Add support for RFA files in Revit reader

Just to give this request some context:

So Revit has 3 file formats:

• Revit Project .rvt
• Revit Project Template .rte
• Revit Family .rfa

In Revit you have 3 different types of Revit Families:

• Loadable families which are created in the Revit Family environment separate to the project these are the families that get .rfa
  • Doors, windows, lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, furniture etc. Traditionally the items of a building that if you turned it upside down would fall out.
• System Families which are only created within a project
  • Walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, foundations etc. Generally what makes up the shell of the building, and usually without those we can’t have the loadable items. If there’s no wall, there would then be no door or window for example.
• In-Place Families – Generally they are created in a project environment of something custom.

So an RFA format is that of any loadable Revit Family. Once a family is loaded into a project (RVT) it’s part of the project. You generally have a Family Library containing all the RFA files so you don’t overload your project with every possible option!

Given this, what would it mean for FME to read a .rfa file? Sounds like it would only contain definitions of families, much like a cell or block library contained definitions of symbols back on old CAD days. So what output is desired when FME would read these -- is the point just to see what the family object definitions are? What workflow would they be useful for?

I can't come up with a good example either.

The only time a Revit user would access the RFA outside of the project is to change the family, the way it behaves with certain parameter, maybe adding parameter or changing the actual design.

If you are going to start creating/extracting quantities or material takeoffs then this would be done within the Project environment because you would be able to create a schedule (like an excel list) of all the parameters that are in the family, the standard parameters that come with a Revit project for that family category and you’d be able to find out how many of the family you have in your project, what variations have been used, what level/floor plan the family is on and how many you have there etc.

So I’m not sure why you would use FME on a native family file, since as a Revit user that data of the family is always extracted within a project environment.

I don't remember offhand why this came up for me - I'll update here if I do. I'd suggest getting the RVT reader working reliably is probably top priority (given that exactly 0% of the RVT files I've tested it against have worked so far) but good to have this one logged here for discussion!

Could be useful for converting rfa files to fbx or similar for building ar/vr scenes. If you don't have acess to revit itself

I would like to read the .RFA and merge with another data such as COBie, Omniclass, O&M manuals, cutsheets. etc. The merged data can then populate back into the .RFA file, probably using a spreadsheet with Dynamo, or plugin. When a building project finishes, there is a massive handoff of data to run the building. I am looking for any way to automate and streamline. It's an industry-wide issue.

The idea is to use the model itself to store/reference this data in family instances so that FM can easily locate and service the equipment in the actual building. Otherwise known as a digital twin.