01The family is not wall-hosted
A window cuts a wall because it is hosted by it. A family started from Generic Model.rft, a face-based template or a non-hosted template does not cut anything when placed. Check in the Family Editor: Create → Family Category and Parameters should say Windows (or Doors), and the family should have been started from Window.rft or Door.rft, which have a host wall. Changing the category does not add a host: a non-hosted family has to be rebuilt in a wall-based template, or its geometry copied into one.
02The opening was deleted in the family
The window template comes with an Opening Cut in the host wall. Delete it while cleaning up, and the window stops cutting. In the Family Editor, open the Ref. Level plan or an elevation of the host: if there is no opening, draw one with Create → Opening (Wall Opening) and lock its edges to the reference planes for width and height, so it changes size with the window.
03A void that does not cut the host
If the opening is a void extrusion, it has to be joined to the host wall in the family: Modify → Cut → Cut Geometry, pick the void, then the wall. The void must also be deeper than the thickest wall the window will go into. A void that is 300 mm deep leaves a skin in a 400 mm wall.
04The window is above or below the cut plane
The plan cuts the model at the height in View Range, often 1200 mm. A high window with a sill at 1800 mm is above it, so the plan shows no opening and no window. Either lower or raise the cut plane in that view, or, in the family, tick Show family pre-cut in plan views under Family Category and Parameters: the window then shows cut in plan whatever its height.
05It is a curtain wall
An ordinary window does not go into a curtain wall. A window in a curtain wall is a curtain panel family (template Curtain Wall Panel.rft, category Windows) that replaces a panel: select the panel, then pick the window type in Properties.
06The wall cannot host
- A wall in a linked model cannot host a window from your file.
- Some in-place walls and stacked walls behave differently: place the window in a plain basic wall to test the family first.
- A window placed with its host deleted or replaced loses its opening: pick it and use Pick New Host.
07Settings that hide the opening
- Visibility/Graphics: the Windows category or its subcategories are off in the view.
- Detail level: some families show the opening only at Medium or Fine.
- Phases: a window from a later phase than the view is not drawn.
Fastest test: load the family into a new empty project, draw one basic wall 300 mm thick and place the window. If it cuts there, the problem is in your project’s view, not in the family.
A window family that does not break
Most of these problems come from families built quickly, or downloaded and cleaned up. The DATUM window families are built on locked reference planes from the wall-hosted templates, with the opening locked to the frame, so they cut the wall at every size and every wall thickness.
- 43 window families: 19 for walls, 19 for curtain wall panels and 5 special.
- Single to six-part windows, with the opening sizes, sill and frame as parameters.
- On the DATUM standard: the same parameter groups, names and tags as the template.
DATUM familiesParametric Revit windows and doors43 window families and every DATUM door, in one package or one at a time.See the families →
Questions
Why does my Revit window not show in the floor plan?
Most often its sill is above the view’s cut plane. Change View Range, or tick Show family pre-cut in plan views in the family. Also check that the Windows category is on in Visibility/Graphics.
How do I make a void cut the wall in a Revit family?
In a wall-based family, use Modify → Cut → Cut Geometry, pick the void and then the host wall. Make the void deeper than the thickest wall the family will be used in.
Can I change a generic model family into a window?
You can change its category to Windows, but it still will not cut a wall, because it has no host. Rebuild it in Window.rft, or copy its geometry into a family started from that template.