Loadable Families

You can choose to import a .beam as loadable families. Some categories, however, will always be imported as system families (Directshape).

BEAM will use by default the generic models and mass templates located in:

C:\ProgramData\Beam\Templates

Importing as loadable families

When imported as loadable families, the instances are placed in the project with the name, category, and parameters assigned in Rhino through BEAM. These families behave like normal Revit families and can be edited by the user.

Appending geometry

Using the Append Family Geometry option will add new geometry from a .beam to an existing family in Revit without replacing it entirely. This makes it possible to add missing or additional shapes directly into a family while keeping the rest of its content.

Updating a previously imported Family

If you import a .beam corresponding to a family that already exists in the project, BEAM will update that family without creating duplicates. This works even if the family has been moved or copied in the project, similar to Revit’s Load Family function.

If the geometry or properties of the family were edited manually inside Revit, those edits will be overwritten when re-importing a new version of the family with BEAM, the same behavior as manually reloading a family.