I've been trying to determine the best way to place power and data outlets so they appear properly in a 3D view, while also displaying properly symbolically on the floor plans.
My first attempt was to introduce a horizontal symbol offset parameter into the individual power and data annotation families that allowed me to shift the symbols to the left or right, independently of the actual device location. This method works, but you have to place each power and data device separately and then manually dimension their location.
My next thought was to create a group with the power and data devices positioned properly and with an appropriate symbol offset. This produces a decent result, but I have had issues with properly hosting the devices in the group to a face.
Finally, I attempted creating a nested family with the power and data devices loaded into it. This method seems to force one of the devices to lose its identity (ie, if the family type is Electrical Device, the nested Data Device is no longer a data device). If you create a generic model, the annotation symbols can't display properly.
I think some combination of these methods should work. Has anyone out there made this work?