By Dennis Collin
Creating parametric components in Revit can be a very trying process. A key part of family creation is to test at every stage of the creation process when new parameters and formulas are added. This is done in the family types dialogue. However changing values in this environment can be rather tedious as values have to be applied when altered.
The Family Editor Interface Plug-in makes this process a lot more dynamic. By introducing slider controls to the family’s parameters, they can be changed a lot more easily with the results being witnessed in real time. This environment reminds me of the 3ds Max interface with its spinner controls which provides a more organic process when manipulating geometry. If more accurate values are required, then they can also be typed in with the new values being automatically applied.
The plug in also provides a parameter shuffle command where the application applies changes to all numerical values simultaneously to ensure constraints have been applied correctly. There is also a function to delete unused parameters and adjust value precisions as desired.
In summary this free plug-in is quite a useful addition to Revit, making the whole testing process of families a lot easier and more graphical. It is available for download from the Autodesk App Store and is compatible with Revit versions 2017 to 2020.
Further details and download location can be found here:
https://apps.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Detail/Index?id=5439380106470667663&appLang=en&os=Win64