Revit Best Practices: Opening Shared Files

Greetings, Reviteers!

 

So this is kind of an old topic, but it is always relevant – especially when the issue crops up, like it did today. We have a new kid in the office, and as often happens when we have new kids, we need to re-learn a few things ourselves when teaching them the lay of the land. So let’s talk about central files and how we open them.

 

One of the awesome things about Revit is the ability to have a central file which allows multiple users to work in individual local files. This process not only enables several people to work in the file at the same time, it also has a fail safe in having the central file separate from the local files. Sometimes, however, we run into issues with error messages that pop up about file location, the central file being moved or lost, and similar Revit commentary. Why does this happen?

 

When we encounter error messages or warnings upon opening the file – most notably when they have to do with file location – it is often because of how we or someone else has opened the file. It can be frustrating to run into these warnings, but the good news is: there’s a way to avoid them!

 

How do you open your file when you get to work? Let’s talk Revit best practices for opening a file when you are working in a central file with other folks (or even when you aren’t – better to stick with one method than risk crossover!).

 

From the Revit home screen we typically see recent projects and families. We also have sidebars giving us options to open a project, start a new project, etc. To open a file, the Revit Best Practice is to click the “open” option, click the “open” folder icon in the task bar, or drop down the R menu and choose open>project.

From here we get to our “Open” dialogue box. **IMPORTANT** Do not double click the file to open it. This is generally a bad idea wherever you are opening a file if it’s a file you work in with other people. Where it may be harmless in one situation, it will not be harmless in another. Don’t learn the hard way, just stop with the double-clicking. After you click once to highlight the file, you will see at the bottom of the box options to Audit, Detach from Central, and Create New Local. If you are working in a file with others, be sure the Create New Local box is checked.

 

Generally, I create a new local file each day when I come into work, even if I am the only person working in the file that day. It’s a good habit to keep, rather than risk not doing it when I need to and encountering issues later on.

 

Click Open. From here you are given the option to overwrite existing file or append timestamp to existing file name. Overwrite existing is fine for day-to-day. I typically only append a timestamp to my local file when updating a linked file or making major changes to the file – just in case I need to go back and reference anything I had before.

 

Voila. You are now working in your local file with options to save your local file and also to synchronize to central.

Now you may think we’re done, but there’s one more item to cover before we close this topic.

 

More often than not, the issues mentioned at the beginning of the post crop up because of how we’ve opened the file. It also can happen if the file is opened with a new local created, then closed without saving anything or synchronizing to central. Say I open a file just to check something, but I’m not changing anything in the file. I go to close it and get a warning message that I’ve made changes that haven’t been saved:

But, Revit! I haven’t changed anything! I didn’t even touch anything; I only looked. My “undo” button is gray, but to be sure, I click “Do not save the project.” Then I get the following dialogue box:

Again, I haven’t touched a thing. I’m not sure why Revit thinks anything has happened that needs to be relinquished, but I click “Relinquish all elements and worksets” to be safe.

 

At this point, Revit seems satisfied and closes the file. Sometimes, however, this results in one of the “The central file has been moved or copied…” messages upon the next open. I’ll admit I don’t know my way around this one, and it’s rather annoying. BUT! We certainly can cut down on the opening error messages and warnings by following the Revit Best Practices for opening outlined above.

 

NOW STOP DOUBLE-CLICKING and have a nice day. :D

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