Related Elements

A Relationship field lets you connect data between two categories in Layer. It replaces the previous Related Element, Auto Lookup, and Spatial Relationship fields by combining all relationship types into one unified field. Relationships can be Manual, Automatic, or Spatial, depending on how you want data to connect across categories.

Manual Relationships

Manual relationships let you manually select and link items from one category to another. For example, you can link a Vendor from your Company Directory to a Product in your Furniture Specifications category, or connect Observation Notes to a Field Report.

When configuring a manual relationship, you can:

• Enable or disable new item creation – Allow users to create new items in the related category (e.g., new vendors) while selecting one.

• Enable or disable navigation – Choose whether users can click on related items in the table view to open them.

• Select single or multiple records – Choose between allowing one related record or multiple selections.

• Track quantities – Turn this on to specify item quantities within the relationship (useful for room or equipment planning).

• Show specific fields – Choose which fields from the related category appear in the table display and element selection popover (for example, vendor email, phone number, and website).

Automatic Relationships

Automatic relationships replace the older Auto Lookup functionality. These relationships automatically connect items from one category to another based on matching criteria you define. For example, you might want each Product in your Products category to automatically link to Revit Furniture Instances in your Model Furniture category where the Mark parameter matches the Item Tag field in the product record.

When setting up an automatic relationship:

• Select a category to match from (e.g., Model Furniture).

• Define matching criteria (e.g., Mark = Item Tag).

• Choose which fields to display from the related items (for example, Level, Room, or Phase Created In).

Spatial Relationships

Spatial relationships are available only in Revit model categories. They automatically connect elements based on their physical location in the model—such as rooms, areas, or spaces. For example, in a Rooms category, you can create a spatial relationship to show all Furniture located within each room.

When creating a spatial relationship:

• Choose Spatial as the relationship type.

• Select the model category to relate from (e.g., Furniture).

• Optionally define filters or criteria to refine which elements are included.

• Choose which fields to display (for example, Level, Phase Created In, or Type).

Tracking Quantities

Manual relationships can optionally track quantities between linked items. For example, in a Room Types category, you can create a relationship to your Products category to define which items belong in each room type and how many of each are required.

After enabling quantity tracking:

• You can set quantities for each related item directly in the table.

• Quantities can synchronize bidirectionally—if you update a quantity in one category, it updates automatically in the related category.

Unified Relationship System

The new Relationship field unifies all relationship functionality in Layer:

• Manual Relationships for user-selected links.

• Automatic Relationships for rule-based matches.

• Spatial Relationships for Revit-based spatial connections.

Lookups from Relationships

Once relationships are created, you can use Lookup fields to pull data from them automatically. For example, if you have a relationship called Model Furniture, you can create a lookup field to display the Level or Room Name from that related data.

To do this:

1. Create a new field.

2. Choose one of your existing relationships (e.g., Model Furniture, Vendor, or Room Types).

3. Select which property to look up from that relationship.

Summary

The Relationship field is the unified way to connect data across categories in Layer. Whether you need to link items manually, automatically, or spatially, all capabilities now live in one place. You can customize visibility, selection modes, quantities, and lookups—all while maintaining synchronized, bidirectional relationships between categories.