Light Fixtures not hosting to ceiling in project with two linked models

[ASCunningham]

We have a project that is being done in a Shell & Core model and a Fitout (interior) model. When I link these two models into our MEP project the rooms along the perimeter of the building will not allow me to host a light fixture to the ceilings. All rooms within the Fitout model will allow me to host my light fixture. Room bounding has been selected for both of the linked models.

Any suggestions please? Thanks

[ToanDN]

You have to use Face based family or non host families. Wall, ceiling, floor, roof based families don't work with hosts in linked models.

[ASCunningham]

Yes I know this. Its not view range or underlay either. I think it has to do with the one model (shell) not bounding the rooms/ceiling correctly with the other.

[ToanDN]

Not sure why you think link's Room boundary affects snapping of families.  It only affects Rooms.  Snapping requires a geometry or a work plane, not a Room.  Think about site or landscape lighting, site model needs not to bound rooms and that shouldn't prohibit having lights.

Nevertheless, I did a test and sure enough, it makes no difference if the link set to Room bounding or not.  Face based lights will snap just fine.

[ASCunningham]

I was thinking this because when I create spaces to match the architecture rooms. The first model (shell model) has to be linked into the second model ( fit out model) as a attachment in order for revit to read the room name and numbers and not read Unoccupied. I was thinking that maybe the ceilings are affected similarly. The rooms that read unoccupied are the ones that we cannot host lights to the ceilings on.

[ASCunningham]

Also there are no Phases within these architectural models

[RobDraw]

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@ASCunningham wrote:
I was thinking this because when I create spaces to match the architecture rooms. The first model (shell model) has to be linked into the second model ( fit out model) as a attachment in order for revit to read the room name and numbers and not read Unoccupied. I was thinking that maybe the ceilings are affected similarly. The rooms that read unoccupied are the ones that we cannot host lights to the ceilings on.

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You can tag rooms through the link now. No real need for space tags unless you have another purpose for the tags.

A lot of places use "non-hosted" families just to avoid these annoying little issues.

[ASCunningham]

Yeah we can create reference planes but I've never ran into this before and was looking for a fix.

We populate our panel schedules with space name. I don't think it will use the room name number?

[RobDraw]

Hmmm, this is more complicated than I thought. Let me brainstorm for a minute here.

You are linking the shell as an attachment to the fit out, yes?

If you are linking them to your model separately, do you remove the link?

I've done a couple of projects that had separate interior and exterior architectural models and don't remember having the space naming issue.

Do room tags work on those exterior rooms when the space naming utility doesn't?

[ToanDN]

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@ASCunningham wrote:
I was thinking this because when I create spaces to match the architecture rooms. The first model (shell model) has to be linked into the second model ( fit out model) as a attachment in order for revit to read the room name and numbers and not read Unoccupied. I was thinking that maybe the ceilings are affected similarly. The rooms that read unoccupied are the ones that we cannot host lights to the ceilings on.

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Very strange.  Below is what I have:

- Shell file linked in Core file as Attachment, not set as Room Boundary

- Core file linked in Mech file as Overlay, not set as Room Boundary

I can host lights to both Core's ceiling and Shell's ceiling.

[RobDraw]

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@ToanDN wrote:

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Very strange.  Below is what I have:

- Shell file linked in Core file as Attachment, not set as Room Boundary

- Core file linked in Mech file as Overlay, not set as Room Boundary

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Can you get the room names and numbers to the spaces with room bounding off?

[ToanDN]

@RobDraw

I am answering the original question about lights cannot host to ceiling of linked file.  

[RobDraw]

I'm pretty sure @ASCunningham needs room bounding turned on in order to place spaces. That is unless things have changed in recent releases.

[ToanDN]

@RobDraw

I am not sure why it's relevant to hosting lights to ceiling but I made the links Room bound anyways.  Still works.

[ToanDN]

@ASCunningham

Can you make sure that the link file actually has a ceiling where you want to host the lights?  

[RobDraw]

I was only pointing out that room bounding on was stated in the OP. I have no idea how it would have any effect on hosting but it was stated so it needed to be ruled out.

[RobDraw]

So, maybe the ceilings in the exterior rooms in the fitout are constrained to the linked shell? I'm trying to figure out what is different about those ceilings from the interior ones.

[ASCunningham · Accepted solution]

Thanks for all the suggestions and thoughts that we given to me. After messing around with this for a couple of hours I've found the solution.

I had to turn off the lights that were placed in the architectural model. Then I can place and host my light fixtures to the ceilings. I've run into this before if I was trying to place a light fixture in the exact same spot as the architect because their light fixture would place a void in the ceiling. But this is different. The entire ceiling in these areas would not let me host to it until I turned of the light fixtures from the architectural model.

[jeremie_schultz]

This trick of turning off the arch lights in linked model worked for me. Thanks.

[cvoight]

Turning off lights in the linked model also worked for me in Revit 2022. It doesn't appear to have anything to do with Opening Cuts (or Voids) that are usually placed to cut the ceiling - I tried before and after deleting those elements from the linked model's family, but it made no difference. Even if only walls, ceilings, and light fixtures were turned on, the entirety of the 84 SF ceiling in a space was unhostable until I turned the linked models's light fixtures off.

Normally, I will host to a different ceiling of the same height in the same RCP, then move the fixture to the ceiling I want to be hosted to, since Revit will properly rehost the fixture even if you can't choose the ceiling when picking a host. However, that wasn't an option here because it was the only ceiling on the floor at its height.