Here's this scenario. Whenever I start a beginning Autodesk® Revit® class or a presentation on the virtues of Revit and BIM (Building Information Modeling), I love to point out that Revit and BIM are basically a single file. "No more praying that all of your external references have resolved, no more relying on fields in AutoCAD® Architecture's Project Navigator, no more convoluted Windows file structures, no more... yes, you have your hand up. Do you have a question?"
"Um. Yes. I have the unique situation where several people in my office will be sharing the same file. How are we supposed to work on the same model?"
"There will be a central file. The users will actually save a copy of that file and work in that copy. Any changes made can be saved back to the central file and the rest of the team. I WILL be covering this a little later, but right now I want you to understand the basics of Revit before we get into it," I reply, then go back to my little "Revit is wonderful" rant. "'Blah, blah, if it wasn't for Revit I'd go back into construction and alcoholism'"... Yes, you in the back there with your hand up. Question?"
"Yes. My firm has this unique situation where... Well, I am an interior designer. If I am working on a material on a wall, I can't have somebody else making changes to the same wall. How am I supposed to get around that?"
"We can designate specific worksets to ensure you that nobody is making changes to the same objects. But we will get back to that," I say, continuing, "So, yeah, back when I was using AutoCAD® I actually designed a noose. I swear I was ready to... question up front here?"
"My firm has this unique situation where we will have people working on details while others work on the plans. How does that work?"
I reply with a blank stare, and then proceed to open up Windows Explorer in search of NOOSE.DWG. "Okay, why don't we talk about worksharing?"
The reason I shared this little tidbit with you is because file sharing is a crucial aspect to using Revit in a multi-user environment. You can't get around it. Although it is considered an "advanced topic" (to be honest, it's one of the easiest things you are going to learn) it is one of the first things to consider when you start a project. But, hey, don't worry. This "saving to central" business is easy. I have seen many papers and presentations painting a picture of these long and arduous processes, but IT IS EASY!
Let's break it down, shall we?
Before I begin with the "Here's what you do first. Here's what you do second" part, I want you to just see this basic flow chart illustrating the concept of a networked Revit environment.
Here's how it works!
- Start a new Revit model.
- Draw some exterior walls and some interior partitions. (Of course, if you have an existing model. feel free to implement this lesson to it. But do yourself a favor though and create a back up.)
- Click on the little "puzzle piece" button at the top of the screen. This is the Worksets button.
- If you do not have this button, you can simply right-click on any icon and select Worksets from the list. This will bring up the worksharing dialog.
Let's discuss what we are doing here for a moment. Any time a dialog gives you a warning that what you are about to do takes "careful planning and management" you should worry. Okay, don't worry, but just know that when we enter worksharing and save this file (as a central file), the worksharing mode is irreversible.
- Select OK.
- The next dialog that will show up is the Worksets dialog. This is where we can add and delete worksets.
What a workset does
We use Worksets to physically divide our model into "parts." For example, if you are planning to work on an elevator shaft, you can create a new workset caller Elevator Shaft. You can then select the walls and families that compose the elevator shaft. You can then move the items to this newly created workset. If you are the owner (see dialog below), and you change editable to yes, then you are the only one who can modify these items until you relinquish the workset.
The difference between owning and borrowing
There are many instances where a workset needs to be worked on by multiple users. This can be done by simply borrowing the workset. All you have to do is start working on the item you wish to modify as you always did. If nobody else on the team owns the workset, you can modify to your heart's content. If you happen to select a specific component that another user is editing, Revit won't let you do it. You can then place a request to ask the user to relinquish the item.
So, Owning a workset disallows all other users access to the items on that workset. Borrowing a workset gives users access to the entire workset with the exception of the item you are currently modifying.
- Open the Worksets dialog if you closed it.
- Click the New button.
- Create a new workgroup called Exterior Partitions.
- Create another new workgroup called Building Envelope.
- Click OK.
Central Files and Local files
Central
The next time we save this file, it will be considered a "central file." The illustration at the beginning of this article explains it best. This is the file you are going to open up and save as your local copy. The only traffic into this file should be just this. Opening and saving as. You are not to work in this file unless you are the project lead or the designated BIM manager. Design changes should only occur in your own local file.
To create a Central file, the procedure is as follows:
- Activate Work sharing.
- Create Worksets.
- Go to the File pull down menu and select Save As…
- Before you save the file, click on the Options… button on the Save as dialog
. Notice that the "Make this a Central File after save" button is checked and grayed out. This will be a central file whether you like it or not. Also notice that the default for the number of backups is 20. Make your IT manager happy and set that back to 1.
- Click OK.
- Give it a name that makes sense. Normally it is the job number and the word central.
2007-07_CENTRAL.rvt
- Once the file is saved, notice the regular save icon is grayed out and the save to central icon adjacent to it is active. This is how you know you are in the central file.
- Open up the worksets dialog.
- Choose No for the Editable category. This will clear all ownership. By default, the person who creates the worksets and the central file is the proud owner.
- Save the model.
- Close the model.
Local
To create a local file, the procedure is as follows:
- Open the central file.
- Immediately do a File > Save As.
- Save it to the location that has been specified to you. Some firms like their users saving it to their local hard drives, while others create a username directory in the job folder on the network.
- You may have to overwrite an existing local file. Autodesk recommends doing this every day.
- Give it a name that is specific to you and the project. For example, I would save my file as
1007-07_Eric_local.rvt. This includes the job number, my name, and states that it is local.
- You can now start working away. Once you start editing items, you will become the borrower of the worksets the items are on. If you don't want anyone else working on a specific workset, open the worksets dialog and change the editable category to Yes. This will place you as the sole owner of the workset.
If you have not done so, follow the numbered procedure for Central and Local.
Next month, I will conclude this two-part article series by examining the day-to-day-operations. See you then!
(Discuss this Article! in the HotNews Discussion Forums.)
Submitted by Eric Wing, who has been in the building, architectural design, and structural engineering field for 15 years and has been managing, teaching, and presenting Autodesk applications for 10 of them. Eric’s activities within AUGI include: ATP Director, Survey Manager, ATP instructor, HotNews columnist and AUGIWorld columnist. He serves as an Application Engineer for IMAGINiT, a large Autodesk reseller. He can be reached at atpmanager@augi.com
