12. Parameters: add, manage, clean up families

The Parameters panel has three buttons: Add parameters brings the parameters of a shared parameter file into the project, Parameter manager shows and cleans up the project parameters, Family parameters removes useless parameters from loaded families.

Add parameters#

Adds the parameters of a shared parameter file (.txt) to the project. They become project parameters, on all the categories you choose, in a single operation. The button is in the Parameters panel of the BIMit tab. A parameter the project already has (same GUID) with the same binding, instance or type, receives only the categories it is missing (and, if you check it, the option Values can vary by group instance); with the other binding it stays as it is. BIMit does not write values to elements and does not change the file set in Revit.

Before you start#

• Open a project for editing. In a family, BIMit reminds you that parameters are added there from Family Types.
• If the model is read-only or a command is running in Revit, the window does not open and BIMit tells you why.
• Have the shared parameter file ready: the one set in Revit or another one.

At the top you find the common header with Add shared parameters and the model name.

Shared parameter file#

BIMit only reads the file and does not change Revit's setting. If Revit cannot read the file, BIMit tells you and the list stays as it was.

Parameters#

On the left are the parameters of the file, divided by the file's groups. At the head of each group you see its name and how many parameters it shows. Click a column header to sort.

Categories#

In the middle are all the project categories that accept parameters, including those without elements. Names are in Revit's language.

Options and Summary#

They are on the right. The options apply to all the chosen parameters.

Window footer#

When you click Add#

First BIMit checks that the file is still there and that the model can be edited. If the file has disappeared in the meantime, it asks you to choose it (Choose the shared parameter file.). If the model has become read-only or has an operation in progress, it tells you (The model is read-only or has an operation in progress.). In these cases it does nothing.

Then it rereads the file. If Revit cannot reread it, Unable to add the parameters appears with the reason: the model does not change and the checks stay. Otherwise BIMit checks each chosen parameter by its GUID:

Everything happens in a single operation. In Revit's Undo list you find it as BIMit: add shared parameters.

The report

At the end a message lists the parameters item by item. Only the items with at least one parameter appear, each with its number (for example Added: 3). For each item you see the first 12 rows, then ... and N more. If Revit rolled back the change, the message says so at the top.

If there is at least one Not added or an error, the report appears as an error message.

Even before the message, BIMit rereads the file: the In project column and the row below the path update, and the parameter checks are cleared (even if Revit rolled back the change). The categories stay checked, so you can immediately do another addition, for example of type parameters.

Good to know#

• One Ctrl+Z. Each Add is a single operation and one Ctrl+Z in Revit undoes all of it. If you make several additions in a row, they are undone one at a time.
• If there is nothing to change (all are Already present or Not added), BIMit does not touch the model.
• Revit errors. Revit warnings don't stop the operation. An error, instead, undoes everything and the model stays as it was. The report says Revit rolled back the change and, if Revit gives a reason, explains it. Added and Parameters already in the project updated do not appear. The message at the bottom says No changes.
• The .txt file does not change. BIMit only reads it. To read it, BIMit sets the file in Revit for a moment, then restores the previous setting, even if it was empty. BIMit neither creates nor modifies shared parameter files.
• No values. The parameters are added, but BIMit does not write values to elements.
• What never changes:
  • the categories a parameter already has: BIMit adds categories, it never removes them;
  • the instance/type binding and the group of parameters already in the project;
  • parameters with the same name but a different GUID;
  • the option Values can vary by group instance: BIMit only turns it on, it never turns it off.
• Duplicate names. BIMit compares the name with all project parameters, shared or not. If two chosen parameters in the file have the same name, it adds only the first, in the order the window shows them on opening (groups in alphabetical order); how you sorted the columns doesn't matter. The other one ends up in Not added with the reason the project already has a parameter with the same name (different GUID).
• Hidden checks. Checked parameters and categories stay chosen even when a filter hides them. Check the chosen counts; for categories you can also use Chosen only.
• Workshared model. A parameter already in the project should receive categories or the group option, but another user is using it or it has changed in the central model? Then it stays untouched. It ends up in Not added with the reason already in the project, not changed (in use by …) or already in the project, not changed (changed in the central model: reload latest and try again). If there is nothing to change, or if it has the other binding, it ends up in Already present as always. The other parameters are added anyway.

Parameter manager#

All the project parameters of the model in one list. For each one you see whether it is shared or a project parameter, instance or type, which categories it is assigned to and how many elements have a value. This way you quickly find empty or useless parameters, export the list to CSV and delete the ones you don't need in a single operation. It opens with the Parameter manager button in the Parameters panel of the BIMit tab; the window is called Project parameters.

