Differentiate between family hosting types

00:01

In this video, we will cover differentiating between hosted and non-hosted families and recognizing family hosting types.

00:12

Using hosted versus non-hosted components is a classic Revit debate.

00:19

Some people have strong convictions on one side or the other,

00:24

which method you use should depend on your workflows and what's going to work best for your projects.

00:33

To begin, let's go through the process of creating a new family,

00:38

click the File tab and then select new family in the new family, select template file dialog.

00:47

You can select the template you want to use to start your family.

00:52

I'll scroll down to the generic model templates and you can see that there are several hosting options.

00:59

There's generic model ceiling based, face based, floor based, line based pattern based, roof based, wall based and so on.

01:09

Not every category has all of these options, for example for lighting fixture, there ceiling based and wall based.

01:16

But you can select one of the generic model templates such as generic model face based and then change the category of that family.

01:26

Now, it's important to note that when working with MEP elements face based is typically the way to go.

01:35

And the reason why is because if you select the lighting fixture ceiling based or another ceiling based template,

01:42

then the ceiling must be in the host model.

01:46

In other words, you can't place a ceiling based lighting fixture in the ceiling of a linked architectural model.

01:54

And so once again, most of these require that the host component be in the host model,

02:01

whereas face based will allow you to place it on a surface in the linked model.

02:08

And so that's typically the way we want to go with MEP components.

02:13

I'll select, cancel, we won't create a new family right now and I'll zoom into the electrical room.

02:20

When I select a panel board, you can see a placement panel on the contextual ribbon and you can see that face is selected.

02:30

And so this is typically indicative of a face based family.

02:34

There's also a pick new tool which is pick new work plane.

02:38

And so right now this panel board is hosted to this wall in the architectural model,

02:46

but you could select pick new and then you could select another wall in the architectural model or another face if you desired.

02:56

That's once again, that is typically indicative of a face based family.

03:01

You can also click Edit Family to open the family,

03:05

and then in this case, we see an extrusion along with the panel board and so that extrusion indicates that this is a face based family.

03:16

I'll create a new family real quick just to show the differences.

03:22

If I select lighting fixture, ceiling based and then click Open, we can see a ceiling component in the family.

03:33

And so the point I'm trying to make here is that when you're working with some type of hosted component,

03:38

you're going to see a host element in the family and it should be labeled according to what the host is.

03:48

So in a face based family we have an extrusion and that indicates that we can place this panel board on a face,

03:55

and when we're placing a face based family, we can choose to place on a vertical face or a face of any orientation.

04:03

Okay, now, to once again, that's how you can tell if a component is a hosted component and specifically what that hosting type is.

04:14

And now to see something that can happen with hosted components is if they become unhosted or their host element is no longer there,

04:22

then they become an orphaned element, so we can see that by removing the link.

04:27

And so if we switch to the manage ribbon and then in the managed project panel click Manage Links.

04:33

And then we'll select the linked architectural model and select remove and then click OK.

04:41

And we will receive a warning, several warnings stating that a hosting element no longer exists.

04:48

And so we'll click OK. And then click OK to close the manage links dialog.

04:54

And now if I select that panel board, you can see an icon next to it that indicates that it is an orphaned component.

05:04

And to see all of those, I can switch to the collaborate ribbon.

05:08

And then in the coordinate panel, click reconcile hosting.

05:14

And this opens the reconcile hosting panel and you can now see all of the orphaned elements and they are divided up by category.

05:24

And so in this case I have electrical equipment and electrical fixtures that are orphaned.

05:31

And as you can see here, there's several, several components, duplexes, electrical equipment, several things that have become orphaned.

05:44

And so that's one of the reasons some people like to stick with non-hosted components,

05:49

and so they don't have to worry about that component becoming orphaned.

05:54

But some people like to have a host that they can host it too so that it remains connected.

06:00

And so in the case of a wall, say, we have electrical fixtures that are hosted to a wall.

06:07

And if that wall were to move in a certain direction, then then the fixture would remain hosted to it.

06:15

Now we do have some issues with lighting fixtures and ceilings.

06:19

And so once again, they can be hosted to a ceiling in an architectural model, but they can't be hosted to the ceiling grid.

06:26

So, in other words, if the ceiling moves up or down, the lighting fixture would remain hosted to it.

06:30

But if the ceiling grids were to move, the lighting fixture would not move with it in the linked architectural model.

06:39

So once again hosted versus non-hosted components, a classic Revit debate, but you should use the method that works best for you and your projects.

