10 things to avoid when downloading free Revit Families Online

We’ve all needed a family in a pinch and, against our better judgment, went searching on the internet for a free one!  Here are some things to avoid the next time you go Revit family hunting:

1. Too many types

Some families come preloaded with more family types than you will use.  This unnecessarily clutters your family browser and takes up memory.

2. Too many parameters

When downloading free families that were created by manufacturers, a common issue you will encounter is having far too many parameters.  Often there are parameters that control things you will never change or use. This causes the file to be larger than it needs to be and is confusing to use.

3. Unnecessary geometry

Often manufacturers will model geometry into an object that is either unseen or will not be used in the project.  This takes up file space and can cause extra processing time for Revit to generate.

4. Unnecessary constraints

Because manufacturers are only modeling their product lines, they sometimes constrain a family so that it can only be changed to represent their products.  For example, a conference table may only come in 120”x42” and 144”x42” from a certain supplier, so that family is built to only allow you to pick between those two choices.  Removing some of the constraints from the family would allow you to create any size table you like.

5. Poor modeling practices

Depending on the skill level of the family creator, they may implement poor modeling practices which bloat the family file or cause it to perform slowly.  Techniques like using too many arrays, voids, or nesting too many levels deep can cause sever performance degradation.

6. Non-native geometry & imports

Importing geometry or reference materials into a family that are not native Revit features will cause performance issues and make the file size large.  Importing AutoCAD, SAT, or image files for example. 

7. Misleading parameters

Some family creators are not careful to clean up their parameters.  Often a family contains parameters that are not connected to geometry and thus when a user changes the parameter value, nothing happens in the model.  Other times there are parameters what were once used in an earlier version of the family but are no longer required yet remain because there was no purging of the old parameters.  This not only takes up file space but can confuse you when placing and editing the family in a project.

8. Poor naming conventions

A common issue with free families that causes confusion are poor naming conventions.  This can take several forms: The name of the family is a product number and makes no sense to the typical user.  Perhaps the type names don’t make sense or are inconsistent.  Often the parameter names haphazard and do not describe to the user what they control.  All of this makes the family difficult to use.

9. Improper parameter organization & type

Placing a parameter in the wrong category can sometimes make it hard for a user to find what they are looking for.  Additionally, making a parameter a type rather than an instance or vis versa can greatly affect the usability and effectiveness of the family.

10. Large file size

While it is not always true that just because a family file size is large, it is bad. File size is still something to take into consideration.  A large file size can often be a sign that something is going on in your file that could affect your project’s performance.

If you do want to continue putting free Revit Families into your projects, consider having a cleansing process that you put the family through before loading it. In addition to checking for, and avoiding, the 10 items listed above, we recommend the following:

• Make sure the file is in the correct units
• Check that the family is in your language
• Verify the family is set to the correct category
• Delete useless parameters
• Delete the family types you don’t need
• Delete the useless “Object Styles” subcategories
• Purge the family several times
• Purge the materials
• Change materials parameter to “By Category” 
• Open and clean any nested files using the above guidelines
• Delete unneeded line patterns and fill patterns