How to Import a Family into Revit

Loading families into your Revit project is a straightforward process that allows you to add pre-designed components and elements to your model. This is essential for populating your project with everything from furniture and fixtures to specific building components like doors, windows, or structural elements.

Loading a Family into Your Revit Project

The primary method for bringing external family files (.rfa) into your active Revit project is using the dedicated "Load Family" command. Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

1. Access the Insert Tab: Open the Revit ribbon and navigate to the Insert tab. This tab contains tools for bringing external content into your project.
2. Initiate Load Family: In the "Load from Library" panel, locate and click the Load Family button. This action will open a standard Windows file explorer dialog box.
3. Browse for Your Family: Use the file explorer window to navigate to the location where your .rfa family file(s) are stored on your computer or network.
4. Select the Family File: Select the family that you want to load from the list of files displayed. You can select a single file or multiple files at once.
5. Confirm Selection: Click open.

Once you click "Open," Revit processes the file(s). As the reference explains, the family type is now available to place in the project. It will automatically be organized within the appropriate Category under families in the project browser.

• Tip: To select multiple families simultaneously, hold down the Ctrl key and click each family you want to load, or hold Shift to select a continuous range of files.

Accessing Your Loaded Family

After loading, the family is not automatically placed in your model. Instead, its definition is added to your project file. You can find and use the loaded family by:

• Checking the Project Browser: Expand the "Families" section in the Project Browser. Find the category the family belongs to (e.g., Doors, Windows, Plumbing Fixtures, Furniture) and expand it. Your loaded family and its types will be listed there.
• Using Placement Commands: Go to the relevant placement command on the ribbon (e.g., Architecture tab > Build panel > Component, Door, Window, etc.). Select the loaded family type from the Type Selector dropdown, and then place instances in your view.

This process integrates the family definition into your project, making it a reusable component throughout your model.