Revit 2022 – Differentiate 3 Kinds of Families

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.