Have LookupTableLocation in Revit.ini File Affect Where Revit Looks for Lookup Tables

[sejohnsonphd45]

The Revit.ini file has a path setting for "LookupTableLocation," but this setting has no apparent effect on where Revit looks for Lookup Tables.  We want all users to use the same lookup tables stored on our network, but the "LookupTableLocation" does not affect where the buttons in the Manage Lookup Tables dialog take you.  Instead, the buttons will take you to the last location you browsed to, be it where your .rvt files are kept, where your .IES files are kept, or whererever.

This has an adverse affect when trying to create or make certain modification to pipe fitting, pipe accessory, and conduit fitting families, and can make it difficult for users to upgrade legacy content.

[kimberly_fuhrman-jones]

Hi, @sejohnsonphd45 

Here is a similar Idea. You can add your vote there, or if you like, I can combine the posts?

Lookup Table File location - Autodesk Community

Thank you!

Kimberly

[sejohnsonphd45]

Kimberly,
The post you mention and my post are about 2 different places to specify the same thing: where to find Lookup Tables. Right, now, there is a parameter in the .ini file that looks like it sets the path, but it seems that it doesn't actually do that, and hasn't for at least a couple years. I am requesting that that be fixed. The post you mention assumes that setting the path in the .ini file works (as best I can tell, it does not), but requests that in addition, the path be able to be set by normal users via the "Options" button. So basically, the other poster and I both want to be able to set the Lookup Table path, but I am concerned about being able to set it in the deployment using the ini file so we can push the setting to everyone, and he/she is concerned about setting it on a user-by-user basis from inside the software.
So, the 2 ideas are asking for different, but related things. What I want is not sufficient for the other poster (in fact, he/she thinks it can already be done), and what he/she wants is not sufficient for me. Perhaps you can combine the ideas; I am not sure of the granularity you desire in "idea" posts. Hopefully I have provided you with enough information that you can make a judgement call about whether to combine them.

[ryan.lenihan]

oof. 

A long time ago, I used to have to maintain lookup tables for MEP for a global business and ensuring everyone had access to the lookup tables was an absolute nightmare.

My only contribution to this is that

• The lookup table location line in the revit.ini does indeed work and reference the location you determine - the caveat is that it is for pre-2013(?) families that do not have an embedded lookup table in the family. When opening these old legacy families, Revit will pickup the lookup table and automatically embed it. i.e. it already works the same way your request is asking for it to work.
• As above, lookup tables have been embedded in families for almost 10yrs now. This eliminates the issues of users not having access to a particular network location as all the required data is in the family itself.

Directories Settings in Revit.ini | Revit Products 2021 | Autodesk Knowledge Network

LookupTableLocation

Defines the location of Lookup Table files, which are used when working with MEP components to define parameter values in an external CSV file upgrade from a release prior to Revit 2014.

Type = string

Example: LookupTableLocation=C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\<product and release>\Lookup Tables\

Manage Lookup Tables | Revit Products | Autodesk Knowledge Network

Lookup Tables and You – Part 1 – Understanding Lookup Tables | REVIT.AU

[kimberly_fuhrman-jones]

@sejohnsonphd45 , Thank you for the additional clarification. I can certainly keep them as separate Ideas.

-Kimberly

[Anonymous]

I completely agree with sejohnsonphd45. 

I would like to see that field actually default to the folder specified when people try to "import" a lookup table. I would also like to see Autodesk update their knowledge base articles to clarify what that field is actually used for, to avoid further confusion. 

Currently, when someone wants to "import" a lookup table, it will open the "path to user files" or the last used folder by default and then the user has to go find the lookup table location manually. It should default to the lookup table location in the ini file. 

Please see below about what that field actually does, which came straight from Autodesk technical support: 

The path specified in the Revit.ini only matters when working with pre-2014 families; at that time and earlier, the lookup tables were saved as external .txt files. If the customer is not using such old families, this line in the Revit.ini is irrelevant to their workflow. Since 2014, lookup tables have been embedded in the families themselves; there's no longer a set of lookup tables that modern families need to refer to in order to work. 

The lookup table location in the Revit.ini file is only the location where the lookup tables are installed. That default location is not related to the Manage Lookup Tables function in the Family Types dialog.

If you're editing family content and want to change data in the lookup table for that family, you can export the lookup table from the family to a temporary location, such as your desktop, make your changes, and re-import the CSV file. You can then delete the file you saved on your desktop. Therefore there's no longer any need to have a folder for lookup tables that is accessible to everyone. Any user who needs to add custom sizes to an element can do so and resave the family to the project and to the company's family library. (I would not recommend overwriting Autodesk-installed content as any custom changes would be lost if a user had to uninstall and reinstall the software. Customized families should be stored in a company family library.)

If a lookup table in a 2014 or newer family needs to be edited, here's the process: 

1. Export the lookup table from the family.
2. Save it in a convenient location, such as the desktop.
3. When the edits are complete, re-import the csv file into the family by using the Manage Lookup Tables button in the family and navigating to where the edited csv file was saved. 
4. Save the family in the company's family library location, and reload it into the project in which it is used.
5. At this point the updated lookup table data is safely stored in the family (which is in the company library) and in the project, so the csv file on the desktop can be safely discarded. There's no need to have a network path where lookup tables are stored.