Before you start#

• Open a project. In a family file BIMit tells you that families have no project parameters.
• The model must be editable. If it is read-only, or an operation is in progress in Revit, the window does not open.

At the top is the header with the model name. The list shows the parameters in alphabetical order. As soon as the window opens, BIMit starts counting the values (see Counting values).

Filters#

The parameter list#

Click a header to sort.

Below the list:

Window footer#

Counting values#

For each parameter BIMit counts how many elements have it and how many have a value. It reads one category at a time. If a category has both instance and type parameters, it reads it twice: once for the elements and once for the types. While counting, the list, Delete, Close and Export CSV… are disabled. The filters, Select all and None remain usable. Counting only reads: the model does not change.

• When an element has a value:
  • a text has a value if it is not empty (a text made only of spaces counts as empty);
  • a number or a Yes/No has a value if it has been set, even if it is 0 or No;
  • a reference (for example a family type) has a value if it is set, i.e. if it is not <None>.
• BIMit reads only the open model, not linked models. At the end you see Values counted in the whole model (linked models excluded).
• If you click Stop, you see Count interrupted: parameters not counted show “–”. Parameters already counted stay counted. To complete, click Count values: counting restarts from scratch for all parameters. If you interrupt it again, only those finished in this round stay counted.
• If you close the window with the X during counting, counting stops but the window stays open. Then you can close it.
• A parameter without categories shows No elements.

Export CSV#

• The file contains the parameters shown with the current filters, in the same order as the list, except those already deleted. If there are none, BIMit says No parameters to export.
• The proposed name is <model>_parametri.csv, in the Documents folder.
• The columns are Parameter, Parameter type, Instance/type, Data type, Group, Categories, GUID (shared only), With value, Elements, Usage and Element Id. With value and Elements stay empty for parameters not counted.
• The format is designed for Excel with Italian regional settings: ; separator, UTF-8 (accented letters stay correct).
• After saving, at the bottom you read CSV saved: … with the file path and the number of parameters.
• If you see Unable to save the file (is it open in Excel?), close the file in Excel and try again.

Deleting parameters#

1. Filter the list (for example Usage → Empty) and check the parameters to delete.
2. Click Delete N parameters. First BIMit checks that the model is still editable. If it has become read-only or an operation is in progress, you see The model is read-only or has an operation in progress. and nothing is deleted. Otherwise the BIMit · Delete parameters window asks for confirmation and shows you:
   • the names (up to 12), with parameter type and instance/type; if there are more, ... and N more;
   • WARNING, if some parameter has values in elements: those values will be lost;
   • how many parameters have not been counted, i.e. those you don't know whether they have values;
   • for shared parameters, that they are removed from the project but their definition stays in the families that use it;
   • It can be undone with a single Undo (Ctrl+Z).
3. Yes deletes. No goes back to the list and changes nothing.

The result

• The Status column shows Deleted or Not deleted. Deleted rows stay in the list, but you can no longer check them. Rows not deleted stay checked.
• At the bottom you read Deleted N. If something failed, you read Deleted N, not deleted M.
• If some parameter was not deleted, a window appears with the number of parameters deleted and the list (up to 15) of those skipped, each with its reason. If Revit rolled back the deletion, the window shows Revit's message and Deleted: 0. The reason for each row is in the tooltip of the Status column.
• If the deletion stops because of an unexpected error, you see Deletion failed: with the error message.

Good to know#

• One Ctrl+Z in Revit undoes the whole deletion. In Revit's list of operations it is called BIMit: delete project parameters.
• If Revit gives an error during the deletion, it undoes everything and the model stays as it was. Revit warnings don't stop the operation.
• If none of the chosen parameters can be deleted, the model does not change.
• Only the parameters that are checked and shown are deleted. Parameters checked but hidden by the filters stay in the model.
• BIMit identifies each parameter by its Id in Revit, never by its name. A global parameter or another parameter with the same name is never touched. Global parameters do not appear in the list.
• Only project parameters appear, shared or not. Family parameters are not in this list: for those, use Family parameters.
• The shared parameter file is not touched.
• In workshared models, parameters borrowed by another user are skipped; the others are deleted. If a parameter was changed in the central model after your last reload, Revit may roll back the whole deletion: reload latest and try again. As with any change, your colleagues see it after you synchronize with central.
• Counting does not read linked models and does not modify the model.
• If the project has no project parameters, at the bottom you read The project has no project parameters.

