The following implementation plan contains the action items and steps you need to complete in order to successfully implement the Families module in Pirros.
Families differ from details in one important way: your upload settings should be configured before you upload anything. The defaults you set control whether nested families, system families, and loadable families come along when you upload models, and how every thumbnail is generated. Getting these right up front saves you from re-uploading later, so we've made configuration its own stage below.
Stage 1: Familiarize Yourself with Pirros
Due Date: Kickoff Call
1 | Sign into Pirros | You should receive an account invite email from the [email protected] email address. Navigate to app.pirros.com and sign into your account. |
2 | Invite other stakeholders | Make sure all stakeholders who are going to be involved in Families implementation are invited to your account as admins. To invite new users, click on the downwards arrow next to your initials on the top right and click Settings. |
3 | Download the plugin | See the setup guide. |
4 | If you are on Autodesk ACC, add the Pirros app to your ACC account to link them. | See the integration guide. |
5 | Confirm the Families module is enabled | Your CSM can turn the Families module on for the full firm or just for the admins running the implementation. Confirm you can see the Families page in the top-left of the web app. |
Stage 2: Configure Your Family Upload Settings
Due Date: Kickoff Call (before uploading)
Navigate to your initials on the top right → gear icon → Settings → Uploads. These are your defaults — you can override any of them per upload batch on the upload page itself.
1 | Decide your library scope: standards only, or standards + project families | Most firms implement their standard family library only and pull select project families in case-by-case later. If you only want your standards, keep the loadable and system family toggles off by default. |
2 | Set your default model-extraction settings | The loadable, system, and category toggles only apply when you upload an RVT model (e.g. a project or template). Keeping them empty by default prevents every family in a project model from being pulled in automatically. Toggle on only the categories you want (e.g. just Furniture) for a given upload, or turn loadable + system on when you upload your template model. |
3 | Set your nested families preference | Most firms leave nested families off so that shared nested families (e.g. window divided lights, door handles) are not uploaded as standalone entries. This keeps users downloading the parent family, and means updates flow through the parent. Turn it on only if you want nested families managed independently. |
4 | Configure your thumbnail previews | Set the visual style, detail level, and 3D view / angle used to generate every thumbnail. You can also set per-category overrides under Custom Appearance by Revit Family Category. Pirros generates one thumbnail per family type, so a search for "blue chair" surfaces the blue type. See Uploading RFA Files to the Families Module. |
5 | Decide your version pre-upgrade strategy | Reactive upgrading — a family upgrading the first time a user downloads it into a newer Revit version — is free and caches that version for everyone afterward. Pre-upgrading (publishing 2023/2025/2027 versions ahead of time) consumes credits. It's fine to leave pre-upgrade off while you get started; discuss credits with your CSM if you want it on. |
Tip: Before uploading your full library, upload one or two families and check that the thumbnail preview looks right. Adjusting the settings and re-uploading a couple of families is much faster than re-doing thousands.
Stage 3: Populating the Family Library
Due Date: Two Weeks Post-Kickoff
1 | Gather your existing standard families as RFA files | If you're migrating from a legacy system (e.g. Unify / Content Catalog), download your standards as individual RFA files, or download them into container Revit models and push those into Pirros. Note that legacy exports often miss system families and materials saved inside families — plan to verify these. |
2 | Upload your standard families | Drag the parent folder (or individual RFAs) into the upload drop zone on the Families page, or use Select Directory. You can upload thousands at once, or go batch by batch if you want different thumbnail/category settings per batch. See Uploading RFA Files to the Families Module. |
3 | Include type catalogs where you have them | If a family has a corresponding .txt type catalog, select both files together on upload so they stay linked. Note that type catalogs are optional in Pirros, since users can search directly by type. |
4 | Assign families to your Typical library or a project | On the upload screen, select all families and click Assign Project to send them to your Typical library (or a specific project folder) before uploading. |
5 | Import your existing tags | If you exported a tag list (e.g. an Excel file from Unify) keyed by family or file name, you can match your tags back onto the families after upload. Ask your CSM to help map the import. |
6 | Mark admin-only / work-in-progress families as reference only | Anything uploaded is viewable by everyone with access. To keep build-helper or in-progress families out of users' hands, place them under a "Work in Progress" project and mark them reference only — users can see but not download them. |
7 | Vet/review the families in your standard library | Confirm thumbnails, types, and parameters look correct before you roll out to users. |
Stage 4: Workflow Development
Due Date: Three Weeks Post-Kickoff
1 | Create Firm stashes of standard family sets | Group families that are commonly used together (e.g. a standard furniture package) so users can grab a curated set. See Create Firm Stashes. |
2 | Set up family associations | Associate a family with the detail (or family) it belongs with — e.g. a wall type with its partition detail, or an access panel with its access-panel detail — so users are prompted to download both together. See Family Associations. |
3 | Establish your family update workflow | Standardize how families get updated: use the Open in Revit button to edit and sync a linked family back to Pirros, or open the family page and drop in an updated RFA. Note that the sync-back path requires the family to be linked; updating from an older, unlinked model creates a duplicate. |
4 | Create custom views to organize and filter | Build views that sort by tag and hide your reference-only / work-in-progress families from the standard browsing experience. See Add Custom Search Views. |
5 | Write out ideal individual user workflows | Decide how users should search for, download (including families with different types), and request families. You can refine these with your CSM during your library review calls. |
Stage 5: Training or Rollout to Users
Due Date: Four Weeks Post-Kickoff
1 | Send out a mass email to all your users introducing the Families module | Let your CSM know if you need any assistance while working on this step. |
2 | Schedule a Training Call with your Pirros CSM and all your users | Your CSM will let you know once it's time to schedule the user training session. Cover how to search for a family and how to download families. |
3 | Create a 3-5 minute introduction to tell your users what you are hoping to gain from Pirros | Reflect on the workflows you have devised and communicate the main value points your team members will get out of the Families module. |
FAQ
Q: Should we upload all project families, or just our standards?
A: Most firms implement their standard family library only, and pull select project families in case-by-case as needed. Keep your default loadable/system toggles off so project models don't bring every family along automatically.
Q: Should we include nested families?
A: Most firms leave nested families off. Updates then flow through the parent family (e.g. you update the door, which reloads its handle), which matches how most teams already manage their library. Turn it on only if you intend to manage nested families as standalone entries.
Q: Do we need to turn on version pre-upgrade and use credits?
A: No. Reactive upgrading is free — the first time anyone downloads a family into a newer Revit version, that version is cached for everyone afterward. It's perfectly fine to leave pre-upgrade off while you get started.
Q: How long does uploading take?
A: Families upload faster than details because the files are smaller. As a rough guide, ~3,000 families takes a few hours, and they start appearing one by one as soon as you hit upload.
Q: How do we update a family that's already in Pirros?
A: Use the Open in Revit button to edit and sync it back, or drop an updated RFA into the family page. The sync-back path requires the family to be linked — updating from an older, unlinked model will create a duplicate instead.
Q: We're coming from Unify / Content Catalog. How do we get our families out?
A: Download your standards as individual RFA files, or into container Revit models, then push them into Pirros. Be aware that legacy exports often can't carry system families or materials — verify those after migrating, and bring your tags over via an exported tag list keyed by family name.
Q: Can we hide work-in-progress or admin-only families from end users?
A: Yes. Place them under a "Work in Progress" project and mark them reference only — users can view but not download them — then build a custom view that filters them out of normal browsing.
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