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© 2009 Paul F. Aubin, All rights reserved—do not reproduce without permission. Page 1 of 47

Table of Contents About Paul F. Aubin 4

REVIT ARCHITECTURE 2010 MASTER THE FAMILY EDITOR SERIES 5

Critical Family concepts 6

Revit and Family terminology 7

Family Libraries and Resources 8

Annotation Families 9 Session Dataset 9 Tutorial 1 – Create an NCS Room Tag 10

Family creation procedures 12

Constraints and Parameters 13 Tutorial 2 – Create a Simple Model Family 15 Add Reference Planes 16 Flex the model 18 Add Geometry 19

Solid and Void Form Geometry Types 21

Family Types 22

Materials 22

Nested Families 22

Subcategories and Visibility parameters 22 Tutorial 3 – Adding Complexity to a Family 23 Add Family Types 23 Load into Projects 23 Assign Material Parameters 24 Create a 3D Section View 25 Add a Nested Family 26 Build a Parametric Array 27 Edit the Types 28 Create a Visibility Parameter 28


Shared Families 29

Further Enhancements 30

Profile Families 30 Tutorial 4 – Create and use a Profile Family 31 Apply a Profile Shape to an existing Sweep 31 Create a Custom Profile Shape 32 Create a Swept Blend using Profiles 33

Symbolic Lines 34

Visibility Settings 34

Overhead items 35 Tutorial 5 – Ensure overhead plan display 36

Flip Controls 37 Tutorial 6 – Add a Flip Control 37

Family Type Parameters 37

Formula Parameters 38 Tutorial 7 – Build a Complex Canopy Design 39 Create a Family Type Parameter 40 Add Formula Parameters 41

Angular Parameters and Reference Lines 42 Tutorial 8 – Making a Door Swing 43 Add and Constrain a Reference Line 43 Add a Swing Parameter 44

Manufacturer’s Content 45

Effort vs. Benefit 46 Advertisement 47


Master the Family Editor Series Learn the Revit Family Editor in Five Parts Sessions:

Session 1: Tutorial 1 – Create an NCS Room Tag Tutorial 2 – Create a Simple Model Family

Session 2: Tutorial 3 – Adding Complexity to a Family Session 3: Tutorial 4 – Create and use a Profile Family

Tutorial 5 – Ensure Overhead Plan Display Session 4: Tutorial 6 – Add a Flip Control

Tutorial 7 – Build a Complex Canopy Design Session 5: Tutorial 8 – Making a Door Swing

Workshop materials

This manual contains Tips, tricks, recommendations, key concept explanations and step-by-step procedures covered in the session you attended. You can use the accompanying dataset files to review the materials on your own.

Dataset

You can download the dataset that accompanies this session from the following URL:

www.paulaubin.com/Families

This manual and the accompanying dataset files include lessons covered in five consecutive sessions available on five separate DVDs/online videos. You are encouraged to purchase all five videos for a complete educational experience.

http://www.paulaubin.com/Families


About Paul F. Aubin Author and Consultant

Paul F. Aubin is the author of many CAD and BIM titles including the widely acclaimed: Mastering AutoCAD Architecture and Paul F. Aubin’s Mastering Revit Architecture. Paul is an independent architectural consultant who travels the country lecturing and providing Revit® Architecture and AutoCAD® Architecture implementation, training, and support services. Paul’s involvement in the architectural profession spans nearly 20 years, with experience that includes design, production, CAD management, mentoring, coaching, and training. He currently serves as Moderator for Cadalyst magazine’s online CAD Questions forum, is an active member of the Autodesk user community, and has been a top-rated speaker at Autodesk University (Autodesk’s annual user convention) for many years. His diverse experience in architectural firms, as a CAD manager, and as an educator gives his writing and his classroom instruction a fresh and credible focus. Paul is an associate member of the American Institute of Architects. He lives in Chicago with his wife and three children.

Website: www.paulaubin.com Blog: paulfaubin.blogspot.com

Book titles include:

Paul F. Aubin’s Mastering Revit Architecture 3rd edition

Mastering AutoCAD Architecture 7th edition

Autodesk Architectural Desktop: An Advanced Implementation Guide Co-authored with Matt Dillon, 2nd edition

Mastering VIZ Render Co-authored with James Smell, AIA, 2nd edition

Mastering AutoCAD MEP Co-authored with Darryl McClelland, Martin Schmid and Gregg Stanley, 1st edition

Visit paulaubin.com for information on: Training

Consulting

Project coaching

Seminars

Purchasing Books

http://www.paulaubin.com/

http://paulfaubin.blogspot.com/

Revit Architecture 2010 Master the Family Editor Series

Session 1: Thursday July 30, 12:00pm - 12:50pm Central

EVERYTHING IN REVIT IS A FAMILY

This class will introduce you to the basics of the Revit 2010 Family Editor. The Family Editor is extremely powerful but sometimes intimidating. In this five-part introduction to the Family Editor, we'll work through the creation of Revit component (loadable) Families complete with constraints and parameters. Don't worry if you don't know what a constraint or parameter is; we'll cover that too. So whether you've never worked in Revit Architecture before, or have used Revit for awhile but simply avoided the Family Editor, this series will help get you acclimated to this critical and powerful aspect of using the Revit software.

Whether you are new to Revit Architecture or a seasoned power user, you have no doubt discovered how important families and the family editor are to your success in Revit. Everything you create in Revit Architecture is part of a family—consequently, understanding families and what it takes to manipulate them is a vital part of learning the software. Beginning with the difference between system and component families we will explore the critical concepts and terminology. After this brief introduction to terminology, we will focus the remainder of the session on component family creation procedures and strategies. We’ll take a quick look at what is provided in the Revit libraries and learn about family templates. We will then look at procedures for building our own custom Families from scratch. We will even explore some of the more advanced techniques like the inclusion of dimension parameters, visibility parameters and formulas. Using the concepts and techniques covered in this series, you will learn how to begin tapping into one of the most powerful aspects of the Revit Architecture package.

This session will explore:

Critical Family concepts and terminology

Family creation procedures and strategies

Several hands-on tutorials


Critical Family concepts In order to get started with Family creation, it is important to understand some basic concepts and terminology. All elements in Revit Architecture are part of clearly defined hierarchy. At the top level of this hierarchy, are categories. Categories are pre-defined within the software and cannot be added, deleted or renamed. A wide variety of categories are included in Revit and distributed among two overall master groups: model and annotation. Model categories include all elements that comprise your building model such as: Walls, Doors, Floors, Stairs and Beams. Annotation categories include items like text, Dimensions and Tags. Categories are by definition very broad. It would not be enough to simply have a Walls or Doors category. These items come in all shapes, sizes and behaviors. The next level of the hierarchy is therefore the Family. All Revit elements belong to a Family. The two most common types of Family in Revit are the System Family and the Component (Loadable) Family. Both kinds of Family are best thought of simply as a collection of like items sharing the same overall look and behavior. Revit includes many Families such as the “Basic Wall” Wall Family, the “Single-Flush” Door Family and many Annotation Families like “Text” or “Linear Dimension Style.” Even the Views themselves like Floor Plans and Sections are System Families in Revit.

System Families include anything that is built into the software and cannot be manipulated by the user in the interface. As noted above, this can include model components like Walls and Floors, but also includes less obvious items like Views, Project Data, and Levels. System Families cannot be created or deleted. Their properties are pre-defined at the “factory.” However, many System Families like Walls, Floors and Roofs can have more than one Type. A Type is our next level or hierarchy in Revit. Think of it as a collection of variables (sizes, materials or other settings) saved to certain values and given a name for ease of reuse. A Type is basically a convenient way to switch several variables in a Family at once. A Family can contain one or more Types; each with its own unique user-editable settings. So while we cannot create or delete Wall Families for example, we can add, delete and edit the Types associated with each of the provided Wall Families. For example, “Basic Wall” is the most common Wall Family. In the out-of-the-box template files, there are several predefined Basic Wall Types such as: Exterior – Brick on CMU, Generic 6″ and Interior – 5 ½″ Partition (1hr). The Basic Wall definition simply means that the Wall has the same structure along its entire length and height. The actual make-up of this structure can vary widely from Type to Type as the names imply.

Other System Families vary considerably in their specific composition and features, but at the conceptual level they share the same basic characteristics: the overall behavior of the object is defined by the system and cannot be redefined; however, the specific object-level parameters can be manipulated via the creation and application of Type and/or Instance variations.

As already noted, System Families include both things that are part of the physical model in your Revit projects (like Walls, Floors and Roofs) and other items that are not (like Views, Project Data, and Levels). Another term for System Families that also happen to be model elements is “Host.” A Host is an element that can receive or support or provide structure for other model elements. Model System Families or Host Families are the parts of the building that are typically assembled onsite from a collection of raw materials. This includes Walls, Floors, Roofs, Stairs, etc.

Component (or “Loadable”) Families include everything that is not a System Family. Component families are typically model elements, but can also be annotation or other non-model elements. Component Families can be “Host Based” (require a Host), or they can be free-standing (not requiring a Host). Revit users can create, delete and modify Component Families (and their associated Types). This is accomplished in the Family editor and each Family thus created can be saved to its own unique file (with and RFA extension). Like System Families, Component Families can contain one or more Types. They can also have instance parameters that vary from instance to instance (not part of the Type). Loadable Component Families are the primary focus of this course.

