& Construction
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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
& Manufacturing
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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.
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.
Step-by-step guide