Element Data Manager

Element Data Manager provides a comprehensive parameter management workflow for Revit elements. It combines advanced filtering with bulk editing, CSV export, coordinate extraction, and a sortable results viewer, all through a guided 4-step wizard. The add-in intelligently groups parameters by category, detects read-only parameters, provides live edit previews, and supports pseudo-parameters like Family and Type assignment with dropdown value selection.

Experimental

Element Data Manager is currently in the Experimental panel. Features and behavior may change as development continues.

Getting Started

Find Element Data Manager on the Amorphous ribbon tab in the Data Tools panel.

The add-in supports two entry points:

• No pre-selection - Launches the full 4-step wizard starting from Worksets or Categories
• Pre-selection - Select elements in Revit first, then launch to skip directly to Filters & Parameters

The wizard opens as a modeless window, meaning you can interact with Revit while it remains open. If you click the button again while the window is already open, it brings the existing window to the front.

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Features

• 4-Step Wizard - Guided workflow through Worksets, Categories, Filters & Parameters, and Actions
• Advanced Filtering - 12 filter operators with AND/OR logic for precise element selection
• Bulk Parameter Editing - SetValue, Find/Replace, Prefix/Suffix, math operations, and Clear
• Live Edit Preview - Per-element before/after display with selection-based editing
• Grouped Parameter Dropdown - Parameters organized by category with element counts
• Unit-Aware Parsing - Accepts feet/inches, mm, cm, m, and degrees
• Location Coordinates - Export X/Y/Z point and Start/End line coordinates with Internal or Survey Point mode
• Sortable Results Viewer - Column sorting, scoped search, and copy to clipboard
• CSV Export - Full data export with proper escaping and Save As dialog
• Select in Revit - Highlight elements from any step of the workflow
• Pre-Selection Support - Skip to filters when elements are already selected
• Parameter Memory - Remembers your last-used parameter selection across sessions

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How to Use

Basic Workflow

1. Select worksets (workshared files only) to scope the element collection
2. Choose categories to include (Walls, Doors, Windows, etc.)
3. Add filter rules and select parameters to include in results
4. Choose an action: View Results, Export CSV, Edit Values, or Select in Revit

Step 1: Worksets

This step only appears for workshared files. Non-workshared files skip directly to Categories.

• Select worksets to include in the element collection
• Search the workset list using the search box to find specific worksets
• All worksets are selected by default
• Use Select All or Clear buttons for quick bulk selection

Step 2: Categories

Choose which element categories to include in the data set:

• Each category shows its element count in parentheses (e.g., “Walls (142)”)
• Search to quickly find specific categories
• Use Select All or Clear for bulk selection
• The status bar updates live with your selection count and total element count

Note

At least one category must be selected to proceed.

Step 3: Filters & Parameters

This step has three sections: Filters, Location, and Parameters.

Filters (Optional)

Build filter rules to narrow down the element set:

1. Click + Add Filter Rule to create a condition
2. Each rule has three parts: Parameter name (editable dropdown), Operator, and Value
3. Toggle AND/OR logic for multiple rules using radio buttons
4. The filter count updates live, showing “X of Y match”
5. Click Select in Revit to highlight filtered elements in the model
6. Remove individual rules with the X button on each row

Tip

Filters are optional. If you skip them, all elements from your selected categories are included in the results.

Location (Optional)

Include element coordinate data in your results and exports:

1. Check the Location checkbox to enable coordinate output
2. Choose a Coordinate System: Internal or Survey Point
3. Location expands into 9 sub-columns:

Point Elements	Line Elements
X, Y, Z	Start X, Start Y, Start Z
	End X, End Y, End Z

Point-based elements populate the X/Y/Z columns. Line-based elements populate the Start and End columns. Non-applicable columns are left blank. Coordinates are displayed in the project’s length display units.

Note

Location data is read-only and cannot be edited through the Edit Window.

Parameters

Select which parameters to include in results and editing:

• Shared parameters appear on all collected elements
• Unique parameters appear on only some elements (this section is hidden when there are none)
• Search filters both parameter lists simultaneously
• Use All and None buttons for each parameter group
• Previously selected parameters are automatically restored from your last session

Step 4: Actions

Choose from four actions:

Action	Description
View Results	Open a sortable, searchable data grid
Export CSV	Save parameter data to a CSV file
Edit Values	Bulk-edit parameter values across elements
Select in Revit	Select all filtered elements in the model

Note

View Results, Export CSV, and Edit Values require at least one parameter to be selected. If no parameters were chosen, these action cards appear disabled.

