Revit parameters

[kathey1]

im trying to get my head around revit parameters and im am strugglering to find any good tutorials on the subject.

can anyone tell me what the difference is between a family parameter and a shared parameter in the parameter properties and also whats the difference between type and instance ?

and also when would i use a family parameter instead of a shared parameter ?

im still a begineer and your help will be gratefull

cheers

[mholzer]

I found the Revit Structure 2010 Families Guide to be very helpful in explaining parameters. You can download it at the Autodesk website: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet...linkID=9243180

[G_J]

Hi,

I have attached a pdf I created with my old company explaining what each type of parameter means.

In terms of what type of parameter to use when, that all comes down to what you want to use that parameter for.

For example, if you are creating a structural connection family, let's say a simple face based plate, you will add parameters for the dimensions of the plate, length, width, thickness. If you use a family parameter for this, the parameters will flex, and do everything that a shared parameter will do apart from one key thing, a family parameter cannot be used anywhere else but in the family where it is created.

If you were to use a shared parameter instead, and change the naming convention slightly (because these shared parameters will be added to your company shared parameter file) use the prefix 'plate', so plate length, plate width, plate thickness. Once created these parameters will be saved in your shared parameter .txt file. These parameters can be scheduled, so you can create a structural connection schedule and add these shared parameters to the schedule, you can also add these to a custom made structural connection tag. So the tag will automatically read the dimensions of the plate.

Shared parameters are powerful, and part of the concept of using the 'information' from the Revit model.

I have expanded a little on this, with images on my blog post http://revitst.blogspot.com/2011/03/...arameters.html

I hope this helps!

[kathey1]

Excellent post, finally understanding parameters for once !

Do you know of any good Shared parameter tutorials ?

cheers

[G_J]

Nope sorry, that is a bit of a grey area in any training.....

It's just a case of having a crack at them and seeing what they do!

[Revitaoist]

Shared Parameters are used to store custom information in a family. If you put all the info in the family (I use voltage, amps, drain size, water supply size, etc.), you can just insert the family and all the information will automatically schedule. There is currently no International standard for what type of information is needed in Construction Documentation, so Shared Parameters are needed to customize for any situation. I know you're thinking it would be better if all this was set up out of the box, but we are just not there yet.