How To Organise Revit Families With A Family Library File
The Problem
Encountering difficulties in managing large quantities of Revit family files? Organisation, search and location of family files can get cumbersome and messy the more files you deal with. A non-exhaustive list of familiar issues you may have encountered include:
- Issues with tracking family files for modification or organisation purposes
- Remembering where family files are saved
- Excess back-up files from saving of family files
And many more...
The Solution
An ideal solution for organisation of Revit family files is by using Revit's own RVT project file format to create a family library file to house your Revit families.
The setup is quite simple, you simply create a new RVT file, and start loading your Revit family models in and organising them!
The families can be organised in any way that is desired, but the most direct method would be to group the Revit family models (Windows, Doors etc.) into different levels.
For a more detailed breakdown on how it is done, you can refer to the following explanation video:
Solution Benefits
Using a family library file gives a number of benefits which can be leveraged upon for efficiency when managing Revit family models:
1. Easier Visual Identification Of Families
By organising the families directly in the project 3D environment, you get a full 3D view of all the families instead of just the file names:
Families can now be identified visually instead of by file name, which can save a significant amount of searching time.
Model text can be used to provide name identification together with the visual 3D view:
2. Consolidate Latest And Up-To-Date Versions Of Families In One Place
All the latest and up-to-date families in your project can now be consolidated in one central place for easier access and management, ensuring the latest versions of families can be easily found and not confused with outdated versions.
3. Ensure family models work in an actual Revit project environment
Since the family library file is an actual Revit project file, you can directly test the families in the family library file to ensure they work before loading them into the main project files.
This can save significant time from dealing with complications from faulty families, especially if you are dealing with multiple project files using the same family models. You get to rectify any faults with the families before, and not after, loading them into multiple project files.