Tag: rfa

Revit API Challenge: convert In-place Families to Component Families automatically

Luke Johnson

Here is what we want – you select an in-place family and click ‘Convert to Component Family‘ on the Ribbon.  Through API Wizardry, the following happens without any further user interaction:

  1. The family is edited in place
  2. All objects in the family (including reference planes etc) are selected
  3. A ‘group’ command is triggered
  4. The group is saved (as a file) to a temporary location (it will be an RFA)
  5. This family is loaded back into the project
  6. The family is placed in the correct location (XYZ) in the project
  7. The original in-place family is deleted from the project.

This can all be done manually of course, using the workflow described here.

I’m sure that many users would find this tool helpful, and for some of you advanced Revit API programmers, this utility should be a piece of cake!

Also: if you release this utility for free, just think of the Revit API street cred that would give you.

Finally, if you want to take it to the next level – make a Batch Convert option, that allows the user to ‘pick’ which In-place families (from the current project) that they would like converted, after which the Batch tool goes ahead and does steps 1 to 7 above on each and every in-place family you selected.

Save an In-Place Family as an RFA for use in another project

Luke Johnson

Do you have some awesome in-place families that you would like to convert to normal Component families, so that you can load them into other projects?

Here’s how:

  1. Open the Project containing the In-Place family
  2. Edit the In-Place family
  3. Select all of the elements in the family
  4. Group all of these elements using the Create Group tool.  Give the Group a name.
  5. Select the Group
  6. Do not Finish Editing the In-Place family yet!
  7. Go to the ‘R’ button (Application Menu) – Save As – Library – Group
  8. You will notice that the filetype is RFA!
  9. Save the Group somewhere.
  10. You Component Family IS the file that you just saved.

 I’m sure there are limitation to this method, but I think it is very cool.

Here is a quick video:

 
Credit for this tip – KarelCAD support document