Autodesk Revit Model Content 2009 User guide

Brand: Autodesk

Model: Revit Model Content 2009

Category: Software

Type: User guide

REVITMODELCON T EN T STY L E GUIDE



December2009

Version2.1

This publication, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form, by any method, for any purpose.

AUTODESK, INC., MAKES NO WARRANTY, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY

IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE REGARDING THESE

MATERIALS, AND MAKES SUCH MATERIALS AVAILABLE SOLELY ON AN "AS-IS" BASIS.

IN NO EVENT SHALL AUTODESK, INC., BE LIABLE TO ANYONE FOR SPECIAL, COLLATERAL, INCIDENTAL, OR

CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH OR ARISING OUT OF PURCHASE OR USE OF THESE MATERIALS.

THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE LIABILITY TO AUTODESK, INC., REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF ACTION, SHALL NOT

EXCEED THE PURCHASE PRICE OF THE MATERIALS DESCRIBED HEREIN.

Autodesk, Inc., reserves the right to revise and improve its products as it sees fit. This publication describes the state of the

product at the time of publication, and may not reflect the product at all times in the future.

Autodesk Trademarks

The following are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries: 3D Props, 3D Studio, 3D

Studio MAX, 3D Studio VIZ, 3DSurfer, 3ds max, ActiveShapes, ActiveShapes (logo), Actrix, ADI, AEC Authority (logo), AEC-

X, Animator Pro, Animator Studio, ATC, AUGI, AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD Map, Autodesk, Autodesk Envision,

Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk (logo), Autodesk Map, Autodesk MapGuide, Autodesk Streamline, Autodesk University

(logo), Autodesk View, Autodesk WalkThrough, Autodesk World, AutoLISP, AutoSketch, backdraft, Biped, bringing

information down to earth, Buzzsaw, CAD Overlay, Character Studio, Cinepak, Cinepak (logo), cleaner, Codec Central,

combustion, Design Your World, Design Your World (logo), EditDV, Education by Design, gmax, Heidi, HOOPS, Hyperwire,

i-drop, Inside Track, IntroDV, Kinetix, lustre, MaterialSpec, Mechanical Desktop, NAAUG, ObjectARX, Physique, Planix,

Powered with Autodesk Technology (logo), ProjectPoint, RadioRay, Reactor, Revit, Softdesk, Texture Universe, The AEC

Authority, The Auto Architect, VISION*, Visual, Visual Construction, Visual Drainage, Visual Hydro, Visual Landscape, Visual

Roads, Visual Survey, Visual Toolbox, Visual Tugboat, Visual LISP, Volo, WHIP!, and WHIP! (logo).

The following are trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries: AutoCAD Learning Assistance,

AutoCAD LT Learning Assistance, AutoCAD Simulator, AutoCAD SQL Extension, AutoCAD SQL Interface, AutoSnap,

AutoTrack, Built with ObjectARX (logo), burn, Buzzsaw.com, CAiCE, Cinestream, Civil 3D, cleaner central, ClearScale,

Colour Warper, Content Explorer, Dancing Baby (image), DesignCenter, Design Doctor, Designer's Toolkit, DesignKids,

DesignProf, DesignServer, Design Web Format, DWF, DWFit, DWG Linking, DXF, Extending the Design Team, GDX Driver,

gmax (logo), gmax ready (logo),Heads-up Design, jobnet, ObjectDBX, onscreen onair online, Plans & Specs, Plasma,

PolarSnap, Productstream, Real-time Roto, Render Queue, Visual Bridge, Visual Syllabus, and Where Design Connects.

Autodesk Canada Co. Trademarks

The following are registered trademarks of Autodesk Canada Inc. in the USA and/or Canada, and/or other countries:

discreet, fire, flame, flint, flint RT, frost, glass, inferno, MountStone, riot, river, smoke, sparks, stone, stream, vapour, wire.

