So, we all know the PITA of having your parameters grouped in the family categories in the family editor. There are all sorts of tricky ways to get them in the order you want, but it takes 10 times longer than not worrying about it - so I don't. Unfortunately, this confuses the hell out of end users. Really. Nothing like hunting for a parameter in what appears to be an inverse alphabetical list but that one you want that starts with an F is at the bottom between to A's???
And don't you love how to change the name of a family parameter you have to enter a modify dialog box instead of just typing in the one you're already in?
What about parameters where only certain value ranges are acceptable, wouldn't it be awesome if they'd change color if they were out of range? I could set a ramp slope calculation parameter to highlight in Red if the input caused it to exceed 1/12!
Of course, then there are those parameters that should be grayed out because they're determined by a formula - but since that formula doesn't involve another parameter or complex math Revit chooses to leave it black and let people enter stuff for it anyway?
And then there are the parameter categories themselves. The mere fact that there is an "Other" category is testimony to the fact that the available ones aren't cutting it. And then there is the order of the categories. It is pseudo-alphabetical but sometime of them get special billing in certain situations and flip out of order for god only knows why.
This is the joy that is family creation and parameter management. I should be able to rename family parameters on the fly. Drag and drop the parameters to change their order, or to change them from one family category to another. I should be able to make a parameter or it's value Bold, Underlined, Italic, and any color of the rainbow or the pantone color chart I so please (ok, pantone might be excessive). I should be able to create additional family categories just like I can create object subcategories, and arrange them how I see fit. I should have basic sorting capabilities in the headers for those categories so I can sort the parameters by Alpha or inverse Aplha, and should probably be able to auto-sort the family categories as well - and these settings need to stick in the project not change willy-nilly. I should be able to hide parameters from users in the project type and instance dialogs so they don't get confused by a parameter they can't edit and is only there because for some idiotic reason I can't get a Yes/No parameter to say "A" when its a yes and "G" when it's a no so I have to create another parameter to schedule correctly. While I'm on that one I should be able to control how certain parameters schedule somewhere - I'd prefer that control in the schedule and tag families but if you want to give it to me here, I'm good with that. I should be able to drag a parameter into a formula field rather than having to type it exactly or type in a dummy value, switch to the parameter I want, select the name, copy to clipboard, go back to the formula field, delete the dummy and then paste what I wanted in the first place. Who's the dummy now? (Me). I want to be able to give conditional formatting for parameters as well. if(parameter < 2, "Red" "Bold" "Scream like a banshee", "default"). Ok, I don't need sound effects but you have to admit it would be cool. I know I'm asking for a COMPLETE overhaul of the UI in the family types dialog, but as families get more complex and more users start using them the ability of the family creator to clearly communicate the intent of the various parameters and guide the users to the right decisions becomes critical. This overhaul is non-negotiable and simply is not conditional. We need this one bad! This is why #6 is giving us FULL formatting and conditional formatting controls in the family types dialog in the family editor - this would be so fine there's no telling where the money went...
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