"Can't make family type"

[Bryan Thatcher]

I have a family that when I change any of the parameters I get the error "can't make type". I have gotten this error before when a change isn't possible. But it seems like it's just 'locked'. Can I reset the family? Thanks.

[hadlari]

If you loaded up the family for a peak it may be more helpful. but to me it sounds like your family is not flexing properly. this may be cause by many different things... before you load a family, into a project, that is parametric you should always 'flex' it in the family it self (change the parameters to see if it will flex) if it works in the family it will work in the project.

Can you reset the family? if it was a default family from the revit library (if you havent saved over it) than you can take that, save as, call it the same name as the family you want to replace and load that back into your project.

If you did save over the default family i am sure you can find it someplace on the net.

[DoTheBIM]

... if it works in the family it will work in the project...

Not always true.

[Bryan Thatcher]

It would flex in the family, but not in the project. I saved-as and loaded it into the project, it's working fine now. Thanks what gave me the impression that it was somehow locked. Thanks.

[hadlari]

Not always true.

True. I suppose i should have said most of the time.

[DaveP]

My guess is that one of the parameters is defaulting differently in the Project than it is in the Family Editor. We get this error message often with our Door families. We have nested Panels. When we insert a Double Door, the Panel defaults to the last used value, which may have been a Single Panel. Since the Single Panel doesn't have the "Leaf2" parameter, it chokes.
Probably too late now, but if (when) it happens again, look at all the parameters in the Properties Palette and see if there's one that doesn't make sense. Change it in the PP before placing the family and it might work.

We've also bee able to work around this if there is a similar Door already in the Project. Select the family that's already there and Create Similar. Seems to work better than picking it from the Type Selector.