The following are trademarks of Autodesk Canada Inc., in the USA, Canada, and/or other countries: backburner, Multi-

Master Editing.

Third Party Trademarks

All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Third Party Software Program Credits

Flash ® is a registered trademark of Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

reserved.

PANTONE® Colors displayed in the software application or in the user documentation may not match PANTONE-

identified standards. Consult current PANTONE Color Publications for accurate color.

PANTONE® and other Pantone, Inc. trademarks are the property of Pantone, Inc.© Pantone, Inc., 2002

Pantone, Inc. is the copyright owner of color data and/or software which are licensed to Autodesk, Inc., to distribute for

use only in combination with certain Autodesk software products. PANTONE Color Data and/ or Software shall not be

copied onto another disk or into memory unless as part of the execution of this Autodesk software product.

Portions of this software are based on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

RAL DESIGN© RAL, Sankt Augustin, 2002

RAL CLASSIC© RAL, Sankt Augustin, 2002

RMCSG—2 Version2.1



Representation of the RAL Colors is done with the approval of RAL Deutsches Institut für Gütesicherung und

Kennzeichnung e.V. (RAL German Institute for Quality Assurance and Certification, re. Assoc.), D-53757 Sankt Augustin.

AutoCAD 2006 is produced under a license of data derived from DIC Color Guide® from Dainippon Ink and Chemicals,

in this product may not exactly match DIC Color Guide, DIC color Guide Part 2 identified solid color standards. Use

current DIC Color Guide Manuals for exact color reference. DIC and DIC Color Guide are registered trademarks of

Dainippon Ink and Chemicals, Inc.

Printed manual and help produced with Idiom WorldServer™ .

WindowBlinds: DirectSkin™ OCX © Stardock®

The Director General of the Geographic Survey Institute has issued the approval for the coordinates exchange

numbered TKY2JGD for Japan Geodetic Datum 2000, also known as technical information No H1-N0.2 of the

Geographic Survey Institute, to be installed and used within this software product (Approval No.: 646 issued by GSI, April

8, 2002).

U.S. Patent No. 5,710,835. Foreign Patents Pending.

GOVERNMENT USE

Use, duplication, or disclosure by the U.S. Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in FAR 12.212 (Commercial

Computer Software-Restricted Rights) and DFAR 227.7202 (Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software), as

applicable.

