Reporting Length Parameters in Nested Families

[DrakeCanyonArchitecture]

I have been at this for hours. I have an extrusion and have created shared parameters for length width and height. I need to be able to flex multiple instances of the extrusion in the length direction as a nested part in another family and report the length in a schedule. When I tie the parameters from the nested family to the host family, I keep having constraint issues. To put it in simpler terms, this is framing lumber, so a 2x6 stud would need to flex from 92 5/8", to 104 5/8", and 116 5/8". Different instances would exist with one another in the same project.  It's the same part at different lengths and added to a schedule. I get the parts to work the way I expect, and it doesn't report, I get it to report and it doesn't flex. Please Help! Lol

[barthbradley]

Is the Nested Family's Parameter an Instance-type? 

[martijn_pater]

Share the family to have a look.

[DrakeCanyonArchitecture]

Yes, I have it Instance and Reporting. I also have reference lines in each direction and the extrusion aligned and locked to those reference lines, then have the dimensions referring to the shared parameters. Here is the nested family.

[DrakeCanyonArchitecture]

Another note about the family, I started with the Generic Face Based template and assigned the Structural Framing Category to it. I've been using this same template for all of my families that I have been working on.

[DrakeCanyonArchitecture]

I believe that I may have just stumbled onto my answer. In the nested family I unchecked (Reporting) and left the Instance parameter checked and left it tied to my shared parameter and it appears to be working correctly. Is this the correct way to do this or is there a better way?

[martijn_pater]

Why the reporting parameter again? Don't think I understand what you're after quite yet... what you're describing I think should be a shared nested family? And you'd schedule filtering description "trimmer" ie.?

[barthbradley]

I would *NOT* use a Reporting Parameter in this way.  Shared Parameter is what you need.  

[DrakeCanyonArchitecture · Accepted solution]

I just need to create a schedule of all of the parts that are in my host family. Sizes, lengths, counts, etc. I think I have it working at this point. I swear I have tried every combination that I could think of and have been Googling all morning. I don't know why I had such a hard time finding the info that I needed on this. Basically what seems to have been what I was looking for was:

1. The family that I was nesting into the host needed to be linked to my shared parameters, and be of the instance type but not have the reporting box checked.
2. In the host family, I created a family parameter for the length and made it an instance parameter.
3. Then I selected my object, aligned and locked it to my reference line and with the object still selected, I tied the length parameter from my nested family to the length parameter in the host.

So far so good anyway, everything seems to be working. 

[DrakeCanyonArchitecture]

@barthbradley , so I would get the same result by leaving the reporting box unchecked?

[martijn_pater]

Aren't you just going to be scheduling the shared parameters for the shared nested families... I think...?

[barthbradley · Accepted solution]

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@DrakeCanyonArchitecture wrote:

@barthbradley , so I would get the same result by leaving the reporting box unchecked?

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Yes. Include the Shared Parameter in the Project Schedule.  Also note that you may have double counting because they are Shared Nested Families, so you'll need to mitigate this with some Filters in the Schedule.  

[DrakeCanyonArchitecture]

Got it, Thank you!