BIMIO Mold

Goal. Load the open family into the matrix and understand what each column shows.

1. Open the family you want to edit in the Revit Family Editor.It can be a new family or an existing one; the Mold button is enabled as soon as the active document is a family.
2. Press the Mold button on the BIMIO tab, Family Editor panel.The BIMIO · Mold window opens and reading begins: parameters, types, formulas, smart rules, hygiene analysis, relationships and duplicate-type detection.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-03.pngFreshly opened Mold window with the matrix loaded and the type and parameter counter visible.

3. Review the fixed columns on the left.Parameter is the name; Data type is the data type; Scope indicates Instance or Type; Origin indicates Family or Shared; f(x) shows the formula (blue) or the sr smart-rule marker (orange); Controls summarises which elements the parameter controls.
4. Type in the search box to locate anything.The search filters rows by parameter name, data type, formula text and also by value: searching for 915 or Steel finds the rows containing that value in any type. Ctrl+F focuses the box; Esc clears it.
5. Press Refresh if you change anything in Revit while Mold is open.Refresh re-reads the whole family. The order and width you have given the type columns are preserved.

• The counter under the button bar tells you at a glance how many types and parameters the family has.
• If a type header shows an amber triangle, that type is identical or nearly identical to another, or its name is suspiciously similar: hover over it to see the detail.

Goal. Change parameter values in one or several types and write them to the family in a single operation.

1. Click a cell and type the new value.A single click is enough: there is no separate edit mode. For lengths and other quantities you can type the value using the document's units. Press Enter to confirm without leaving the cell.
2. Use the editor specific to each data type.Yes/No is a checkbox; Integer has up/down arrows; Material, Image, Fill pattern and Family type parameters are changed with the three-dot button that opens their picker; multiline text is edited with the expand button; on URL parameters the arrow button opens the link in the browser.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-04.pngMaterial cell with the three-dot button and the material picker open.

3. To edit several types at once, select their columns before editing.Clicking a header selects a type; Ctrl+click adds or removes; Shift+click selects a range. With two or more columns highlighted, editing a cell in any of them copies the value to that same row in all selected columns.
4. Note that the Apply button lights up when there are pending changes.Edited cells remain in memory; nothing has been written to the family yet.
5. Press Apply to write all the changes.They are written in a single transaction called BIMIO Mold — apply changes: one Ctrl+Z in Revit undoes the whole batch. If any write fails, the transaction is rolled back and nothing is written; the status bar explains why. Rows with a formula or that are read-only are skipped.
6. Press Accept to apply and close, or Cancel to close and discard pending edits.Accept applies the pending changes (if any) and closes the window. Cancel closes without applying pending edits; anything already applied with Apply remains.

• Cells of formula-driven parameters are shown in blue italics and cannot be typed into: Revit calculates their value.
• Multi-type propagation also works with Yes/No checkboxes, integers, multiline text and the material, image, pattern and family type pickers.

Goal. See each type drawn in the Revit canvas without writing your pending edits.

1. Turn on the Live toggle in the bottom-right corner.A blue banner appears reminding you how the mode works.
2. Double-click the header of the type you want to see.Mold changes the family's current type and Revit draws it in the canvas. A blue dot on the header marks the active type.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-05.pngMatrix with Live enabled: blue banner visible and blue dot on the header of the type drawn in the canvas.

3. Repeat the double click on other types to compare them visually.Each double click updates the canvas. Your pending edits are not written: Live only changes which type is active.
4. Turn Live off when you finish.The banner disappears and double-clicking no longer changes the canvas.

• Live works very well with the window on a second monitor: matrix on one screen, canvas on the other.

Goal. Manage the catalogue of types without going through the Family Types dialog.

1. Click the header of the type you want to work with.The column is highlighted in blue and the type action bar appears with its name and the Duplicate type and Delete type buttons.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-06.pngType action bar visible with the selected type's name and the Duplicate type and Delete type buttons.

2. Press Duplicate type to create a copy.The new type takes the original's name with the suffix copy (or copy 2, copy 3 if it already exists). The matrix reloads with the new column.
3. Press Delete type to remove the type and confirm in the dialog.The dialog warns that the deletion cannot be undone from Mold. Press Delete to confirm or Cancel to abort.
4. If you want to rearrange the columns, drag a header to its new position.The reordering is visual only (it does not change the family) and is remembered while the window is open, even after Refresh or Apply.

• Duplicating a type and then editing its cells is the quick route to creating dimensional variants.
• The amber triangle on a header warns of identical or nearly identical types: useful before deciding which one to delete.

Goal. Modify the family's parameter structure from the matrix itself.