Video transcript

00:01

In this video, we will cover differentiating between hosted and non-hosted families and recognizing family hosting types.

00:12

Using hosted versus non-hosted components is a classic Revit debate.

00:19

Some people have strong convictions on one side or the other,

00:24

which method you use should depend on your workflows and what's going to work best for your projects.

00:33

To begin, let's go through the process of creating a new family,

00:38

click the File tab and then select new family in the new family, select template file dialog.

00:47

You can select the template you want to use to start your family.

00:52

I'll scroll down to the generic model templates and you can see that there are several hosting options.

00:59

There's generic model ceiling based, face based, floor based, line based pattern based, roof based, wall based and so on.

01:09

Not every category has all of these options, for example for lighting fixture, there ceiling based and wall based.

01:16

But you can select one of the generic model templates such as generic model face based and then change the category of that family.

01:26

Now, it's important to note that when working with MEP elements face based is typically the way to go.

01:35

And the reason why is because if you select the lighting fixture ceiling based or another ceiling based template,

01:42

then the ceiling must be in the host model.

01:46

In other words, you can't place a ceiling based lighting fixture in the ceiling of a linked architectural model.

01:54

And so once again, most of these require that the host component be in the host model,

02:01

whereas face based will allow you to place it on a surface in the linked model.

02:08

And so that's typically the way we want to go with MEP components.

02:13

I'll select, cancel, we won't create a new family right now and I'll zoom into the electrical room.

02:20

When I select a panel board, you can see a placement panel on the contextual ribbon and you can see that face is selected.

02:30

And so this is typically indicative of a face based family.

02:34

There's also a pick new tool which is pick new work plane.

02:38

And so right now this panel board is hosted to this wall in the architectural model,

02:46

but you could select pick new and then you could select another wall in the architectural model or another face if you desired.

02:56

That's once again, that is typically indicative of a face based family.

03:01

You can also click Edit Family to open the family,

03:05

and then in this case, we see an extrusion along with the panel board and so that extrusion indicates that this is a face based family.

03:16

I'll create a new family real quick just to show the differences.

03:22

If I select lighting fixture, ceiling based and then click Open, we can see a ceiling component in the family.

03:33

And so the point I'm trying to make here is that when you're working with some type of hosted component,

03:38

you're going to see a host element in the family and it should be labeled according to what the host is.

03:48

So in a face based family we have an extrusion and that indicates that we can place this panel board on a face,

03:55

and when we're placing a face based family, we can choose to place on a vertical face or a face of any orientation.

04:03

Okay, now, to once again, that's how you can tell if a component is a hosted component and specifically what that hosting type is.

04:14

And now to see something that can happen with hosted components is if they become unhosted or their host element is no longer there,

04:22

then they become an orphaned element, so we can see that by removing the link.

04:27

And so if we switch to the manage ribbon and then in the managed project panel click Manage Links.

04:33

And then we'll select the linked architectural model and select remove and then click OK.

04:41

And we will receive a warning, several warnings stating that a hosting element no longer exists.

04:48

And so we'll click OK. And then click OK to close the manage links dialog.

04:54

And now if I select that panel board, you can see an icon next to it that indicates that it is an orphaned component.

05:04

And to see all of those, I can switch to the collaborate ribbon.

05:08

And then in the coordinate panel, click reconcile hosting.

05:14

And this opens the reconcile hosting panel and you can now see all of the orphaned elements and they are divided up by category.

05:24

And so in this case I have electrical equipment and electrical fixtures that are orphaned.

05:31

And as you can see here, there's several, several components, duplexes, electrical equipment, several things that have become orphaned.

05:44

And so that's one of the reasons some people like to stick with non-hosted components,

05:49

and so they don't have to worry about that component becoming orphaned.

05:54

But some people like to have a host that they can host it too so that it remains connected.

06:00

And so in the case of a wall, say, we have electrical fixtures that are hosted to a wall.

06:07

And if that wall were to move in a certain direction, then then the fixture would remain hosted to it.

06:15

Now we do have some issues with lighting fixtures and ceilings.

06:19

And so once again, they can be hosted to a ceiling in an architectural model, but they can't be hosted to the ceiling grid.

06:26

So, in other words, if the ceiling moves up or down, the lighting fixture would remain hosted to it.

06:30

But if the ceiling grids were to move, the lighting fixture would not move with it in the linked architectural model.

06:39

So once again hosted versus non-hosted components, a classic Revit debate, but you should use the method that works best for you and your projects.

Video quiz

What controls the hosting type of a family?

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Step-by-step guide

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