In addition to the System and Component Families, there is a third type of Family in Revit called the In-Place Family. In-Place Families are similar to Component Families in terms of creation, editing and


strategy. However, an In-Place Family is created directly within a project (not in a separate Family file as Component Families are) and it cannot be exported to other projects. Further, you can create in-place versions of many System Family categories like Walls, Roofs and Floors. This capability allows the creation of custom or free-form shapes not otherwise possible in pre-defined System Families. You should only consider creating an In-Place Family for elements that are unique to a particular project with little possibility that you will ever want to reuse them in future projects. Also, In-Place Families as already noted, offer the only means to “customize” certain System Families like Walls or Roofs. In-Place Families therefore prove effective for modeling unique existing conditions or very specialized and unique design scenarios.

Revit and Family terminology Here is a brief summary of Revit Architecture critical terminology. The illustration is borrowed from the online help file. If is reproduced here with permission from Autodesk.

Element—Anything in your Revit Architecture project.

Model Element—Something that represents the 3D geometry of your building.

Host Element—An element that can receive or support or provide structure for other model elements (built in-place construction).

Component Element—An item inserted into a project (items that are pre-manufactured, purchased and installed).

Host Based Component Element—A Component Element that must be inserted on or into a Host.


Freestanding Component Element—A Component Element that can be inserted independently without a Host.

View Element—A item in the Revit Architecture interface that allows you to see and interact with all other elements. Views conform to the characteristic of typical architectural drawing types like plan, section, elevation and schedule.

Annotation Element—Something that is used to document, describe or embellish a view of your project.

Datum Element—Include Levels, Grids and Reference Planes. These are used establish project context, limits, extents and the like. Datum Elements provide guidelines and limits for other elements within a project and can also include annotative qualities.

Annotation Element—Include text, dimensions tags and symbols. These items are view-specific (appearing only in the view in which they are added) and are used to notate, embellish, describe and document design intent within a Revit Architecture project.

Element Category—A predefined list of classifications under which all elements within Revit Architecture fall. Every element in Revit must belong to a category. The list of categories is fixed.

Family—Everything in Revit Architecture belongs to a Family. Each Family is a class of element belonging to a particular category and representing a particular physical item or organization concept within a project.

System Family—Families whose definition, geometry, behaviors and characteristics are pre-defined in the software and cannot be changed by the user.

Component Family—User-defined Families whose definition, geometry, behaviors and characteristics can be edited by the user.

Family Type—A particular variation of a Family usually based upon a standard sizes or other common characteristics.

Instance—An actual physical element with the model or project. An instance can have unique properties not governed by the Type.

The first step to working in Revit in general and building Families in specific is to become comfortable with this list of terms. Keep it handy as reference as you continue.

Family Libraries and Resources Before you embark on the process of building Family content, it should be noted that there are many Families included with the software and many more resources available online. The dataset for this session includes a folder containing links to some of the more popular online Blogs, Forums and Content centers has been included. Please note that the provided links represent only a small sampling of the myriad resources to be found online. A quick search in Google is likely to turn up hundreds of hits of sites containing tips, tricks and downloadable content. Do take the time to explore some of these sites if you have not already done so.

As has been noted, you cannot create or delete System Families. All System Families will already be in your project file. To add Types that are not present, you either have to duplicate an existing Type, rename and modify it, or import it from another project. To import from another project, you use Transfer Project Standards (Manage tab) or copy and paste.

To use a Component Family from outside the project in your current project, you can load it from a Family file or copy and paste from another project. To load a Family file, use the Load Family button on the Insert tab of the ribbon, or the contextual ribbon tab when a command it active. For example, if


you click the Door tool (Home tab), the Load Family button will appear on the Place Door tab. This lets you load a Door Family and place it all in the same procedure. There is also the Autodesk Seek web site. On the Insert tab of the ribbon, on the Autodesk Seek panel, you can run a search directly in the product. You can also type: seek.autodesk.com into your web browser.

In many cases, a Family similar to the one you wish to create will already exist somewhere in the product or online in one of the above-mentioned resources. Most companies also maintain their own libraries of office standard content on their internal servers. Check with your CAD/BIM Manager to see what your firm offers.

Practical wisdom says that it makes more sense to begin with something in the library and either use it as-is, or modify it to suit your needs. Typically this will be easier than starting from scratch. However, if you are new to creating Families in Revit, you should create your first few Families from scratch. By building the entire Family yourself, you will learn more than simply modifying one. Furthermore, Families can include very complex parameters and constraints that often link to one another in a chained fashion. If you are new to Family editing and creation, it can be difficult to dissect these often complex relationships. To avoid becoming discouraged, it is recommended that you start with a small simple example and work your way to more complexity over time.

Annotation Families Perhaps the simplest form of Family in which to begin your explorations is an annotation Family. This is because these Families are two-dimensional, usually have very simple graphics and label parameters (which read data from elements in your model) are easy to add and understand. Examples of Annotation Families include tags and symbols. Many examples are provided with the program, but you may find need to create your own to meet your particular office standards.

The tools available in the Family Editor for an Annotation Family (which also includes titleblock families) include the following:

Lines, Masking Regions and Filled Regions—Use these to draw the graphical parts of the family. They work the same in the Family Editor as they do in a project.

Symbol—Use this tool to add a nested Annotation Family to the family you are building.

Text—Use this tool to add static text. This is text that user would not be able to edit.

Label—Use this tool to add parametric text. This is text that will automatically read data from the object to which the tag is attached or from the overall project in the case of titleblocks.

Session Dataset If you wish to perform the exercises in this paper, you can download the dataset from paulaubin.com.

1. In your web browser, visit www.paulaubin.com/Families

2. Download and unzip the dataset.

http://seek.autodesk.com/

http://www.paulaubin.com/Families


Tutorial 1 – Create an NCS Room Tag In this tutorial, we will explore the basics of the Family editor and create a Room Tag compliant with the US National CAD Standard recommendations. This tutorial will expose you to simple drafted graphics and label parameters.

3. Launch Revit Architecture.

4. From the Application menu, choose New > Annotation Symbol. In the dialog that appears, choose the Room Tag.rft template file and then click Open.

Note: All Revit Families must be created from one of the templates provided.

This template contains two crossing Reference Planes that mark the insertion point of the tag. Be sure to draw your geometry relative to these Reference Planes.

5. Using the Line tool (Create tab), draw a box 3/4" wide by 3/8" tall. Divide the box in half vertically and then divide the lower portion into 4 equal boxes. (Center the middle top edge of the box on the Reference Planes).

Figure 1 – Using Lines, draw the graphics for the symbol

Dimensions in the figure are shown for clarity. DO NOT add the dimensions to your tag. Once we have drawn the graphics, we are ready to add labels. This tag has a total of six labels. They each refer to a property that is already built into Room elements in Revit. So all we need to do is add the label and tell it which property we want it to show.

6. On the Create tab, on the Annotate panel, click the Label tool.

Labels have formatting similar to text. So before placing the Label, verify that the correct choices are selected on the Options Bar. For the Room Name Label, we’ll use 1/8" centered text.


Verify that the Type Selector shows Label: 1/8" and that the Center and Middle alignment icons are selected. (These are the defaults).

7. Click above the box on the vertical Reference Plane to place the Label. In the Edit Label dialog, select Name and then click the Add Parameter to Label icon. Click OK to complete the placement. Move the Label as necessary to fine-tune placement.

Figure 2 – Add the Name Parameter to the first Label

8. Click Label again to add the Number. On the Place Label tab, click the drop-down button on the Element Properties tool and then choose Type Properties.

9. Click Duplicate and name the new Type: 3/32". Change the Text Size to 3/32", change the Background to Transparent and then click OK.

10. Add the Number parameter to the Label, click OK and then place the new Label in the top box of the tag.

Figure 3 – Add the Number Label next

Labels can contain more than one parameter. For the finish designations at the bottom of the tag, we’ll add all four parameters to the same Label. This simplifies placement.

11. Click the Label button again. Click to place it. In the Edit Label dialog, add the Floor Finish parameter first. In the Sample Value column, change the value to A. Add Base Finish next and set the Sample Value to 2. In the Spaces column, change the setting to 3.

The Spaces column lets us put more horizontal space between each value.

12. Add Wall Finish with a Sample Value of C, Ceiling Finish with a Sample Value of 3 and then click OK. Set Spaces to 3 for both.

Figure 4 – Add the final Label with four Parameters


13. Click OK and fine-tune placement if required.

14. Save the new Tag. Name it: NCS Room Tag with Finishes. Click the Options button and set the number of backups to 1. Click OK and then Save.

We will now test our new tag in a project. If you do not already have a project open that contains Rooms, open or create one now. (You can use the file named: Sandbox.rvt included with the dataset).

15. Make sure you have a project with Rooms in it open in the background and then on the Create tab, click the Load into Project button.

16. In the Project, add the Tag to some Rooms. To see all the parameters in action, select a Room (or Rooms) and edit the properties. Add values for Name, Number, and finishes. When you close the properties dialog, the tags should update immediately.

Congratulations on the successful completion of your first Revit Annotation Family.

Family creation procedures The basic process for creating a Family is as follows: decide what type of Family you need. This will include deciding what it should look like, how much detail to include and whether the graphics or level of detail should change in different views. You can start by sketching out the Family you intend to create and make notes about its requirements. Several strategies and best practice recommendations are found in the Autodesk white paper: Revit_Families_Best_Practices_Mar01.pdf included with the dataset for this session. While this white paper is several years old, most of its content remains pertinent.

