Revit MEP System Browser - Systems and Families

When you examine the information in the System Browser there are separate items for Systems and the Families that are related to them.

We can delete a System if necessary via a Right-Click.

Be careful though, you can also delete a family the same way!

Dockable Windows

Revit has supported docking the Project Browser, Properties Palette, System Browser(for MEP) and Reconcile Hosting for a few releases now. I find new users often struggle with the actual task of docking them because the UI interaction isn't entirely intuitive. There are graphic cues offered but users don't seem to recognize them right away. I find I have to make a point of stressing that the location of the cursor is paramount and that while they should be looking for the visual cues, the cursor is what drives them.

I made this short video (Two Minutes) to help capture the subtlety I'm talking about.

While I am at it, personally I find Reconcile Hosting hard to find. It has a button on the Collaborate ribbon > Coordinate panel but I also expect it to be lurking on the View ribbon > User Interface. That's because the Properties Palette, Project Browser and System Browser are there and Reconcile Hosting is the same sort of thing. At least I think so since it can be docked among the others. I also find it quirky that, since there is a button for Reconcile Hosting, there isn't a button for the System Browser on the Systems and/or Analyze ribbons.

Who's Your Daddy - Revit MEP Relationships

Revit MEP elements like electrical panels and receptacles or HVAC equipment and diffusers have a Parent - Child relationship. The other day we were chatting about this in class and I blurted out "You know, like whose your Daddy?" I was kidding but one of the guys said that it actually helps remember to start with the "child" part of the relationship. For example, you start with a receptacle and create a power circuit, then choose the "Daddy", the electrical panel it gets power from. This relationship continues up through the grandparents, great grandparents etc. When everything is assigned correctly you can "see" this "family tree" in the System Browser.

So if it helps, when you are creating relationships between elements with Revit MEP, just remember "Whose your Daddy"! Start with the child and then assign the Daddy...