What identity data is
The classification information carried by a family, the standards it is checked against, and the three settings that manage it.
Work in progress
Every Revit family carries information about what it is: a classification number and title, an assembly code, a description, a manufacturer, a model and so on. In Revit this is the Identity Data group of a family's parameters. Family Manager reads it when you upload, shows it on the family's page, and uses it to tell you how well your library is described.
A family with good identity data can be found by its classification, grouped by it, and checked against your standard. A family without it is just a file name.
The pieces
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Identity data field | One piece of identity information, such as Classification number or Manufacturer. Each field has a label, a type, a weight for scoring, and the Revit parameter names it is read from. |
| Classification system | A published standard that gives codes to building things, such as OmniClass, Uniclass or UniFormat. You can also bring your own. |
| Table | Some systems are split into tables. OmniClass has numbered tables and Uniclass has tables such as Products. |
| Version | A system's tables are versioned. You can fix which version of a table is used. |
| Fields mapping | The link that says which classification system a field is checked against. |
| Identity score | How completely a family's identity data is filled in. |
The fields
A family's identity data is a table of fields. In the app today it has 11 rows (plus the classification system):
| Field | Carries |
|---|---|
| Classification Number, Classification Title, Classification System | the code, title and standard from a classification system |
| Assembly Code, Assembly Description | an assembly classification code and its description |
| Type Mark, Type Comments | the type's mark and comments |
| Keynote | the keynote value |
| Description | a text description |
| Model, Manufacturer | the product model and who makes it |
| URL | a web address |
| Cost | the cost |
Each field has a weight: a field that counts for more lowers the score more when it is missing. Verify identity data shows exactly how much each missing field costs your library.
You can add your own fields on top of these. Platform fields are the defaults for everyone, and your own fields apply to your library, or to a workspace when you make them there.
Where one family's identity data is edited
Open the family and look at the Identity data card: it says how many of the fields are filled, for example 2 of 11 fields filled. Choose Edit identity data to open the table on the Parameters tab, where every field has a box.
- Suggest proposes values for the empty fields.
- Save for this type keeps what you typed. Identity data belongs to a Revit type of a version: the note under the buttons reads Only this Revit type. Other types in V1 stay as they are. The arrow beside the button has the other save choices.
Where the settings are
On Settings, Family, the Identity data group has three pages:
| Page | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Verify identity data | A health score for your library, and a tool to fill in what is missing. |
| Systems | Which classification systems you use, and your own custom systems. |
| Fields mapping | Which field is checked against which system. |
A sensible order
- Look at Systems and choose the standard your office uses.
- Open Fields mapping and map your classification fields to that system.
- Open Verify identity data to see your score and work through what is missing.
If you skip the mapping, the check still runs, but the app warns that results may be inaccurate.
How this relates to naming
Naming rules and identity data both use classification systems, but for different things. A naming pattern can take the allowed values for a name part from a classification system. Identity data is about the information stored inside the family.
The systems you can use
Systems lists the classification systems available. On DEV today they are:
| Used for | Systems |
|---|---|
| Classification | OmniClass (the default) and ASTM (UniFormat II, 2015) |
| Assembly Code | UniFormat (the default) and UniClass |
| IFC | IFC4 Entities |
| Keynote | MasterFormat |
You can add your own; see Classification systems.
TODO — Confirm before publishing
- How identity data is read from a family on upload, and how long that takes. (B3)