Next, create a new Family file from the appropriate template or open and existing Family file similar to the one you wish to create and save as. The choice of Family template is important. The templates included with the software are provided by Autodesk with the product. Each contains basic settings, behaviors and in many cases some simple geometry or reference planes. The geometry included (like a sample length of Wall) is only for reference and does not get inserted with the Family when used in a project. While it is possible to change the category of Family after creation, it is best to choose wisely at the start. Try to choose the most appropriate category, selecting Generic Model.rft only if no other suitable category can be determined. Unlike category, the hosting behavior of a Family file cannot be changed after it is created. So if you are not certain that you want the Family you are creating to require a Host, it is safer to build it without one. In other words, if you choose Casework wall based.rft as the template, the Family you create will always require a Wall in order to be inserted. If you think you might like to use the cabinet as a freestanding piece of casework, choose the Casework.rft template instead. You can always use the Align tool to attach the non-hosted cabinet to a Wall later. You cannot later decide to detach the hosted casework item from its host Wall.

Once you have decided what you want to build and created a new Family file based on an existing file or the appropriate new template, you are ready to create your Family reference planes, parameters and geometry. It is usually best to start with the framework. If you begin with an existing Family, delete anything you don’t need first. Then in both existing and new Families, add the Reference Planes you will need. Reference Planes provide the skeleton for your Family. Some templates already contain basic Reference Planes. You can use these as-is or modify them. The proper procedure is to manipulate or create Reference Planes, optionally constrain or assign parameters to these planes, and then create geometry and lock it to the Reference Planes. In this way, the Reference Planes actually drive the geometry. This is the most reliable, best-practice way to build your Family files.

Once you have laid down your Reference Plane framework and assigned parameters and constraints, test the Family by “flexing” it. This is done in the Family Types dialog which you can access from the Types button on the Create tab. To flex the model, simply try different values for each parameter and then apply. If the framework moves the way you expect, everything is good. Otherwise, undo, and try to fix the problem. We will see several examples below.


When all geometry and parameters have been created, applied and flexed, you are ready to save the file and load it into a test project. If necessary, make any adjustments, otherwise your Family file is complete.

Constraints and Parameters In its simplest form, a Family can be a static graphic or symbol. Such a Family would be drawn the way it was intended to look regardless of the circumstance. The out-of-the-box: Chair-Breuer is one such example. There are no Types or user-editable dimensions in this Family.

Figure 5 – Chair-Breuer.rfa is a “static” Family – it has no types or editable dimensions

However, one of the things that make Families so powerful is their ability to be “parametric.” In other words, they can use variables to help them conform to different circumstances. This is done using constraints and parameters. While each of these terms has several possible meanings, in the context of Revit Architecture the following definitions found in an online dictionary are suitable to our discussion.

Constraint—The state of being restricted or confined within prescribed bounds

Parameter—any of a set of physical properties whose values determine the characteristics or behavior of something.

Essentially each of these is a rule applied to some part of a Family’s geometry or behavior, but a constraint is a fixed rule that can only be manipulated by editing the Family file, and a parameter creates a rule or relationship that has user-editable properties. For example, if you were working with a Door Family and you wanted to ensure that a vision panel was 10" from the door edge regardless of the door’s width, you would use a constraint within the Family editor to achieve this. On the other hand, if you want to allow the same Door Family to have varying sizes for height and width of the vision panel, these would be parameters. By making vision panel width and height parameters and using them to drive the geometry within the Family, the user can exercise much greater control than would otherwise be possible.


Tutorial 2 – Create a Simple Model Family In this tutorial, we will explore the basics of the Family editor and create a simple model Family. We will create a simple rectangular table. Tables and other furniture are included in the out-of-the-box content, but since a table presents a simple modeling challenge, we will use it as an opportunity to learn the basics of modeling a Family.

1. Launch Revit Architecture.

2. Open the project named Sandbox.rvt provided with the course dataset files.

This project contains a few objects that we will use a backdrop for testing our Family. Simply leave this open for now and later we will load our Family into it.

3. Minimize the project view window and then from the Application menu, choose New > Family.

4. Select the Furniture.rft template and then click Open.

A series of cascading views will appear on screen.

5. On the View tab, on the Windows panel, click the Tile button (or press WT on the keyboard).

6. On the Navigation Bar, choose Zoom All To Fit (or press ZA on the keyboard).

Figure 6 – The Revit Architecture Family Editor

The Family Editor shares much in common with the project editor but there are differences. Its ribbon tabs vary slightly from the project editor and the Project Browser is simplified to show generic Views included in the Family template you loaded. Furthermore, like the Annotation Family template we used in the previous template, this particular template starts with two Reference Planes marking the origin of the file. Each template includes settings, defaults and pre-programmed behaviors. Many of these settings and behaviors are not


obvious at first. As you work in the Family Editor, you will learn about them and you are also encouraged to study the Family creation topics in the online help for more information.

Add Reference Planes Recall above that Reference Planes were equated with the structure or skeleton of the Family. It is very important to lay them out first and apply and flex any required parameters and constraints.

7. In Floor Plan view (called Ref. Level), draw a vertical Reference Plane (Crete tab) on the right side. Edit the temporary dimension to make it 2'-0" from the center Reference Plane.

8. Create another on the left side using mirror or simply draw it.

9. Using the same procedure, create two horizontal Reference Planes, one above the centerline the other below. Use the same 2'-0" dimension again.

Figure 7 – Create horizontal and vertical Reference Planes

Now we will add constraints and parameters to this framework to make the Family parametric.

10. Add a horizontal dimension (Detail tab) from the left vertical Reference Plane to the right. Add another from left to center to right.

11. Repeat with a vertical pair of dimensions, first from bottom to top Reference Planes, then from bottom to center to top.

12. For the two running strings, toggle the equality on.


Figure 8 – Add dimensions and equality constraints

The two equality dimensions are examples of constraints. No matter what the distance is between the two outer Reference Planes, the relationship of them relative to the center Reference Plane will remain equal.

13. Select the horizontal 4′-0′ dimension. On the Options Bar, from the Label drop down, choose <Add Parameter>.

Figure 9 – Add parameters

14. For the Name type Length, choose Dimensions from the Group parameter under list and then click OK.

15. Repeat for the other dimension creating and applying a parameter named Width. Also group it in Dimensions.

16. Save the Family file and name it Conference Table.

We now have two sets of constrained Reference Planes that are controlled by two new parameters we have created. To make sure everything is functioning as expected, we need


to test or “flex” the model. The expected behavior is that as the value of either the Width or the Length parameter is modified, that both outer Reference Planes will move while maintaining an equal distance from the Reference Plane in the middle which will not move.

Flex the model 17. On the ribbon, on the Family Properties panel, click the Types button. In the Family types

dialog, input new values for both the Width and Length parameters and then click Apply.

Feel free to try other values if you wish, but input 6'-0" for Length and 3'-0" for Width before clicking OK to close the dialog.

Figure 10 – Flex the model in the Family Types dialog to test the parameters

18. On the Project Browser, double-click to open the Front elevation.

19. Add a Reference Plane 2'-6" above the floor level and then another 2" beneath the first one.

20. Using the process above, dimension from the floor level to the 2'-6" Reference Plane and then add a second dimension between the two Reference Planes.

21. Create parameters for each of these. Name the larger one Height and the small one Table Thickness.

Figure 11 – Add height Reference Planes and parameters to the elevation


22. Flex the model.

Tip: While you work, it is a good idea to maintain a series of “default” settings for your parameters. For example, for this table, 3'-0"w x 6'-0"l x 2'-6"h with a 2" table thickness will be used as the defaults. After flexing, get in the habit of returning to these default values for simply consistency as you work.

Add Geometry 23. Continuing in the Front view, select the lower Reference Plane and on the Modify

Reference Planes tab, click the Element Properties button.

We can name Reference Planes in the “Instance Properties” dialog. This will enable us to use the Reference Plane as a work plane and thereby draw geometry on this plane.

24. In the Name field, type Table Top Bottom Edge and then click OK.

This label will appear on screen whenever the Reference Plane is selected.

25. Return to the Ref. Level plan view.

26. On Create tab, on the Work Plane panel, click the Set button.

27. In the dialog that appears, choose Reference Plane: Table Top Bottom Edge from the Name list and then click OK.

28. On the Create tab, on the Forms panel, click the Solid Form button and from the flyout that appears, choose Extrusion.

29. Use the Rectangle shape on the Draw panel and sketch a rectangle that snaps to each of the four Reference Planes. Click the four lock icons that appear to constrain the sketch to the Reference Planes.

Figure 12 – Draw a rectangular sketch and lock it to each Reference Plane

30. On the Create Extrusion tab, click the Finish Extrusion button.

31. Return to the Front elevation, and select the new solid extrusion.

Notice that its bottom edge starts at the Table Top Bottom Edge Reference Plane and it goes up 1'-0" from there. (If yours is sitting on the Ref. Level, you missed the Work Plane step. You need to select it and then click the Edit Work Plane button on the Modify Extrusion tab to move it).

32. Click the extrusion. Click the small triangle grip appears at the top edge and drag it down till it snaps to the Reference Plane representing the table top. Click the lock icon that


appears.

