Three engineers working on one building, each keeping a private copy, end the week with three models nobody can merge. The person modelling foundations never sees the column that just changed size, and the rebar detailer follows a beam that no longer exists.
A Revit central file fixes exactly that: one master file sits where the whole team can reach it, everyone works in a local copy and synchronizes back. This article walks through 15 steps in Revit 2027 for a structural team, from enabling collaboration and splitting worksets by foundations, columns, framing and rebar, to borrowing elements, synchronizing and the failures that come up most often. For the full structural modelling and documentation workflow, see the Institute's Revit Structure course.
Revit central file and local: one model, many working copies
The central model is the master file. Nobody opens it to model. Each person opens the central with the option to create a local copy; Revit copies the model to their computer and appends their sign-in name to the file name. They model in the local copy and synchronize to push their work up and pull everyone else's down.
A workset is the unit of work inside the model. Every element belongs to exactly one workset. Whoever is editing an element holds the right to it, and anyone else has to ask. Worksets can also be closed, and elements in a closed workset are not loaded into memory.
This article covers the structural side. Copying grids from the architectural model with Copy/Monitor, reading Coordination Review and clash checking against MEP are in the article on Copy Monitor and worksets for MEP coordination.
Before you create the Revit central file
You need three things. A structural model with grids, levels and a few groups of elements; this article uses a four-storey building on piles. A folder that every computer on the team can read and write, to hold the central. And a workset naming convention the whole team agrees on before modelling starts.
Enabling collaboration is one-way. Once a file becomes a central model it cannot go back to a normal file. Always work on a newly saved copy, never on the file in use.
This article belongs to the Institute's Revit Structure series.
Create central file revit and split worksets by element group
The first eight steps are done by one person, usually the lead structural engineer. The team starts work only after these eight steps.
Step 1 — Save a separate copy
Open the model and go to File › Save As › Project. Give it a name that says central, for example KC_CENTRAL.rvt, and save it to the team folder. From here every action happens on the new copy and the old file stays untouched.
Step 2 — Enable collaboration on the network
On the Collaborate tab, click Collaborate. The Collaborate dialog asks how you will collaborate: Within your network for a local network, In the cloud for a model hosted on Autodesk's cloud platform. Choose Within your network and click OK.
Revit enables worksharing straight away without further questions. The Active Workset box on the ribbon shows Workset1, and the old button becomes Collaborate in Cloud. The file now has two worksets: Shared Levels and Grids holds grids and levels, Workset1 holds everything else.
Step 3 — Create worksets by element group
Click Worksets. In the Worksets dialog, click New, type a name and click OK. Repeat for each group. A structural team should split by the work each person takes on. The sample model uses Vietnamese names: KC - Móng for foundations, KC - Cột vách for columns and walls, KC - Dầm sàn for beams and slabs, KC - Cốt thép for rebar. LK - Kiến trúc and LK - Cơ điện hold the linked architectural and MEP models.
The KC and LK prefixes keep the names grouped in every list. When you close the dialog, Revit asks Do you want to make the … workset the active workset?; click No if you are not about to model in the new workset.
Step 4 — Isolate each group with Filter
Open a 3D view of the whole building and window-select everything. The Modify | Multi-Select tab shows a Filter button. The Filter dialog lists the count of each category; in the sample model that is 11 Floors, 30 Structural Columns, 8 Structural Foundations and 76 Structural Framing.
Click Check None, tick Structural Foundations, and Total Selected Items drops to 8. Click OK.
Step 5 — Change the Workset field and click Apply
Scroll the Properties palette to Identity Data, click the Workset field, pick the foundations workset and click Apply. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for columns, then for slabs together with beams.
Rebar only shows in views where rebar is visible, so open each 3D rebar view, window-select, filter to Structural Rebar and move it to the rebar workset.
Step 6 — Check with Worksharing Display
On the view control bar at the bottom, click Worksharing Display and choose Worksets. Revit colours each workset differently, and the view border turns orange with a Worksets label. Anything in an unexpected colour is still sitting in Workset1.
When you are done, choose Worksharing Display Off, otherwise the real colours of the model stay hidden.
Step 7 — Save as the central model
Go to File › Save As › Project and click Options.... In File Save Options, Make this a Central Model after save is already ticked and locked, because the file has worksets. Next to it, Maximum backups is 20 and Open workset default is Last Viewed.
Save over the same name. A KC_CENTRAL_backup folder appears next to the central; it is part of the central model, so never delete or rename it.
Step 8 — Release everything the creator holds
The new central still records its creator as owner of every workset. The Worksets dialog shows Editable as Yes on every row and the creator's name under Owner, so nobody else can edit anything yet. Click Relinquish All Mine on the Collaborate tab: every row goes back to No and Owner is empty. Then File › Close.
Create a revit local file for each person
From here each team member works on their own computer. Autodesk recommends creating a fresh local copy every day; the 2027 page Create a Local Copy of a Central Model describes the same opening procedure used below.
Step 9 — Set the folder for local copies
Local copies are written to the folder set in File › Options › File Locations, field Default path for user files. By default that is the Documents folder on drive C. If drive C is short of space, point it to another drive before creating the local.