Version2.1RMCSG—3



CO N T EN T S 

FeedbackontheGuide7

Audience7

Definition:QualityRevitContent7

Contents8

SupplementaryFiles8

AdditionalFiles9

Section1:PlanningRevitModelContent10

RecommendedRevitReleaseandDisciplineforContentCreation10

1.1DeterminingDesignIntent11

DeterminingtheTemplatetoUse11

FamilyRepresentations12

1.2BalancingPerformanceandDesignComplexity16

DesignIntentvs.Performance16

RecommendedFamilyFileSizes18

LevelofDetail19

ElementVisibility20

AreastoAvoidforOptimumPerformance20

ExamplesofFamilieswithAppropriateandcomplexLevelsofDetail21

ConsiderationsforNestingFamilyContent22

NestingRecommendations:22

1.3AutodeskExchangeFormat(.ADSK)23

AECExchangeEnvironment23

CreatingIntelligentConnectors23

SimplifyingtheGeometricRepresentation24

Publishingtothe.ADSKformat24

reading.ADSKfiles25

ImportingintoRevitFamilies25

Limitations25

1.4UsingImportedContent26

RMCSG—4 Version2.1



SupportedContent26

Limitations26

1.5PlanningaRevitModelFamily27

Section2:ModelContentCreationStandards28

2.1WorkflowforModelContentCreation29

Prototyping30

2.2FamilyUnits30

2.3FamilyNamingConventions31

2.4TypeNamingConventions33

2.5CategoryandSubcategoryStandardsandUsage35

AddingSubcategoriesToModelFamilies35

SubcategoryNamingConventions36

2.6AutodeskApprovedParameterUsage37

AddingManufacturerDatatoFamilies38

CSIOmniClassTable4938

CSIClassificationCodes39

AssigningtheMasterFormatandUniFormatClassificationinRevit39

AssigningtheOmniClassclassificationinRevit(Revit2010andlater)40

2.7ParameterNamingConventions41

2.8MaterialNamingConventions44

Guidelines44

FormatForIndividualFinishMaterials(StoredInsideProjects)44

FormatForIndividualFinishMaterialsUsinganExternalImageFile45

FormatForIndividualMaterialsImages(StoredOutSideofRevit)45

2.9PreviewImageStandards46

CreatingAutodeskStandardFamilyPreviewImages47

2.10TypeCatalogStandardsandUsage52

TypeCatalogStandards52

2.11MaterialApplicationinModelFamilies54

Option1–ApplyMaterialswiththeMaterialParameter54

Version2.1RMCSG—5



Option2–ApplyMaterialstoFamilyGeometrybyCategoryandSubcategory55

Option3–ApplyMaterialswithCustomInstanceorTypeMaterialParameters55

Example:AssigningMaterialstoaTableFamily56

2.12BestPracticesfo rAddingConnectorsinRevitMEPFamilie s58

AddingaConnector58

SystemTypes59

ConnectorDirection60

PrimaryConnector60

LinkingConnector61

ConnectorMapping62

ConnectorDescriptions63

Section3:TestingGuidelines64

3.1GeneralFamilyTestingGuidelines65

FamilyEditorTestingCriteria65

ProjectTestingCriteriaforRevitArchitecture66

3.2Family‐SpecificTestingGuidelines67

RMCSG—6 Version2.1



INTRODUCTION

ThepurposeofthisguideistodefineAutodeskguidelinesandstandardsformodelcontentcreationinRevit®

Architecture,Revit®MEP,andRevit®Structure.Modelcontentreferstothetwo‐dimensionalandthree‐

dimensionalstandardcomponentfamiliesthatareusedtocreateelementsthatrepresentmanufacturedcontent

(forexample,windows,furnaces,heatpumps,andstructuralsteelmembers).

Byfollowingtheguidelinesandstandardsinthisguide,contentcreatorswillensuretheportabilityand

performanceoftheircontent,andfulfillthenecessarydistributionrequirementsfortheAutodesk®Seekweb

service.TheAutodeskSeekwebservicerequires:

• theuniformdisplayofproductsofferedbyasinglemanufacturer

• complete,consistent,andaccuratepresentationofproductdataacrossmanufacturers

• thefulluseofAutodeskSeeksearchcapabilities

FEEDBACKONTHEGUIDE

PleasesendyourcommentsontheRevitModelStyleGuideandsupportingdocumentationto:

[email protected]m



Wecan’trespondtocommentsindividually,butfeedbackwillbeconsideredinfutureversionsoftheRevitModel

ContentStyleGuide.

AUDIENCE

Thisguideisintendedformanufacturers,contentserviceorganizations,andothercontentcreatorswhohave

advancedknowledgeofbothRevitsoftwareandRevitmodelcontentcreation.

DEFINITION:QUALITYREVITCONTENT

QualityRevitcontentbalancesperformancewithdesignaccuracyandrequiredlevelsofdetail.Qualitycontentis

easytousebecauseitfunctionsreliablyinarangeofprojectsandprojectphases,whiledeliveringmanufactured

contentinaformatappropriateforarchitectureandengineeringdocumentationdeliverables.

QualityRevitcontentiscreatedwiththefollowingconsiderations:

• Designintent–theauthorhasconsideredhowthefamilywillbeusedinaproject.

• Appropriatelevelofdetaildesigned

• Adequatenumberoftypescreated

• Flexibleuseofparameters

• Accuracy–complete,consistentpresentationofproductdata.

• Standards–adherestoindustryandAutodeskstandards.

• Namingconventions

• Graphicguidelines

Version2.1RMCSG—7



• Parameterusage

• Performance–contentdesignedtoreducetheperformanceimpactofthefamilyonaproject.