Figure 13 – Snap and lock the top edge of the extrusion to the Reference Plane

33. Flex the model to test all relationships in both the front elevation and the plan.

In elevation, changing the Height parameter should move the entire table top up or down. The Thickness should adjust without changing the Height in any way since its Reference Plane is constrained to the table top Reference Plane. In plan, changing the Width or Depth should adjust the Reference Planes as it did above and in turn modify the shape of the extrusion. If flexing the model reveals any problems, make adjustments before continuing.

34. Return to the Ref. Level plan view. Set the Work Plane back to Level: Ref. Level.

35. On the Create tab, on the Forms panel, choose Solid > Blend. Use the rectangle option and an Offset setting of 10".

36. Trace the existing table starting from lower left corner to upper right corner. Press the SPACEBAR to flip the sketch to the inside the table top 10" smaller all the way around.

37. Add a dimension from each sketch line to the parallel Reference Plane (use the TAB key to ensure that you are dimensioning the Reference Plane). Lock the dimensions.

Locking makes these dimensions constraints rather than parameters.

Figure 14 – Constrain the base of the Blend to the Reference Planes

38. On the Create Blend Base Boundary tab, on the Mode panel, click the Edit Top button.

39. Using the rectangle option and a 5" Offset this time, trace the original extrusion the same way (don’t forget the SPACEBAR to flip the sketch). Add dimension constraints as before remembering to dimension the Reference Planes, not the extrusion geometry.


40. On the ribbon, on the Blend panel, click the Finish Blend.

41. Return to the Front elevation and using the grip handle, stretch the Blend up till it snaps to the Table Top Bottom Edge Reference Plane and then lock it.

42. Flex the model in both plan and elevation.

43. Switch to the 3D View: View 1 window. Type ZF to zoom to fit and then hold down the SHIFT key and drag with the wheel button pressed to orbit the model. Change to hidden line or shaded view to get a better look.

Figure 15 – Our simple table modeled from basic forms

Not necessarily an award-winning design, but it has served the purpose of exposing us to the basic modeling procedures in the Family Editor.

44. Save the Family file.

Solid and Void Form Geometry Types Geometry in Families consists of solid and void forms. Solid forms represent the actual physical parts of the Family and void forms are used to carve away portions of the solid forms. For example, you could create a solid form box, and then use a void form to cut a hole in it like a donut. Both solid and void forms come in five varieties. These include: Extrusion, Blend, Revolve, Sweep and Swept Blend. We used extrusion and blend in the previous tutorial.

Figure 16 – Five kinds of Forms are possible in the Family Editor – both solid and void

An extrusion is a sketched shape pushed along a distance perpendicular to the sketch plane. A blend is similar accept that instead of a single shape, you have both a top and a bottom shape and the 3D form transforms (or blends) from one to the other along the perpendicular height of the form. A revolve spins a sketch shape around an axis. The revolve can be a full 360° or a partial arc. A sweep pushes a shape


(sketch or loaded profile) along a sketched path. The shape is perpendicular to the path. A swept blend combines features of both the blend and the sweep. The form morphs between two profiles or sketches as in a blend, but can follow a non-linear path. Unfortunately the swept blend path can only contain one segment unlike the sweep. This means that complex forms require a spline path. Bear in mind however that spline paths can affect performance.

If you wanted to spruce up the table design a bit, you could use sweep to add a molding around the edge of the table top and revolve to create more interesting turned profile legs. Using a combination of solid and void forms you can create nearly any three-dimensional shape. Feel free to save a copy of the table and experiment further.

Family Types As we have already pointed out above, Families can contain Types. A Type is a saved and named collection of values for the parameters within a Family. The Family created in the tutorial above did not have any Types. If we wanted to pre-define some standard sizes in which our conference table would be available, we could add Types to the Family. For example, one Type could be 3'-0" wide by 6'-0" long and another Type could be 3'-6" wide by 8'-0" long. You can add as many Types as you wish. Types can be added within the Family editor or even later in the project.

Materials You can assign materials to the geometry in your Families. This will make them appear more realistic and allow you build in design intent and even prepare a Family file for eventual rendering in a project. Like many of the other examples we have seen, there are two ways you can apply materials: apply them directly to the geometry thus “hard-coding” them into the model, or apply them via a material parameter which allows the end user to manipulate the material choice after the Family is loaded into a project. Like other parameters, Material parameters can be assigned at the type of instance level.

Nested Families You can build complex forms using a combination of the solid and void forms available in the Family Editor as noted in the previous section. In some cases however, managing a complex form in a single Family can become cumbersome. In some cases, it makes sense to break your object into discreet parts and build the parts as separate Families. You can then insert these simpler Families into another Family that represents the whole. This is referred to as nested Families. When you manage your complex Families in this way, you gain more control and flexibility.

Subcategories and Visibility parameters Any Family you create or load from a library will belong to a certain category. Each of the elements within the Family can belong to a subcategory within the Family. Subcategories provide an extra level of visibility and graphical control over the parts of a Family. For example, in the Door Families included with the software, there are several pre-defined subcategories. One such subcategory is the Plan swing. Using this subcategory it is possible to make door plan swings a lighter pen weight regardless of the specific Family. This helps enforce standards and simplifies such changes.

Visibility parameters are another way to control elements within a Family. Sometimes it is useful to see part of the Family only in certain circumstances. For example, you could create a Door Family where hardware was an optional display component. In this case, a visibility parameter would be assigned to the hardware elements within the Door Family and the visibility parameter could then be toggled on or off by the user depending on whether or not the needed to show it in a given situation.


Tutorial 3 – Adding Complexity to a Family In this tutorial, we will continue to edit the Conference Table Family. We will add some Family Types, assign our elements to subcategories, insert a nested Chair Family, add a visibility parameter and build a parametric array.

1. Continue in Conference Table.rfa. If you closed the file, please re-open it now.

Add Family Types In the previous tutorial, we used the “Family Types” dialog to flex the model as we added parameters. You also use this dialog to add Types to a Family file.

2. On the ribbon, on the Family Parameters panel, click the Types button.

3. On the right side of the dialog, click the New button beneath the Family Types grouping.

4. In the Name box that appears, type 36 x 72 and then click OK.

Verify that the Width parameter is set to 3'-0" and that the Length parameter is set to 6'-0" before you continue.

5. Click the New button again, type 42 x 96 and then click OK.

6. Change the Width parameter is set to 3'-6" and that the Length parameter is set to 8'-0" and then click Apply.

If you can see the Family clearly behind the “Family Types” dialog, you should see the model flex to the new sizes. You will also see the name 42 x 96 now appears in a drop-down list at the top of the dialog.

7. Click on the Name list at the top and choose 36 x 72 from the list.

Notice that the sizes change back to the previous values. Click Apply and notice that the model flexes back to the original size. We have only modified the Length and Width here, but as you can see, each Type you add gives you the opportunity to save any or all type-based parameters and then restore them quickly. When you load this Family into a project, all of the Types you build here will load into the project a well.

8. Add one more Type: 42 x 144 and edit the values accordingly. For this Type, make the Table Thickness 3" instead of the default 2" used in the other two Types. Apply the changes.

9. Choose the 36 x 72 Type from the list and then click OK to restore these values as the default for the Family file

10. Save the file.

Load into Projects You should still have the Sandbox.rvt file open and minimized in the background. If you closed it, please re-open it now. While continually flexing the model in the Family Editor is important, loading the Family into an actual project every so often is also an important test of a Family as well.

11. On the ribbon, click the Load into Project button.

This will load the Family into the active project. If you have more than one project open, a dialog will prompt you to select which project or projects you want to load it into.

The Component command will run automatically with the new Family ready to place. If for some reason it did not, click the Home tab, and then click the Component button.

On the Place Component tab, from the Type Selector: Conference Table: 36 x 72 should be


listed. You can open the Type Selector and see that the other two Types are available as well.

12. Click a point to place the table in the space to the left of the section line.

13. Double-click on the section head to open this view.

Notice that the base (created from the blend above) of the conference table was hidden in plan view, but shows properly in section.

14. Press ESC to end the command.

15. Select the conference table and from the Type Selector, choose the Conference Table: 42 x 144 Type.

Notice that the table top thickens with the new Type. Feel free to return to Level 1 plan and see the change there as well.

Assign Material Parameters 16. Minimize the Sandbox.rvt file and return to the Family file.

It may be useful to have the ability to control the visibility, graphical settings and material assignments of the base and table top separately from one another. One way to do this would be subcategories. A subcategory could be devised for the tabletop which could then have its own lineweight and other settings. However, it is recommended that you refrain from adding subcategories to Families unless you intend them to be used across several Family files. For example, if you intended to create several table families all of which needed to share tabletop parameters, then a subcategory would be the way to go. The best example of a subcategory in the out-of-the-box content is the door Plan Swing subcategory. This is a good example because most Doors require a plan swing. Furthermore, it is unlikely that you will want the plan swing of one Door Family to vary from that of another. Therefore, subcategories provide a good way to achieve global control across multiple families. In the case of furniture (our parent category here) not all furniture has a tabletop. Furthermore, those furniture items that do have tabletops may not necessarily share the same display requirements. Therefore, a better approach to controlling the graphical properties of the tabletop here is to create and assign a Material parameter.

