Structural connection cannot exist without connected elements

[rbarreiros.eng]

Hi,

I'm using Revit 2020 and I get the error in the title when I try to modify the type parameters of a Purlin Connection.

If I set the Override by instance parameter to true and then edit the Detailed Parameters, I can successfully edit the connection parameters, but I'd rather do this on the type parameters.

Is this a bug? 

[Orsolya.Balazs]

Hi @rbarreiros.eng,

Do you mean that you cannot change any type property settings at the purlin connections posterior?

Could you please send a small revit file +  a screenshot to illustrate the issue exactly. 

[rbarreiros.eng]

I'll send you a very simple file with a single connection.

The problem is that when I try to change type parameters, as you can see in this image:

After I click Edit, i get the following error:

  "Can't make type "AS_EXT_BEAM_C : C225"."

I presume Revit is trying to recreate my C profile with a version of the same profile from AS (Advanced Steel), but something goes wrong. This is just my assumption.

So maybe something is wrong with the definition of the profile, I presumed. But I don't think that is the case because when I go to override by instance and then Edit, I can successfully change the properties:

I think this may be a bug of Revit 2020

By the way, I'm using standard structural framing profiles which are available in the US Metric Library. The only thing I had to do to use these Light Gauge Steel Profiles was to correctly pick the section shape in the Family Category Parameters.

Further investigation has let me to the conclusion that this problem only happens with certain Section Shapes. If I modify this "C Profile with Lips" that you see in the image to a "C Profile" (without lips), I don't get any errors....

I'll send you the Revit file for you to play around with.

[Orsolya.Balazs]

Thank you @rbarreiros.eng  for the file and clarification. I did some tests, but for me no error appeared. Let me post a video about my steps: https://autode.sk/2XpZGjU

Please make sure to have the same Revit build and in case you had the same version before, please check if it may help to run a repair installation.

[rbarreiros.eng]

Thanks @Orsolya.Balazs 

I checked the build version and it's the same.

I also did a repair installation but i get the same error.

I also tried to uninstall Advanced Steel 2020 but I get the same error.

I'll send you my screencast: https://autode.sk/2L63WON 

Any other ideas?

[Orsolya.Balazs]

I see.. it is possible maybe that one of the AddIns are responsible for this situation. Could you please run a test disabling temporary the AddIns: Bimtools, Salem Group, Bim Interoperability Tools and Site Designer.

(You can eg rename temp the appropriate dlls)

[rbarreiros.eng]

I tested this in another computer here at the office which doesn't have any plugins installed and the result is the same...

I'm at a loss...

[Orsolya.Balazs]

Hi @rbarreiros.eng 

I see - you may try to run a repair install of Revit. Besides please check if the result is different if you temporary disable internet connection on your computer.

[rbarreiros.eng]

I already tried to repair the Revit installation, as I've told you in the previous post, but the result is the same.

I now tried to turn off internet connection but the result is also the same.

The only thing I can think of is to uninstall and reinstall Revit, deleting everything Revit has created, but I did not want to do that because I'm in production and I can't afford that time wasted....

[rbarreiros.eng]

Hi @Orsolya.Balazs ,

I tried a clean uninstall but the problem still remains.

I have new data though: it seems that when I open Revit in another language other than ENG, the problem goes away....

The plot thickens...

[catalin_lang]

In 

C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit Steel Connections 2020\en-US\Family Templates

do you have two folders, imperial and metric with a lot of AS_EXT_(...) families?

(presuming that you installed your Revit in C: and that you use en-US)

[rbarreiros.eng]

That's precisely right!

What should I do about it?

[catalin_lang · Accepted solution]

are those families in that folders?

you've mentioned at some point that on other languages it works. 

can you copy and override the AS_EXT_BEAM_C family from your Metric/Imperial folder with one from the corresponding language folder in which the edit works? Make sure you make a backup for the one located in Imperial/Metric folder. 

[rbarreiros.eng]

Wonderful!!!!

It works now! I've been using en-UK so I had to change the AS_EXT_BEAM_C in the UK folder. It turns out that the AS_EXT_BEAM_C file that was in there had the wrong section applied to it. It was using an HSS Hollow section!

Either it was something with my installation or it is a bug of the en-UK family templates. It may explain why en-US works but en-UK does not.

The important thing is: problem solved!

PS: Let's presume that all the other families are good......

[mccoolj]

Just FYI, this kind of thing is still an issue in Revit 2025... I've been trying to figure out this "Cant make type : "AS_EXT_BEAM_U : ChannelsC12X20.7"" for a while now and couldn't even find any hints anywhere until I found this thread. For me, I wasn't getting rbarreiros.eng's error message, but I was getting the "Can't make type" error upon trying to apply or edit steel connections. And "override by instance" is likewise a workaround for an isolated occurrence but not a practical one for repeated problems. I renamed that file in the C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit Steel Connections 2025\en-US\Family Templates\English Imperial folder and then copied the same file over from the es-ES family language folder, and it finally worked. The corrupt family was about 4k smaller file size than the replacement. However, replacing the file worked only briefly, then when I tried adding a different steel connection component to another channel in the same project file, I got that error again. Thanks to Catalin for tracking down this obscure problem, but it seems like there's something going on internally that Autodesk needs to get fixed to keep this from happening over multiple versions (I also dealt with this error with C-Channels in a Revit 2022 project last year, but I never could find the cause then).