1. Press the Parameter button to create a new one.The New parameter dialog opens with two tabs: Family parameter and Shared parameter.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-07.pngNew parameter dialog with the Family parameter and Shared parameter tabs.

2. In Family parameter, type the name and choose the data type, group and scope.Available data types: Length, Area, Volume, Angle, Number, Integer, Slope, Currency, Text, Multiline Text, URL, Yes/No, Material and Image. Groups: Dimensions, Constraints, Identity Data, Materials and Finishes, Text and Other. Choose Instance or Type and press Create.
3. In Shared parameter, search for and select a definition from the shared parameter file.Mold reads the shared parameter file configured in Revit and lists its definitions with a search box. Choose the group and scope and press Create. If no file is configured, the dialog says so.
4. To rename a parameter, double-click its name.The name becomes an editable field. Enter confirms, Esc cancels; clicking outside also confirms.
5. To delete, click the names of the parameters you want to remove and press Delete.Click selects one; Ctrl+click adds or removes; Shift+click selects a range. The Delete button is enabled by the selection. Confirm in the dialog: parameters used in a formula cannot be deleted and are skipped.

• Rows selected for deletion are tinted blue in the fixed columns, so you can clearly see what is about to disappear.
• Each structural operation runs in its own named transaction, so it is kept tidy in Revit's undo history.

Goal. Create or edit a parameter's native formula without memorising Revit's syntax.

1. Click the parameter's f(x) cell.The formula editor opens. Read-only parameters have no editor; those that do not support a native formula (text, materials, etc.) open directly in Smart rule mode.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-08.pngFormula editor: palette of parameters, operators and functions on the left; formula field, validity pill and In plain words box on the right.

2. Build the formula with the palette on the left.One click on a parameter inserts its name; the operator keypad inserts symbols; the function buttons (if, and, or, not, round, sqrt, trigonometry...) insert templates with fields between angle brackets. The parameter list has a search box, sorting and per-column filters.
3. Fill in the template fields and use Tab to jump to the next one.The first field is selected automatically; typing or clicking a parameter replaces it. Clicking inside a field selects it entirely.
4. Check the validity pill and the In plain words explanation.The pill warns of unclosed brackets, unfilled fields, names that are not parameters and detectable unit mismatches (for example, an area result for a length parameter). The In plain words box narrates in plain language what the formula does.
5. Press Apply formula.Mold sends the formula to Revit, which validates it definitively (units, cycles). If Revit rejects it, the status bar shows Revit's reason. Applying with the field empty removes the formula. Clear empties the field; Cancel closes without changes.

• Click a cell with a value to activate dependency highlighting: green marks the parameters the formula depends on, amber those that depend on it. Clicking an empty cell turns it off.
• The Apply formula button stays disabled while fields remain unfilled or brackets unbalanced, so you never send incomplete formulas.

Goal. Govern with conditional logic the parameters Revit does not let you control with a formula, such as text or materials, and share those rules with the rest of the library.

1. Click the parameter's f(x) cell and select Smart rule on the toggle at the top.The Formula / Smart rule toggle is at the top right of the editor. On parameters that do not support a native formula, Smart rule is the initial mode and Formula appears disabled. Switching modes with existing content asks for confirmation because formula and rule are mutually exclusive.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-09.pngSmart rule panel in orange with a RULE 1 card: WHEN row with parameter, operator and value, SET line and OTHERWISE field.

2. Build the first rule: WHEN condition, SET value.Choose the parameter on the left, the operator (equals, is not, greater, less, at least, at most, contains, starts with, ends with) and the comparison value, which can be a literal or the name of another parameter. In SET, type the value the target parameter will receive when the condition is met.
3. Add more conditions or more rules if you need them.The + and / or condition button adds conditions chained with and or or (evaluated left to right). The + Add rule button adds another card: rules are evaluated in order and the first one that matches wins.
4. Fill in OTHERWISE if you want a default value.It is optional: if no rule matches and there is no OTHERWISE, the parameter is left as it is. The In plain words box narrates the whole cascade as you edit it.
5. Press Apply formula to save the rule.Mold saves the cascade inside the family file, removes the native formula if there was one and evaluates the rule across all types, writing the resulting values. The parameter is marked with sr in orange.
6. To reuse your rules in another family, press Export in the Rules block and save the .json file.Export is only available if the family has rules; otherwise a warning says so.
7. In the target family, open Mold, press Import in the Rules block and select the file.Mold applies each rule only to the parameters that exist in that family with the same name; the rest are counted as skipped. If a matching parameter already had a rule, it is overwritten; if it had a native formula, that formula is removed (they are mutually exclusive). A dialog summarises how many rules were imported and how many were skipped, and the imported ones are evaluated immediately.

