Families
Everything in Revit is a family. Understanding the family hierarchy and the three kinds of family is the key to working efficiently — and to building your own later.
In this lesson you will
- Explain category, family, type and instance
- Tell system, loadable and in-place families apart
- Use type and instance parameters
- Load, reload and edit families safely
The hierarchy
Category (Doors) › Family (Single Flush) › Type (820 × 2040) › Instance (the door D01 in the kitchen). Categories are fixed by Revit; families and types are content; instances are what you place.
Three kinds of family
| Kind | Examples | Where it lives | How to make more |
|---|---|---|---|
| System | Walls, floors, roofs, ceilings, levels, dimensions | Only in the project | Duplicate types in the project; transfer between projects |
| Loadable | Doors, windows, furniture, tags, title blocks | External .rfa files | Family Editor from a template |
| In-place | A one-off custom element | Only in the project | Model In-Place (use sparingly) |
Type and instance parameters
Type parameters are shared by all instances of a type (door width). Instance parameters belong to each placed element (door mark, sill height). A rule of thumb: sizes that define a product are type parameters; position and identity are instance parameters.
Loading and editing
Insert › Load Family brings in .rfa files. Select an instance › Edit Family opens it in the Family Editor; after changes, Load into Project — choose whether to overwrite parameter values.
Transfer system families (wall types, dimension styles) between projects with Manage › Transfer Project Standards.
Avoid in-place families for repeated items: they can't be copied between projects easily and slow models when overused.
Quick reference
| Command / tool | How to start it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Load Family | Insert tab | Loads .rfa files |
| Edit Family | Select instance › Modify tab | Opens the Family Editor |
| Transfer Project Standards | Manage tab | Copies system families between projects |
| Model In-Place | Architecture › Component | One-off in-project family |
Common mistakes
Editing a type changed doors you didn't intend.
Duplicate the type first when only some instances should change.
Many in-place families for repeated items.
Build loadable families instead.
Exercise
Explore families
- List three system and three loadable families in your model.
- Open a door family in the Family Editor and identify its type and instance parameters.
- Add a new type in the Family Editor's Family Types dialog and load it back.
- Transfer wall types from one project to another.
You should end up with: Confidence with the family hierarchy.
Checklist
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Lesson quiz
Match each to its family kind.
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Taking the quiz marks it complete too. Your course page picks up where you stopped.
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