• Testing–thoroughtestingofthefamilyparametersandtypesindependentlyandinaproject

environment.

CONTENTS

Section1:PlanningRevitModelContent

• Explainshowdesigncomplexityinfamiliescanaffectprojectperformanceandoffersguidelinesfor

reducingperformanceimpact

• DetailstherecommendeduseandlimitationsofcontentcreatedwithotherCADsoftware

• Providesbestpracticesforplanningmodelcontent

Section2:ModelContentCreationStandards

• Describesbestpracticesformodelcontentcreation

• ContainsAutodeskstandardsforunits,namingconventions,subcategories,parameters,previewimages,

andtypecatalogs

Section3:TestingGuidelines

• Containsgeneralandfamily‐specifictestingguidelinesformodelcontentfamilies.

Notincludedinthisguide:

• Detailedfamilycreationinstructions

• Standardsforannotationorsystemfamilycreation

• Category‐specificguidelinesforfamilycreation

• In‐depthbestpracticesforfamilycreation

SUPPLEMENTARYFILES

Thefollowingdocumentsandfilesarereferencedforusewiththisguideandareincludedinthedownload

package.

• RevitMasterParameterList.xls‐includesAutodesk‐approvedRevitmastersharedparameters

• RevitMasterSharedParameterFile.txt‐includesAutodesk‐approvedsharedparameterstouseinyour

projects

• RevitMasterSubcategoryList.xls–includesAutodesk‐approvedRevitsubcategories

• RevitMasterPartTypeList.xls–includesAutodesk‐approvedRevitparttypes

• RevitModelContentSampleFiles–includessampleRevitmodelcontentandimages

• Category‐specificModelContentGuides–includescreationguidelinesforspecificcontent

• SharingRevitContentonAutodeskSeek–includesdistributionrequirementsfortheAutodeskSeekweb

service.

RMCSG—8 Version2.1



ADDITIONALFILES

ThefollowingresourcesareavailableforworkingwithbothRevitmodelcontentandAutodeskSeek.

AUTODESKMETADATASTYLEGUIDEAND PRODUCT WORKBOOK

TheAutodeskMetadataStyleGuidedefinesstylesandformattingrulesthatmanufacturers,contentservice

organizations,andcontentspecialistsmustabidebysothatthecontentthattheyproducecanbeloadedintothe

AutodeskSeekstagingenvironment.

Downloadat:http://seek.autodesk.com/participate.htm.



DOCUMENTATION 

FormoreinformationonRevitfamilycontentcreation,seethefollowingreferencemanualsandtutorials:

• Revit®ArchitectureFamiliesGuide

Downloadatwww.autodesk.com/revitarchitecture‐documentation

.



• RevitArchitecture,Revit®MEP,andRevit®StructureTutorials

Downloadat:

www.

autodesk.com/revitarchitecture‐documentation

www.

autodesk.com/revitmep‐documentation

www.

autodesk.com/revitstructure‐documentation

DISCUSSIONGROUPS

• AUGI(AutodeskUserGroupInternational)

Accessatwww.

augi.com.



• AutodeskSeekDiscussionGroup

Accessatwww.autodesk.com/contentsearch‐discussion.



Version2.1RMCSG—9



SECTION1:

PLANNINGREVITMODEL CO N T ENT 

InordertoensureRevitmodelcontentisdevelopedefficientlyandtoAutodeskstandards,contentcreatorsshould

followAutodesk‐approvedbestpracticeswhencreatingRevitfamilies.

Byfollowingtheguidelinesinthissection,youcan:

• createRevitfamilycontenteasilyandwithfewererrors

• ensureconsistencyandstabilityofRevitfamilycontent

• createcontentsuitablefordeliveryonAutodeskSeek



RECOMMENDEDREVITRELEASEANDDISCIPLINEFORCONTENTCREATION

Note:AllsamplefamilyandprojectfileswerecreatedbasedontheRevitPlatform2009release;therefore,they

can’tbeopenedinearlierversionsofRevit.

