The Building Coder

Dear Jeremy,

Many thanks for amazing and informative blog. I have found the answers to many questions just searching through the existing posts.

However there is one task I am trying to accomplish that I cannot find any help for.

I'd like to create and populate a Schedule Key(either from the text file or excel or access). My first thought was to use RDBLink, but I do not see Schedule Keys there. Neither can I get any headway with a snoop tool. I can find a newly created Schedule Key using SnoopDB but cannot figure out how to access and edit it. On the surface this task should not be difficult: Schedule Key is in fact just a reference table...

Many thanks for your help!

Dear Jeremy,

Thanks for quick responce.

Here is what Revit help tells us about key schedules:
Schedules, particularly for windows, doors, or rooms, can comprise multiple items that have the same characteristics. For example, a room schedule might have 100 rooms with the same floor, ceiling, and base finishes. Rather than enter all this information manually for all 100 rooms in the schedule, you can define keys that automatically fill in information. If a room has a defined key, then as that room is added to a schedule, fields in the schedule automatically update, reducing the time required to produce the schedule.
You define keys using key schedules. Key schedules look very similar to component schedules, except that you define them to your specifications. When you create a key, it is listed as an instance property for the element. When you apply a value for the key, then the key's attributes are applied to the element.

In other words, when you create a schedule, you always have a choice: schedule building components or schedule keys for styles. For example, it is very common in interior design workflow for large buildings to have various room styles defined in a spreadsheet or database. You could have several dozen styles defining a dozen parameters each. The style then get assigned to the object.
It seems wasteful to re-type these spreadsheets in Revit to create key schedule. Key schedule is not a report derived from the rooms or any other objects; it is just a lookup table with data entered by the user.
I can see it in RvtMgdDbg as a view (the same group you have all other schedules in). Then I can find the parameters that I need in View->Elements->element set->parameter set. They are all listed and not read only.
The problem is that I cannot think of a way to let users select the key schedule they want to populate: the commands and RvtMgdDbg are grayed out when in the schedule view.
I tried another approach using Revit DB Link, but cannot find anything about views and schedules in the exported database.

Thanks for your help.

Helen

Jeremy,

Thanks for your help. I think I know what I need to do now. Will let you know how it will turn out.

Helen

What about retrieving all shared parameters of family type existing in the project? Can I do it from project view, or I have to open each of the family file separately?

But using the Snoop Db/Selection of RvtMgdDgg tool, I can still go to a FamilyInstance, access the FamilySymbol, then view the list of shared parameter for that family in Parameters field (all of these are from project view). So I think it's doable, just didn't have time to look into it.

Is it possible to create a project parameter from the API in Revit 2010? Sorry if this has been answered before elsewhere, I have had a tough time confirming this through the samples since they seemed geared towards shared parameters.

Thanks!

Dear Jeremy:
many thanks for your greet blog
i learned how to get all info about project parameters but i don't know if the parameter is shared of project
i'm using the external binding but couldn't succeed
please help

Dear Jeremy,
many thanks for your quick replay
using this gives error
s += extDef.GUID.ToString();
and if (extDef != null) { s+= "shared ";
}
gives nothing
he suppose all == null

see this link please:
http://spiderinnet.typepad.com/blog/2011/05/parameter-of-revit-api-30-project-parameter-information.html

and this is my small macro

public void ProjectParameters()
{
UIDocument uidoc = this.ActiveUIDocument;
Document doc = uidoc.Document;
string s = "";
BindingMap map = doc.ParameterBindings;
DefinitionBindingMapIterator it = map.ForwardIterator();
it.Reset();
while (it.MoveNext())
{
ElementBinding eleBinding = it.Current as ElementBinding;
InstanceBinding insBinding = eleBinding as InstanceBinding;
Definition def = it.Key;
if (def != null )
{
ExternalDefinition extDef = def as ExternalDefinition;
s += def.Name + " ";
s += def.ParameterGroup + " ";
s += def.ParameterType + " ";
if (extDef != null)
{
s+= "shared ";
}
s += "\n";
}
}
TaskDialog.Show("test" , s);
}

many thanks for help