Many Autodesk Revit families need to have a portion of the family be able to rotate depending on parameters in the family.  A door swing is the nigh common example of this, as well-nigh Revit Architecture users desire to be able to specify the swing angle of the door panel.  It seems that getting rotation angles to work correctly is something that is battled by many family creators, so in this article, I'll give you the keys to getting that rotation angle to work correctly.  This technique tin can be used on door swings and other items that need controlled by a rotation parameter within the family.

When creating a rotation angle, the showtime fundamental is to use a Reference Line instead of a Reference Plane. The other fundamental is to lock the Reference Line endpoint to the intersection of two Reference Planes that represent the rotation indicate of the rotating detail.  Many users accept difficulties because they neglect to do both of these key steps.

Allow'south take a expect at the steps to accomplish the two keys simply mentioned above.

  1. Start a family using the appropriate template.
    1. While the Revit family template that will be used to create your specific family will vary depending on the family requirements, I will use the Generic Model.rft template for this analogy.  (The information shown in this illustration is applicable to other family templates, only the Generic Model.rft template provides me with a clean template to illustrate the rotation topic.)
  2. Draw the Reference Line .
    1. From the Home tab, and the Datum console, select the Reference Line pick.  (Not the Reference Plane pick.)
    2. Describe the Reference Line starting at the intersection of the two Reference Planes and extending the Reference Line at an angle away from the intersection.
  3. Align and lock the endpoint of the Reference Line to the Reference Planes.
    1. From the Modify tab, and the Alter panel, select the Marshal control.
    2. Select the vertical Reference Plane.
    3. Select the endpoint of the Reference Line.  After moving the cursor over the endpoint of the Reference Line, you may need to printing the TAB key a few times to cycle through bachelor options until you come across the dot announced at the endpoint.  The dot represents the endpoint and is the twond primal to getting the rotation to work correctly.
    4. Select the Lock button that appears after aligning the endpoint.  This will really lock the endpoint to the vertical Reference Plane.
    5. After locking the Reference Line endpoint to the vertical Reference Plane, repeat the same procedure to lock the aforementioned Reference Line endpoint to the horizontal Reference Plane.
    6. Locking the unmarried Reference Line endpoint to BOTH Reference Planes ensures that the intersection will be the rotation base betoken for the Reference Line.
  4. Create a Rotation Bending parameter that volition adjust the Reference Line to the desired bending.
    1. From the Comment tab, and the Dimension console, select the Angular command.
    2. Identify the dimension past picking the Reference Line and the desired Reference Plane.
      1. The actual Reference Plane that is selected is very important, as this volition dictate the angle that is specified by the user in the parameter that will be created in the next step.  Choose the reference plane that volition make sense to the final user when they specify an angle in the future.
    3. Highlight the angular dimension.  Become to the Options Bar (typically at the top of the screen), and select <Add parameter…> from the Label option.
    4. In the Parameter Properties dialog box, blazon "Rotation Angle" in the Name box.  (This can be any proper noun that y'all want, such as Swing Bending for a door.  Simply brand certain that yous maintain consistency with names.)  Select the Case option if y'all desire the angle to vary for each instance occurrence of the family unit inside a project.  Pick the OK button to exit the dialog box.
  5. Flex the geometry to brand sure that the Reference Line rotates as desired.
    1. Press the Change button to make certain that nothing is selected.
    2. Go to the Modify tab, then the Properties panel, and select the Family Types push button.
    3. Next to the Rotation Angle parameter, blazon in a new value and selection the Apply button.
    4. Verify that the Reference Line rotates every bit desired.   Pick the OK button when you are satisfied that it rotates every bit desired.

Afterwards going through the higher up steps, you can create and lock actual geometry to this Reference Line, such every bit Extrusions, Model Lines, Symbolic Lines, Components, etc.  Be sure and lock down all of the dimensions for the items that you create to ensure that they move with the Reference Line and still maintain their required size and shape.

Whether y'all are creating a door panel or something else, using the above steps volition let that particular to rotate around a specific base indicate.

The above steps were performed in Revit Architecture 2011, but are like in Revit Structure and Revit MEP.  If using earlier releases, the same process can be utilized, but the command buttons may be in different locations in the interface.