Executing Rules and Understanding the Log

This article describes the three execution modes, the detailed execution flow, and how to read the execution log.

Execution Modes

Execute All Rules

Click the "Execute" button in the toolbar. All rules are executed in the order shown in the table, regardless of selection.

Execute Selection

Select one or more rows (Ctrl+Click or Shift+Click) and click the dropdown arrow next to "Execute" › "Execute Selected Rules". Only the selected rules are executed, in table order.

Execute Inverted Selection

Via the dropdown arrow › "Execute Inverted Selection": all rules that are not selected are executed. Useful for skipping one or a few rules without reselecting all others.

Tip: All three execution modes are also available via the context menu (right-click in the table).

Execution Flow in Detail

Step	Description	On Error
1. Validation	Check if target parameter and value are present	Log line: "No parameter" / "No value" — next rule
2. Evaluation	Filter elements by data source, filter, and category	Log line: "No elements found" — next rule
3. Parameter lookup	Find the target parameter by name in the first element	Log line: "Parameter not found" — next rule
4. Value parsing	Resolve Pattern Parser expression (if present)	Log line with parser error message
5. Worksharing checkout	Check out elements for central file projects	Partial result: unchecked elements skipped
6. Write	Set parameter per element, maintain counters	Individual errors counted and reported in log

Revit Transaction: All changes from one execution run (all rules combined) are wrapped in a single Revit transaction. A single Ctrl+Z undoes all changes — even from multiple rules.

Reading the Execution Log

After execution, the log dialog appears. Each line corresponds to one rule and shows the result in this format:

Row 1: 47 parameters set (of 47)

All Log Messages

Message	Meaning
`Y parameters set (of Z)`	Y of Z found elements were written successfully
`... N parameters not written`	N elements had the parameter but Revit rejected writing (formula binding, read-only)
`... N elements do not have the parameter`	N elements in the set do not have the target parameter (mixed families)
`... N elements locked`	Worksharing: N elements could not be checked out
`No parameter set`	Rule has no target parameter — incomplete
`No value`	No value entered (for non-Text parameters)
`No elements found`	No element matched the filter criteria
`No parameters found`	Found elements have no writable parameters
`Parameter not found`	Target parameter not present in found elements
Pattern Parser error message	Formula expression could not be evaluated

Suppressing the Log

Enable "Ignore Error Log" in Settings. The log is then only shown when actual errors or warnings occurred — not after error-free runs.

Worksharing — Detailed Behavior

Before writing, the tool attempts to check out all affected elements in one batch (WorksharingUtils.CheckoutElements).
Elements checked out by another user are removed from the write list and reported as "locked".
If the entire checkout fails (e.g. connection issue), execution of the rule aborts.
Elements are not automatically released after execution. Release manually via Synchronize with Central in Revit.

Recommendation: For large mass changes in central files, run when as few other users as possible are active. Synchronize immediately after execution to write changes to the central file.