Using the reporting parameters
It is often required to exchange nested families within another family.
Traditionally, you would either link their respective parameters to another one in the parent family, or constrain the instance parameter handles to a geometry or ref plane. This is not always convenient. After all, a family becomes unconstrained when exchanging it for another one. So I have very often placed and constrained both instances and abused the visibillity parameter.
Until Revit 2011. For the first time we are now able to place a dimension just to have it stretch with the family and read it's value. It has been on the AUGI wishlist and I wanted this literally a year and a half ago. Now we can use this to fix the problem mentioned above.
You can place a reporting parameter between two geometries you want to constrain a nested family to, then link the appropriate nested family's parameter to the reporting parameter. If all the families you want to exchange it for contain the same parameter (case sensitive), the link stays in place and the nested family stretches with it. Even after you have exchanged it for another family.
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