Customizing Titleblock Project by Project

[agoodmansen]

When I load our office template titleblock into a project, how do I edit the titleblock for the project without modifying the office template? When the family is loaded into the project, does it create a copy of the family in the project or simply reference the family externally? I'd like to have the flexibility fo customizing the titleblock on a per-project basis without modifying the original family that is shared by the office. Please let me know what I need to do to acheive this.

Thanks

[dfriesen]

When I load our office template titleblock into a project, how do I edit the titleblock for the project without modifying the office template? When the family is loaded into the project, does it create a copy of the family in the project or simply reference the family externally? I'd like to have the flexibility fo customizing the titleblock on a per-project basis without modifying the original family that is shared by the office. Please let me know what I need to do to acheive this.

When a family is loaded into a project, it is a copy that resides within the project. You COULD select the titleblock in the project and 'Edit Family', make your changes, then 'load into project', and the original would not be affected, as long as you did not Save.
A better solution, in my mind, is to copy the titleblock family into the project folder and edit it there - we have a 'blocks & familys' folder for that.

[agoodmansen]

I'd like to be abel to set up the project template so that the users don't need to go and load anything - it's already there and they can start working away. I think it's best that they not have the opportuinty to accidentally load the original family and modify it.

How do you structure your project files? What is your method for starting a new project? Do your users copy the blocks/families folder from a central location and then load the families from the new folder location (relative to the project)?

[patricks]

I'd like to be abel to set up the project template so that the users don't need to go and load anything - it's already there and they can start working away. I think it's best that they not have the opportuinty to accidentally load the original family and modify it.

How do you structure your project files? What is your method for starting a new project? Do your users copy the blocks/families folder from a central location and then load the families from the new folder location (relative to the project)?

We have our Revit library stored on our server. Most of these families are fine for most projects as they are. Our project template has some families loaded, and then more are loaded as needed as the project progresses.

In the rare case that a project-specific family is required, either an existing family is modified or a new family is created, but then it is saved into a Families folder within the particular project folder, and then loaded into the project.

Our office normally doesn't modify our title blocks for every project. We have standard office title blocks that just get the various parameters for project name, address, project number, etc. entered in. However if I needed to do that, I would have a generic office title block loaded into the template file, perhaps with big text saying "MODIFY PER PROJECT" or something like that. Then I would click on the title block, click Edit Family, edit the title block to suit the project, and then save it in that Families folder within my project folder, and then load that back into the project.

[agoodmansen]

Our titleblocks generally get modified for each project to add logos of the owner or contractor. I'd like to know how to organize the titleblock families so that I can allow the users to add logos or make changes as they are needed project by project, but without allowing them to alter the orginal titleblock.

[NKramer]

Our titleblocks generally get modified for each project to add logos of the owner or contractor. I'd like to know how to organize the titleblock families so that I can allow the users to add logos or make changes as they are needed project by project, but without allowing them to alter the orginal titleblock.

The best way to keep people from "accidentally" modifying master templates is to put your master families on a server and remove write privileges from everyone but yourself, IT, etc.

Otherwise there is no way to keep people from accidentally saving over the old template. This is the same for Revit, AutoCAD, or most anything.

Nick

[agoodmansen]

I just don't like how I've got to open the titleblock in the family editor and then after making my alterations I reload the titleblock into the project and then close the titleblock without saving it. I know that I can instruct my users 100 times not to save the titleblock changes that they make in the family editor, but someone WILL save it.

I guess that it is the whole family editor environment that I am not familiar with just yet. When I want to modify any family in a project, I need to load the changes into the current project without saving the changes, correct?

[aaronrumple]

There isn't any reason to even have the titleblock as a *.rfa on the server as long as it is in your template.

If the file isn't on the server in the place it was originally loaded from - Revit will prompt for a save location when you edit it and try to save.

So either delete it from the server. Or move it to a different location once loaded in the template.

In general, users should be saving project specific families to a project directory.

[SwartzieCRA]

Set up your family with Labels and not just text. That way the titleblock can be modified per project (from within the project) using the Project Parameters.