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Results Viewer

The Results Viewer displays your filtered element data in a sortable, searchable grid:

Feature	Description
Sort columns	Click column headers to toggle ascending/descending sort
Scoped search	Choose “All Columns” or a specific column, then type to filter rows
Copy Row	Right-click for tab-separated row data (paste directly into Excel)
Copy All	Right-click for all visible rows as tab-separated data
Select in Revit	Highlight selected rows in the model. If no rows are selected, all visible (filtered) rows are selected
Status bar	Shows “Showing X of Y elements” count

Tip

The Copy All function produces tab-separated output that pastes directly into Excel, making it easy to combine Revit data with external spreadsheets.

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Edit Window

The Edit Window provides powerful bulk editing with a live preview of changes before committing them.

Selecting a Parameter

Parameters are grouped by category in the dropdown:

• All Categories group contains shared parameters present across all selected categories
• Category-specific groups show parameters unique to that category, with element counts
• Category headers appear as visual separators in the dropdown
• Selecting a category-specific parameter auto-filters the grid to that category’s elements
• The status bar shows value statistics: element count, unique values, and blank count

Editing Values

1. Choose an edit mode from the Mode dropdown (available modes depend on parameter type)
2. Enter a value in the input field
3. Select rows to apply the preview. Only highlighted rows receive the edit preview.
4. Deselecting a row resets its preview back to the original value
5. Double-click a cell in the New Value column to edit an individual value directly
6. Use Ctrl+click and Shift+click for multi-row selection

For single-mode parameters (like Yes/No or ElementId), the Mode dropdown is hidden since only one mode applies.

Read-Only Parameters

When a read-only parameter is selected:

• The mode and value bar is hidden
• The New Value column is removed entirely
• The status bar displays “Parameter is read-only”

This lets you view read-only data without any editing controls cluttering the interface.

Applying Changes

Button	Description
Apply	Commit all changed values in a single Revit transaction
Undo	Revert the last apply using Revit’s built-in undo
Select in Revit	Highlight selected rows in the model

After applying, values are re-read from Revit to show the actual committed results. The status bar shows success and failure counts, with the first error message if any failures occurred.

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Edit Modes

Mode	Applies To	Description
SetValue	All types	Replace with a new value
AddPrefix	String	Prepend text to the existing value
AddSuffix	String	Append text to the existing value
FindReplace	String	Search and replace a substring
Clear	String, Numeric	Remove the value entirely
Add	Double, Integer	Add a number to the current value
Subtract	Double, Integer	Subtract a number from the current value
Multiply	Double, Integer	Multiply by a factor
Divide	Double, Integer	Divide by a divisor

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Family and Type Parameters

In addition to standard Revit parameters, Element Data Manager provides special parameters for working with element families and types.

Change Family or Type

Parameter	Behavior
Family	Changes element to the first type of the target family
Type	Changes element type by name
Family and Type	Changes to a specific “Family : Type” combination

All three display dropdown lists of valid values for the selected elements’ category.

Reference Parameters

Parameter	Description
Type ID	The element type’s ID value
Family Name	Name of the element’s family
Type Name	Name of the element’s type

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Smart Value Dropdowns

The edit window automatically detects parameter types and provides appropriate dropdown options:

Parameter Type	Dropdown Behavior
Yes/No	Shows “Yes” and “No” options
Workset	Shows user-created worksets only (not system worksets)
Enum Integer (e.g., Cross-Section, Structural Usage)	Probes valid enum values and displays named options
ElementId (e.g., Level, Phase, Material)	Resolves referenced element type and lists matching elements
Family and Type parameters	Lists valid families and types for the element’s category

Tip

When editing the Workset parameter, the dropdown only shows user-created worksets, making it easy to reassign elements without accidentally selecting system worksets.

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Unit Parsing

For numeric parameters, the edit window accepts various unit formats and converts them automatically:

Format	Example	Result
Feet and inches	5'-6"	5.5 ft
Feet only	5'	5.0 ft
Inches only	6"	0.5 ft
Millimeters	100mm	Converted to internal units
Centimeters	10cm	Converted to internal units
Meters	1m	Converted to internal units
Degrees	45deg or 45°	Converted to radians

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Filter Operators

Element Data Manager provides 12 filter operators for building precise filter rules:

Operator	Description
Equals	Exact match (case-insensitive)
NotEquals	Does not match
Contains	Substring search
DoesNotContain	Excludes substring
StartsWith	Begins with text
EndsWith	Ends with text
GreaterThan	Numeric greater-than comparison
LessThan	Numeric less-than comparison
GreaterOrEqual	Numeric greater-or-equal comparison
LessOrEqual	Numeric less-or-equal comparison
IsEmpty	Value is blank or null
IsNotEmpty	Value exists

Tip

Combine multiple filter rules with AND logic to narrow results precisely, or use OR logic to include elements matching any of the conditions.

