Revit: Yes/No Parameter Values

You might think that a Yes/No parameter can only have two values:

• Yes
• No

But, in fact, there can be three values:

• Null
• Yes
• No

Null will only occur when a Yes/No parameter is first placed on an object, such as when you add an instance-based Yes/No Project Parameter to one or more categories in your project (for this example, Walls). After doing so, you will see something similar to this:

In the image above, the HasToggle Yes/No parameter has just been added to Walls. The toggle itself (the square in the value column) shows a check mark, but the check mark and the square are grayed out. You might think this means that the parameter is disabled, but if you look at the parameter name, it is not grayed out. Contrast this to the Enable Analytical Model parameter a few rows below the HasToggle parameter, where both the parameter name and the square are grayed out. The Enable Analytical Model parameter is disabled, because the Structural parameter (another Yes/No parameter) is not checked. The HasToggle parameter is enabled, but the toggle is grayed out to indicate that a value for the parameter has not yet been chosen, so the value is at its initial "Null" state.

Left clicking on the toggle will set the value to Yes, and the toggle is no longer grayed out.

Left clicking on the toggle again will change the value to No.

Once the toggle is clicked and an initial value set, you cannot set it back to Null, so, in operation, there are only two values, Yes and No, but you need to be aware that parameter can have that third value, Null, as that can have an impact on your model. For example, suppose the HasToggle parameter is used to drive two filters, that will be used to change the display of Walls in a view.

In the image above, you can see that two filters have been created, HasToggle-Yes and HasToggle-No, along with the properties of the HasToggle-Yes filter. The filter applies to Walls, and will select all Walls where the HasToggle parameter is set to Yes. The HasToggle-No filter properties are identical, except the filter collects Walls whose HasToggle parameter value is set to No. In the LEVEL 1 FLOOR PLAN View, these filters have been applied and an unattractive combination of colors has been assigned to the Cut Lines and Patterns, to make it obvious that the filter has been applied.

In the image below, you can see eight Walls in the LEVEL 1 FLOOR PLAN View. Two have had the HasToggle parameter set to Yes (checked), two have had the HasToggle set to No (unchecked) and the other four remain in the initial Null state. The Null Walls are not affected by either filter, because the value of the HasToggle parameter is neither Yes nor No.