17. Open the “Family Types” dialog. Click the Add button in the Parameters grouping.

18. For the Name, type Tabletop Material, choose Materials and Finishes for the Group parameter under.

19. From the Type of Parameter list, choose Material and select the Instance radio button.

Figure 17 – Create a Material Parameter and assign it to the tabletop

20. Click OK to create the parameter and then OK again to exit the “Family Types” dialog.


The parameter is now available to use in the Family.

21. In any view, select the tabletop extrusion and on the Modify Extrusion tab, click the Element Properties button.

22. Beneath the Materials and Finishes grouping, in the far right column, click the small button.

23. Choose the Tabletop Material parameter and then click OK twice.

We have chosen Instance here so that we can have the option to assign different material finishes to each instance of the table we insert into a project.

24. Save the Family and then click the Load into Project button.

The Sandbox.rvt file will become active and the “Family Already Exists” dialog will appear.

Figure 18 – Overwrite the existing version of the Family with the newly edited one

25. Choose the “Override the existing version and its parameter values” option.

Create a 3D Section View To see the effect of the Material parameter, we need to go to a 3D view and shade the model. We’ll make a 3D section view for this.

26. On the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT), click the 3D View icon.

27. Right-click on the ViewCube and choose Orient to View > Sections > Section: Section 1.

28. Drag the ViewCube to orbit (or hold down the SHIFT key and drag the wheel button).

29. On the View Control Bar (bottom edge of the View window) click the Model Graphics Style icon and choose Shaded with Edges.

30. Select the conference table and on the ribbon, click the Element Properties button.

Notice that there is a Tabletop Material available in the Instance Properties list.

31. Click on <By Category> and then click the small browse icon.

32. Choose a material like Wood – Cherry and then click OK twice.

When you deselect the table, you will see that the tabletop is now a different material.


Figure 19 – Shade the model in a 3D view to see the effect of the new material

Add a Nested Family Our Family is progressing nicely but it might be better if we include some chairs. We don’t want to build chair geometry directly in the table file. This would be too difficult to control. Instead we will load a nested Family of an existing chair.

33. Return to the Conference Table.rfa Family file and open the Floor Plan:Ref. Level view.

34. On the Create tab, on the Model panel, click the Component button.

A message will appear alerting you that there are no Component Families loaded.

35. Click Yes to load a Family.

36. Double-click the Furniture folder and then select the Chair-Breuer.rfa file and click Open.

37. Place a chair beneath the table. The exact location is not important yet.

38. Press the SPACE bar (this will rotate the chair) and place another at the right end of the table snapping it to the horizontal Reference Plane.

39. Press ESC or click the Modify tool to end the command.

40. Mirror the Chair on the right over to the left.

41. Add dimensions between the Reference Planes and the Chair centers. Move the chairs as necessary to make the dimensions 6". Toggle on the lock constraints.

Figure 20 – Load and Place some Chairs. Constrain them to the table ends

42. Flex the model by loading the 42 x 144 Type.


The chairs at the end should move as the table changes length, maintaining their relative positions.

Note: For this exercise, we have loaded the chair Family directly into the table Family to save time; however, it would be better practice to keep our custom table without chairs, create a new Family (called table and chairs) and load both the table and chair Families into it. Try this yourself as a challenge exercise.

Build a Parametric Array Along the length of the table, we want to vary the quantity of chairs as the length of the table changes. To do this, we can use an array and a custom parameter.

43. Create a Reference Plane offset 18" in from each end of the table. Dimension and lock them to the existing Reference Planes at the ends.

44. Select the chair we added below the table. Move it vertically if necessary to make it sit just under the edge of the table. Don’t worry about moving it left or right just yet.

45. Mirror it along the center of the table to create a copy above the table.

46. With the SHIFT key, select both chairs (the original and the mirrored copy) and then on the Modify Furniture tab, click the Array button.

47. Be sure that the “Linear” Array and “Group and Associate” options are selected on the Options Bar, set the Number to 2 and choose the Move To “Last” option.

When you use the Group and Associate feature, the array remains parametric by grouping the selected entities and retaining the array parameters for later editing. In this way, you can select any arrayed item later and vary the quantities or spacing to adjust the entire array.

48. For the start point of the array, click near the chair and then move to the right horizontally and click again nearby. (The exact location is not important yet).

Figure 21 – Array the chair horizontally along the length of the table, then align to the Reference Planes and lock

We will edit the quantity of arrayed items later, but you can experiment with different values now if you wish. Just return the count to 2 before continuing. When building an array in a family, it is important to build it systematically as we are doing here. This allows you to be sure that you are assigning/manipulating the proper settings and parameters as you work.

49. Using the Align tool (Modify tab), align and constrain (lock) the center of one chair to the 18" Reference Plane we added above and then repeat on the other side. Click the Modify tool to complete the task.

When you use Align, remember to highlight the Reference Plane first, and then the object to align: the center of the chair in this case.

50. Click either chair. The array dimension will appear showing a current quantity of 2.


Change the value to 4 and then press ENTER.

51. Flex the model and apply the 42 x 96 Type. Try the 36 x 72 Type next.

When you try the smaller Type, all the chairs end up on top of one another. We can solve this by associating a new parameter to the array dimension which will adjust the quantity when you choose a different type.

52. Reapply the 42 x 144 Type and then click OK.

53. Click any chair and then click directly on the array dimension.

54. From the Options Bar, choose <Add Parameter> from the Label drop down.

55. For the Name type Long Side Chair Count and then click OK.

Edit the Types 56. Open the “Family Types” dialog.

Long Side Chair Count now appears as a new parameter.

57. For the 36 x 72 Type, set the count to 2 and then Apply.



60. Flex the model to test each Type and then click OK.

This is an effective way to vary the quantity of chairs in a logical way with respect to each type. Below, when we discuss formula properties, we’ll see that we can add even more “smarts” to the family to control the chair quantity based on specific mathematical criteria.

Create a Visibility Parameter Visibility parameters allow us to toggle the display of components in the Family on or off at the instance or type level. Let’s make a visibility parameter for the end chairs. This will allow us to have variations that include end chairs and others that do not.

61. Using the SHIFT key, select both of the chairs at the ends of the table.

62. Click the Element Properties button.

63. In the Graphics grouping, next to Visible, click the button in the far right column.


Figure 22 – Apply a parameter to the Visible setting

64. Click Add parameter.

65. Name the new parameter End Chairs, group it under Graphics and then click OK twice.

Notice the equals sign (=) that now appears on the button. This tells us that this setting is controlled by a parameter.

66. Click OK again and then return to Family Types.

67. For the 36 x 72 Type, remove the checkmark for End Chairs and then flex and click OK.

Note: The visibility parameter will not appear to work in the Family Editor. You must load the Family into the project to test it.

68. Save the Family file and then reload into the project to fully test.

Figure 23 – Using a visibility parameter to control the chairs at the table ends

A Furniture Schedule is included in the sandbox project. Notice that each nested chair Family is counted individually on the Schedule! Furthermore, notice that as you choose different types (each with its own separate quantity of internal chairs) the overall totals adjust. Revit properly counts the chairs exactly the way that you see them. Very cool!

Shared Families When we tested this Family in the project, we noted that each chair counts individually in the schedule. Furthermore, if you hover over the chairs and use the TAB key, you will actually be able to select each one individually. In the case of the chairs, this behavior seems perfectly logical and desirable. There may be times however when you build a Family and nest others into it where you do not want the nested components to be countable and selectable independently.


Figure 24 – The “Shared” setting makes nested Families selectable and countable in their host Families

The setting that controls this behavior is called “Shared” within the Family file. To see this setting, open a Family file like the chair Family used below. You can open it from the Application menu, or select it in a project and then click the Edit Family button on the ribbon. In the Family Editor, on the ribbon, click the Category and Parameters button. At the bottom of the dialog is a “Shared” checkbox. Selecting Shared makes the Family separately selectable and countable when nested. Clearing the checkbox prevents it from being separately selectable and countable when nested.

Further Enhancements Much more could be done to the Family we have built here to further enhance it and make it more useful and powerful. As we have noted above, the geometry could be enhanced in a number of ways. We could change the shape of the table; add a sweep around the edge to give it a profile and experiment with variations for the base. If you want the top to be more expressive, we could build the surface from more than one solid and assign each to a separate material parameter to represent inlaid wood or other design detailing. Your imagination is the only real limitation.

Geometric enhancements are not the only possibilities however. We could rework the Long Side Chair Count parameter to use a formula instead of fixed values in each Type. For example, if we wanted the chairs to maintain a certain minimum spacing, we could add a formula to calculate an appropriate quantity. To try this out, open the Family Types dialog and input a formula such as (Length - 3') / 1' 8" in the Formula field. When you input a formula that calculates from other parameters, be sure to type them in precisely as they are named including proper case. The formula suggested here starts with the length of the table, subtracts the total offset at either end (that we used for the Reference Planes) and then divides this by the desired minimum spacing between chairs. This is but a simple example of the potential available in the Formula column. Consult the online help for more examples and proper syntax. Feel free to experiment further.

Profile Families Profiles are simple two-dimensional shapes that are used to produce more complex three-dimensional geometry. For example, when you create a sweep in a Family or project, you can sketch the shape of the cross-section to be swept, or you can use a pre-defined profile instead. The use of profiles gives a few advantages:


They are simple Families drawn outside the project and can be saved as RFA files and used in any project.

Like other Families, a profile family can contain flexible parameters and locked constraints. This allows more power and control over the profile shape than a simple “one-off” sketched shape would allow.

