Saving Families From a Project

Sometimes we get a Revit project file, and see some interesting Revit families in the project. Can we save it to our family library folder and use it for our future project? Yes. Open your Revit project.

Using Revit Menu

You can click on Revit menu> save as> library> family.

Revit will open a save dialog box. At the bottom of the dialog box, you can see a dropdown list: Family to save. You can find all Revit family definition in this project here. Select which family you want to save.

Using Project Browser

Another method to save existing Revit family definition is by accessing your project browser. Find your family there, right click, and click save.

Using Family Editor

There is one more way you can do it. You can select your family, then choose to edit it. While you are in family editor, you can save it as a family file. This is useful if you see a family that is close to what you want, but you need to do a minor modification.

Using Stairs, Railings and Walls from Other Revit Projects

Have you ever tried to load stairs, railings, or walls? You cannot load them as family. Some Revit families are defined within a Revit project. Another example for this is roof and floor definition. However, defining the families every time we start a project is not productive.

One way to make sure this type of Revit family is available in your project, is defining it in your template. So when we start our project, the definition is already available.

However, we might already have a railing definition (like we did in previous tutorial). I can suggest you to create a new project, insert the family to your new project, and save it as a Revit template. Next time you create a new project, the railing definition is already in your project.

How can we insert the railing if we can’t load it as family?

Easy, just select the railing, press [ctrl] + C to copy it to your clipboard. Open your new project, and press [ctrl] + V to paste it. You can delete the railing after insertion. The definition is already saved in your project.

About Edwin Prakoso

I work as a Sr. Consultant in PT Cipta Satria Informatika. I've been using AutoCAD since R14 and Revit since Revit Building 9. I occasionally write for AUGIWorld magazine and I am also active in Autodesk discussion forum. I'm a member of Autodesk Expert Elite, an appreciation for individuals who give contributions to the Autodesk community.
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