image below in which the scroll bar became impressively tiny after checking this option.

Mystified, I mulled this over for a bit. Then, curious, I came back and did what all seasoned Revit users casually do: select about 2,000 of these items and click "Delete." As I suspected, a Warning box popped up and showed various effects of this action, all of which pertained to deleting model elements. 'Fascinating!' I whispered, 'This Project Information property is tied to the model.'

Quite intrigued, I pressed on in my experiment. I created a new project file, created an identical schedule to my friend's showing the Client Name, then typed in a value for Client Name in the Project Info menu. Yet nothing showed. Puzzled, I opened a Floor Plan view and created two walls, then looked once more at the schedule. Still nothing showed. Which brings my question: is there a way to understand how the Project Information properties are connected to model elements? Evidently these properties are connected to some, but not all, model elements. Consequently, to make a value appear in a schedule, at least one of a selection of model components must exist in the project. But which model components?

This is all to satisfy my curiosity and not necessary for a project to move forward. Still, will anyone explain the logic to me?

The scroll bar shrunk when I checked the box

[barthbradley]

If I had to guess, I'd say it's a Project Parameter of the Type kind that's been assigned to every single Category.  

...Got a corresponding Global Parameter?  

[ToanDN]

If I read you correctly then nothing is mystify.  When you select rows in the schedule you actually select the model elements, so delete rows you delete those elements.  You can add Project Information parameters to any schedule since the dawn of Revit.  It is nothing new.

[Redrunner92]

I thought about it being a Type parameter too, but then recalled that Project Information properties are all Instance parameters (see the image below).

Also, the Client Name property is standard in Revit, so I created a new parameter and only assigned it to the Project Info category, and it still had thousands of instances according to the schedule.

Finally, there is no Global Parameter tied to this Project Info property.

[Redrunner92]

That is a good point; however I did not assign the Client Name property to any model components per se, I simply typed in a value via the Project Info menu. Evidently Revit assigns Project Info properties to model elements automatically. My two questions are: How (i.e. with what logic) does typing a value into the Project Information menu affect the model? And to which model elements are these Project Information properties connected? That is to say, they do not affect all model elements, as was evident when I drew two walls yet the schedule remained empty. So are System Families not tied to Project Info properties, but all other components are? It's the logic of the connection I'm after, not simply the fact that "it happens."

[barthbradley]

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@Redrunner92 wrote:

I thought about it being a Type parameter too, but then recalled that Project Information properties are all Instance parameters

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That's not true in the strictest sense. You can apply Project Parameters of the TYPE kind to all Project Categories/Family Types. 

Test it.  

[ToanDN · Accepted solution]

Yes. Project Information is universal within the entire project. You cannot assign or unassign it to elements. You can only choose to show it or not in the schedule.

[Redrunner92]

I see.

Also, just to make note of it here for future reference, it seems indeed that the Project Information properties are not assigned to System Families. However, they are assigned to Parts of these families (i.e. Wall Parts). This is presumably because System Families cannot be included in Multi-Category schedules, but their Parts can. But these Parts will not have any info in the Family category nor the Type category on the schedule, so it may seem difficult to identify them just by glancing at the schedule.

[ToanDN]

That is also incorrect. Project Information is also applicable to system components. You can show it if you create a category specific schedule.

[Redrunner92]

Cool! Thanks for the correction. I was thinking only about Multi-Category schedules so I didn't think to try category-specific schedules.