2008

Criteria for Subdividing Revit Elements
The File Link Manager organizes Revit elements into multiple 3ds Max objects
based on the following classification of elements:
■ Categories Categories are the most general class of element. They are
subdivided into model categories and annotation categories. Model categories
include doors, windows, walls, and furniture. Annotation categories include
dimensions, grids, levels, and text notes.
■ Families Families are classes of elements within a category that group
elements with a common set of parameters (properties), identical use, and
similar graphical representation. Different elements within a family may
have different values of some or all properties, but the set of
properties—their names and meaning—is the same.
For example, six-panel colonial doors are one family, although the doors
that compose the family come in different sizes and materials. Most families
are component family files, which means you can load them into your
project or create them from family templates. You can determine the set
of properties and the graphical representation of the family. Other families
are called system families and are not available for loading or creating in
Revit. Autodesk Revit predefines the set of properties and the graphical
representation of system families; they include walls, dimensions, ceilings,
roofs, floors, and levels.
Besides being a class of elements, families are also a template that allows
you to generate new types of items that belong to this family.
■ Types Types, also called a family types, are a class of elements within a
family that have the exact same values for all type properties. For example,
all 32x78 six-panel doors belong to one type, while all 24x80 six-panel
doors belong to another type. Like a family, a type is also a template that
generates new instances of this type.
■ Instances Instances are the actual items that have specific locations in
the building (model instances) or on a drawing sheet (annotation
instances).
3ds Max organizes and names file linked objects to reflect their structure in
Revit, using a parent-child hierarchy. The parent object is a Block/Style Parent
named category <family : type>, and the Block/Style Parent has one or more
child objects named category <family : type> subcategory1, category <family : type>
subcategory2, and so forth.
For example, if a single-flush door object in Revit is linked to 3ds Max, it will
have a parent-child hierarchy displayed as a parent object, Doors <Single-Flush
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