Family editor type picker in option bar.

[dbroad]

For families that have number of subtypes, it is time consuming to open the family types dialog, pick a type and then pick apply to show each subtype to check if it is working correctly.  If preview mode is active, it woiuld be nice to have a type selector in the option bar to step through each type to see if it looks right in the current view.

[Mike.FORM]

Are you saying you create all your types within a family you create before you test/flex the parameters to make sure it functions?

When I make a family I set up all my ref planes I think I need first with parameters, then model elements and constrain to the ref lines, then within the parameters dialogue I flex all the different parameter to see if I can break it.

If I find no issues, then I will make a few standard types.

[dbroad]

No but I often take an existing family and develop it further, sometimes making a new family. Once a family has more than a few reference planes, without adding geometry, it is difficult to visualize and test the family.  Some families have 15-30 reference planes.  For example, casework, might have a single door, 2 drawers and a door, 1 drawer and a door, a scribe, different types of pulls, different toe end offsets, and can have symbolic data added in different planes with different coarseness visibilities.  It's annoying to have to go into the family types editor just to change the current type, when their is an empty option bar and plenty of room in the properties pallet for such a control. 

The family types dialog is a good place to flex the geometry but sometimes, you just want to see if multiple types are displaying propertly and have been properly constrained. At the end, I just want to use preview mode to run through the types.

Here is an array family with a column array subfamily which has a shelf bracket sub-sub family and just a few reference planes.  Making sure the appearance of more than a few subtypes work is tedious via the family types dialog.

Here is a sample option bar type selector  example: