Using

g Share
ed Para
ameters
s in Auttodesk Revit Structu
S ure
Nick Hugley – McComa
as Engineerin
ng Inc

SE314-1
1

You’ve ussed out-of-the e-box families in your projeect and create ed schedules using them, but
b you need more
informatioon for a more detailed sche edule. You’ve e read or hearrd that if you use
u shared pa arameters, yoou
can sched dule them and d add more innformation intto your modell. So what are e these shared parameterss and
are they different
d from other parame eters? I will sh
how you how to create sha ared parameters and add these
t
to out-of-tthe-box families and new fa amilies. You’lll be able to add
a footing ba ar sizes and quantities
q to a
family andd they will sho
ow up in a schhedule. A woo od shear walll placed in thee model can have
h a schedule
with the stud and shea athing size alo
ong with fasteeners and hold d down types. Use live sch
hedules instea ad of
static sche edules.

About th
he Speaker::
Nick workss for McComas s Engineering, a structural enggineering firm in
n Carmel, Indiana. He has 24 years of experrience
in producin
ng construction documents forr a wide varietyy of projects andd clients. An avvid user, trainerr, and supporter of
AutoCAD, Nick has also added
a Revit Sttructure to his "m
must have" sofftware list. Nickk has an Associiate’s degree inn
Architecturral Engineering Technology froom ITT and is also
a a Microsofft Certified Systtems Engineerr.

nhugley@
@mccomaseng
g.com
 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

What are Parameters?

When I first started using Revit one

of the vocabulary words that I had to
understand was “parameter”. This
guy keeps saying the word
parameter. What in the h e double
toothpicks is a parameter? The best
definition I can share with you for
what a revit parameter is;

It’s how you talk to revit, it how

you tell revit where or how things
behave in the model.

Everything has parameters, views,

pieces and parts, sheets,
lineweights, etc……

View Scale:
Detail Level:

These are some of the parameters

for Structural Plans.

Parameter Flavors

I look at parameters having different flavors. Each parameter has its own taste or use.

One flavor is project parameters. When project parameters are created they’re assigned to categories
and add content to a project. Some simple examples of these are adding parameters to the sheets
category for additional information in title blocks or by adding parameters to the foundation category so
you can schedule reinforcing for footings.

Another flavor is family parameters. These parameters are added to families to create the flexing or add
content. An example is wide flange beams. Wide flange beams have the same section geometry but
the values and/or parameters change and/or flex the geometry to the different sizes, the wide flange
steel material type can also be stored as a parameter. You can also use parameters in annotation
family’s to create tags for labeling.

A very strong flavor is share parameters. Shared parameters are parameters used in families that can
be used for both tags and schedules. Share parameters are given a unique identifier so they’ll keep
their association from family to project. Using shared parameters for column footing dimensions you can
list them in a schedule.

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

My First Parameter is a Project Parameter

Right off the bat getting into Revit I wanted to know how to create a schedule, this is one of those items
touted at every sales pitch I attended. So, first thing I did was create a column footing schedule and the
first thing I see is what I don’t see, I didn’t see any reinforcing or footing thickness. My dumb AutoCad
schedules have this information. I did some homework and found out that to add this type of content I
need to use parameters. So, my first taste of parameters is a project parameter. Below is a intended
schedule and a step by step in adding two project parameters for the footing reinforcing. The footing
thickness parameter will come later.

I’m going to add two project

parameters to the Structural
Foundations category.

 Rebar No of
 Rebar Size

Adding a Project Parameter

1. Select the Manage

Tab
2. Select Project
Parameter from the
ribbon panel. The
Project Parameter
dialog box will
appear and list all of
the project
parameters in the
project.
3. The radio button for
Project Parameter
should already be
selected.
4. Type the Name of
the new parameter
“Rebar No of” 6. For the Type of Parameter, select Integer
5. Leave Discipline at 7. For Group parameter under, select Structural
Common 8. Decide if the parameter is to be an Instance or Type, select Type
9. For Categories, select Structural Foundations
10. Select OK
11. Repeat this to add the Rebar Size, use Text as the Type of Parameter

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

After you’ve added the

two project parameter
you can go to the type
properties for any
family that has been
categorized as
Structural
Foundations and see
that the parameters
have been added.

Note:
The dialog box to the
right is the OTB family
Footing-Rectangular
showing that the two
project parameters
have been added to the
type properties.

Now that you’ve added

these project
parameters they’ll now
be choices to select
when you create a
structural foundation
schedule.

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Adding Project Parameters for a Shear Wall Schedule

To create Shear Wall Schedule, follow the previous steps for adding project parameters. There are 6
parameters shown in the chart below. Once the parameters are added to the project you can create a
new wall type and populate these parameters with values in the wall’s type properties. Once you’ve
placed this new wall in a project you’ll be able to create a schedule that will include these new
parameters.

Here is my end
result of what I
wanted my Shear
Wall Schedule to
look like. I added
6 project
parameters to
the Walls
category, the
parameters are
shown in the
table below.

To keep my
thoughts straight
for completing
the schedule I
use this simple
chart. Down the
left side are the
schedule
headings which
match up to the
project Across the top are the values needed to be populated in the project parameters dialog
parameters. box for each parameter.

 I don’t think there is limit to the number of project parameters that can be created
 Project parameters can belong to more than one category
 You can transfer project parameters from project to project using Transfer Project Standards
 You can purge unused project parameters – be careful – everyone has that guy in the office that
like to keep things cleaned up
 Backup your project parameters by transferring them to an unused project – see previous
 Project parameters can be added just for
o schedule sorting
o browser organizing

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

Knowing How to Use Project Parameters Isn’t Enough!

Ok adding and using a project parameter was pretty easy, but it’s still not enough. I had a project that
needed to use grade beams in the foundation. I did some homework and found out that the easiest and
most sensible way to do this is to use the concrete beam family. I’ll need to add project parameters to
populate the schedule for reinforcing, OK I’ve done this before, but…..this time I need to be able to
schedule the dimensions of the grade beams. I’ll have the same size grade beams but the reinforcing is
going to be different for a few types. I’ll create several types using different type names and change the
size and reinforcing on an as needed basis in the type parameters.

So what did I need to do to make this happen? First thing I did was see is if I can schedule the width and
height using the Concrete-Rectangular Beam family. Answer is no. But if I use shared parameters in this
family I will be able to schedule the width and height. In lieu of creating a new family, which you can, I
decided to replace the family parameters with shared parameters. Remember shared parameters carry a
GUID (global unique identifier), this GUID will allow Revit to keep track of these parameters.

I’m going to create a new grade beam family from the Concrete-Rectangular Beam family. Before I do
this I want to create the shared parameters I’ll be using for the family.

For this next exercise I’m going to be using the Structural Analysis-Default template.

Creating a Share Parameter File and Parameters

1. Open a new project with the Structural Analysis-Default template.

2. Create a Shared Parameter file.
a. From the Manage Tab select Shared Parameters, you’ll the Edit Shared Parameters
dialog box
b. Select Create
c. Select a folder for storage and name the file
3. Now create a group and two parameters, Height and Width.
a. Under Groups select New
b. Type Common
c. Select Ok
d. Under Parameters select New
e. Name the parameter Height, keep the Disciple to Common and for the Type of
Parameter select Length from the drop down list, select OK to finish creating the
parameter.
f. Repeat d. and e. for the Width parameter.
g. Select OK to close the Edit Shared Parameters dialog box. The new shared
parameters file is created and the parameters are ready to be used.

Create the New Grade Beam Family

1. From the browser select the Concrete-Rectangular Beam, right click and select Edit. You’ll be
asked if you want to open the family for editing, select Yes. The family will open in the family
editor.
2. From the Application Button select Save As, select Family, select the folder location and name
the family Grade Beam.

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

3. First load the new shared parameters into the

family.
a. From the Create tab select Types
in the ribbon.
b. Under Parameters select Add, the
Parameters Dialog box will open
c. Select the Share parameter radio
button, select Select, from here
select Edit and browse to the
share parameters file you created.
Once you find it Open the file.
d. Select the Height parameter you
created, select Ok, set the radio
button to Type and from the Group
parameter under dropdown list
select Dimension, select OK
e. Repeat Add for the Width
parameter. Family Types Dialog Box
f. Now that both parameters are
loaded and you can see them in
Family Types dialog box set the
values for Height (h is the current
parameter in the family) and Width
(b is the current parameter in the
family) to match the current values
for the two types that existing in the
family. Once you’ve done this
select OK.
g. Replace the h and b parameters in
their associated dimensions. From
the browser Select to open the
Left elevation. You’ll see the h
and b dimensions.
h. Select the h dimension. At the top
in the options bar change the h
parameter from the dropdown list to
Height.
i. Repeat for b dimension.
4. Before you save this file go back into the
Types dialog box and Remove the h and b
parameters. If you get a warning dialog box
select Yes.
5. Save the new family and load it into the
project. Grade Beam - Left Elevation

6. Now that you have the Grade Beam family loaded into the project, place the two types and create
a new structural framing schedule. When you scroll to select the schedule fields you’ll see the
Height and Width shared parameters from in the Grade Beam family are now choices.

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

Create a Tag Using Shared Parameters

The shared parameters file is created, the grade beam family is using them to the schedule the Height
and Width, now make a tag that will pull these same shared parameters so you can annotate the plan.

As you can see when you placed the two grade beams they were tagged with the type name. Let’s
create a tag that will pull in the Height and Width. We’ll do this by saving as and editing the tag used
already.

1. Select the tag next to the grade beam.

2. Right click, select Edit Family, select Yes. You’ll be asked if you want to open the family for
editing, select Yes. The family will open in the family editor.
3. From the Application Button select Save As, select Family, select the folder location and
name the family Grade Beam Tag.
4. Select the label. From the Modify tab select Edit Label in the ribbon. The Edit Label Dialog
box will open. As you can see the Type Name is being pulled in for the tag. You’ll want to
replace this with the Height and Width shared parameters. If you scroll thru the Category
Parameters you won’t see the Height and Width shared parameters you’ll need to load them
from the shared parameter file you created earlier.
5. Just under the Category Parameters list is an icon with a highlight, select this icon and the
Parameters Properties dialog box will appear, select Select.
6. Select Height, select OK, select OK again.
7. Repeat for Width.

Now you will be able to see them in the list of available parameter to choose from.

8. In the Edit Label dialog box select Type Name, select the red arrow and return this parameter
to the available list.
9. In the Category Parameters list select Width, select the green arrow add to the Label
Parameters list.
10. Add a “space” “x” in the Suffix column.
11. In the Category Parameters list select Height, select the green arrow add to the Label
Parameters list.
12. Select OK
13. Stretch the label limits box to get on line of text.
14. Save the file and load it into the project.

Once you load it into the project it will begin to tag items using the new Grade Beam Tag. If it doesn’t
simply load it as the tag you want to use, or drag and drop it from the browser to use.

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

Taking a Closer Look at the Shared Parameters .txt File

 Find and open a shared parameter .txt file with notepad.

 Be careful, says it right in the .txt file.
 Yea you could probably cut and paste from one .txt assuming the parameter and GUID info is
really truly different but………..
 Yea you could rename or change the parameter in the .txt in lieu of deleting and recreating
parameter but………
 That guy in the office deleted the shared parameter file! You can recover it!
o Open the family, select the parameter and export
 Third Party parameter tools
o http://www.biggestbrains.com/revit/revitfamilytools/
 There is NOT an open conduit to the shared parameter .txt. It is just used when you are defining
a parameter.
o An example for this is RAM Structural’s beam reactions
 When creating the tags for be reactions use RAM’s shared parameter file
Structural Framing Tag-w-Reaction Parameters.txt
 Revit extensions add shared parameters to elements in a project. You’ll see
them start to appear after using them.

