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Forums >> General Discussion >> Revit ROI >> Qnyone bought and used ALL-IN-ONE families?
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Joined: Tue, Sep 12, 2006
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Hi, Just wondering who has had some experience with the all-in-one families that are being advertised recently. Am thinking to purchase some, but wanted to know if they are any good or not, amd if they increase productivity, schedule accuracy, etc. Any insights would be great. (Makers of these components PLEASE dont reply to this thread) UPDATE to this post: I decided to lash out and try one of these All In One families - the "All In One Door Family". It certainly seems to be 'all-there' so to speak, but even within the first few hours, i have noticed some major issues with it. Issue 1. File size. Its a quite massive 1,368KB for the metric version. So say hello to quite a bit of extra baggage to your main file. I first tried to make a simple glass panelled single leaf cavity sliding door (which will bring me to point No. 2 in a minute). A "copy" and "paste" or a "duplication" seems to add around 360KB for this type of door, but when you do this with say a double leaf cavity sliding door, its adds around 600KB. So complexity to door type displayed equals added file size. Issue 2. You need to have duplicated versions of the door in order to have different 'types' eg. hinged, cavity, solid timber, glass, etc - the parameters have been set up stupidly so you cant get different types without having to create duplicated versions. This means if you copy and paste a door and want to change a parameter on one of these (eg. the size might be different), it will change ALL doors to the new setting. So having to create a duplicate for every minor variation is crazy - and due to the quite large file size, duplicating like this sends your main file size way up, real fast. This also appears to mean making changes to the parameters is VERY slow compared to regular family components - just changing one dimension setting, I found myself waiting up to 5 or 6 seconds for it to register so I could carry on. and lastly Issue 3. Complexity. Because they are 'All In One' and with MASSES of options available to change and set in the parameters, I found myself taking a ridiculous amount of time searching through long lists of 'often not-so-obvious descriptions' just trying to find the right one to change. Perhaps a native English Revit expert could help out the Indian team who have created these families to make it ALOT more clear what it is you are looking at. To be fair I guess they are also stuck with the REVIT API which doesnt allow for much in the way of display/menu organisation I'm sure. So, anyway, I might perservere a few more days, but gut feeling is I will be taking up the 30day money back guarantee. P.S Have been a Revit user since 2003, so know my way around the program - i.e. I'm not a novice. Edited on: Mon, Oct 25, 2010 at 10:10:21 AM Edited on: Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 8:42:05 AMEdited on: Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 8:44:28 AM
Edited on: Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 8:44:57 AM
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would you be able to switch up the type parameters to instance parameters? any shared parameters that need setting up?
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I hear the same thing from many experienced revit users. The "all in one" is too complex for the sake of use. I provide some content on my website www.revitcafe.com Let me know if there is something you need. Cheers, Revit Cafe
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lunchtrayrider - yes, you could spend the time and try and fix the parameter settings - but there are HEAPS of them so its not exactly motivational to do...Its one of those things that probably would be worth doing if I ever had the time - but its kind of not the point to why you someone would buy these kinds of families. Even if you could fix the parameters, the file size issues are proving to be an even bigger downsode I think.
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It think partly out of curiosity a lot of people (even advanced users) purchase these families knowing the issues they are going to have before buying them. But on the vague hope that we are missing something we persevere. Less families loaded into the project is more file efficient than having to load new families for each type (Generally). I've let Michael know that this level of complexity really requires an API around it. Some sort of visual GUI that helps users to decipher the endless parameters that have been incorporated. If not for that reason alone the "all in one" concept doesn't work. My library "all in one" would and does consist of a logical separation. One family for each of: - Single Swing Door
- Double Swing Door
- Pivot Swing Door
- Bi-Fold Door (multiple for different stacking arrangements)
- Aluminium Framed Glazed Sliding Door
- Cavity Sliding Door
- Surface Sliding Door
- Access Panels
- Roll-a-Door
- Panel Lift Door
- Industrial Roll-a-door
- Openings
- Specials - Raking Head, Corner arrangements, Gates, Joinery, Shower etc.
Make it easy for the end user who knows what door type they want to use so they can load it in, select the specific size they want from the Type Catalogue and continue working. Rather than waiting 5 minutes for the family types to even load... Its just to broad a brush concept at the moment. An all in one elevator/escalator, Bi-fold yes great. All in one Kitchen, window, door no way!! My 2 cents.
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I have bought a couple for intended use however the list of parameters seems to complicate the speed advantage i was hoping for. Other than that though I am also using them as a learning tool for my company's custom families.
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Yeh, I agree with Mr Spot - breaking down the massive ALL IN ONE to logical types would be a step in the right direction. The work they have put into the parameters that can be changed is really great - eg. architrave types, profiles, sizes, glazing, etc so would be a shame to see this go to waste. As a business model, I would even go one step further and offer a 'basic' and 'advanced' version of each type. This way if you only use components in a basic way - for example just as components for working drawings - you go for the 'basic' version. This is stripped right back and doesnt have extensive parameters you can change, just basics like width, height, material, architrave on/off (with profile/section options) . After all when a bulder is on site reading a set of plans does he really care if you have all the fine detail showing or not? No Way! Then for those would create 3D renderings, or more detailed drawings - have an advanced version with extensive parameters and render materials setup properly, etc. But make sure all parameters are INSTANCE PARAMETERS to save having to duplicate the component for any slight change. Take the iTunes payment model, where basic components are really cheap - i.e. $1 - $2, with advanced ones maybe $5 -$10. I'm sure they would sell a heap more this way.
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can you share some of those files with me. Im an arch student and would be entrataining to play with the models.
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HEAPS of them so its not exactly motivational to do...Its one of those things that probably would be worth doing if I ever had the time - but its kind of not the point to why you someone would buy these kinds of families. Even if you could fix the parameters, the file size issues are proving to be an even bigger downsode I think...!!!
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Hi! Since I migrated to Revit I`m waiting for a All-in-one like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8pYM989Liw
Size: 300Kb. I still have faith, I don`t want to come back!
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very interesting video, graphical is definitely the way to go.
makes things easy to navigate, see what it will look like before you commit.
will have to check out that product further.
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