Note the diffuser element that currently snaps to the intersections of the ceiling grids. This can be seen by the grid lines highlighting in blue, and that the component “snaps” into place.

• Typically many of these are placed in a project, so it will be a cumbersome process of moving, aligning and arraying of components. Instead, we may edit the family so that it automatically snaps into the actual ceiling panels (as would happen in reality).
• Edit the family.

• Go to the Ref. Level Plan View

• Note the transverse reference plane is designated as the “Center (Front/Back)” reference plane and that it defines the origin.

• Similarly, the longitudinal reference plane is also assigned a similar property.

• The result of this is that the family will necessarily snap to the origin if the reference planes align with the ceiling grid.
• Setting the view to fine detail and shaded, the solid extrusion is selected and temporarily hidden within the view.

• This makes the lines clearly visible. Note their reference property is set to “Not a Reference”

• This means one is not able to either position or dimension to it. To understand the differences between no, weak and strong references, please consult this article:
• https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/Revit-Customize/files/GUID-63E81ED4-1538-486C-BD38-D06207B910F5-htm.html
• For the component to snap into place automatically, set the “Reference” property of these lines to “Strong”. If the rectangle is the same size as the ceiling grid then the component will be placed perfectly. Care must be taken when the component is larger than the tile (for example if there is a flange that fits over the tile). In these cases, a smaller rectangle must be created that snaps to the tile pattern.
• If there are no lines they may be created from scratch and their properties created accordingly.

• Load the family into the project and override the existing one.

• When placed their edges now snap to the grids. If it is required for the ceiling components to move with the grids, align and lock their edges with the gridlines.

If you would like to learn skills like this, or if you need help implementing them, please contact Micrographics so we may be of assistance to you.