Revit Type Catalogs

As we continue to test more Revit Families with our FAR Designer we have come across some very interesting items related to creating Revit Type Catalogs.

Here are some examples of items we found that I would like to present as discussion points and encourage your feedback:

• A Revit Type Catalog included Parameter Values using simple equations for a manufacturer and/or other text items where no equation was required. The parameters are not part of the text file, but part of family. It is my understanding that Revit will add those Parameter Values when importing into the Revit Project File which eliminates the need to have Revit evaluate an equation that is not required in a Revit Type Catalog. However, if you do not use Revit Type Catalogs, then it is appropriate to take the approach of including Parameter Values using simple equations.
• Another Revit Family we tested included Parameters with Values that were determined by an equation and they were trying to place those Parameters into Revit Type Catalog text file. I question why anyone would consider doing this as any Parameter that has an equation should let Revit determine the Value.
• Another Family we tested had an Instance Parameter in the Type Catalog and Instance Parameters should not be in Revit Type Catalogs.
• We also tested a Revit Type Catalog that had 170 Types and 45 Parameters within the Type Catalog. I question the size and feel it should have been broken down for ease of use, as going through 170 Types is a lot to search when looking for what you need.
  

I can fully understand why architects do not trust what they are downloading when there are such inconsistencies, even with something as trivial as creating Revit Type Catalogs.

It is my opinion that a 'best practice' approach should be taken into account when creating Revit Type Catalogs.

Far Manager FAQ

Far Manager frequently asked questions (FAQ). Hopefully these questions and answers will help in the use of the tool.



What is the Far Manager? The FAR Manager is a content manager but that is not all, it has the logic behind to create Revit families automatically from manufacturing data. This ability allows us to use the FAR Creator with manufacturing to transform manufacturing data to a BIM Model.
Read more on the overall FAR Process on our blog.


I Have downloaded and want to add more users? When you install the FAR Manager a tool is added to your program listing called the FAR Administrator. This tool will allow you to add all your users that you want using the FAR Manager and FAR Designer. See below for a PDF to download.





FARAdministrator.pdf

FAR Designer Type Catalog Issue2

Someone using the FAR Designer tried to put Parameters that have equations into the Revit Type Catalog. I do NOT recommend putting a Parameter in a Revit Type Catalog that has an equation and suggest you let Revit handle that inside the Family. When looking at the differences between Types in a Family, I consider the Type Catalog to be a place to hold the Parameters with different values that are not controlled by an equation.

FAR Tool Tip: If you are creating a Revit Type Catalog when using the FAR Designer, do not select a Parameter that has an equation.

FAR Designer Release

CAD Enhancement Inc. is announcing the release of the FAR Designer - a valuable tool allowing the following functionalities within a Revit Family to:

• Create Type Catalogs
• Manage the Type Catalogs more efficiently
• Add Types, add or remove Parameters, rename your Parameters, change the values of the Parameters etc.- all within the Revit Family Editor
• Define which Parameters are within the Type Catalog
• Show the Parameters within their groupings along with their values and any equations
• Allow you to print or save a ‘read out’ of the Parameters within a Revit Family to a rich text file that can be opened as a Word document
• Show what will be in the Type Catalog after it has been saved
  Download a Free Trial of the FAR Designer
  
  Note: To access the FAR Designer you must have Revit 2010 and the FAR Manager installed on your computer:
  
  Read about the FAR Designer

Feel free to call 651-815-0220 or email Lrobinson@cadenhancement.com with your questions, comments and feedback regarding the FAR Designer.

FAR Designer Use 1

Right after announcing the release of the FAR Designer we received this inquiry, "We have a large number of Revit Families that have Types within the Family and would like to create the Revit Type Catalogs for these Revit Families. Can your tool help?" We were happy to respond by saying, "Yes, it can, as that is one of the reasons the FAR Designer was developed."


Below is just one example in a step-by-step process showing how you can use the FAR Designer to create Revit Type Catalogs for Revit Families that already have Types within:

1. Select the Revit Family
   
2. Open the Revit Family within the FAR Designer
   
3. Select the Parameters you want in the Revit Type Catalog then save as a Type Catalog. It will create the txt file and remove all the Types from the Revit Family

Another FAR Designer feature to try as you are creating your Revit Family and adding all the Types, would be to group all the Parameter names in the Family Editor within the FAR Designer, thus allowing you to see the differences, which in turn, allows you to make a good decision of what Parameters should be in a Type Catalog.

Click here to download a 15 day Free Trial of the FAR Manager and FAR Designer. (Revit 2010 and the FAR Manager must be installed on your computer before accessing the FAR Designer.)

Revit Type Catalogs - FAR Designer

Are you tired of opening Notepad or Excel to create your Revit Type Catalog? We have created a tool called the FAR Designer to help with this task. It is built on our FAR Manager technology (within Revit 2010) so it does require that you work in a project file. This can be an actual project file or just click on a new project file in Revit.

Once you have created your geometry, you can either create all your Type(s) as you would with a typical Family or go to the project file and open it using the FAR Designer. If you choose to open the project file using the FAR Designer you will have the capabilities to add Types, Parameters, rename your Parameters, etc... within the FamilyEditor. You can also select the Parameters you want to be in the Type Catalog.

Another functionality of the FAR Designer is the ability to easily add and remove Parameter Sets to the the Type Catalog prior to saving it. This can be done by clicking on the selected Parameter(s) within the Type Catalog column. You will also find a Type Parameter Unit column that allows you to set the Parameter Header correctly with the ## symbols.

The FAR Designer tool also allows you to take a Type Catalog and re-insert all of the Types back within the Family as well as remove the Type Catalog.

One of the most significant features of the FAR Designer is the ability to create a 'read out' of the Parameters within a Revit Family and save it into a rich text file that can be opened in Word or printed out for your product managers and others responsible to verify the product information in the BIM format is complete and accurate.

Contact us with any questions or comments

FAR Designer and Type Catalog

The FAR Designer was developed with the intention to help design Parameters including their values and equations within your Revit Families. We have also added the ability to create Type Catalogs and manage the Type Catalogs more efficiently including the ability to take the Type Catalog and rebuild all of the Types in the Family. The ability to print out your Parameters should help with the ‘checking and approval’ process.

We developed the FAR Designer around the FAR technology which is built to run within a project file. You must have the FAR Manager installed on your computer to use the FAR Designer.

To download the Far Designer
http://www.revitcatalog.com/FarSignup/default.aspx

There are three sections to the FAR designer:

• Family Reviewer
• Family Editor
• Type Catalog Viewer

The Family Reviewer

The Family Reviewer will:

• Show you the Parameters within their groupings along with their values and any equations.
• Allow you to print or save to a rich text file which can be opened as a Word document.

The Family Editor

The Family Editor allows you to:

• Define which Parameters are within the Type Catalog.
• Change the values of the Parameters.
• Add or Remove the Parameters.
• Rename the name of the Parameters.
  

Type Catalog Viewer

The Type Catalog Viewer:

• A viewer that shows what will be in the Type Catalog after it has been saved.
  

Other services provided by CAD Enhancement, Inc:

• CAD Programming
• Design/Drafting Services "OnDemand"
• Automatic Creation of Revit Families
• Creation of Revit Families
  
  We have put together a FAQ on the FAR Designer, feel free to look at and comment with any other questions