Workflow: Advanced Family Techniques

To create a custom element for use in one or more models, create a loadable family.

Use Advanced Family Techniques

Using advanced family techniques, you can nest geometry and build relationships between family parameters. You can also add parameters or sub-categories to control the visibility of family geometry.


Nested Families

Learn how you can use nested families to bring multiple families together and use them as one family.

About Nesting and Sharing Loadable Families

Create a nested family by creating or opening a host family, and loading instances of other families into it.

Create a Family with Nested Components

To control the scheduling and tagging behavior of a nested family when it's loaded into a project, use the Shared setting.

Create a Family with Nested and Shared Components

Create families that feature interchangeable components.

Create a Nested Family with Interchangeable Components

     

To control geometry, build connections from the parameters of the host family to the parameters of the nested family.

Associate Family Parameters

     

Control Visibility
 

Learn how to control and set the visibility of the family geometry in specific views and at different detail levels.

About Family Visibility and Detail Level

Use parameters to control the visibility of each 3D form in the family.

Set Family Geometry Visibility

To control the graphics of different parts of the family geometry in project views, assign family geometry to sub-categories.

Assign Family Geometry to Subcategories

 

Other

Use type catalogs when you do not want to load more than 6 types into a project, but instead want to specify only the types needed for your model.

Create a Type Catalog

Check The Revit Clinic blog for tips to help you when creating families.

Revit Clinic: 10 Revit Family Tips

Use reference lines to control angular relationships in families.

Control Angular Dimensions with Reference Lines

Understand how to work with units in formulas.

Revit Clinic: Inconsistent Units

     

Explore some examples of loadable families to better understand the process of family creation.

Examples of Loadable Families

     

MEP Families

Families used for MEP workflows have elements not used for other families. Connectors allow the families to be used in systems and connected to MEP services in the model.


Connectors

When making MEP families, place connectors in the family to allow it to be connected to different systems.

About Connectors in Families

Place a connector in a family.

Place a Connector

Adjust the position and direction of a connector. Correct orientation is important so MEP families can correctly connect to each other.

Orient a Connector

Link connectors in a family to help establish a flow direction.

Link Connectors

     

Position the primary connector to dictate connection behavior. As you build the family, you can move and swap primary connectors if needed.

Select a Primary Connector

     

Lighting
     

Place light source elements in lighting families to define the behavior of the light emitted from the fixture. Associate IES files to the light source to further refine the light emittance properties.

About the Light Source for a Lighting Family