Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
beassociatedwithanotherparameter definedinthefamilyforcontrolofthe
solid visibility when the family is used in a project.
Another option for the visibility of solid geometry is to assign a material to
it by using the Material parameter. You can create a custom material type
with settings that are desired for use in your projects. One example is to
create geometry in a family that represents the required clearance space for
equipment. Along with visibility control settings, a material can be applied
to the solid geometry to make it semitransparent when viewed in a 3D
project view. See Chapter 20, “Creating Lighting Fixtures,” for more details.
When you are considering the visibility of solid geometry in a family, keep
in mind that the visibility of the entire family is controlled by its category. In
some cases, you may want to control individual components independently
from the family category. You can create subcategories within a family by
clicking the Object Styles button on the Manage tab in the Family Editor.
Once you have created a subcategory, you can assign solid geometry to
the category by using the Subcategory parameter in the properties of the
geometry.
The file
Ch17_Geometry Display_Chiller.rvt
is provided as an
example and can be found at
www.sybex.com/go/masteringrevitmep2015
.
In-Place Massing
The tools in this chapter have been aimed at the Family Editor, but they can
also be used in the project environment to create a building form. Although
this task may traditionally be the preserve of the design architect, especially
during the concept stage, the building services design engineer could also
use these tools to create a building object that can be used for analysis
from the early stages. This may occur if the architectural models are too
inaccurate to use for analysis or, as mentioned in Chapter 5, “Multiplatform
Interoperability: Working with 2D and 3D Data,” are not available at all.
The exercise in Chapter 5 took you through the process of creating a
wireframe building model. The following exercise takes this a step further
as you generate an in-place mass from which very basic analysis can be
achieved:
masteringrevitmep2015
.
(You will need to download the file
