Revit family Organization on network

[iandidesign]

This looks to be good work Nic. And I applaud your effort. But I don't relish the prospect of buying, configuring and maintaining a separate application for what should be a built in function.

You're right Robert, this does not seem to be a hot topic here, which I find surprising. For a system that is so dependent on external files, library management and browsing seem utterly basic.

[Wes Macaulay]

Based on other threads and my own practice, people usually store the OOTB content in its own folder and then have a customized content folder with a parallel organizational structure:

> Revit 9.1 Content
> Revit 2008 Content
> Custom Content
--> Annotations
--> Appliances
--> etc.

We rarely go into the OOTB content any more because our own library is well developed.

[Chuckyd67]

Our users complain of having to drill so deeply into the directory structure to find what they want. So, I have suggested an alternate directory structure:

Libraries
Components
Parts
Families
Details
Detail Items
Standard Details

Components/Parts are for the Revit Supervisors, used in creating families. It contains elements of assemblies, such as door panels and frames for building door families.
Families is right OOTB categories, plus a few we have added. I don't understand the Revit structure, but most of our users are familiar with it now.
Details/Detail Items come right OOTB, and seems logical in its organization. At least everyone is familiar with the Masterspec Format.
The Standard details are broken down by discipline, and by Masterformat, at least within the Architectural Discipline.

For those who prefer visuals, there are several browsers available that do display an avatar of the component/assembly along side its description.

For naming family convention I subscribe generally to the UK National BIM's definitions.