Placing and Modifying Artcraft Cabinets
Overview
Once your room has been created, you're ready to begin placing and modifying Artcraft cabinet families.
Artcraft Revit Families have been developed specifically for the Artcraft product catalog and are designed to closely mirror the same options and modifications available within Accolades.
This consistency allows information created during the design process to flow more efficiently into scheduling, pricing, and ordering.
Placing Cabinets
Cabinets can only be placed while working in a Floor Plan or 3D View.
They cannot be placed from an Elevation view.
To place a cabinet:
As you move the cabinet near a wall, Revit automatically snaps it into position, making it easy to create accurate layouts.
Loading Cabinet Families
The Place a Component drop-down only displays families that have already been loaded into the current project.
If the cabinet you need does not appear in the list, it must first be loaded.
There are two methods for loading Artcraft Families.
Method 1 – Load Family
Use the Load Family command and browse to the location where your Artcraft Family Library is stored.
Method 2 – Load into Project and Close
Open the family file directly.
Once the family is open, select Load into Project and Close.
This loads the family into your active project and returns you to your drawing.
As a best practice, avoid saving changes directly to the family file unless you intentionally want to modify the source family.
If Revit displays an overwrite prompt while loading a family, always choose:
Overwrite the existing version and its parameter values.
This ensures that the latest family information is loaded into your project.
Moving Cabinets
To reposition a cabinet, simply select it and either:
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Drag it to a new location, or
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Use the Move tool from the Modify tab.
As you move the cabinet, Revit automatically snaps to nearby walls, cabinets, and reference points to help maintain alignment.
Temporary dimensions can also be used to position cabinets more precisely.
Modifying Cabinets
After selecting a cabinet, you'll find a variety of parameters within the Properties palette.
These parameters control both the cabinet dimensions and the available Artcraft modifications.
Cabinet Dimensions (Red)
The most common modifications are the cabinet dimensions:
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Width
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Height
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Depth
These parameters are displayed in red and correspond directly to the dimensional information used within Accolades.
Changing these values immediately updates the cabinet throughout the model.
Hinging
Many cabinet families allow you to control the door hinging and swing direction.
Adjusting the hinging allows the cabinet to better suit the intended layout while maintaining the correct Artcraft product definition.
Front Resizing (Green)
Certain cabinet families include front resizing options.
For example, a DB3 cabinet allows the drawer front heights to be adjusted while maintaining the overall cabinet size.
These parameters are displayed in green and provide additional design flexibility without changing the cabinet's core construction.
Cabinet Modifications (Blue)
Artcraft families also include a variety of custom modifications displayed in blue.
Examples include:
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Recessed bottom on upper cabinets
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Recessed legs for toe-kicks
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Door reveal adjustments
These modifications mirror the same options available within Accolades, creating a consistent workflow between design and ordering.
Automatic Model Updates
Because Artcraft cabinets are parametric Revit families, every modification updates automatically throughout the project.
If you change a cabinet's size or configuration, Revit immediately updates:
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Floor Plans
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Elevations
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Sections
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3D Views
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Cabinet Schedules
This eliminates the need to manually update multiple drawings and helps maintain consistency across the entire project.
Best Practices
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Place cabinets from a Floor Plan or 3D View.
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Load only the families required for your project.
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Use the Properties palette to modify cabinets rather than creating custom geometry.
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Use the colour-coded parameters to quickly identify dimension changes, front resizing, and custom modifications.
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Remember that Artcraft Revit Families are designed to closely mirror the options available within Accolades, helping create a seamless Design-to-Order workflow.
Key Takeaway
Artcraft Revit Families are much more than 3D cabinet models.
They contain the information, parameters, and product logic needed to support the complete Artcraft Design-to-Order process.
By designing with Artcraft Families, you're not only creating an accurate model—you're also preparing the information that will later be used for scheduling, pricing, and ordering through Accolades.