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What you’ll learn

How to open Kinship search inside Revit, find the content you need, and place it confidently—whether it’s already in your project or coming from your team’s approved Library.

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Before you start

Make sure you:
  • Have the Kinship Revit add-in installed and connected.
  • Have a Revit model open.
From Revit, either:
  • Click Search on the Kinship ribbon tab, or
  • Press KL on your keyboard for a quick shortcut.
This opens the Kinship search dialog right over your model—no need to switch windows.

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2. Type what you need (not what it’s called)

Just describe the content you’re looking for in plain terms. Kinship will search across family names, type names, Revit category, parameters, and more. Examples:
  • access panel 600x600
  • wall FireRating:60Minutes
  • white leather chair
You don’t need to match the exact name, spelling, or punctuation. Kinship will interpret your input and show the best matches instantly.

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3. Look for the right content (and its source)

As results appear, you’ll see small icons that tell you where each piece of content is coming from:
  • 🔵 Blue icon – Content already in your current project or assigned to it.
    Reuse these first when available.
  • 🟢 Green icon – Content from your team’s Library (approved and ready for use).
    Load from here if it’s not already in the model.
  • ⚪ No icon – Other sources, like unassigned collections or tracked projects.
    Use with care. This content is neither approved nor assigned.

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4. Preview the content before placing it

Click any result to open the details panel. Here, you can:
  • See a larger thumbnail and basic metadata
  • View all available types in the family
  • Inspect key parameters and values
  • Check Revit version, units, file size, and more
This helps you make sure you’re loading exactly what you need—before it ever enters your model.

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5. Place the content

From the family types list, choose to:
  • Load a single type – Best for keeping your model lean
  • Load multiple types – Using Ctrl+Click to select and Enter to load.
  • Load all types – Only if you really need the whole set
  • Or if it’s project content 🔵, place it directly into your model
Everything loads right where your cursor is in Revit. No switching apps.
If you’re not seeing quite what you need, here are some easy ways to adjust:
What you want to doTry this
Match a full phraseUse quotes → "Liberty Pumps"
Require a specific wordAdd a + → valve +150
Search for a parameter nameUse FireRating:
Search for a parameter & valueUse FireRating:60Minutes
Most of the time, plain keywords are enough. Use these only when you need more precision.

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Filters and scopes (if you want to narrow things down)

If your results list is too broad, try:
  • Category filter – e.g., Doors, Plumbing Fixtures
  • Hosting filter – face-based, wall-based, etc.
  • Scope selector – Search only the Library, a specific collection, or a project

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Tips to make search even faster

  • KL – Launch Kinship search without clicking anything.
  • ↑ Arrow – Revisit your last search from this Revit session.
  • Kinship can remember your last search results for 5 minutes if you re-open it quickly (set this in Revit > File > Options > Kinship).
  • Search window remembers its position and size across sessions.

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Quick recap

  • Use plain language to describe what you need
  • Reuse 🔵 project content first
  • Load 🟢 Library content when it’s not already in the model
  • Preview types and parameters before placing
  • Refine only if you need to

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Learn more