Like other Families, a profile family can contain multiple Types.

Profile Families behave like other nested Families. Since they are self-contained, they will not distort in unexpected ways when the parent Family flexes.

Several profile Family templates are provided including: Mullion, Rail, Reveal and Stair Nosing. There is also a generic “Hosted” template and finally a simple Profile.rft template to use if none of the others is appropriate. So if you are creating a profile for use on stair treads, you would use the stair nosing template. Use the mullion template if creating a custom curtain wall mullion shape and so on.

When you work in the Family Editor, there are two solid forms that can use a nested profile Family rather than a sketched shape. These are the Sweep and the Swept Blend. Using a profile to build these forms affords many of the same benefits listed above. To use a profile in a model Family that you are creating, first create a new Family based on the Profile.rft template. Draw your shape; add any parameters, constraints and types. Save the Family and then load it into the model Family that you are creating. Once the profile is loaded, you can use it to create solid forms. Let’s look at a quick example.

Tutorial 4 – Create and use a Profile Family 1. From the Application menu choose Open.

2. Browse to the dataset folder, select Bracket-Start.rfa and then click Open.

For the next several exercises, we will work with this simple Family. This Family is a wall mounted bracket. It makes use of each of the solid form shapes available. You can move your mouse around the screen and pre-highlight any of the forms to see a tool tip indicating the type of form it is such as extrusion or revolve, etc.

Figure 25 – The Bracket Family uses each of the solid form shapes

Apply a Profile Shape to an existing Sweep There are a couple sweeps in this Family. Most already use a profile Family. The fancy “S” shaped form at the leading edge of the bracket that uses currently uses a sketch for its profile cross-section instead. Let’s substitute that with the predefined profile shape used on the


others instead.

3. Select the “S” shaped sweep.

4. On the Modify Sweep tab, click the Edit Sweep button.

5. On the Sweep tab, click the Select Profile button.

Notice on the Modify Profile ribbon tab, that the Type Selector currently shows: <By Sketch> for the Profile.

Figure 26 – The Sweep currently uses a sketch instead of a Profile Family

To use a profile instead of a sketch, simply choose the profile you wish from the Type Selector. If the profile you need is not loaded into the project/family, click the Load Profile button first to load one.

6. Click on <By Sketch> and then choose Bracket Shape.

7. On the Sweep panel (far right), click the Finish Sweep button.

Figure 27 – Chose a Profile from the list

Notice the sweep change. It now has a rounded shape like the other sweeps in this Family.

Create a Custom Profile Shape For this next exercise, we’ll create a new swept blend. Swept blends can also use profiles or sketches. In the previous exercise, the profile was already loaded and in use in the family. This made the process of applying it to the sweep easy. In many cases, you will have to first load a profile from the library (be sure to explore the collection of profile Families provided out-of-the-box before creating your own) or create one yourself. Creating a new profile Family is easy.

8. From the Application menu choose New > Family.

9. Select the Profile.rft template and then click Open.

Two Reference Planes appear on screen marking the insertion point much like the Room Tag.rft template used above. Draw your shape relative this intersection. For this exercise, we will create a very simple shape to illustrate the process.

10. Draw a vertical line 3" tall centered on the insertion point.

Draw the line on the center Reference Plane first, then zoom in and adjust the length and centering.

11. Draw two horizontal lines from the center .4" to the right.

Again, draw the line first snapping to the endpoint of the vertical line, then draw horizontally to the right and then come back and adjust the length with the temporary dimensions.

12. Finish the shape with a 3-point arc whose end points snap to the two horizontal lines and curves in toward the vertical line with a radius of approximately 9".

Snap the start and end points, then position the mouse about in the correct spot and simply type 9" and then press ENTER. The radius temporary dimension will automatically receive the typed input.


Figure 28 – Draw a profile shape using Lines and Arcs

13. Save the Family as: Bracket Finial Profile1.rfa and then click the Load into Projects button.

This will load it into the Bracket-Start.rfa file.

Create a Swept Blend using Profiles Now that we have a custom profile, we will use it with another that is already loaded in the Family to create the final solid form our bracket requires—a small finial at the bottom of the bracket wall support.

14. Open a convenient view in which to work, such as Right.

15. On the Create tab, click the Solid tool and choose Swept Blend.

A swept blend requires a single segment path (can be straight, curved or even a spline) and two profiles. The profiles can be sketched or use nested profile Families as we are doing here. For this example, a Model Line is provided in the location required to make drawing the path easier. In your own work, you can choose the Sketch Path button on the Mode panel to draw a path. Here, we will simply choose the Pick Path option.

16. On the Mode panel, click the Pick Path button and then click the small arc that appears at the bottom of the bracket.

A sketch line will appear matching the shape of the provided arc. Two work planes will appear automatically at either end. These are where the two shapes will be drawn for the blend.

17. Click Finish Path.

18. On the Modify Profile 1 tab, click on <By Sketch> on the Type Selector and choose Bracket Finial Profile 1.

19. On the Mode panel, click the Modify Profile 2 button.

20. On the Modify Profile 1 tab, click on <By Sketch> on the Type Selector and choose Bracket Finial Profile 2.

21. On the Swept Blend panel (far right), click the Finish Swept Blend button.

Study the model in a 3D view. A void extrusion has been included in the dataset that we can use to round off the top of the finial as a finishing touch. When you create a void form, Revit attempts to apply it automatically to any intersecting solid geometry. In this case however, since the void was created before the solid, we need to apply it manually.

22. On the Modify tab, on the Edit Geometry panel, click the Cut tool. Select the swept blend first, and then click the void.


Figure 29 – Cut the swept blend with provided void

The top of the swept blend should now appear curved and the void is invisible unless you hover your mouse over it. This completes the bracket Family.

23. Save the Bracket-Start.rfa file.

Symbolic Lines Symbolic lines are special drafting lines that appear only in Views parallel to the one in which they are drawn. For example, open any Door Family and you will discover that the actual door panel is a 3D extrusion drawn in the closed position, but that in any plan view, the Door panel appears open with an arc swing. The arc swing and open door panel are drawn with symbolic lines—simple 2D elements that are view-direction dependent. Since they are drawn in a plan view, they only show in plan views. Doors also typically have a dashed diagonal swing in elevation. These are also drawn with symbolic lines.

You can use symbolic lines for any purpose. Sometimes it is not practical to model all aspects of a Family in 3D. You can use symbolic lines to add simple flourishes and details that would otherwise be impractical to model. This helps keep file size down and also facilitates the level of abstraction often required by most orthographic architectural drawings like plans and elevations.

Visibility Settings Most geometry in the Family Editor has visibility settings. You may not wish all items in a Family to display in all circumstance. Visibility settings enable you to control under which circumstances a particular element will display. Settings can be accessed from the Visibility Settings button on the ribbon or from within the “Instance Properties” dialog.


Figure 30 – Visibility settings allow you turn elements off under certain viewing circumstances

View Specific Display settings allow you to exclude object display in certain kinds of Views and under Detail Levels you can turn off display at certain levels of detail. For example, in the symbolic lines topic above, in order for the 3D door panel which is drawn closed to not display in plan, it has the Plan/RCP box deselected in the Visibility Settings dialog. Furthermore, let’s say that you wanted to show varying levels of detail in the door frame for Course, Medium and Fine. You could draw an extrusion to represent the frame. You would turn off this element in Course and Fine display. For Fine, you could load in a Detail Component from the library that represented an actual correctly drawn hollow metal frame. Other parts of the Family could vary as well, like the door panel being shown as a single line in Course display and double lines at correct thickness in Medium and Fine. The choice is yours to make as you design your Families. Simply try to think of all the ways that you might like to use a particular Family and under what viewing circumstances it is likely to be used. Then build those parameters into the elements of the Family.

Figure 31 – Example of applying different viewing settings per level of detail

In the Bracket Family edited above, all the 3D geometry has the Plan/RCP box deselected so that none of it shows in plan views. In place of the 3D geometry, a simple plan representation is drawn with symbolic lines as a rectangle with dashed lines. However, one change is required to make these simplified plan graphics display properly. Study the next topic for the issue and solution.

Overhead items An interesting situation occurs in certain Families when all of the geometry is above the cut plane. Think of light switches or overhead ceiling mounted or wall mounted components. If you only want the item to appear in reflected ceiling plans, then there is no issue. If however, you wish to have an element, whose geometry is completely above the cut plane, appear in plan views, you must employ a workaround. The workaround is simple: add an element in the Family file that does intersect the cut


plane. This can be anything, but a simple symbolic line will do the trick. For example, let’s say that you had a wall mounted light fixture or support bracket (like the family from the exercise above) and you wanted it to appear in dashed lines on the plan to indicate that it occurred above the cut plane. By default, it will not appear in plan because in order to do so, Revit must find some geometry when it cuts the plan view. If there is none (because the entire Family is above the cut), Revit will not show the item.

Figure 32 – Using an Invisible Symbolic Line to trigger overhead plan display

The solution is simple, in an elevation view within the Family file, add a vertical Symbolic Line passing through the cut plane. Draw it using the <Invisible Lines> Line Style. This will ensure that the line is not visible in elevation views, but will give Revit something to cut through which in-turn will trigger the plan display. Then simply draw dashed Symbolic Lines in the plan view to represent the item overhead.

