Double Hung Window Family Mullions

[kmarquis]

I'm trying to make this versatile Double Hung Window Family for our office and I'm having some trouble. I've created a double hung window and I've also created generic face based model of mullion grilles in an 8-lite and a 12-lite pattern with all instance parameters. I've nested the grilles into the window family thinking I could just constrain the grilles to the edge of the glass opening and they would stretch. No. They keep breaking. I then decided to create a formula for the grille size but that doesn't work either. The problem occurs when I toggle the family type parameter from 12 to 8 or vice versa and also when I change the window size from the 48x92 to the 40x56. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[MikeJarosz]

Pella and Marvin have rfa files available. The muntins have a yes/no parameter, so you can turn them on or off as needed.

I'm not trying to discourage you at all. But you might want to take a look at how someone else did it.

BTW, because it comes from the manufacturer, doesn't make it perfect. I have seen a lot of junk in manufacturer's CAD files, especially in dwg format.

[kmarquis]

I downloaded a window from Jen-Weld and I hated it. It was overly complicated, it looked terrible in plan, geometry was contrained to geometry and there were dimensions buried in sketches. I just wanted a clean simple double hung that we could use from project to project. Who makes these window families for these companies anyway? I know they have to be very specific but they look terrible.

[kmarquis]

I got it, I got it. The name of the Reference Plane in the Mullion Grill Family has to match the "Is Reference" line. So the Reference Plane named "Top" has to have the "Is Reference" "Top". I had them all as "Weak Reference". Exciting.

[MikeJarosz]

If you make a reference plane a strong reference, you will be able to pick it when placing the family. This is very useful for centerlines which you often do not want to see, but need for equal equal dimensioning.

[Steve_Stafford]

The nice names like Right, Left, Top, Bottom are all Strong IsReference choices. A reference plane should be named so it is clear why it was created, to you and anyone else later. Programmers comment their code, as much to help them remember why they did what they did as well as what the code is supposed to do. Same concept for these reference planes properties.

The names don't have to match but if the nice names do match what you think they should be, then great. If your families are meant to be interchangeable for other families, like from the stock library you should examine them to see how they are done. I've seen doors that were built opposite when compared with stock Revit doors and when users swap a stock door for theirs, the door panel flips over...ouch.

IsReference settings break down like this:
Not a Reference - ignored by Revit in the project environment, still useful in a family to create "the bones".
Weak Reference - Seen in Project by dimensions, align tool, Revit favors Strong over Weak
Strong Reference - Seen in project by dimensions, align tool and Revit sees these first.
(the black lines you see during dimensioning or using the align tool are the weak and strong references in action)

When Weak and Strong refernces are combined with instance parameters you see grips in the project environment. You can drag the grip to alter the family dynamically. If you use the Align tool on a weak reference the family "moves" toward the alignment edge. If you use the Align tool on a Strong reference the family "stretches" instead.

Last, these help Revit maintain orientation and two intersecting reference planes can define the X/Y origin. One reference plane in elevation can define a vertical origin. Theoretically a reversal of Right and Left reference planes in two different families would flip their orientation if exchanged for one another. Haven't tried that in a really long time so I don't know for sure that condition still exists.

[Mike Sealander]

Hi Steve: That really clears a lot of things for me. The grips and the weak/strong thing is brand new information. Wish the wiki help was as clear and concise.

[damon.sidel]

Steve,

Thank you for the wonderful explanation of reference planes! I could have used that years ago. I still feel like my family creation skills are hit-or-miss and I spend way too much time because of my trial-and-error methods.

As for the window with mullions, I know you said you got it working, but did you ever try an array to control the number of mullions? I only ask because it would allow the user to choose other combos besides the 8-lite and 12-lite.

[Steve_Stafford]

Thanks, glad it helped. I wrote a blog post (http://revitoped.blogspot.com/2005/08/is-you-is-or-is-you-aint_03.html) a long time about these concepts and I wrote another (http://revitoped.blogspot.com/2012/04/reference-plane-isreference-parameter.html) that posted this morning because of this thread.

If you want another, perhaps counter-intuitive, approach to variable "lites" you can DOWNLOAD (http://www.aecadvantage.com/home/links2) the 2005 Autodesk University lab I did called "Autodesk Revit Building Family Editor: From the Beginning". It's 48 pages of step by step exercises... create a host door, nested panel with "lites", nested 2D panel/swing annotation, 3D swing and 2D swing as well as optional nested frame.