Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> Family Parameter Refuses to be Removed!

Bartholomew

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Joined: Mon, Aug 6, 2012
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Okay, this is driving me crazy! I have got a non-shared family TYPE parameter of the LENGTH kind serving absolutely NO purpose (other than to tick me off). I want to remove it, but I can’t without breaking the family! I swear there is absolutely no parameter referencing it, and absolutely no elements in the family dependent on it. Yet, Revit insists that it cannot be removed because it is being “used by one dimension(s) and/or array(s)”. The family works fine otherwise (clean; no warnings), but this undeletable parameter is like a scab I can’t stop picking at. Anybody out there got an idea?

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Beaucoupnice

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Joined: Mon, Nov 19, 2007
93 Posts

I would try the following:

1) Open every view and see if parameter is there and delete it if it is. Make sure in each view you click vv and turn everything on as it may be hidden.

2) Edit each object in the family and see if parameter is there and delete it if it is.

3) Select any child family linked into the parent family, click edit and see if there are any parameters within the child linked to parameters in the family.

4) Select any child family linked into the parent family and open it in the family editor and see if there are any parameters within the child linked to parameters in the family.

5) If none of this works I would copy all the objects into a clean new generic family and rewire it up and see if it works there. As you paste each object into the new family any associated parameters may come in too, so check each time you paste to see if the parameter causing the issue comes and with which object it comes in with. You may need to completely remodel the object from scratch to remove the parameter.

Hope that helps....

5) Purge.

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Shatner86

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Joined: Fri, Feb 24, 2012
2 Posts

Bartholomew,

My sympathies, I had a similar issue with a family I got from the manufacturer. I can't recall the exact issue it was causing but I remember not being able to save the file. In that instance I found out that it was a material causing the issue in a nested item within the parent family.

Best of luck, let us know what the issue was. Beaucoupncie, good advice. I was going to suggest number 2 as that has caught me out a few times.

Kind Regards,

Shatner86

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Bartholomew

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Joined: Mon, Aug 6, 2012
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Thanks all.  

So...here's the conclusion: After removing the parameter and deliberately breaking the family, I finally found that a "fine level" detail item was associated to the parameter (not a Ref. Plane) - and, it actually was a very important parameter! ARRGH! I begrudgingly put it back into the family. HA! So, here's my parting advice: don't associate a nested family to a formula-driven parameter. Instead, associate it to a reference plane that's driven by the formula-driven parameter. This way, it can be easily identified in the future.  Would you all agree?

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