RECOMMENDATION:Toensurethatcontentisavailabletothelargestnumberofendusers,createthecontent

usingAutodeskRevit2009.Contentcreatedinrelease2009canalsobeusedinlaterversionsofRevit.Ifthe

contentrequiresfunctionalityavailableinalaterrelease,thencreatethecontentinthatreleaseofRevit.

UsetheRevitproduct(RevitArchitecture,RevitMEP,orRevitStructure)thatisappropriateforthecontentyouare

creating,forexample,foraDoorfamily,useRevitArchitecture,foranAirHandlingUnit,useRevitMEP.Ifthe

contentcrossesdisciplines,forexample,alightingfixtureorplumbingfixture,usetheproductthathasthemost

requirements,inthiscaseRevitMEP.

RMCSG—10 Version2.1



1.1DETERMININGDESIGNINTENT

WhencreatingaRevitfamily,theintendeduseofthefamilyinaprojectenvironmentdeterminestheextentto

whichitisdesigned.Youcandesignallfamiliestoincludeanumberofrepresentationsforuseindifferentproject

viewsandprojectphases.

Thetypeandsizeoftheprojectthatafamilyisintendedforuseinisacriticalpointtoconsiderwhendeciding

whatrepresentationsshouldbeincludedinthefamilyandwhatlevelofdetaileachrepresentationshouldhave.

Themoredetailedafamilyis,thelargeritsfilesizewillbe.Thelargerthefilesize,theslowertheperformance,

loading,andregenerationtimeofthefamilywillbe.Whenconsideringthedesignintentofafamily,usethe

followingguidelines:

• Forlargercommercialorinstitutionalprojects,inwhichhundredsofelementsmaybecreatedwitha

singlefamily,designthefamilytobeassmallaspossibletominimizeprojectsizeandperformance

impact.

• Forsmallerresidentialprojects,whereelementscreatedwithasinglefamilyarenotusedubiquitously

andwheretheoverallprojectsizeissmaller,designthefamilytoincludemoredetail.

Thenexttopic,BalancingPerformanceandComplexity,addressestheissueoffamilysizeandcomplexityinmore

detail.

DETERMININGTHETEMPLATETOUSE

Forobjectstypicallyhostedbyothercomponents,suchasawindoworlightfixture,startwithahost‐based

template.Forexample,forawindowordoor,useawall‐basedtemplate,suchasWindow.rftorDoor.rft.Howthe

familyishosted(orwhatitdoesordoesnotattachto)determineswhichtemplateshouldbeusedtocreatethe

family.Ingeneral,thechoiceofatemplateisdrivenbythehostoftheobject,withthefollowingexceptions:

• Floor‐basedobjectstypicallyusealevel‐basedtemplateunlesstheyarerequiredtocutthefloor.For

example,Furnitureobjectsarecreatedwithalevel‐basedtemplate.

• Forobjectsthataredesignedtobeusedinmorethanonediscipline,suchasplumbingorlightingfixtures,

useahost‐basedtemplatethatallowsthegreatestflexibilityforalldisciplines.Forexample,alighting

fixtureusedexclusivelyinanarchitecturaldisciplinecouldbecreatedwithaceilingorwall‐based

template,butforanengineeringenvironment,aface‐basedtemplateisrequiredforthemodellinking

workflow.Therefore,foralightingfixturethatwillbeusedinbothdisciplines,useaface‐basedtemplate.





