Associate parameters from a host family to a nested family to control geometry in the nested family.
This video demonstrates the following:
When creating families, there are times when you need to nest one family into the other. When you do this, you can also link a parameter from the host family to a parameter in the nested family.
For example, in this wall-mounted shade family, the support is a nested family. It is a nested family because it is easier to control the geometry in the array when it is nested. The number of required supports are arrayed based on the length of the shade when placed.
The distance the support extends from the wall is defined by the Support Length parameter. The value of this parameter must be passed to the support's nested family geometry.
In the host family, select the nested family. In this example, because the nested family is part of an array, press Tab to select an individual instance of the nested support family. Then click Edit Type on the Properties palette.
In the Type Properties dialog, you see the type properties for the nested support family. The Length parameter is the value that must be connected to the Support Length parameter in the host family. Click the small button to the right of the parameter value. The Associate Family Parameter dialog contains the parameters from the host family you can connect to. Select Support Length from the list and click OK.
Now the value is grayed and the button is changed to an equal sign, indicating it has been associated with a parameter in the host family. Click OK to apply the new value to the nested family geometry.
Associating parameter values works in similar way for instance parameters.
Using nested families and associating family parameters allows you to reuse geometry across multiple host families and adds flexibility to custom families.