Revit model takes a long time to extract or publish to BIM 360 or ACC

Autodesk Support

Mar 11, 2025

Products and versions covered

Issue:

Users reported that a Revit model takes a long time to publish to BIM 360 or Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) / Autodesk Docs. The following scenarios may also apply:
  • The upload process is fast, but the extraction on the BIM 360 Document Management / Autodesk Docs or Design Collaboration site takes several hours.
  • Publishing or extraction potentially fails after a long time (>18 hours). 
  • If the model is part of a Team folder, the Publishing State of the model can also be seen through the project status page. This can be seen in the Design Collaboration module (Following location shown).
Example from BIM 360 Design Collaboration
Publishing status in Design Collaboration.jfif

Note: Extraction timeout may occur after 18 hours.

Causes:

Model publishing time can be increased by the following factors: 
  • Large numbers of links in the model. 
  • Large numbers of views/sheets are selected in the Publish Settings in Revit. 
  • Large numbers of unused views in the model tree.
  • Large and complex geometry in the model.
  • The model contains overly complex families (for example, families imported from mechanical engineering software)
  • The latest version Revit 2022 has not been used to save and publish the file.

Solution:

Depending on the size and complexity, publishing can take several hours.

Points to consider

  1. To maintain a good project performance, it is required to keep the size and the complexity of the models (including all linked models) under control. It is best practice to set up a BIM execution plan to define the necessary level of detail of the individual trade models. Also make sure Revit is updated to the latest build.
  2. Consider publishing new versions overnight if significant or complex models cannot be avoided.
  3. Publishing is not necessary to make the current version of the model available for Revit users: Revit users can always access the "live" state of the model by syncing the latest changes. 
  4. Publishing is only required to show the latest version of the published views in the BIM Viewer (in the web browser). Also, to share and consume models in the Design Collaboration workflows, or to clash and coordinate models in Model Coordination.
Improve the model performance with the following steps:

Remove any unnecessary links from the model in Revit

Remove links using the following steps:
  1. Open the affected model in Revit.
  2. Open "Manage Links".
  3. Remove all unnecessary links.
  4. Save and publish the host model again.
Manage Links in Revit.jfif

Note: Check if any of the links shows a broken icon in BIM 360 Document Management.

Limit the number of views/sheets being published in the model

  1. Open the affected RVT file in Revit.
  2. Open the “Publish Settings”
  3.  Deactivate any views, sheets, or sets that do not need to be viewed in BIM 360.
  4. Save and publish the RVT file again.
Publish Setting in Revit.jfif

    Audit all (linked) models

    1. Open Revit.
    2. Open the model in the BIM 360 / Autodesk Docs area of Revit Home.
    3. Use the function “Open and Audit” for the affected RVT file and all files that are linked to it.
    4. Purge the files after the audit was performed.
    5. Save the models.
    6. Publish the latest version.
    Audit cloud models.jfif

    Remove unnecessary sheets or views from the Project Browser tree

    1. Open the affected RVT file and any linked files individually in Revit.
    2. Identify obsolete views in the project browser tree and remove them.
    3. Save and publish the model again.
    Remove unnecessary views and sheet from Revit model.jfif
    Note: Unused “dummy” views may have a negative impact on the overall performance of Revit files and specifically on the publishing performance.

    The following approaches can be used to improve the performance of the remaining (required) views:

    • Change the view style from “Realistic”, “Transparent” or “Shaded” to “Wireframe”.
    • If the view style of one or more views is set to “Hidden Line Views”, make sure the Print Setup is set to “Vector Processing”.
    • Reduce the Level of Details (LOD) of the views.
    • Reduce the View Depth.

    Simplify large and complex model geometry

    • Remove or simplify any individual objects that have been modeled with unnecessary detail. (For example, a steel grid can either be modeled with thousands of steel bars that add unnecessary complexity. Or it can be modeled as a simple "cube" or "panel" with a grid texture on it to reduce complexity. Usually, both objects add the same "visual" value to the model.
    • Simplify Revit families that have been exported from mechanical engineering software like Autodesk Inventor:
      1. Remove the overly complex family from the Revit model
      2. In the mechanical engineering software, export the model again.
      3. In the export settings, select a "simplify" or "shrinkwrap" option to remove unnecessary details like small drillings, chamfers, bolts, screws, and other features.
      4. Import the simplified family in Revit again.
    • Remove or simplify any unnecessary visualization objects (for example, detailed trees with individual leaves)
    • Remove any unnecessary "small" 3D objects (for example screws or bolts). Add these details to your 2D detail drawings instead of creating 3D data.
    • Reduce the Level of Detail (LoD) of overly complex Revit families.

    Note: Reducing the model size in a live project can be a challenging task. We recommend keeping the model size and complexity under control from the very beginning of a project. A "BIM Execution Plan" can help to provide the corresponding framework for all projects stakeholders. Refer to the following resources for more information:

    Open all (linked) models individually in Revit

    1. Open the affected RVT file and all linked files individually in Revit.
    2. Resolve any messages or warnings that come up while the model is opened: Revit: How to understand and address warnings.
    3. Once the models can be opened “in one go” without further messages or warnings, save the models and publish them again.

    Test-migrate the model to Revit 2022 or a later version of Revit

    Note: Revit 2022 is using new technology for publishing 2D views with increased stability and publishing performance. Do not perform the following steps of the production “live” model. Instead, save local copies of the affected RVT file and all linked RVT files and “test” migrate this copied data set to a test project. 

    1. Save local copies of the affected Revit files to your computer.
    2. Open the copied data sets in Revit 2022 or a later version of Revit. (This automatically triggers the migration).
    3. Save the copied models in Revit 2022 or a later version of Revit
    4. Publish or upload the Revit 2022 (or later version of Revit) data set to a test project.
    5. If the publishing is more performant than in older versions, consider migrating the affected BIM project to Revit 2022. Note: Make sure to include all project stakeholders in this decision because the Revit Cloud Migration is an irreversible process.

    Further tips

    • Use Publish Sets and publish them periodically. Publishing in smaller batches reduces the extraction time.
     

    Products:

    BIM 360; Construction Cloud; BIM Collaborate Products; Revit Cloud Worksharing; Revit Product Family;

    Was this information helpful?

    Need help? Ask the Autodesk Assistant!

    The Assistant can help you find answers or contact an agent.

    Ask the Assistant

    What level of support do you have?

    Different subscription plans provide distinct categories of support. Find out the level of support for your plan.

    View levels of support