Tutorial 5 – Ensure overhead plan display In this simple exercise, continue in the Bracket-Start.rfa Family from above.

1. In Bracket-Start.rfa, open the Ref. Level floor plan view.

Notice that most of the geometry is gray in color. Further notice that it is difficult to make out any graphics clearly since all of the various shapes used to create the bracket are on top of one another in plan view. The solution is to add symbolic lines around just the outline of all the 3D geometry. The 3D geometry then needs to be turned off in Plan/RCP. Both of these things have already been done in this file except for the newly created Swept Blend.

2. Select the Swept Blend created above, and then on the Modify Swept Blend tab, click the Visibility Settings button. Clear the Plan/RCP checkbox and then click OK.

When you deselect this element, it will appear gray in this view like the others. In the Family Editor, invisible elements appear gray rather than completely invisible. However, when you load this Family into a project, these items would be invisible in plan views.

Move your mouse over the edges of the graphics and you will also notice that there are already symbolic lines in this view as well. Selecting one will reveal that they use the Hidden Lines type on the Type Selector which makes them appear dashed. Let’s load this Family into a project to test what we have so far.

3. Save the Family.


4. On the ribbon, click the Load into Project button.

5. If you have more than one project open, choose Sandbox and then click OK. Use the Component Button and add a bracket to any Wall.

Figure 33 – Nothing displays when adding the bracket to a plan view and a warning appears

You should see a warning appear on screen and no bracket will appear. This is because all of the geometry for the bracket occurs above the cut plane.

6. Check other views and you will notice that the bracket is there. It just has nothing to show in plan currently. Undo before continuing.

7. Return to the Family file and open the Front elevation view.

8. On the Detail tab, click the Symbolic Line tool. When prompted for a Work Plane, choose Center (Front/Back) from the list and then click OK.

9. From the Type Selector, choose <Invisible Lines> and then draw the symbolic line vertically from the Ref. Level to the bottom of the bracket.

10. Click Modify, save the file and then click Load into Projects again. When prompted, choose the overwrite option.

11. Add a bracket to plan view again (press the SPACEBAR if necessary to rotate it).

The bracket should now display in plan and further should display as only as a simple dashed rectangle rather than the jumble of overlapping 3D forms.

Flip Controls You have no doubt noticed that certain Families include flip controls that allow you to flip and mirror the Family instance with a single click. We can add such controls to any Family we create. Our bracket Family could certainly benefit from such a thing.

Tutorial 6 – Add a Flip Control 1. Return to the Bracket-Start.rfa Family once more.

2. Open the Ref. Level floor plan view.

3. On the Create tab, click the Control tool.

4. Click the Double Vertical button and then place the control above the plan graphics.

5. Save the file and reload it into the project to test.

Family Type Parameters Earlier in this session we discussed nested Families. As you gain more comfort with the Family Editor and begin to design your Families you will begin to require more complexity in your Families. In the


conference table tutorial above, we added chairs, arrayed them, made the array parametric. It turns out that the Breuer chair we used had only one Family Type, but in many cases the Family that you nest in may have multiple types. If you wish to provide access to those types from the host Family, you can use a Family Type parameter. For example, suppose you nested our bracket Family into another Family and wished to be able to swap between the one we have been working on and another version of the Family that uses a much simpler design. A Family Type parameter will allow us this flexibility. We will work through an example below.

Formula Parameters As we discussed above in the “Further Enhancements” topic, you can use formulas to add more intelligence to your parameters. Nearly any parameter can be used as a variable in a formula. The following list copied from the online help lists the formulas that are possible:

Formulas Formulas support the following arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponentiation, logarithms, and square roots. Formulas also support the following trigonometric functions: sine, cosine, tangent, arcsine, arccosine, and arctangent.

The valid formula abbreviations for arithmetic operations and trigonometric functions are:

Addition— + Subtraction— - Multiplication—* Division—/ Exponentiation—^: x^y, x raised to the power of y Logarithm—log Square root—sqrt: sqrt(16) Sine—sin Cosine—cos Tangent—tan Arcsine—asin Arccosine—acos Arctangent—atan e raised to an x power—exp Absolute Value—abs

You can enter integers, decimals, and fractional values in formulas, using normal mathematical syntax, as shown in the examples below:

Length = Height + Width + sqrt(Height*Width) Length = Wall 1 (11000mm)+ Wall 2 (15000mm) Area = Length (500mm) * Width (300mm) Volume = Length (500mm) * Width (300mm) * Height (800 mm) Width = 100m * cos(angle) x = 2*abs(a) + abs(b/2) ArrayNum = Length/Spacing

Parameter names in formulas are case sensitive. For example, if a parameter name begins with a capital letter, such as Width, you must enter it in the formula with an initial capital letter. If you enter it in a formula using lower-case letters instead, for example, width * 2, the software will not recognize the formula.

Conditional Statements You can use conditional statements in formulas to define actions in a family that depend on the state of other parameters. With conditional statements, the software enters values for a parameter based on whether a specified condition is satisfied. Conditional statements are useful in certain circumstances; however, they make families more complex and should be used only when necessary.


For most type parameters, conditional statements are unnecessary because the type parameter itself is like a conditional statement: If this is the type, then set this parameter to a specified value. Instance parameters are a more productive place to use conditional statements, particularly when they are used to set a parameter that does not vary continuously.

Syntax for Conditional Statements

A conditional statement uses this structure: IF (<condition>, <result-if-true>, <result-if-false>)

This means that the values entered for the parameter depend on whether the condition is satisfied (true) or not satisfied (false). If the condition is true, the software returns the true value. If the condition is false, it returns the false value.

Conditional statements can contain numeric values, numeric parameter names, and Yes/No parameters. You can use the following comparisons in a condition: <, >, =. You can also use Boolean operators with a conditional statement: AND, OR, NOT. Currently, <= and >= are not implemented. To express such a comparison, you can use a logical NOT. For example, a<=b can be entered as NOT(a>b).

The following are sample formulas that use conditional statements.

Simple IF: =IF (Length < 3000mm, 200mm, 300mm) IF with a text parameter: =IF (Length > 35', “String1”, “String2”) IF with logical AND: =IF ( AND (x = 1 , y = 2), 8 , 3 ) IF with logical OR: =IF ( OR ( A = 1 , B = 3 ) , 8 , 3 ) Embedded IF statements: =IF ( Length < 35' , 2' 6" , IF ( Length < 45' , 3' , IF ( Length < 55' , 5' , 8' ) ) ) IF with Yes/No condition: =Length > 40 (Note that both the condition and the results are implied.) Examples of Conditional Statement Usage

Typical uses for conditional statements in formulas include calculating array values and controlling an element’s visibility based on a parameter value. For example, you can use conditional statements to:

Prevent an array parameter from taking a value less than 2.

In Revit Architecture, arrays can only have an integer value of 2 or greater. In some situations, it may be useful to create a conditional formula that maintains an array parameter of 2 even if the calculated value is 1 or 0. With such a formula, if the calculated array value is 2 or greater, the formula retains the value. However, if the calculated value is 1 or 0, the formula changes the value to 2.

Formula: Array number = IF (Arrayparam < 2, 2, Arrayparam)

Make muntins visible only when the number of window lights is greater than 1.

For example, if you have a Lights parameter that you want to use to control the visibility of muntin geometry, you can create a Yes/No parameter like MuntinVis, and assign it to the Visible parameter in the Element Properties dialog of the muntin geometry. Because the MuntinVis parameter is a Yes/No (or Boolean) operation, both the condition (IF) and the results are implied. In this example, when the condition is met (true), the MuntinVis parameter value is selected, and the muntin geometry is visible. Conversely, when the condition is not met (false), the MuntinVis parameter is cleared, and the muntin geometry is not visible.

Formula: MuntinVis = Lights > 1

It can take some trial and error to get the formula written and functioning correctly. For complex formulas, try writing in Notepad or Excel and then pasting into the formula field to test.

Tutorial 7 – Build a Complex Canopy Design For this exercise, we’ll open another provided Family file. You will find Awning.rfa in your dataset folder.

1. Open to the Awning.rfa Family file.

This Family is a Wall-based Generic Model that contains three solid forms and one void form. The two supports are simple blends using very simple rectangular shaped sketches for the


top and bottom. Remember, unlike a swept blend, the blend is limited to sketches and cannot use profiles for the top and bottom shapes. (However, if you wanted to, you could create the same shape with a swept blend that simply used a straight line path. This would allow the use of profiles. Feel free to try this as an additional exercise on your own later). The awning itself is also a blend that blends from a simply long rectangle to a thin eyebrow shape at the front. The front edge is cut to a curved shape using a void extrusion.

If you open the plan view, this Family also uses the same visibility techniques seen in the bracket and also uses symbolic lines and the overhead trick showcased above. Finally, material parameters have been assigned to the components so that you can assign a different material to the awning from the supports. Feel free to explore each shape and view to gain full understanding of the Family.

Figure 34 – The Awning is comprised of three simple blends and a void

2. Open to the Canopy-Start.rfa Family file.

This Family nests both the bracket and awning Families within it. Each is arrayed along the length of the Wall. The array is created the same way that we did above in the conference table and chairs Family.

If you wish to practice the array process, open the Canopy-Start1.rfa Family file instead. In that file, you can array the single Awning placed there. Use the Group and Associate option and the Last option. Align and lock the two end items to the Reference Planes at the start and end and then change the array quantity to 8 to test it.