Version2.1RMCSG—11



FAMILYREPRESENTATIONS

Dependingontheintendeduseofafamily,itmaycontainthefollowingrepresentations:

• Schematic(genericcontent;typicallynotmanufacturerspecific;mayincludemultiplelevelsofdetail)

• Designdevelopment(manufacturer‐specificcontent;typicallyCoarselevelofdetail)

• Constructiondocument(manufacturer‐specificcontent;typicallyMediumlevelofdetail)

• Highqualityrendering(manufacturer‐specificcontent;typicallyFinelevelofdetail)

Dependingontheusecaseforthecontent,the3manufacturer‐specificrepresentations(Designdevelopment,

Constructiondocument,andHighqualityrendering)maybedevelopedin1or2familyfiles.Forexample,one

familyfilemaycontaintheDesigndevelopmentandConstructiondocumentationrepresentationsofthecontent

andasecondfilemaycontainthehighqualityrenderingrepresentation.TypicallyMEPcontentdoesnotincludea

highqualityrendering,soforthistypeofcontentonefamilyfilemaybecreatedcontainingtheDesign

developmentandConstructiondocumentationrepresentations.

SCHEMATIC

Schematicrepresentationsarecreatedfromtwo‐dimensionallineworkandrepresentthefamilyobjectinitsmost

basicappearance.Theycanbeconsidered“placeholders”forelementsthatwillbeincludedinmoredetailed

designdrawings.Schematicrepresentationsdonotusuallydisplaymaterials.

RMCSG—12 Version2.1



Schematicrepresentationsofatoiletfamilyandofatablefamily

 



DESIGNDEVELOPMENT

Designdevelopmentrepresentationsincludemoredesigndetailthanschematicrepresentations,aswellas3D

forms.Theymayalsoincludebasicmaterials.Dependingontheelementthatwillbecreatedfromthefamily,the

designdevelopmentrepresentationmayincludethefollowingviews,aswellasappropriatelevelsofdetail:

• Model

• Plan/ReflectCeilingPlan(RCP)

• Section/Elevation

• TypicallyCoarselevelofdetail

Designdevelopmentrepresentationofawindow:displaysminimaldetail,mullionsarerepresentedbymodellines



Version2.1RMCSG—13



Designdevelopmentrepresentationofawatersoftener:displaysbasicshapesofthesoftenerandshows

connectors



CONSTRUCTIONDRAWING

Constructiondrawingrepresentationsareusuallysymbolictwo‐dimensionalrepresentations.Dependingonthe

elementthatwillbecreatedfromthefamily,theconstructiondrawingrepresentationmayincludethefollowing

viewsaswellasappropriatelevelsofdetail:

• Plan/ReflectedCeiling Plan(RCP)

• Section/Elevation

• TypicallyMediumlevelofdetail

Constructiondocumentationrepresentationofawindow:includesmullionsandswing



RMCSG—14 Version2.1



Constructiondocumentationrepresentationofawatersoftener:displaysamorerealisticrepresentationofthe

softeneranditsconnections



HIGHQUALITYRENDERING

Todefinetheappearanceoffamilyelementsinhighqualityrenderings,materialsmustbeassignedtofamily

geometry.Materialpropertiesandlightingmustbedefined.Therenderingistypicallycreatedfroma

representationwithFinelevelofdetailthatincludesobjectsnotusuallyshowninconstructiondrawings,suchas

thehardwareorinlayinthetablebelow.

Highqualityrepresentationofatableinashadedviewandinarenderedimage

  

Version2.1RMCSG—15



1.2BALANCINGPERFORMANCEANDDESIGNCOMPLEXITY

ThedesigncomplexityofafamilycanaffectitsperformancewhenitisusedtocreateelementsinRevitprojects.

Thisisanimportantconsiderationwhencreatingfamiliesthatincludealotofgeometry,multipleparametric

relationships,and/oralargenumberoffamilytypes(sizes).Efficientgeometrycreation,judicioususeof

parametricconstraints,andcarefullyplanneddetailandvisibilitysettingscanreducetheperformanceimpacta

familywillhaveontheprojectsinwhichitisused.

