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boyd.112779
2008-03-30, 11:18 AM
I have a family with nested families in it. the host family is loaded into the project. i would then like to hide or unhide specific nested families PER THE VIEW in the project. From what I can tell, it does not seem possible, but i know this has to be done somehow someway.

I am attempting to create shop drawings for a steel fabricator.

example:
4 seperatet pieces of steel making up an assembly.
i create a family for each piece
i nest (shared) them into the "assmebly" or host family - this way i can use the keynote to identify them.

i then load the host family into the project. i place it where i want in the project.

NOW...
I need to create a sheet (which you can't do in a family) which gives the specifics of each element (one of the nested families) within the assembly ie. plan, elevation, section, showing dimensions, hole locations etc.

I have maybe 20 of these assemblies in the project each with 4 nested families - thats 80 pieces.

right clicking on an object and hide for view is great. but if i use this, it hides it for the entire family, not what i want.

arqt49
2008-03-30, 11:24 AM
Inside the family, you can add a visibility parameter.
And to control the visibility of certain components, you check their visibility properties to the visibility parameter created.
I'm not sure if this helps.
Maybe a printscreen of your design problem would help...

Andre Carvalho
2008-03-30, 02:14 PM
Inside the family, you can add a visibility parameter.
And to control the visibility of certain components, you check their visibility properties to the visibility parameter created.
I'm not sure if this helps.
Maybe a printscreen of your design problem would help...

Gonçalo,

I think his/her idea is to insert one family, than duplicate views and on each view show a different piece. If he/she create visibility parameters on its nested elements, load it into the parent family and then load the parent family into the project, turning on or off the visibility of one element in one view will turn off that same element in all views...

Or he/she has to add a new family on each view and drive its visibility by instance or type. I'm not sure if that is what he/she wants.

Andre Carvalho

Andre Carvalho
2008-03-30, 02:28 PM
I have a family with nested families in it. the host family is loaded into the project. i would then like to hide or unhide specific nested families PER THE VIEW in the project. From what I can tell, it does not seem possible, but i know this has to be done somehow someway.

I am attempting to create shop drawings for a steel fabricator.

example:
4 seperatet pieces of steel making up an assembly.
i create a family for each piece
i nest (shared) them into the "assmebly" or host family - this way i can use the keynote to identify them.

i then load the host family into the project. i place it where i want in the project.

NOW...
I need to create a sheet (which you can't do in a family) which gives the specifics of each element (one of the nested families) within the assembly ie. plan, elevation, section, showing dimensions, hole locations etc.

I have maybe 20 of these assemblies in the project each with 4 nested families - thats 80 pieces.

right clicking on an object and hide for view is great. but if i use this, it hides it for the entire family, not what i want.

What I will suggest you do do is to nest and "share"your pieces into the parent family. To do it, on each piece family, go to "Family Categories and Parameters" and check "Shared". Also, on "Family Types" add description to a field (like model for instance).

Do it on each piece and load them into the parent family. Then load the parent family into the project. Just add one family and duplicate your views. Now on each view, using the same family, you have two choices.

1) Create a filter that will filter the visibility of each nested element by its model (if the field you added the description was "Model", for instance). It will allow you to turn each nested element on or off on each different view, using the same family.

2) As a second option, since they are shared, in the project, if you try selecting the family, hitting the TAB key will switch between the entire family and each nested component. You can select separately each component and hide them on that view using "Hide Element" and then "Apply Hide Isolate to View."To bring it back, just go to the light bulb beside.

See rough example attached with 2 nested pieces. Notice the filter created in the view (Visibility Graphics / Filters).

Andre Carvalho