Controlling material by subcategory in generic family

[trent798275]

I have a wall with trim, and would like to control the color of the trim by assigning each piece to a common subcategory.

I created the subcategory as a subcategory of Walls, and assigned it a material and line weights.

Some of the trim is Wall Sweeps, and I can easily assign the subcategory to these. This is fine.

Some of the trim is model-in-place, which I can categorize as Walls and then assign the subcategory. This is fine.

But some of the trim is loaded from a generic face based family. I cannot categorize this family as Walls because that is not available in the Family Categories and Parameters list, so the subcategory that I created is also not available.

Have I missed something, or is my whole approach wrong?

Thanks.

[rosskirby]

Why not just assign a material parameter to each piece of trim? Make it an instance parameter, and you're good to go.

Alternatively, you could do the above to control the actual material the trim is made from, and then paint a parameter onto each piece to control the visible finish. This is useful in cases where you have one material (i.e. wood) in several finishes (paint 1, paint 2, stain, stain-semigloss, etc.).

I tend to avoid making subcategories whenever possible, as it can create a whole other level of complexity/nesting when it comes to visibility. Your mileage may vary.

[trent798275]

Yes, I think you may be right.
I was looking to simplify visibility - turn off Walls and all the trim turns off too, if it is in the Walls category.
Also, I hoped to change the color of all the trim by creating a new material and then assigning it to the subcategory in Object Styles, rather than redefining the material in Materials and somehow having to keep track of the former definition (which I might want to revert to).
Thanks. I appreciate your reply.