CAD/BIM Tips & Tricks
Fast & Easy: A New Way to Handle Revit Families
23 January 2023
When it comes to dealing with Revit families, you shouldn’t feel like a frustrated Nicolas Cage in Gone in 60 Seconds: “I’m a little tired, a little wired, and I think I deserve a little appreciation!” You’re absolutely right. You deserve better.
Searching for Revit families can be tricky, complex and time-consuming. Until now, that is.
As in real life, families come in all shapes and sizes, with varying degrees of complexity and drama, and we’re not talking about that embarrassing relative who always drinks just a little too much at family gatherings. (Doesn’t every family have one?) A fundamental understanding of families is obviously important as it informs how you’ll manage or edit your Revit families, and how to efficiently extract data from them or add data to them, which can make a world of difference to not only your mood but also to how much time you spend digging through families to find what you need.
How about your search displays only those families that actually match your search criteria and not the boatload of possible matches the project browser serves up?
Revit Families 101
If you’re a Revit vet, you’re probably already familiar with the various types of families that exist but bear with us for a second as we quickly walk the new guys through it.
The simplest definition for families in Revit is that they’re groups of components used to build a model. For example, walls, windows, stairs, doors, bathrooms, fixtures, and showers may each have a common set of properties — known as parameters — and a graphical representation that depicts the object in some way. Each family may also have multiple types, based on different sizes, materials, and more. When you’re searching for a particular window, for example, you could search by material or width or some other criteria to find what you’re looking for.
Components are classified into various categories, so it’s helpful to know which kind of family you should be searching in. Here’s a simple, easy-to-remember breakdown, courtesy of Autodesk. (Seriously, if you can count to three, you’ve got this.)
1. System Families
System families create basic elements that would typically be assembled on a construction site. Examples are walls, roofs, floors, or ducts and pipes. System settings, which affect the project environment, and include types for levels, grids, drawing sheets, and viewports, are included in system families that are predefined in Revit. This means you don’t load them into your project from external files, nor do you save them to external locations.
Families come in all shapes and sizes, with varying degrees of complexity and drama.
2. Loadable Families
Loadable families are families that are used to create:
Building components that would usually be purchased, delivered and installed in and around a building, such as windows, doors, casework, fixtures, furniture, and planting.
System components that would usually be purchased, delivered and installed in and around a building, such as boilers, water heaters, air handlers, and plumbing fixtures.
Some annotation elements that are routinely customized, such as symbols and title blocks.
Because of their highly customizable nature, loadable families are the families you most commonly create, modify and search in Revit. Loadable families are created in external RFA files and imported, or loaded, into your projects.
I’ve figured out how to search, but when it comes to actually finding the right family, the limited search capabilities drive me crazy.
3. In-Place Families
In-place elements are unique elements you create when you need a unique component specific to the current project. When you create an in-place element, Revit creates a family for that element, which contains a single-family type.
Okay, now that we’ve covered the basics, what are the problems users run into? And is there a solution?
Say “No, Thanks” to Typical Family Drama
Here's a list of some of the usual complaints in the Revit family arena:
When needing to find one particular family out of hundreds, sometimes I am not sure what to try first.
I spend too much time searching and the results are often disappointing.
I’ve figured out how to search, but when it comes to actually finding the right family, the limited search capabilities drive me crazy.
Great, I thought I’d finally found the correct family, but I couldn’t do anything unless I closed the search function. And then I discovered that I didn’t have the right family, and I had to start all over again.
I spend too much time searching through families, one at a time. There’s got to be a quicker way to find what I’m looking for.
I wish I could search for and see only the families that match my search, instead of having to comb through the zillions of vague matches in the project browser.
Sound familiar?
Now imagine knowing exactly how and where to start a successful family search. Imagine having expanded search capabilities that easily find exactly what you’re looking for — even looking where Revit doesn’t natively let you search. Imagine not having to exit the search function to check whether or not you’ve selected the right family. Imagine doing a search and having all the matching families displayed at once. Or how about your search displays only those families that actually match your search criteria and not the boatload of possible matches the project browser serves up?
If someone can use Google, they can use Family Studio.
How to Achieve Pro Status in About Sixty Seconds
Congrats on all that imagining above, but you can stop now because what comes next is not imaginary, it’s reality.
Family Studio, an intuitive new add-in for Revit, could forever revolutionize the way you deal with families, reducing stress and frustration and saving you an incredible amount of time.
Search within an open Revit project and display only the families that match your search criteria.
Choose whether your search criteria looks for families by
- category,
- family name,
- family type,
- parameter name,
- parameter value,
- or various combinations of these options.
View the thumbnail for the family selected.
View all the types for the family selected.
View all the parameters for the family selected, with the option to hide all those annoying empty parameters.
Consider Family Studio the show of appreciation that Nic Cage couldn’t get!
If you’re wondering about the above-mentioned sixty seconds, here’s the scoop on that. According to the head honcho in Axiom’s tech department, getting to grips with Family Studio is a no-brainer. “If someone can use Google, they can use Family Studio,” he said. “There’s a learning curve of about sixty seconds. Legit. You can quote me.” Consider yourself quoted, sir.
For more information about the all-new Family Studio, call a Service Consultant at 727-442-7774 or visit AxiomInt.com. If you want to be a Revit family ninja, think of Family Studio as your katana. Your family problems will be — dare we say it? — gone in about sixty seconds. Axiom: Time-saving tools for Revit families!