One of the things I love about teaching a BIM course at the University level is how much I learn from it... Whether it be the fact that I am constantly challenged with questions or the fact that the students, with brand new perspectives on the program, point out nuances I've been too in the trenches to see...
Well, today's tip is a perfect example of a nuance that I never noticed... During a recent class I was teaching my students how to make a fully parametric casement window from scratch. We decided, as an example, we wanted the "Width" of the window to be an instance parameter... Well, if you start with the "Window" template, guess what...? You can't make it an instance.. Or can you..?
Continue reading to find out more...
For those of you who don't believe me. Start a new family using the default "Window" template. Then, try to change the "Width" parameter from a type parameter to an instance parameter. If you are like me, you probably did the following:
- Create new family using "Window Template".
- Select the "Family Types" button on the ribbon.
- And... Hmm... darn... It's all grayed out...
It's a "Built-In" parameter and can't be changed! What the heck!?
Well, one of my students (thanks Maria!) stumbled upon this little caveat...
Instead of navigating to the "Family Types" dialogue, try to select the "Width" dimension in your floor plan view. Well, well...Would you look at that...
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| Revit 2017 |
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| Revit 2016 |
What you see above is the ability to switch a "built-in" parameter to an "Instance" on the Ribbon (in 2017) and on the "Options Bar" (2016)...
In conclusion, you can change a built-in parameter from a Type Parameter to an Instance Parameter in the Revit Family editor environment.
Well damn... You learn something new everyday!