Inthissection,youlearnto:

• Identifypossibleperformancegainsandimpedimentspriortofamilycreation

• Managedifferentperformancefactors,includingparametricrelationships,detaillevel,andvisibility

settings

• Createefficientfamilies



DESIGNINTENTVS.PERFORMANCE

Themorecomplexanddetailedafamilyis,thelargeritsfilesizeandimpactonperformancewillbe.Before

creatingafamily,determinethefollowing:

• Thedesignintentofthefamily:Whataretherepresentationsthatthefamilymustcontain(schematic,

designdevelopment,constructiondocumentation,highqualityrendering),andhowdetailedmusteach

representationbe?



• Thetypeofprojectinwhichthefamilywillbeusedandhowfrequentlyitwillbeused:Willthefamily

createonly10elementsinasmallresidentialproject,orwillitbeusedtocreatehundredsofelementson

manyfloorsofalargecommercialbuildingmodel?



RMCSG—16 Version2.1



Thefollowinggraphdisplaysthegeneraltrendfortheimpactofdesigncomplexityonfilesize.Generallythemore

representationsafamilyhasandthemoredetailedtheyare,thelargerthefamilyfilesize.Thelargerthefamilyfile

sizeis,themoreofanimpactitwillhaveonperformance(longerloadingandregenerationtimesandgreater

increaseinprojectfilesize).

ImpactofDesignComplexityandProjectSizeonFamilyFileSize



Forexample,awindowfamilythatisintendedtobeusedhundredsoftimesinalargecommercialprojectwillhave

asmallerfilesizeifitcontainsonlybasicschematicanddesigndevelopmentrepresentations.Impactonthe

projectsizewillbeasminimalaspossible.

Conversely,adifferentwindowfamilyintendedforuseinasmallresidentialprojectmaycontainahighquality

renderingrepresentationthatwillincreaseprojectfilesizewhenthefamilyisadded,butbecausethewindowsit

createsareaddedtotheprojectonlyafewtimes,theincreaseinfilesizeismanageable.



Version2.1RMCSG—17



RECOMMENDEDFAMILYFILESIZES

Toprovidecontentcreatorswithatangibleguidelineforfamilyfilesize,somecommonfamilytypesandtheir

recommendedfilesizesarelistedbelow.Usethefilesizesbelowasarecommendation,asactualsizemayvary.

Large,complex,and/orunusualfamiliesmayexceedtheserecommendations.

Application Element ComplexityLevel FileSize

 

RevitArchitecture Casework Simple 200

–

300K

 Complex 500K



 Door(single‐panel) Simple 300

–

400K

 Complex 600K



 FurnitureSystem Simple 200

–

300K

 Complex 500K



 Window(single‐unit) Simple 300

–

400K

 Complex 600K



RevitMEP AirHandlerUnit Simple 300

–

400K

 Complex 800K

–

1000K



 Chiller Simple 300

–

400K

 Complex 800K



 Fan Simple 200

–

300K

 Complex 400K



 PlumbingFixture Simple 300

–

400K

 Complex 600K



RevitStructure W‐Shape Simple 180

–

200K

 Complex 300K





IMPORTANT:Tohelpreducethefilesize,inRevit,clickFile→PurgeUnusedtodeleteitemsthatarenotinuse,

clickFilemenu→SaveAs,andverifythattheCompactFileoptionisselectedwhensavingthefile.



RMCSG—18 Version2.1



LEVELOFDETAIL

Detaillevelsdeterminewhichpiecesoffamilygeometrydisplayindifferenttypesofprojectviews.WhenaRevit

elementiscreatedwithafamilyandaddedtoaprojectview,thecurrentdetailleveloftheview(coarse,medium,

orfine)displaystheappropriatefamilygeometry.

INTENT:Theintentistobuildthefamilybasedontheexpectedfinerepresentation,thenremovedetailtocreate

thelowerlevelsofdetail.Thisapproachimprovestheperformanceofthefamilyinlowerlevelsofdetailviewsin

theproject,butstillprovidestherequiredgraphicsforproperdocumentationofaproject.Theintentisnotto

buildeachlevelofdetailincrementallyoradditionally.



