Our Ref: Your Ref: Date:

7-72-9490 – Kempinski Hotel - Muscat

REVIT
Working in a Worksharing Environment (Worksets)

For the purpose of explaining the concepts, the Kempinski Muscat Central file will be used, ie. 7-72-
9490_Kempinski Muscat_Central.rvt and the user will be dxbabc.

Creating a Local (working) File

1. In Options / Settings ensure your username is set correctly. eg. dxbabc

2. Open 7-72-9490_Kempinski Muscat_Central.rvt from

P:\7-72-9490\A15_cad\Revit\Model\Base_Central
3. Save a Local File. File / Save as / Project, save a file to C:\My Documents\7-72-9490_Revit Locals Files
Name the file as follows (with your username at the end); 7-72-9490_Kempinski Muscat_Local_dxbabc.rvt

Note; When the local file is saved, you will now have 2 save buttons, one for Save and one for
Synchronize with Central.

International Offices
SINGAPORE • CHINA • INDIA • MALAYSIA • UNITED KINGDOM • VIETNAM
 You can use either the 2 buttons on the quick access bar at the top, or the ‘Synchronize with
Central’ button in the Collaborate tab.
Important : Never do any work in the Central File. If you don’t have the 2 save buttons, you
are still in the central file. Ensure you save the local file before starting any work.

4. The file you have open is now your Local file.

Editing Worksets

1. Only make a workset editable if you know you need to do a lot of work in that area. For example, don’t take the workset ‘Core’ if
you only need to edit one wall. This will prevents anyone else from making change to any Core elements. Generally you are better
off borrowing items from the workset.
2. The worksets are set up so that certain elements of the project can be isolated, allowing you to work in a particular area without
loading all elements of the project. The project is broken down into separate buildings/zones. eg, Building 1, Ballroom, Basements
etc.
Important: when you are creating elements ensure that they are put into the correct workset.
3. Once you have finished working in a workset, relinquish it, save your local and Synchronize with Central.

Saving

1. Save your local file frequently. By

default, Revit will prompt you to save
every 30 mins.
2. Synchronize with Central
frequently. Always Synchronize with
Central at the same time you save your
local. If someone else is synchronizing
with central at the same time, wait a
couple of minutes and try again.

Important : If you only save

your local file and do not
Synchronize with Central at the same time, there is a danger that your local file can get too far
‘out of sync’ with the central file and you won’t be able to send your changes back to the central.

Before you Synchronize with Central, open the Drafting View named ‘SYNCHRONIZE WITH
CENTRAL’ from your Project Browser. This should look something like the screen above. This
is important as it saves in a simple 2D window back to the central file, which will ensure the file
will open more quickly next time you or another team member accesses it. In a worksharing
environment this is critical – particularly as the central file size increases.
Relinquishing

Whether you have Borrowed, or made a Workset Editable, it is important to ‘Relinquish’ all your
elements once you have finished working in that area. This frees up those elements for others to
edit.

To relinquish all of your elements;

1. Save you Local (button in the quick access bar)

2. Synchronize with Central (saves your changes back to the Central File). You can use either the button in the quick
access bar, or the Collaborate tab.
3. Select File / Relinquish all mine
4. Synchronize with Central (Lets the central file know that you have released all of the project elements).

Important : There are other ways of relinquishing, however, they can be problematic.
The above method is the most reliable and therefore recommended.

Relinquishing (when should I relinquish?)

1. When you are finished editing a workset or borrowing elements.

2. Whenever you leave your desk for any length of time (including lunch).
3. When you leave for the day.
Important : If you do not relinquish, you may be preventing another team member from working
in this area and it can be very counter productive within a teamwork environment.

Re-saving Local Files

There are times when your Local file will need to be re-saved;

1. If you cannot Synchronize with Central. Eg. your local file is ‘out of sync’ or corrupt.
2. When instructed by the BIM coordinator. This may be due to several reasons (archiving of central file, moving central file, etc).

To re-save a Local file, the process is identical to creating a local file for the first time. However, before
doing this, move your current Local File (and it’s backup folder) from it’s current folder on your C drive
(ie. C:\My Documents\7-72-9490_Revit Locals Files) into another location on your C drive, eg. Revit
Temp Local Backups.
Using the process for Creating a Local File, re-save the new local with the identical name (ie. 7-72-
9490_Kempinski Muscat_Local_dxbabc.rvt).
The reason for keeping the old local file is that if all of your latest work was not sent back to the central
file you may need to copy it across to the new file. Once you are satisfied that the new local file is up to
date, the old one can be deleted.

Worksharing Monitor

It is important that when working in a Revit team project that you open the Worksharing Monitor for
every session. Make it a habit of opening it as soon as you open Revit. It is accessed from the Add-Ins
tab under External Tools (see above). The workisharing monitor provides several useful functions;

1. It allows users to see editing requests from other users. A window will pop up alerting you that
someone has requested to edit an element that you own.
2. It allows you to see which file you are working in and who else is working in the file
3. It allows you to see when someone is Synchronizing with Central
4. It provides useful System Performance info.

Important Worksharing Practices

1. Do not run 2 sessions of Revit on the same computer. This can cause problems with worksharing and saving information back to
central.
2. Do not move your local file from one computer to another.
3. Do not take local files out of the office and work on them remote from the server and central file.
4. Do not use the same Revit username on 2 different computers to work on 2 local files.
5. Do not create new Worksets or Central Files without prior discussion with the BIM coordinator.

Working in a Revit Worksharing Environment is very different to other methods of design /

documentation. If certain processes are not followed, large amounts of work (and the team as a
whole) can be effected. If any of the above is confusing, please discuss with the BIM
coordinator rather than guessing or assuming the correct way of doing something.