Help - how to set parameter to NOT rotate nested family

[rdolphins1427]

Hello fellow revit users, I have been racking my brain all day, searching online for related questions and/or advice and I'm still unable to create what I need. I'm trying to create a detail line item family that has a nested annotation family centered in a diamond shape (detail lines). My end goal is to draw the line item family in a project and then drag the endpoint 360 degrees and have the annotation family stay horizontal. I have created a group in my annotation family with reference lines and set angle parameter, I have tried to insert the annotation family into my detail line family and created the reference line parameter and I still cant figure it out. I'm sure that I'm missing something minor but it's preventing me from getting the results I want. Whatever I do gets the same result, I drag the end point around in a circle and the diamond and annotation stay centered BUT they rotate with the line. I would like the diamond and annotation to stay horizontal all the time. Is this possible?

Any suggestions would be appreciated! 

[michael.coviello]

Hello @rdolphins1427,

What is the detail line family meant to represent?   Have you considered using alternative options such as grids or tags which have a horizontal/vertical parameter on placement?

I understand you are trying to keep the text orientation to always be horizontal and never rotate in the nested generic annotation. 

For some families the "Rotate with component" parameters exist but has no effect on the tag orientation (foundation for instance).
An idea has been created on the REVIT idea station to enable this possibility for all families:
https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/revit-ideas/all-tag-families-should-have-the-quot-rotate-with-compone...

The following blog list the families for which the parameter can be use and or cannot be used:
http://revitoped.blogspot.ch/2013/02/rotate-with-component.html

If this doesn't exactly explain the behavior, you may wish to add a new Revit idea.

[rdolphins1427]

The family is a generic call out that we use for multi-post studs in a wood building. The annotation needs to be per instance and we would like to be able to place the family and drag the end of the line around (almost like the seconds on a clock) and have the line "pinned" at center of the annotation/symbol. I also have 2 other similar families that I would like to create. 

Is there a way to nest a generic annotation family with a shape (detail lines, square, diamond, etc) into a detail line family and when I drag the end of the line around in a circle, the nested family (annotation and shape) does not rotate with the line?