Things to Keep in Mind

 Make a plan, use good practice or have standards for using parameters.
O See HNTB’s presentation
 Use one company shared parameter file
 A parameter named Joe, JOe, JOE, jOe, jOE, etc…. are all different parameters!!!
 Create family templates with commonly used shared parameters already defined.
 Revit SDK 2010 has sample program AutoParameter to populate family file.
 There a lot more things you need to know about with parameters so do your homework. Here is
a list of information I regularly review to remind about parameters.
O AU 2005 BD35-2 Take Your Family to the Next Level
 David Conant – Autodesk and Stephen Stafford – Stafford Consulting
O Anything from Steve Stafford
O Autodesk’s Parametric Component Design Techniques
O Autodesk Revit Style Guide
 Revit_Master_Parameter_List.xls
 Revit_Master_Shared_Parameters_V2.Txt
O AU 2008 AB304-3 Fuzzy Math Essentials for Revit Family Builders
 David Baldacchino – SHW Group LLP

Review the Parameters Properties Dialog Box

 Choices to Make
o Name
 Again case sensitive
 Use exact syntax in formulas
o Discipline:
 Typically Common
o Type of Parameter
 Most Popular
 Text

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

 Integer
 Number
 Length
 Angle
 Material
 Yes/No
 Family Type
o Group Parameter Under
 Be consistent
 You can’t hide formula driven parameter so sometime putting them under Other
hides them from users
o Instance Type
 Make the correct choice, think through your family

Some Examples of Using Parameters (You have to be here to see these.)

1. For an annotation family use the Yes/No parameter type with Graphics to get it placed correctly.
In this example I have a column tag that has four types to choose from, each putting the
annotation in one of 4 corners.

Tag opened in family

Tag used in project

2. Use a “not” formula

to toggle between
two Yes/No
parameters. In this
example I’ve created
a 2D component for
CFS framing that I
want to have either a
Solid Lip or a Hidden
Lip.

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

3. Map a nested family’s parameter and let the host family drive its geometry. In this example I
have a 2D embed plate host family that you can change the type property for the plate thickness
and an instance property for the width. The nested family is a 2D shear stud. I can change the
shear stud length by creating a stud length parameter in the host and mapping it to the nested
family parameter.

Here’s the kicker! Use shared

parameters in the nested family, in
the nested family check the Shared
box in the Category and
Parameters dialog box and you’ll be
able to schedule them in a project.

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 SE314-1 Using Shared Parameters in Autodesk Revit Structure

Setting the Material Using a Shared Parameter

This is one of my new favorite things to do, I learned this at local revit user group meeting and I want to
share it. I’ve made this great new truss family and I’ve created it around using it for both wood and CFS
trusses. So how am I going to get the material to be either wood or CFS metal? Create two families one
for wood and one for CFS. That’s how I would have done it until I learned how to use a shared
parameter for the material. I’ve outlined how to do this below.

1. Create a new shared parameter,

save this in your company’s shared
parameter .txt file, name the
parameter Material, for the Type of
Parameter use Material and
Finishes.

2. Open the truss family you want to

use it for. Select Types from the
Family ribbon panel. Add a new
parameter, select Shared
Parameter, select the shared
parameter you’ve just created,
Material. Add it as a Type
parameter and group under
Material.

3. In the family editor, select all of the

truss pieces, right click for the short
cut menu, select Element
Properties. Under Materials and
Finishes, Material will say By
Category, next to this is the button
to map this to a parameter. Select
the button the Associate Family
Parameter dialog box will open.
Select Material, this is the Material
shared parameter you create in step
1, map this to the family. Select OK
and OK.

4. Save the family and load it into a

project.
Mapping a parameter
5. Select the truss family. Under the
trusses Type Properties change the
Material to the material of your
choice. The project material list will
open up for you to choose a material.

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