AwindowdisplayedinbothCoarseandFinedetail

 



Familiesthatincludeintricatelevelsofdetailcanimpedeperformancewhenusedinprojects.Foroptimalfamily

performance,onlythenecessaryfamilygeometryshouldbemodeledandtheuseofhighlydetailed

representationslimited.

Whendecidingwhatlevelofdetailshouldbeshown,usethefollowingrecommendations:

• Don’tmodelgeometrythatwillnotbevisiblewhenthefamilyisaddedtoabuildingmodel.

Forexample,foratablefamilythatincludesadrawer,modelthefaceonly,nottheentiredrawer.



• Dependingonthetypeoffamily,usethefollowingguidelinewhenmodelinggeometry:

Ifthegeometryis… Setthedetaillevelto…

Smallerthan1’ Fine

1’

–

3’ Medium

Largerthan3’ Coarse

• Donotduplicategeometrythatcanbeusedfordifferentlevelsofdetail.



Version2.1RMCSG—19



ELEMENTVISIBILITY

Typically,thegeometryofanelementcreatedbyafamilywillchangedependingonthecurrentprojectview.The

visibilitysettingsofthefamilydetermineinwhichprojectviewselementscreatedwiththefamilywilldisplay.

Inaplanview,youmaywanttoseea2Drepresentationoftheelement.Ina3Dorelevationview,youmaywant

todisplayafullydetailed3Drepresentationoftheelement.Inotherviews,youmaywanttohidetheelement.

Limitingthevisibilityofhighlydetailedfamilygeometrytoonlycertainviewscanimproveprojectperformance.



AREASTOAVOIDFOROPTIMUMPERFORMANCE

Usethistableasaguidetoimprovetheperformanceofyourfamilies.

CommonMistakeWhenCreatingFamilies RecommendedApproach

Lackofplanningpriortofamilycreation Beforecreatingafamily,usetheguidelinesoutlinedin

1.4PlanningaRevitModelFamily.



Unnecessaryparametricrelationships Beforeaddinggeometrytoafamily:

• Plantheparametricrelationshipsandcreatea

familyskeletonthatfeaturesthemain

parametricrelationships.

• Buildonlytheparametricfamilybehaviorthat

youneedtoavoidover‐constrainingthe

model.

• Flextheskeletontotesttherelationships

beforeyouaddgeometry.

Useofgeometryinsteadofsymboliclinesinplanviews Inplanviewrepresentations,geometryusuallycanbe

representedwithsymboliclines,ratherthan(solid)

geometry.Usinggeometryinsteadofsymboliclineswill

createanunnecessarilylargerfamily.

Highlevelsofgeometricdetailandunderuseofvisibility

settings

UsetheguidelinesintheLevelofDetailandElement

Visibilitysectionsofthisguidetoavoidunnecessarily

largefamilyfiles.

Overuseofvoids,formulas,andarrays Extensiveuseofvoids,formulas,andarrayswilladdto

theoverallfamilysizeandaffectitsperformancein

projects.

Useoftoomanynestedfamilies(familiesimportedinto

otherfamilies)

Nestfamiliestocreategeometryinotherfamilies only

whennecessary.Onlyusenestedcontenttoshare

objectsamongmultiplefamilies,forexample,door

hardware,muntinpatterns,andsoon.

Largefamilieswithmanytypesthatdonotincludetype

catalogs

Themoretypes(particularlyunused)theheavierthe

family.Createtypecatalogsforfamiliesthatcontain6

ormoretypes.See2.10TypeCatalogStandardsand

Usage.

Inadequatefamilytesting See 3.1 GeneralFamilyTestingGuidelines.





RMCSG—20 Version2.1



Page is loading ...

Autodesk Revit Model Content 2009 User guide

Brand: Autodesk

Model: Revit Model Content 2009

Category: Software

Type: User guide

Download PDF

report

Autodesk Revit Model Content 2009 User guide

Autodesk Revit Model Content 2009 User guide

Related papers

Other documents