How to keep the size of Revit files manageable

Autodesk Support

Nov 11, 2024

Products and versions covered

Issue:

Revit file sizes (for local, network, or cloud-based models), including linked Revit files, can become very large, up to 2 GB or more. You want to know how to keep the file size manageable for better Revit performance.

Solution:

Check if any of the following issues apply

Revit file size increased due to ElumTools

Identify where the file size is coming from

Compact the model. This can be done by doing a Save As.
BIM Interoperability Tools - Model Check: Go through the following steps to better understand how loaded families are affecting the model size:

If not already installed, load the BIM Interoperability Tools into Revit.
Load the “Revit <Version> Best Practices” Checkset from the Public Library.
Run the Checkset.
Review the output for Model Performance -> Loaded Families to find the total size of loaded families and a list with the name/size of the loaded families.

More items to check/review:

Save a detached/local copy of the model so that the changes below will not affect the production model.
For each of the following steps, save a copy of the model with a new name and check the file size:

Purge unused families.
Remove all linked files.
Remove all sheets.
Remove all views (except for one).
Remove all in-place families.
Remove the loaded families (except where one instance must remain in the model) and purge unused families again.
Go to a default 3D view, draw a crossing selection box (from the bottom right to top left) over all the visible elements, and delete them.
Delete all but one level.