Nesting Lights inside other Lights?

[thredge]

I was creating a new suspended light that I wanted to be able to use with a ceiling and without a ceiling. My thought was to create an un-hosted light that can be used without a host then nest that light into a hosted light. The issue I’m running into is the nested family has a light source and the hosted container family also has a light source. Is there a way to remove the container light source so I can just link the parameters to the nested light source. The attempt here was not to have to create 2 completely different families to maintain.

Thanks.

[twiceroadsfool]

Contairer Family > Settings > Family Catagories and Parameters > Uncheck the button at the bottom saying "Light Source"

[aaronrumple]

Yes, when making a light there is an option in Setting > Family Category and Parameters
Uncheck light source - you prety much have to go through this nesting and unchecking unless you have a single bulb fixture. And how many of those are There?

[thredge]

You's guys are so smart, how do you know all this stuff, I searched the help file, the forums, and then finally resorted to asking, and wow, that was so simple. I shall now proceed to become a master light maker .

Thanks again.

[thredge]

Oh, Rats, so the only problem with the approach it seems is that if I turn off the light source in the container, I cannot link the light sources from the nested objects to the container parameters, because they are turned off now I suppose. Is there any way around this? Even with it turned on I can only link, I can't create new parameters that would let me set the nested light to 0?

Thanks again.

[twiceroadsfool]

Make the Nested Light a Shared Family, and you can edit the values of the parameters directly in the project, instead of working through the container. Just be advised, all the implications of Shared Families will apply:

They will both schedule, the nested family will only be able to have instance parameters tied to the hosts (because the types will be handled directly by the nested families properties, etc).

[dbaldacchino]

The answer is simple...forget the other nested families. No sharing required...think of them as just geometry. One you're in the final family, just make sure you enable the light source and you'll get the desired parameters as you originally had in the previous nested families (where you disabled the light source). There's no need to connect any parameters and the light family should work in the project as expected.

[twiceroadsfool]

That is the easiest method, Dave... I just like the nested light with the light source in it for organizational sake: A light on a pole very well may be the same light as a light on a wall bracket.

Ill ue the same nested light, in two differet *container* light files. That way i can schedule brackets, and schedule poles, versus scheduling the fixtures. etc. But if the light source is in each container, i have to monitor and adjust the same light, for every variation of it in the project, if im using it for rendering (which i assume he is)...

[dbaldacchino]

Agreed. It all comes down to scheduling. We're not getting into that kind of detail. That's typically left to the contractor when ordering materials. There are so many little things that architecture firms don't even get into. We ust communicate what type of fixture we want and that's it

[twiceroadsfool]

Tsk tsk... We get in to it all right. Not so much for the ordering materials, but for the budget analysis during lighting design. It was a big issue on the last large project i did prior to the last two job changes, LOL.

But im doing it again now too...

I need to catch up with you on IM one of these nights...