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Forums >> Revit Building >> Technical Support >> How can I make this family smaller?
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Thanks for the suggestion Quinn,
I just tried that and it stayed right at 644KB.
Got any other ideas?
Thanks,
LJ
Edited on: Mon, Sep 10, 2012 at 4:25:54 PM
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Try this.
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Hey Quinn,
The 2013 file is actually the one I'm not too worried about. I'm more worried about getting the 2009 version smaller size. I have it at 628kb right now and when I save in 2013 it is 532kb. Revit Standards require use to use 2009, so that's the one I need to get smaller.
Thanks,
LJ
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It looks like you have purged everything out. There is one way to dump size but it requires alot of modifications. You can dump all of your interior shelving etc.... Replace the actual elements with regions in each perspective. Front, back etc... Ill attach an example of what i mean but this required alot of work. In our office we didnt want to use real toilets because they were really bogging down our models so I got rid of the actual element. The trick is if you go to any elev or plan view you it looks like the actual toilet is there but its not. The only place you would need to see the shelving is when your cutting through it. That is one way to dump the size.
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That's a good idea quinn, but unfortunately the client REALLY wants those interior elements as well as have it Render Ready out of the box.
I really doubt I can get this file any smaller than it is. Really 640kb is not terribly huge so it shouldn't be too bad. Will it?
Thanks
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There is nothing then at this point you can do and no that file size is not that large. Most millwork tends to hover around 300kb and thats bare bones.
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when you save the family, try clicking on the purple R/save as/family and click the Options button. Choose Compact file and that should help reduce the file size. Sometimes families gain weight when you edit them and compacting gets them back down to size again. Also remember to purge unused again first, as it sounds like you removed some nested families. Don't forget to purge the nested families and compact them as well and reload them into the parent family, then purge the parent family, and then compact it.
3D detail will make a family larger, so whatever you can pare from the model will help. The handles and locks can be modeled directly in the cabinet family; they don't HAVE to be a nested family, which will also reduce the file size. You'll just need more ref planes to lock all those extrusions to. Shared parameters are not more size intensive than family parameters.
Did you get the door lock issue worked out?
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"
when you save the family, try clicking on the purple R/save as/family and click the Options button. Choose Compact file and that should help reduce the file size. Sometimes families gain weight when you edit them and compacting gets them back down to size again. Also remember to purge unused again first, as it sounds like you removed some nested families. Don't forget to purge the nested families and compact them as well and reload them into the parent family, then purge the parent family, and then compact it.
3D detail will make a family larger, so whatever you can pare from the model will help. The handles and locks can be modeled directly in the cabinet family; they don't HAVE to be a nested family, which will also reduce the file size. You'll just need more ref planes to lock all those extrusions to. Shared parameters are not more size intensive than family parameters.
Did you get the door lock issue worked out?
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jlights,
I have tried the compact file while saving and it brought it up to 1,032 kb!! It happens everytime. It's the opposite of compacting. I also have purged all items and when I do save, I save as a new file, which compacts and compresses the file. I do this every time I save. So that has been done. I have also purged and save as all nested families. I have the locks and pulls as a nested family to reduce the number of parameters when specifiying which drawers/doors have locks.
I did try to make the entire cabinet solid with just drawer faces and it only dropped to about 530kb in 2009. About 430kb in 2013. So that didn't drop as much as I had hoped. I think the reference plans and locked dimensions are adding the largest amount of information and file size. Either way, the client knows we can't get it any lower.
Thanks for all the help guys,
LJ
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430 kb in 2013 or even 530 in 2009 is a very respectable size for a fairly complex family, so it sounds like you did all the right things to get it as small as possible.
I've also found that compacting sometimes makes the file size larger and have no idea why. Compacting a second time usually lets the excess air out, as does saving as a new file, as you found out. Just another Revit idiosyncrasy.
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Good to hear. Thanks for all the help everyone.
LJ
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A little update...So I found a way to make the file smaller.
When I imported it into a project and dimensioned it, it was trying to select every reference plan in the family. So I went back and made all references (excpet, top, bottom, right, left, and center) to be NOT A REFERENCE in the property settings. It dropped my files from 720KB to 480KB! So about 35% on average. Which is great 
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Ah .. so my "I don't like your use of reference planes for every edge of geometry" was part of the problem. I knew that your reference planes significantly increased the size but... I did not know the "IS A REFERENCE" was what caused this size increase.
Thanks for updating.
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Ok one last update.
So I went to my second round of families and opened, changed reference plans and saved. It went from 564KB to 564KB?!
So I tried this...I loaded the family into a new project. Closed all family windows. Then edited the family via the project, and didn't save a thing and saved it. It went from 564KB to 340KB!!! Whaaaaa???
So I'm sure the reference plans helped (and I need to fix those anyways), but I think it's helping if you open from an already loaded family.
Odd, but that's the update and the case now.
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Heres a weird one for ya. If you audit a file sometimes it doesnt change its size, but if you detach and audit, it dumps a ton of file size.
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Ok one last update (I hope)...I realized that this was too good to be true. The manufacturer has 16 finishes for each family. So when you open via the project, it does not load the materials that are not being used. So I transfed the missing 15 materials into my family and it increased the file size from 412KB to 612KB 
Does anyone know why materirals are so large!?
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110835_110817Sample2013.rfa