How to Add and Change Family Types in Revit

How to do it in Revit

1. 1

   Step 1: Check whether it's a type or instance parameter

   Every family parameter belongs either to the type or to each instance, and that decides how far an edit reaches. Instance parameters sit in the Properties palette and change only the selected element. Type parameters sit in Edit Type and change every element of that type in the project, including on sheets someone else finished last week. Before you change a value, check which dialog it's in.

2. 2

   Step 2: Add a type in the project

   1. Select an element of the family, for example a door.
   2. In the Properties palette, click Edit Type.
   3. Click Duplicate and name the new type. Follow your firm's naming convention, so the type sorts and schedules with its siblings.
   4. Change the type's values, for example width and height.
   5. Click OK. The selected element now uses the new type.

   You can also work from the Project Browser: expand Families, right-click a type and choose Duplicate, or right-click a family and choose New Type. Double-click the new type to open its properties (Autodesk Help: Manage Families and Family Types).

3. 3

   Step 3: Or add it in the Family Editor

   Use the Family Editor when you want the type saved in the family itself, so every project that loads it gets the type.

   1. Select an instance and click Edit Family, or open the .rfa file.
   2. Click Create tab › Properties panel › Family Types.
   3. Click New Type and name it. The new type copies every value and formula from the type that was selected.
   4. Change the values. A type can only differ in what the family exposes as parameters, so a size the family doesn't parameterize can't vary by type.
   5. Click OK, then Load into Project. If the family is already in the project, choose whether to overwrite its parameter values.
4. 4

   Step 4: Change elements to another type

   Select one or more elements of the same category, then pick the new type in the Type Selector.

   To change every element of one type, select one, right-click and choose Select All Instances, then Visible in View or In Entire Project. Then pick the new type. Check the result: a swap to a different size can change hosted openings, dimensions and tags.

5. 5

   Step 5: Change a family's category if it's wrong

   1. Open the family in the Family Editor.
   2. Click Create tab › Properties panel › Family Category and Parameters.
   3. Choose the new category, then click OK.
   4. Save, and load it back into the project.

   The category decides which schedules, tags, view filters and Object Styles apply, so a family in the wrong category goes missing from all of them. System families such as walls and floors can't be opened in the Family Editor, and some templates limit which categories you can choose.