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Unable to Open RFT Files


O'Huggin

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I am wondering why I can't open the RFT files? Any file when highlighted and clicked just gave a wink and nothing happens. I opened only once, editing a file but renaming it, after that, everything else in Revit editor is a blank!

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I want to modify a window and a door to suit the intended building design.

 

I gather that a lot of people had the same experience and some successfully opened it by renaming the extension to .rfa. Mine didn't work. It even flashed a message that I am attempting to open a file that was originally created as .rfa and that I should revert back to it.

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I would highly advise not opening and editing RFT files. While you most certainly can change the extension to RFA, make your edits, and revert back to RFT, you'll find very unsatisfactory results when using them subsequent to the changes made. For instance, any edits made cannot be edited. They're "locked" so to speak.

 

So the best thing to do is this... create a new Family from the Template as you normally would. Make the edits, or add the components or other adjustments you need, and save as an RFA file in a designated folder (this folder should be made for the sole purpose of "in house templates"). Once saved, make the file Read-Only by right-clicking the file and going to Properties. Now you can simply double-click the fine to open it up, and when you save it'll automatically prompt you to rename and save in a different location.

 

This is the proper way to handle in house user defined RFA templates. 8)

 

-TZ

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Let me trace back my tracks.

 

Before I started on this project, I prepped myself by following the book "No Experience Required" by Eric Wing.

 

On page 814, from Chapter "Creating Families". There is an exercise instruction on how to create a crown molding starting with opening an .rft file. There is no fuss about this care on saving it for you might step on a landmine. In fact, he allows the editing on the .rft file itself and the mere mention of saving and renaming was uttered only on the last step with the instruction to Save it and name the file with an .rfa extension.

 

After I have done that, I set about to apply his technique to the work I was doing - altering a wall reveal size - which I could have done on an existing .rfa file but was too excited to create one through an .rft file to familiarize myself more. I paralleled his procedure.

 

Then, another opportunity stepped in on creating a stair tread which I again opted via an .rft file again (BTW, I reverted back to doing the stairs I mentioned in another post as per your advise, via the default conventional way which is actually easier but that's another story), I couldn't open a file, which led me to open randomly, and consequently check all the files in that directory, and there they go - non accessible.

 

There is quite an abundance of literature and youtube instructions on how to customize-create by opening to an .rft file and editing in it itself. And no one gave a warning about encountering this situation. I have just found out about these nuances and hitting-the-wall events just now from others.

 

Does that mean I was punished by Revit for going beyond?

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I'm having difficulty following your previous post. I'm speaking on personal experience here, as well as experience relayed to me by other guru's through the years. I've went down the editing RFT files before and, from experience, I can assure you this could be much more trouble than it's worth.

 

If someone provides a tutorial on YouTube, this doesn't necessarily mean it's automatically the best advice. Your very first post mentions you're having difficulty opening RFT files, which is why I prompted with "why" you were trying to open RFT files, to which you responded with precisely the response I was assuming. You're going to have difficulties going down this road. Not necessarily every time, but at times, you certainly will. I'm trying to help you mitigate future headaches from early adopted bad habits by changing your workflow to the widely accepted and known-to-work workflows by the rest of the community.

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So be it.

 

I will always remember that saying which goes to this effect. Smart people learn from their mistakes, smarter people learn from others' mistakes so that they won't go through the trouble.

 

I may not find the answer right away why I just can't open the .rft files but it will come out the least expected, as always.

 

Since .rft files are not available, I am making use of .rfa family relatives, like an existing casement window, the nearest kin I can find, which I will convert to a full height window with fixed top and bottom panels (hard to find). And what I actually did was erase all the parameters that might get in the way and causing weird results and warnings that are so greek to me. It's hard to explain here finding the nitty-gritty, and by just how many times I have failed to get the expected result, resorting to a cheesy solution, hence my eagerness to rather open and edit the .rft files which have cleaner slate than .rfas.

 

And besides, why .rft files that are before openable suddenly clammed up.

 

Thanks TZ

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