Families in families in families (making a family drop down from .dwgs)

[Marks Questions]

Need some revit geniuses over here. I am trying to make a set of families with "shut-off valve .dwg's" I got from a manufacturer's website. The goal is to make these all be in 1 or 2 drop down menus like they are when you get doors. Although each valve is gonna be unique (different sized connections, capped or with a globe, etc), I was hoping that I could load them into a project and have a drop down menu for the different options like it is when you load in an autodesk door family.

Been messing around with nested families, and it's not working. I've made a family called "cap" and one called "handwheel" and then loaded them both into a single family called "globe" and now when I load the "globe" family into a project, I don't get a drop down I just get them both sitting right beside each other, as one piece that moves together.

I think I need some text files or something? But as I'm pulling in the .dwg files, I'm unsure of what to put in the .txt as I don't know all the minute differences between each drawing. All help would be appreciated!

Attached are a few dwgs, a screenshot of what I mean by the drop down menu, and my "globe" family.

[gorr767803685]

you'll need to use a type catalog for your shut-off valve families. The type catalog allows you to organize different types of the same family into a single drop-down menu in the project. Here's a general outline of the steps you'll need to follow:

Create a type catalog: Start by creating a type catalog for your shut-off valve families. The type catalog is a .txt file that lists all the different types of the family, along with their parameters and values.

Define parameters: Make sure that each valve family has the necessary parameters, such as size, connection type, capped or with a globe, etc. These parameters will be used in the type catalog to define the different types of valves.

Add types to the type catalog: For each type of valve, add a line to the type catalog with the appropriate parameters and values. Be sure to include a unique identifier for each type, as this will be used as the type name in the drop-down menu.

Load families into the project: Load the families into a project and associate them with the type catalog. This can be done through the Family Types dialog box, which is accessible from the Load Family dialog box.

Test and refine: Test the families in a project to make sure they're working as expected. If necessary, make any adjustments to the type catalog or the families themselves to get the desired behavior.