Selecting nested components with window selection tool

[eriktoom]

Hey, 

I have a host family which consists of different nested families. Now I need to assign the same parameter value to those nested families - is there a way of selecting the nested components somehow? As I see it right now you have to select each of the selected components individually. Select All Instances is not a solution as I need to select the components depending on their location in the project.

Maybe some add-on that Revit has on this? 

[iainsavage]

I presume that you have made the nested families Shared.

You should be able to put a parameter in the host family and associate it to an appropriate parameter in each nested family.

Then in the project you should be able to Select All Instances of the host family and assign the value to the parameter in the host family which should then push the value into all of the associated parameters in the nested families.

Or, if every instance is to have the same value, use a Type parameter, change in one instance of the family, all other instances of the same type will have the same value.

[eriktoom]

When you look at the picture below you can see that each family consists of 2 nested families. All of the components of selection 1 (red circle) must have a value of ''X'' and in case of selection 2 the components must have a value of ''Y'' for example. I am using a Shared Parameter in this case. Do you think your suggested way could work in this case also? 

Maybe I need to purchase this extra add-on which can be found in the Autodesk app store:

https://apps.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Detail/Index?id=4005291581487532621&appLang=en&os=Win64

[iainsavage]

So are you saying that there is only one parameter but you want each nested component to have a different value for that one parameter?

I think you could do it by having two parameters in the host family and associating the one common parameter in each nested family with the respective parameter in the host family.

Paramanager by DiRoots might also help you (free but you can give a donation if you want) - I’m pretty sure that allows you to set values for nested families through the tabulated interface.

I don’t know anything about the app that you mentioned.

[iainsavage · Accepted solution]

To assist you I did the following test:

• created an Electrical Fixture family with a cylinder, called it Nested_Circle
• created in that family a shared parameter which I called Universal_Parameter

• set the family as Shared

• repeated the above with another family, this one with a cuboid and called Nested_Square
• loaded the same shared parameter (Universal_Parameter) into that family and made the family Shared
• created another electrical fixture family which I called Host
• loaded each of the nested families into the Host and placed an instance of each.
• created two shared parameters, one called Parameter_Circle and the other called Parameter_Square
• selected the placed instance of the nested circle family and associated its Universal_Parameter to the Parameter_Circle

• selected the placed instance of the nested square family and associated its Universal_Parameter to the Parameter_Square
• loaded the Host family into a project.
• now when you select the Host family you can edit the Parameter_Circle and Parameter_Square in the Host without having to select the nested families - so you can use a window selection or use Select All Instances...
• made one of the parameters X and the other Y

• The different values now appear under the Universal_Parameter in the schedule

• and can be tagged by loading the shared parameter into a tag family and using tab-select to tag the nested component

• this example uses Instance parameters but you could use Type parameters if you want all instances of a family to have the same value, rather than having to select all instances and changing an Instance parameter.

Hope that helps.

[eriktoom]

Thanks, that works!

[Susana_Duarte_LMSI]

Sorry to revive this thread, but what if we need to select the nested families not to fill a parameter but to access the electrical connectors (to create circuits). 

That is a pain in the ass to use tab for every instance. Is there a workarround? Maybe with dynamo?