Revit 2011 Type and InstanCe Parameters

Everything in Revit has parameters, which are simply the information or data about something. The kind of information that you can assign to something is extensive.

There are two kinds of parameters: type and instance. It’s important that you understand the
difference between the two kinds of parameters. Type parameters control information about every
element of the same type. So for example, if you change the Material type of a piece of furniture,
the material for all the furniture of that type will change. Instance parameters control only the
instances that you have selected. So if the material of the piece of furniture that you’ve selected is
an instance parameter, you’ll only be editing the selected elements.
Both instance and type parameters can be constantly exposed and docked in the Properties
dialog box. Simply selecting something will initially display the instance parameters.

shows the instance parameters of a wall that control the relative height, constraints, and structural usage.


By clicking the Edit Type button, you expose the type parameters.

These parameters control values such as the structure, graphics, and assembly code.

Views
Views are used to see the project. As you can see in the Revit organization chart there are both 2D and 3D views. Two-dimensional views are analytically oriented to specific coordinates, like plan, elevation, section, and so on. We’ve also grouped schedules under 2D areas of views. Views also have type and instance parameters (relative to each kind of view). Three-dimensional views are either orthographic or perspective in nature. Understanding how to create and modify the properties of a view is important. First of all,
every view has some kind of visibility parameters specific to that view (even schedules) that
control what you want to be seen.

shows the visibility parameters for an elevation. We’ll discuss the other View Properties when we describe the UI later in this chapter.