• Rules are evaluated when you save or import them. If you later change the values of the input parameters, reopen the rule and save it to recalculate the results.
• To empty a rule, delete its cards and apply: saving a rule with no content removes it from the parameter.
• For imports to match as much as possible, keep parameter names consistent across the whole library: matching is by exact name.

Goal. Export the matrix to an .xlsx workbook, edit the values outside Revit and bring back only the changes, reviewing them first.

1. Press Export in the Excel block and choose where to save the .xlsx.The workbook opens automatically when it finishes. It contains the Family sheet with the title, the date, a Parameter column, a Data type column and one column per type; frozen panes and autofilter included. Locked cells (read-only, with a formula or with a smart rule) are shown in grey: editing them will have no effect on import.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-10.pngExcel workbook exported by Mold: Family sheet with blue headers per type and grey cells in the rows with formulas.

2. Edit the values in the spreadsheet.Change only the values of the type cells. Do not add or rename rows or columns: matching is done via a hidden key column and via the type names in the header row.
3. Back in Mold, press Import in the Excel block and select the file.Mold compares the workbook with the current matrix and calculates only the real differences in editable cells. If there are none, it tells you and nothing happens.
4. Review the Import preview dialog.It lists each change with the parameter, type, old value and new value. Press Apply N changes to accept them or Cancel to discard them.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-11.pngImport preview dialog with the Parameter, Type, Old, New table and the Apply N changes button.

5. Confirm that the changes come in as pending edits and press Apply.The import does not write directly to the family: it leaves the values as pending (just as if you had typed them) so you can review them in the matrix. Apply writes them in a single transaction. If the workbook touched locked cells, the summary indicates how many were ignored.

• You can hand the workbook to a colleague without Revit: as long as they respect the structure, Mold will read their changes.
• The import does not create new parameters or types: rows or columns that do not exist in the family are simply ignored.

Goal. Trim the matrix down to what matters and pinpoint where several types differ.

1. Press the funnel on a fixed header (Parameter, Data type, Scope or Origin) to filter rows.An Excel-style menu opens with a search box, Select all and the list of values. Tick the ones you want to see and press Apply: the rows of parameters that do not match are hidden. Clear resets that column's filter. The funnel fills in blue when the filter is active.
2. Press the funnel next to a parameter's name to filter type columns by value.Choose the subset of permitted values: the columns of the types whose value is not in the list are hidden. The values offered chain with the other active filters.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-12.pngActive filter chip bar showing a value filter, the showing X of Y types count and the Clear type filters link.

3. Manage the filters from the chip bar.Each value filter appears as a chip with a cross to remove it; Clear type filters removes them all. Esc clears the search first and, if it is already empty, all the filters.
4. To compare types, select two or more columns with Ctrl+click or Shift+click and press Compare.Mold marks with a not-equal symbol (in blue, next to the name) each parameter whose value differs between the compared types, and the status bar summarises how many differ. Press Compare again to turn it off.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-13.pngTwo type columns highlighted and several parameters marked with the not-equal symbol after pressing Compare.

• Filters survive Apply, Refresh and column reordering: you do not have to redo them after every operation.
• Compare before deleting near-duplicate types: you will see exactly which parameter they differ in.

Goal. Detect file quality problems, understand what each parameter controls and generate a shareable report.

1. Locate the warning triangles next to the parameter names.Amber marks suggestions (a formula that is a fixed value, an embedded constant, a potential orphan, a value present in some types and empty in others, a value out of range compared with the rest); red marks problems (a suspicious name or one with spaces, a duplicate name). Hover to see the list or click to open it in a dialog.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-14.pngParameter row with an amber triangle and its tooltip listing the hygiene findings.

2. Use the Controls column to see what each parameter governs.A badge shows how many things it controls (labelled dimensions, locked alignments, visibilities, materials). The magnifier button activates the view where the element lives, selects it and zooms in. The information button opens a modeless window with the full list and a Select + zoom button per element.
3. Click a cell with a value to explore formula dependencies.In that column, the chosen parameter is tinted blue, its ingredients green and the parameters that depend on it amber. Clicking an empty cell turns it off.
4. Press Report to generate the HTML report and choose where to save it.It is a single self-contained file (offline, no external fonts) that opens by itself when it finishes: family title, statistics, types, a sortable and filterable parameter table, a global search box, light and dark themes and the hygiene findings included.

   

   assets/shots/mold/fig-15.pngMold HTML report open in the browser with the family header, the statistics cards and the parameter table.

• Hygiene warnings are advisory: Mold flags, you decide. A parameter with no references may be controlling geometry through labels the analysis cannot see.
• The HTML report works on locked-down corporate networks: it downloads nothing from the internet.