Figure 35 – The Canopy Family is comprised of nested Families arrayed along the plaement Wall

Create a Family Type Parameter In this exercise, we will add a parameter that allows the end user of the canopy Family to interactively swap out the type of bracket used. Already nested within this Family is a simpler version of the bracket Family named Bracket-Simple. You can open this Family file and study it first if you wish.

3. Open the “Family Types” dialog. Beneath Parameters, click the Add button.


4. Name the parameter: Bracket and choose Graphics for “Group parameter under.” For the “Type of Parameter” choose <Family Type>.

5. From the Select Category dialog that appears, choose Specialty Equipment and then click OK.

Figure 36 – Add a Family Types Parameter for Specialty Equipment items

6. Click OK twice to return to the Family Types dialog.

Notice that the Bracket Family name appears as the default. If Bracket-Simple appears, change it to Bracket.

7. Click OK to return to the editor. Select one of the brackets on screen (you can select any one).

Since they are part of an array, they are actually groups. We will have to edit the group.

8. On the Modify Model Groups tab, on the Group panel, click the Edit Group button.

The rest of the model will gray out and a single bracket will remain ungrayed.

9. Select this bracket and edit its Element Properties.

10. In the “Instance Properties” dialog, scroll to the bottom and next to the Label parameter; choose Bracket Type instead of <None>.

11. Click OK and then on the Edit Group panel (far right), click the Finish button.

12. From the Project Browser, double-click to open View 1.

13. Open the “Family Types” dialog and choose Bracket-Simple for the Bracket Type parameter. Click the Apply button.

Notice that all of the brackets change to the simpler version.

14. Change the Bracket Type back to Bracket and then click OK.

15. Save the file.

Add Formula Parameters If you open the “Family Types” dialog you will notice a parameter called “Number of Brackets.” This parameter controls the quantity of brackets in the bracket array. Let’s create a similar parameter to control the number of awnings.

16. Select one of awnings on screen (you can select any one).

A temporary dimension will appear indicating the current quantity of items in the array.

17. Select this dimension. From the Label item on the Options Bar, choose <Add Parameter>.

18. Name the parameter: Number of Awnings. Group it under Graphics and then click OK.

19. Open “Family Types” and flex the model.


Notice that you have to set the two array parameters separately. This can get cumbersome and in some cases yield poor results like awnings overlapping each other or an inconsistent quantity of brackets, etc. Let’s create a formula that changes the quantity of brackets based on the quantity of awnings selected.

20. Open the “Family Types” dialog. In the Formula column next to Number of Brackets, type: Number of Awnings + 1. (Please mind the case. Your formula will not work if the upper and lower case is not exact).

Figure 37 – Add a formula to tie Number of Awnings and Number of Bracket together

21. Flex the model. Note that you can edit either variable and the other will change.

As a final enhancement, let’s tie the quantities to the overall length.

22. In the Formula column next to Canopy Width, type: Number of Awnings * 5'.

With these two formulas in place, the Number of Awnings drives the entire design. Since the Awning is 5'-0" wide, the overall length will become a multiple of that size and the number of brackets will always be one greater than the number of awnings.

23. Add some Family Types.

24. Save the file and load it into the Sandbox to test everything.

These examples only scratch the surface of the potential offered by formulas. As your Families become more complex you are encouraged to explore more possibilities. The AUGI forums are an excellent resource for such explorations.

Angular Parameters and Reference Lines To add an angular parameter to a Family, you need to use a Reference Line instead of a Reference Plane. Even though Reference Planes appear on screen to have a start and end point, they are really infinite. This makes it difficult to use them to control rotation in a Family. A Reference Line on the other hand has a finite length and both a start and end point. You can assign angle parameters to them and use them to control the rotation of elements within a Family such as the swing of a Door.

In addition to a start and end point, a Reference Line has four integral work planes associated with it. In order to use a Reference Line to control a rotation parameter effectively, you need to establish two things: first, you must constrain the end of the Reference Line that you wish to be the point of rotation. If you do not, the rotation parameter will behave unpredictably. Second, you must set one of the work planes of the Reference Line current and then add your solid geometry to this plane. To add symbolic lines that are controlled by a Reference Line, you must first make the solid geometry as indicated here and then draw the Symbolic lines and constrain them to the solid geometry.


Tutorial 8 – Making a Door Swing In this tutorial, we will create an angular parameter and associate it to a Reference Line for purposes of defining a variable door swing parameter in a Door Family.

1. Create a new Family based on the Door.rft template.

The trick to making the Reference Line work properly is being sure that you apply the constraints and parameters to it very carefully. In the Family Editor, it is sometimes easier to do this if you hide some of the geometry.

Add and Constrain a Reference Line 2. Select the Wall and on the View Control Bar, choose the Hide Element item from the

Temporary Hide/Isolate control (sunglasses).

3. Draw a 45° Reference Line starting at the intersection of two of the Reference Planes where you want the hinge point to be.

Make it 3'-0" long.

4. Dimension the end points of the Reference Line (from end to end).

Use the TAB key to select the endpoint at each end.

Figure 38 – Add a Reference Line and label it with a parameter

5. Select the dimension and label it with the existing Width parameter.

6. Use the Align tool and the TAB key technique to align and lock the end of the Reference Line to the each of the Reference Planes.


Figure 39 – Align Reference Lines to lock them to the Reference Planes

This step is important. By locking the end point (hinge point) of the Reference Line in both the horizontal and vertical directions we ensure that the hinge point of the Door will move with the Door as expected. Having applied the Width parameter above further ensures that the Reference Line will flex as expected with the rest of the Door.

7. Flex the model. Modify the Width and then set it back to 3'-0" before closing the Family Types dialog.

Add a Swing Parameter 8. On the Detail tab, on the Dimension panel, click the Angular button.

9. Click the horizontal Reference Plane first and then click the Reference Line. Place the Dimension.

10. Select the angular Dimension and then from the Label option, choose <Add parameter>.

11. Name the parameter Swing Angle, group it under Graphics, make it an Instance parameter and then click OK.

12. Flex the Model. Try different Widths and different Swing angles.

When satisfied that everything works properly, reset the Width to 3'-0" and the Swing to 45°.

To draw door geometry and constrain it to the Reference Lines is simple. The Reference Line has four integral Work Planes. There is one horizontal, one vertical and one at each end point. You simply click the Work Plane tool, choose the “Pick a Plane” option and then select the plane upon which you wish to draw. It is recommended that you leave the Reference Line oriented at 45° for this. Cut a section at 45° as well, parallel to the Reference Line. Then open this view to work. If you work in one of the orthographic views, you can accidentally constrain your geometry to other nearby Reference Planes and geometry making it difficult to later flex the model. If you build your door panel extrusion on the 45° you can easily avoid this.


Figure 40 – Reference Lines have four integral Work Planes

Create the section, open it and then set the vertical work plane of the Reference Line current. Draw a solid extrusion on this plane. Snap it to the ends of the Reference Line. Use the Thickness parameter for the height of the extrusion. To create a 2D plan version, draw Symbolic Lines using the pick lines option and constrain them to the edges of the solid extrusion.

An example of a door panel using the techniques in this tutorial is provided with the dataset that accompanies this paper. The Family is named: Door w Swing.rfa. Another version named: Door Panel w Swing.rfa is also provided. This one was created using the Generic Model.rft template. The Family contains only the Reference Line, Reference Planes and the door panel geometry. You can insert the entire Family as a nested Family in any other Door Family. The reason that Generic Model was used is so that you will not get double counts on your door schedules when using this technique. Open the file to explore the techniques covered here and feel free to incorporate it into your own Families.

Manufacturer’s Content There are also plenty of cases where you need to represent a particular item from a specific manufacturer. You can certainly embark on the task of acquiring detailed dimensions and building the item piece by piece. However, there is an easier method that in most cases is perfectly suitable.

Before you build any manufacturer’s content from scratch, explore their web site to see if they offer any content that you can download and use in Revit. It is still pretty unlikely that you will encounter ready-made Revit files on most manufacturers’ web sites, but nearly all of them have DWG or DXF files available. To bring such files into your Families, click the Insert tab, and then use the Import CAD tool.

Simply start a new Family from the appropriate template file. If the DWG you have is 2D, import it into the plan view. If it is 3D, import it into the 3D view. You can use the Visibility Settings button (covered above) to control which views show the 2D and which show the 3D if you import both.

You can leave the CAD geometry as is in the Revit Family, but often the files so created will be larger and have a negative impact on computer performance. As such, you may wish to consider tracing over the imported geometry with native Revit geometry and then deleting it. While this approach will take more effort, the improvement in performance can often easily justify it.


Effort vs. Benefit Building Families can take a lot of time and effort. Nearly every Family you can conceive of can benefit from some level of parameters and constraints. In many cases, you can create very intricate relationships between the Family, its parameters and any nested components within it. However, there are many cases when a simple symbol with little or no parametric behavior is also appropriate. Be sure to weight benefits with the amount of effort expended before making the final decision regarding how much “smarts” to build into any individual Family.

Thank you for attending.


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Thank you very much for attending the Paul F. Aubin Mastering Series. If you would like to continue your learning experience, please contact Paul F. Aubin Consulting Services to learn how we can bring the learning to your office. Please visit the web site to learn how to purchase books or email for a quote for onsite training, consulting and project coaching services.

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