Duplicate! Duplicate! Duplicate!

This is by far the issue I encounter most with students. How to make custom components? The thing is, there is about 10,000 different ways to create/edit components in Revit. And by 10,000 I mean, like four, but there are a lot of options regardless. What any experienced Revit user will tell you, is you want to do everything you possibly can before you try and make something from scratch. Why? Because Revit does not have the most user-friendly component making capabilities. Of course, like anything, with practice you'll gain speed and skill and over time your components will become more complex. The learning curve is tough though and can be frustrating. Component building can also be very time consuming, even when you do have practice. So that's why it is advised you do everything you can before you get into making your own stuff.

In fact, this post isn't even going to cover creating components from scratch. This post is going to address the first strategy to making components: Duplicate!

Let's say I'm working on a project and I decide I want a desk. I go through the Revit component library and I find a desk, but it's just not quite what I want.

The first step to changing this component to be what I want is to click on the Element Properties button. If you're not already familiar with properties, be prepared to get very intimate with the Element Properties dialog. The backbone of Revit is in the properties. 95% of the time when you encounter a problem the solution is in the properties. So, really get to know your properties dialog boxes. You're going to become such great friends.

Okay, getting back to the point, I selected the component and then selected Element Properties. This opens a dialog box. The first thing I want to look through is the Type Selector. The Type Selector is a drop down menu that list the different family types for this component. I can look through the list and decide if one of the types suits my needs.

I decide this still isn't what I want. So, I move on the next step: Editing the component. I click the Edit/New button next to the Type Selector. This opens a new dialog box where I can begin making edits. However, it's important to realize that if I make edits now I will be editing the original file. This will become an issue if I want to use this file again. You can always download the original file from the web library if you do make edits now, but that's tedious and you'll probably forget to do it, so get in the habit of hitting Duplicate after hitting Edit/New.

This will create a new file that will remain within your project. You don't have to have any fears about the edits you make to this file. It won't affect the original file at all. After you hit duplicate, enter a new name for the file. Put in something you'll actually remember. When you get deep within a project and have a hundred components loaded it becomes quite a pain to search through the list.

Now that I have my New Desk started, I can make edits. In the Edit dialog box I have the option to change the Depth, Height, Width, and Leg Height of the desk. I can also change the materials. Just to make the change obvious, I decide my desk needs to be 10'-0' wide. I click on the text after width and change it to 10'. Hit Okay twice and now I've got a fantastically insane ten foot desk.

That's the general process for duplicating components. It's the easiest process and doesn't allow a whole lot of room for customization, but it's only the first step of many.

Next for this series: Turn a Table into a Couch