Customize Duct Tags

In this video, I want to discuss the duct tags and also how to edit the duct tags. So the first thing to notice is that we have two main type of tags. One is called induct sheet tag free area size, and the other family is called induct sheet tag sheet metal size. And the name is as it implies, this one reports the free area size and this one reports the sheet metal size. So for example, this duct tag here is the free area size.

Here's my duct. It is a 14 inch by 14 inch duct. And if we look down, the lining, it has no lining. Now if we add lining to this bit of duct, watch what happens to the tag. Remember, it's 14 by 14, add lining, we'll add an inch.

Now it's saying that it's 12 by 12 because it is reporting the free size which is 12 by 12 because 14 minus two. Now if we change this duct type over to sheet metal size, it will report 14 by 14 because it's reporting the size of the actual sheet metal duct itself. So that's an important distinction to understand right off the bat. Use the correct tag for what you want. If your firm only does one versus the other, then I recommend that you delete the other tag that you don't use from your template.

So there isn't any confusion. Okay. So I'm going to remove lining from that duct. Okay. So now let's look at a few other things. There's a few more options here. You can report size and system. You can report just the size. You can report just the system. Size system in comment is an interesting one.

So I've added a comment here to this bit of duct. So I could say also, you know, I don't know, unlined or something like that, and it would add that to it. So and then you can also just have it with the comment if you want it. So we'll reset this back to size and system. So that's fine.

Let's do a learning exercise, which is we're going to modify this tag to show the size and style of insulation that we're going to wrap this duct in. So let's say that we want to insulate this bit of duct and we want the tag to reflect both the type and the thickness of the insulation. So what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna select this duct, I'm gonna add insulation, and I've got an option here for duct wrap and or rigid fiberboard. I'm gonna go duct wrap and thickness. I'm gonna set to, I don't know, seven eighths of an inch.

That's probably strange, but there you have it. So you can see we've got our you you can see the insulation on the outside of it, but nothing has changed about this tag. Again, we would like this tag to say 14 by 14 SA, and then let's say furthermore, we would like it to say in parentheses what type of insulation it is and what the size of it is. Okay. So let's click on this tag and we'll say edit family, And you can see how this is constructed as we've got several labels all kind of stacked on top of each other.

These you you'll recognize these from the type options. So size system, for example, if you look over here in the properties, the visibility parameter is controlled by another parameter. If you click this button over on the right, you can see that's being controlled by the size and system parameter. So okay, comment is being controlled by the comment parameter, so on and such forth. Come up to the family types button, look at the various types, you can see that type name five dash comment has just the comment parameter checked, size and system has just the size and system parameter checked.

So basically when you see a tag and you're seeing size and system, what you're seeing is a tag with actually five labels inside of it, but only one currently visible. That's how the tag works. Okay. So let's say that we want we wanna add another option here, which is size system duct insulation size duct insulation type. Okay. So we will copy this, control c, control v. I'm just gonna put it right down here, and I'm going to change the visibility to I'm gonna create a new parameter. I'm gonna call it size and system and and type and thick. Yes. Keep it a type parameter.

Okay. So I've I've associated the visibility of this parameter with this parameter or of this label rather, this parameter. And now I come up to the label button and looking for the parameters associated with the lining. So let's add insulation rather, not lining. So let's add insulation type and then insulation thickness.

And I'm just gonna change the sample value here to something like this. We'll keep it like this for now, and I'm just gonna make that a bit wider to accommodate. Now I need to come back up here to family types and oftentimes when you're adding parameters, Revit will tick them on for ones that you don't want. So I'm gonna come through here and make sure that it's off for all the ones I don't want it on. Size, I don't want it.

System, I don't want it. Don't want it on that one. Don't want it on that one. Now I wanna create a new type called six dash size and system, ints type and thick. Okay. And for this one, I just want that one checked, that one unchecked. I'm gonna hit okay. And then I just move all these back down carefully. They should snap to where they were before. K.

And I'm going to load in a project and close. I don't need to save the changes, but I do need to overwrite the existing version and its parameter values. I'll save the parameter states. And now if I select this tag again and change it to size and system, installation type, and thickness, it's now telling me 14 by 14 supply error duct wrap seven eights. And you can see the parameters it's reading are duct wrap seven eighths of an inch.

But now let's say we we don't want this full thing to say duct wrap. Let's say we want a legend, so this doesn't have to be so long. We would like this just to be shorter, something shorter. Well, you just come over to the duct light duct installations rather, duct wrap. So whatever your standard is, you can change it to an acronym, or if you're like type one, can see t one, whatever your standard is. That's a parameter that's being read, so you can just update that there. And there's a slight little bug in Revit, at least on Revit 2023. It doesn't update it when you do this, but if you select the duct, it it updates the tag. So a little trick there. Okay.

Now let's say, alright, but I I I wanna add some parentheses. I want it to say parentheses insulation. I'm So gonna click that, I'm gonna come back into the family, and I gotta come in here and I gotta find that tag type that had the yeah. There we go. So I'm gonna pull that one out so I can select it Let's hit edit. Then you can add prefixes and suffixes to things. So I'm gonna add a add a begin parenthesis prefix installation type, suffix it with the end parenthesis, move that back down, push it into the project, write the existing version, and now I've got my parentheses for it.