Family parameters#

Removes unneeded parameters from the families loaded in the project, without opening them by hand one by one. BIMit opens each family in the background and shows you its parameters: shared or family, instance or type, and whether they are used in formulas, dimensions or associations. It deletes the ones you check and reloads the family into the project, keeping the values. It opens with the Family parameters button in the Parameters panel of the BIMit tab. The window is also called Family parameters. For the buttons at the top see The window header.

Before you start#

• Open a project for editing. The button does not open the window from a family file, from a read-only model or with a Revit operation in progress, and tells you why.
• If you want to work only on some families, select them before clicking the button: elements, tags, or families or types in the Project Browser. The window uses the selection of that moment.
• Close in the Family Editor the families to analyze: open ones are skipped.

Families to analyze#

During the analysis the window footer shows Analysis 12/40 · family name and Stop appears. At the end you see a summary, for example Analysis completed: 40 families in 35 s · 2 excluded (in-place or not editable) · 1 not analyzed. If you click Stop, the summary starts with Analysis interrupted: and the list contains only the families already analyzed. If a family does not open, a message lists it with the reason (up to 15 families).

In some cases BIMit does not start the analysis and tells you why: it finds no editable families, the model is read-only or has an operation in progress, or families cannot be searched in the active view. In the last case choose Selected or All families in the project. In all these cases the previous list stays.

Filters#

Below the filters there is a summary row: N parameters in N families · N distinct names · N shared · N used in formulas, dimensions or associations. The row counts all the analyzed parameters, including those hidden by the filters, but not those already deleted. Before the first analysis it says Choose the families and click “Analyze families”.

Parameter table#

There is one row for each parameter of each family. Revit system parameters do not appear, because they cannot be deleted. Click a header to sort.

For the Usage filter a parameter is used only if it appears in the formula of another parameter, in a dimension or in an association. has formula and reporting don't count.

Below the table#

Window footer#

What happens when you delete#

First BIMit asks for confirmation and shows you the families with their parameters. It shows up to 10 families and 6 parameters per family; the others appear as .... If a parameter is used in formulas, dimensions or associations, a WARNING appears: Revit also deletes the formulas that use it and the dimension labels. If the model is read-only or has an operation in progress, BIMit stops before starting and tells you.

Then it works family by family:

1. in a workshared model, it checks that the family is not in use by another user;
2. it opens the family in the background;
3. it checks that each parameter is still the one analyzed: same name, still shared or family as before and, if shared, same GUID;
4. it deletes the parameters;
5. it reloads the family into the project: the values of the remaining parameters don't change and shared nested families stay those of the project;
6. it closes the family without saving it.

At the end BIMit rereads the reloaded families (Checking the reloaded families…) and updates the table. Deleted rows become Deleted and can no longer be checked.

The report. In the footer you read Deleted N parameters from N families. If needed, not deleted N and interrupted: N not processed are added. Parameters not processed stay checked, with an empty Status. A message then reports the outcome for each family (up to 20): Family: deleted A, B or Family: X not deleted (reason).

Good to know#

• One Ctrl+Z is enough. All the families are modified and reloaded in a single operation, which in Revit's Undo list is called BIMit: delete family parameters. If Revit does not allow the families to be reloaded in a single operation, BIMit goes family by family: in that case you need one Ctrl+Z per family.
• Stop stops after the current family. The families already processed stay modified; you can undo them with Ctrl+Z.
• During the analysis and the deletion the window does not close: if you try to close it, it is like clicking Stop.
• The window blocks Revit while it is open: to change the selection or the active view, close it, make the change and reopen it.
• The change applies to all instances and all types of the family, even outside the active view.
• Only the parameters checked and shown by the filters are deleted.
• The .rfa file in your library does not change: BIMit modifies only the family loaded in the project and does not save it. If you reload the family from the library, the deleted parameters come back.
• Revit system parameters, in-place families and non-editable families are not touched.
• The Used in column looks only inside the family. It does not check schedules, tags or filters in the project that show the parameter.
• Revit warnings inside the family close by themselves. If Revit immediately refuses a parameter, only that parameter stays (the reason is Revit's message) and the others in the same family are deleted. If instead Revit reports an error when committing the family edit, nothing is deleted for that family (family edit rolled back). The error does not affect the other families.
• Workshared models: families in use by another user are skipped. Your colleagues see the changes after you synchronize with central.
• BIMit does not save the report to a file: it appears only on screen. The list is not saved, so when you reopen the window you have to analyze again.
• If Revit interrupts the operation, BIMit tells you: analyze the families again before continuing.