In Revit there are four kinds of Parameters:

System Parameters
Shared Parameters
Project Parameters
Family Parameters

System Parameters which include the two you highlighted are built-in to Revit and cannot be changed, but they are always available. This means they show in tags, schedules, projects, families, etc. Project Parameters are custom parameters you add to a project. When adding a project parameter, it is available to all objects of the specified category throughout the project and CAN appear in schedules but NOT tags. You create them with the command on the Manage tab of the ribbon. Family parameters are only available to the Family in which they are added. They do NOT show in tags or schedules nor to other Families of the same category. However, you can make a custom parameter (Project or Family) available to tags and schedules by making them a Shared Parameter. Shared Parameters are defined in an external text file (a Shared Parameter file) and you can access them also on the Manage tab. It is VERY important that you have a single shared parameter file for the entire firm to “share” thus the name. You do NOT want more than one Shared Parameter file. All this file is used for is to define the parameter. Once defined, it knows how to behave. So ALL shared parameters will be created from this single source file. The end users will not need to have access to, nor do they need to even know about the Shared Parameter file. Kind of like a recipe for your favorite cookies. You need the recipe to get the cookies right, but you don’t need the recipe to enjoy eating them.

If you think there is any chance that a custom parameter will want to be scheduled or tagged, you should make it a shared parameter. So on your titleblock, you need to make those custom parameters at LEAST a project parameter. This will tell Revit what to do with them. But consider making them Shared for additional flexibility down the road.

Hope that helps to clarify things a bit.

Quick follow-up to yesterday’s post. I found a few decent fonts for this task. In the screenshot here you can see “Arial Caps” and “Tahoma-Capped”. I found both of these at this site. They appear to be royalty free. At least there was no indication otherwise on the site. Also I forgot to mention yesterday that this same approach is effective at capping the headers and the data. Enjoy.

That brings us back to the subject of Steve’s post. Steve points out that Revit does not offer us a way to make the automatically created labels on Revit schedules such as “Grand Total” in all CAPs. This is a limitation or “feature” of the software depending on your point of view. Steve proposes a work around. Well, this got me thinking if there was another way to achieve this. I decided to do a quick test with fonts. It turns out that to “trick” Revit into doing this automatically without having to use manual text is to use a font that uses only CAPs. I had a few on my system so I did some quick tests.

As you can see, the fonts I had available were not great examples for this application. The Telegrafico font has really small numbers. The Tonio font does not have a dash character and the PTF Nordic font is a bit too bold and rounded. Therefore, consider them “proof of concept.” If you get an acceptable font, (or create one if you know how to do that), then all you have to do is set the Schedule to use this custom “all CAP” font in the Appearance tab.

Thanks for starting the conversation Steve.

But, if you were “caught” reading a copy the latest Revit or AutoCAD training materials, not only would the boss be unlikely to be upset, you might even get an “attaboy” out of the exchange.

So to help us celebrate the New Year, we have extended the exclusive 40% off deal previously offered only to attendees of Autodesk University. Now through December 31st, you can get 40% off the cover price of The Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit MEP and  The Aubin Academy Master Series: AutoCAD MEP titles. To get the discount, you have to order from the Create Space eStore link.  Just input the discount code: SGESYKP2 during checkout.

Please enjoy the book and the special limited time discount. Thank you and Happy New Year!

I have posted all of my class materials right here on my website. You can find the papers for each of my four Revit Architecture classes in both PDF and ePUB format. You can also find all of my dataset files used in demostrations and labs. For my Family Editor Step-by-step Introduction class, I have also posted video recordings of the entire class. I recorded these before AU and they include both the material I covered live in Vegas as well as many bonus lessons I did not have time to present in the short 90 minute lab. You can find all of these items posted here. Enjoy!

In Patty’s own words:

 “I hope I can count on you all to attend our 8:15 am class on Thursday morning.”

“We are going to be showing some AMAZING models we have created in AutoCAD, and some great imagery from projects in construction. I realize time is limited at AU, and I know we are scheduled at the most inopportune time after a big party, but I promise a great presentation. So if you have customers/partners/users interested in how to execute BIM in ANY platform, I urge you to attend our session. We are really excited about what we’re going to present. We hope you’ll join us.”

 I will echo that sentiment. WDI does some amazing stuff that just “wows” me every time I’m there. Here is the official class description:

This class will demonstrate that sufficiently utilized design software can create beautiful, graceful, complex, and intriguing BIM models. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) are ubiquitous phrases used in the marketplace today and studied in universities, and they might well be the most overused and misunderstood. The word might more accurately be spelled b*I*m, because the building and the model are second to the information and its consumer. Knowing how much information is required and providing a supply of it equal to the demand makes for the most efficient and useful models. In this class, a number of successful designs will be discussed, focusing on the work created for Disney’s California Adventure in Anaheim, and in particular, the extremely successful Voyage of The Little Mermaid attraction.

 If you are able to attend this session, I am sure you will find it one of the most satisfying sessions of the conference. Come join me in the back to give Patty a big cheering section!

The Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit MEP 2012
The Aubin Academy Master Series: Revit Architecture 2012

The pages are back up and running. Thank you for your patience.