When working with Revit software, you will often encounter the term “family.” In Revit, a family is a fundamental concept that enables parametric design of 3D project models. It also supports unified editing and management of model data. Users can define various types of families based on their specific needs and add diverse parameter information to them. Revit includes a built-in family editor, allowing users to create different family components as required. This flexibility not only facilitates the creation of various building elements within a project but also enables the addition of parameters needed throughout the construction process. As a result, family components can be easily accessed during the design phase, significantly improving modeling efficiency.
Families in Revit are categorized into three main types based on how they are created: loadable families, system families, and built-in families.
1. Loadable Families: Also known as standard build families, loadable families can be saved as separate files after creation, allowing them to be reused across multiple projects. These families offer high flexibility and versatility. Using family templates, users can create a wide variety of family components. Moreover, different families can be nested within one another to build more complex, information-rich components. Due to these advantages, loadable families are commonly used, especially when constructing detailed models such as pipe galleries.
2. System Families: System families refer to predefined family types within a project, including elements like walls, floors, roofs, doors, windows, furniture, grids, elevations, text tags, and annotations. Unlike loadable families, system families cannot be saved externally or imported from outside files; they are created and managed solely within the project environment.
3. Built-in Families: Built-in families are special components created specifically for the current project. They are limited to use within that project alone and cannot be transferred to other projects. These families tend to increase the project file size and can slow down system performance, which is why they are rarely used during the design process.
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