Merging/combining Shared Parameters txt files into one

Hi, I’d like to share a headache workflow I haven’t been able to solve it for months…the idea came to my mind months ago… I’d like to automate merging/combining several SP txt files into one. For example, a COBie SP txt file & an IFC SP txt file. Which would be in your opinion the best way to face or aproach to this issue (manipulating, editing… SP files) without the need for commercial addins, and knowing that making it manually does not work? There’s a lot of information about adding/editing, etc… shared or not shared parameters to any project, and about assigning them to categories, but I haven’t been able to figure out any Dynamo or Python script which works well in this particular situation. Thanks!

Hi @jsancheztemb,

Be careful in your manipulations but I will personally use the Create Shared Parameter node and his optional input GUID.
It allows identical shared parameters to be recreated in the current shared parameters file from a family or another shared parameter file.
Recreate SP

Thank you! so…the right approach/workflow in your opinion would be starting with an empty SP file and start adding shared parameters from different locations (files)?

El El jue, 16 abr 2020 a las 18:47, Alban de Chasteigner via Dynamo dynamobim@discoursemail.com escribió:

Not necessarily an empty shared parameter file.The custom node above use the shared parameter file of the current document.
Just sort the parameters you want to keep and copy from your old shared parameter files.

Thanks for the idea, maybe I did’t explain it very well in my first post. My original purpose would be being able to make it via Dynamo Excel/csv import/export capabilities, I mean editing files in Excel, csv or similar, access the info via import Dynamo capabilities, merge files(list of parameters) in Dynamo and Export it to txt (in Dynamo too)

Not adding them via “add parameters” Dynamo nodes. This is because of Revit lack of batch manipulating this parameters. Excel is a a much better way to organize all this information to be consistent and well structured…

El El jue, 16 abr 2020 a las 19:21, Alban de Chasteigner via Dynamo dynamobim@discoursemail.com escribió:

Try this:
Just open the SP files in excel.
Copy the SP section of the data to cells when you open the next SP file in excel (or Notepad+).
Save as .txt and see if there are any deviations from a normal SP file (note: white spaces)
Don’t overwrite any files when saving (make a new file)
See if it works

I do not recommend editing and writing shared settings files with a text editor (or Excel).

edit SP
In my opinion, stick to the Revit API to edit the shared parameter file.(which also allows the use of Dynamo to merge or filter the parameter lists.)

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Maybe slight off topic, but what if I inherit a .rvt file or multiple .rfa files that don’t have the .txt SP file. Can I recreate that file somehow with Dynamo package nodes?

Yes.

But you can also do it with the UI.

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Thanks a lot @Alban_de_Chasteigner. Can a shared parameter be renamed using this node? I’ve read in so many places that this is just not possible.

…or is that basically what your node does? Does it take the properties of an existing parameter and allow a new shared parameter to be created with a new name but same GUID? Maybe I’m just misunderstanding what the node does. I’ll give it a shot tomorrow to see if I can figure it out.

It wasn’t the purpose of this node, but it works.
Although I don’t really see what the workflow would be :
Delete the old shared parameter and put the new one with the new name and the same GUID? (You keep losing the data associated with the parameter)

Let us know the results of your test.

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Haven’t done any testing yet, but one more question before I do later. Let me clarify my intention of this task.

I’m developing a startup MEP template. I’ve been given families with shared parameters I would like to keep intact, however I’d like to add a prefix to them.

Provided these families (and really the entire template) have not been used on any prior projects, could I rename the parameter at this location of the graph you provided earlier in this post?

If yes, how would this impact scheduling? Would I have to basically remap the scheduled parameters to the renamed ones, or not since it’s essentially the same GUID.

In my mind I think I’m getting my point across right, but maybe I’m just way off on the entire topic.

Thanks!

No success thus far. I’m pretty limited with my knowledge on most of this stuff, but I feel like the Orchid nodes are not communicating well with the Clockwork nodes. Could there be any truth to that? Are there other packages or nodes I should be using instead?

Also, any input on the levels and lacing for the Clockwork node.

Some of the Orchid nodes are no longer compatible with the other nodes.
Use other nodes instead.


FamilyParameters To Shared Parameters.dyn (48.8 KB)

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