By John Flanagan
Introduction
Families are the main building blocks in Revit. Almost every element, from walls to furniture, is a family. Families are model or annotation elements that have been grouped together and set up with dimensions and other parameters.
Differentiate 3 Kind of Families
There are three different kinds of families in Revit.
In-Place Families:
- These families are modelled directly in a Revit project.
- Use the Model In-Place tool to create project specific custom forms.
- In-Place Families cannot be loaded into or saved out of a project.
Loadable Families
- Loadable families are created a .rfa file and then loaded in model or template.
- Categories can include doors, furniture, tags and lighting fixtures.
- They can be created and loaded into a project as well as deleted or saved from a project.
System Families
- These are the families that are pre-defined families specific to a Revit Project.
- You do not load them into your project from external files. They are embedded inside a project or template.
- Categories include walls, roofs, floors and stairs.
Host vs. Stand-alone Families
Families can be Host-based or stand-alone. Host-based families include those that are dependent on host (wall, ceiling, floor, roof or face.) Stand-alone families, such as desks and chairs, do not need a host. How you create families depends on the way you want to use an element. For example, if you were creating a floor or table lamp, you would create a stand-alone family.