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the Bottom line 621

With Type 2 still active in the Family Type dialog box, set the Chair Type parameter to
Chair-Dining-2 and then click the Apply button. You should see all the nested chairs change
to the alternate chair family. Save the family and reload it into the c14-Desk-Project.rvt file,
and choose the option to reload the family and overwrite any parameter values. If the Tables
subcategory is still turned off in the view, you may notice that the chairs appear but not the
tables. There is likely no realistic need to create another subcategory for chairs, so open the
Visibility/Graphic Overrides dialog box and turn on the Tables subcategory.
You can experiment with adjusting the values of the table family, including creating new
types with variations in materials (Figure 14.51).

Figure 14.51
adjust family
properties to
include variations
of types,
materials, and
colors.

The Bottom Line

Get started with a family. Before you start to create your own family components, take a
moment to think about how you expect that component to “behave” in your project. The role
of the Family Editor isn’t just an environment to model geometry; it also determines how the
content that you create will behave in the project environment.
Master It Choosing the right template is critical. You can convert from one family tem-
plate to another, but this is not always the case. Why would you want to choose a door
template rather than a Generic Model template?
Create the framework for a family component. Reference planes, points, and lines are the
“bones” of your component. Assign parameters to the skeleton, and the geometry will follow
along. Be sure to test the parameter and reference relationships before you start to create any
solid model geometry.
Master It Why should you build, assign parameters to, and test the references first?
Why not just model the geometry?

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