Column 'Construction' Properties

One of the reasons I enjoy training so much is because I have the opportunity to always be learning on the job. Take for example my most recent training session, where one of my group members came across this great little nugget on column properties. 

Below, we have an architectural column with an unconnected height set to just below the roof. If we take a look at the column instance properties, you will notice aside from a few constraint options, there isn't much else to work with...

...but, something I never noticed is that the properties actually change once columns are attached to components! Notice anything different about the properties after I attach this architectural column to the roof above it?

The Construction heading give us two new parameters when the column is attached to a surface: 'Attachment Justification At Top', with 3 drop down choices that sets the top justification condition: Minimum Intersection, Maximum Intersection & Intersect Column Midline. 

The other parameter is 'Offset From Attachment At Top'. This offset is best seen when the attachment justification is set to 'Intersect Column Midline'. 

Oh, and if your thinking does this also apply to Structural Columns, the answer is yes.

I did ask myself how I never came across this setting before, but I don't use architectural columns as much as I probably could (often using walls instead) and not a whole lot of the structural framing modelling I do comes down to that sort of detail. That being said, it's certainly a nice little concealed couple of parameters to know about!

Credit for this post goes to Bonnie who found these helpful parameters for the class, despite moments earlier hearing me say "I don't think you can do that"

Looks like I was wrong! Never stop learning! 

New Parameter Category: Schedules

When Revit 2018 was released, Autodesk highlighted three new categories available to us for the purpose of scheduling & creating parameters; Revit links, Model groups & Schedules.

We can now create a project parameter for schedules, the same way we can for views and sheets. I am still thinking of what I could potentially use this for, but the first idea that came to mind was the ability to sort schedules in the project browser, unfortunately, we still can't do this though. 
Can you think of another useful purpose for it? Leave your idea in the comments. 

Identifying Renamed Headers In Schedules

Revit gives us the ability to rename the headers in our schedules. If the name has been changed you may find it difficult to determine which parameter is actually being used. 

A quick way to identify the parameter is to click the header cell in question. In the ribbon, under the Parameter panel, you will see two drop down menus. The first identifies what type of schedule has been created, the second identifies the parameter name. 

In my example above, we can see we have created a 'Multi-Category schedule'. I have a header renamed as 'Item Name' which is using the 'Type Comments' parameter.