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Use Cases

Scenario	Recommended Approach
Data auditing	View Results with column sorting to spot outliers or missing values across hundreds of elements
Bulk cleanup	Use Find/Replace mode to fix naming conventions, remove prefixes, or standardize parameter text
Type reassignment	Change element families or types in bulk using the Family and Type parameter dropdowns
Asset data	Extract and manage asset information like model numbers, manufacturers, and warranty data across equipment families

From the developer

For asset management workflows where you need to find which sheet(s) an asset appears on, that’s on my radar. If your team needs it sooner, open a request on GitHub so I can prioritize it.

| Workset management | Edit the Workset parameter with a dropdown of user worksets to reassign elements | | CSV reporting | Export filtered parameter data to CSV for external analysis, QA checks, or documentation | | Coordinate export | Extract element coordinates in Internal or Survey Point mode for coordination workflows | | Parameter comparison | Select multiple parameters and use the Results Viewer to compare values side-by-side |

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Tips & Best Practices

• Use pre-selection to work with a specific set of elements without configuring worksets and categories. Select elements in Revit first, then launch the add-in to skip directly to Filters & Parameters.
• Find/Replace mode is useful for cleaning up parameter values across hundreds of elements in a single operation.
• Parameter search filters both shared and unique parameter lists simultaneously, making it quick to find specific parameters in large projects.
• After editing, switch parameters in the dropdown to verify that related values were not affected.
• Column sorting in the Results Viewer helps identify outliers or missing values quickly. Click a column header, then look for values that stand out.
• Grouped parameter dropdown in the Edit Window shows which parameters are shared across all categories and which are category-specific. This helps you understand the scope of your edits.
• Copy All in the Results Viewer produces tab-separated output that can be pasted directly into Excel for further analysis.

Tip

For recurring data audits, take advantage of parameter memory. The add-in remembers your last-used parameter selection, so you can quickly repeat the same review workflow across sessions.

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Limitations

Limitation	Details
Parameter sampling	Parameter discovery samples the first 100 elements for speed. Rare parameters that only appear beyond the first 100 elements may not be listed.
Dropdown options	Some dropdown parameters (like Structural Usage) detect up to 30 possible values. Parameters with more than 30 options may show an incomplete list.
Undo delay	Undo uses Revit’s built-in undo command asynchronously. A brief delay occurs before values refresh in the grid.
CSV exports all rows	CSV export writes all filtered elements regardless of row selection in the Results Viewer grid.
Location is read-only	Location coordinates cannot be edited through the Edit Window. They are available for viewing and CSV export only.
Survey Point coordinates	Survey Point mode uses the active project location to calculate coordinates. If your project has multiple locations, the currently active one is used.

From the developer

This tool is still in the Experimental panel, so things may shift as I get more feedback. If you run into rough edges or have ideas for what would make it more useful, open an issue on GitHub. Real-world use cases help me prioritize what to refine first.

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Troubleshooting

Parameter not appearing in the list

Possible causes:

• The parameter only exists on elements beyond the first 100 sampled
• The parameter belongs to a category you did not select

Solution: Ensure the relevant categories are selected. If the parameter is rare, try pre-selecting the specific elements that have it and launching the add-in with pre-selection.

Edit does not apply to some elements

Possible causes:

• The parameter is read-only on those elements
• The parameter does not exist on elements from certain categories
• The value is invalid for the parameter type

Solution: Check the status bar after applying for success/failure counts and the first error message. Switch to a shared parameter or verify the value is valid for the target parameter type.

Dropdown is missing some options

Possible causes:

• The parameter has more than 30 possible values, which exceeds the detection limit

Solution: This is a known limitation. You can type the value directly into the cell instead of using the dropdown.

Values not refreshing after Undo

Possible causes:

• Undo runs asynchronously through Revit’s command system

Solution: Wait a moment for the undo to complete, then switch away from the current parameter and back to refresh the values.

CSV export includes rows I did not select

Solution: CSV export always writes all filtered elements, not just selected rows. Use filter rules in Step 3 to narrow the element set before exporting.