Override Materials Parameter

Colors of rebars can only be controlled by the material parameter, which is a limitation in Revit. The rebar material parameter is used to handle the reinforcement quality of the rebar in IMPACT. This may cause issues if the user wants color-coded rebars in the model depending on e.g. diameter instead of rebar quality. To solve this issue, we have added functionality for the user to override which parameter will handle the reinforcement quality and in that way make the material parameter available for the color-coding. 

How to set this up?

We need to start in IMPACT Standard Admin. There is a variable called 'RVTRCQUALITY' that enables the overriding. To enable the functionality, set the variable to '1'. 

Figure 1. Standard Admin parameters.

After this, you need to open the project template and add the shared parameter 'IMPACT Quality' as a type parameter for Structural Rebars. Do this by going to Manage/Settings/Project Parameters and adding the shared parameter. 

Figure 2. Open project parameters.

Figure 3. Add the shared parameter 'IMPACT Quality'.

If you are in the middle of a project and want to use this new feature, you need to add the parameter above to your model, since it will only take effect on new models by adding the parameter to the project template. 

The last part is to add the reinforcement quality in the 'IMPACT Quality' parameter for the structural rebar family.

Figure 4. Add the reinforcement quality to the shape family.

Now, the next time you save an element, the rebar quality will be read from the parameter 'IMPACT Quality' and you can use the material parameter to make a good looking reinforcement model.