Step 10 — Open the central with Create New Local
Click File › Open and select the central file. The Worksharing group at the bottom of the Open dialog has two boxes: Detach from Central and Create New Local. When you select a central model, Create New Local is ticked automatically. Leave it and click Open.
Revit creates KC_CENTRAL_<sign-in name>.rvt in the folder you set and opens it. A title bar ending in your sign-in name tells you that you are in the local copy.
Borrowing, editing request revit and synchronize with central
The last five steps repeat every working day. This is the part that decides whether the team runs smoothly or keeps blocking each other.
Step 11 — Pick the Active Workset before modelling
On the Collaborate tab, open Active Workset and pick the workset for your part, for example the foundations workset for whoever models foundations. New elements go into that workset. In a local copy the Synchronize panel has all three buttons lit: Synchronize with Central, Reload Latest and Relinquish All Mine.
Step 12 — Editing an element borrows it
You do not need to own a whole workset. Select a column in a workset nobody owns, change any property and click Apply: Revit borrows that column for you, and Edited by in Properties shows your name.
To see what the whole team holds, turn on Worksharing Display › Checkout Status. By default Owned By Me is green and Owned By Others is red.
Step 13 — Synchronize with Central with a comment
Open the arrow under Synchronize with Central and choose Synchronize and Modify Settings. The dialog shows the central path, lets you tick Compact Central Model when the file grows, and lists the kinds of rights to release after synchronizing.
Only the rows you actually hold are active; here that is just Borrowed Elements. Type a line in Comment, keep Save Local File before and after synchronizing with central ticked and click OK. Later in the day, Synchronize Now is enough.
Step 14 — Handle Editing Requests and Reload Latest
When you need an element someone else holds, Revit refuses and lets you send a request. The holder opens Editing Requests in the Communicate panel to see it.
Select the request and click Grant to hand it over, Deny/Retract to refuse, or Show to jump to the element. To load what others have just synchronized without pushing your own work, click Reload Latest. When the central has nothing new, Revit says There are no new changes to load.
Step 15 — Close the local copy properly
Close a local copy with unsaved changes and Revit offers three paths: Synchronize with central, Save locally and Do not save the project.
At the end of the day choose Synchronize with central. Save locally closes quietly with no warning, but every element you borrowed stays in your name in the central until you synchronize again.
Options worth setting for the team
- File › Options › General: Synchronize with Central reminder interval defaults to 30 minutes; keep it so Revit reminds you. Username is locked while you are signed in to an Autodesk account; your sign-in name is the name recorded on borrowed elements.
- Maximum backups in File Save Options defaults to 20, the number of backup versions Revit keeps in the central's backup folder.
- On a large project with several blocks, add the block to the workset name, for example
KC - Block A - Dầm sàn, so a block you are not working on can be closed entirely.
When it does not work
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Title bar has no sign-in suffix, Reload Latest is grey | The central was opened directly because Create New Local was cleared; Revit gives no warning | Close without saving, reopen with Create New Local |
| Duplicate name message when creating the local | An older local with the same name is already in the folder | Synchronize the old local first, then choose Overwrite existing copy, or Append timestamp to keep it |
| Sync reports Central Model Not Found, then File not saved | The central was renamed, moved, or the network drive dropped | Put the central back at its original path and synchronize again; never copy the central elsewhere yourself |
| The local cannot be created | Default path for user files is not writable or the drive is full | Change the folder under File Locations, free up disk space |
| Synchronize with Central is grey right after enabling collaboration | The file has not been saved as a central yet | Do step 7 |
| Nobody can edit anything right after the central is created | The creator still owns every workset | The creator clicks Relinquish All Mine |
| An element stays locked after its holder has gone home | They closed their local with Save locally | Ask them to open the local and synchronize, or send an Editing Request |
The Revit could not create a local model warning is explained on Autodesk's Cannot Create New Local Model page.
Common misconceptions
| What people say | What Revit 2027 actually does |
|---|---|
| Revit blocks you if you open the central by mistake | It opens normally with no warning; only the title bar and the Reload Latest button give it away |
| Reload Latest only lights up when there are new changes | In a local copy it is always lit; with nothing new it says There are no new changes to load |
| Save locally means the work is saved | Nothing reaches the central and borrowed elements stay borrowed |
| Worksets make the model lighter | Only closed worksets save memory; open ones load in full |
| You must own the whole workset to edit | Editing one element makes Revit borrow just that element |
The Revit central file framework is set up once and serves the whole project. The habits are what need practice: pick the workset before drawing, synchronize with a comment, release everything at the end of the day.
Frequently asked questions
Can the Revit central file sit on a personal computer?
Yes, as long as its folder is shared and every computer on the team can read and write it. When that computer is off, nobody can synchronize, so a server or shared network drive is the better place.
Can I send my revit local file to someone else?
Better not. A local copy is tied to its creator's sign-in name and central path. To send a model outside the team, open the central with Detach from Central to get an independent file.
Should a revit workset follow floors or element groups?
Follow how the team splits the work. If people take foundations, frame or rebar, split by element group as in this article. On a multi-block project, add the block so unused parts can be closed.
How often should I synchronize with central?
Revit reminds you every 30 minutes by default. A structural team should synchronize after each complete piece of work, before breaks and at the end of the day.
I sent an editing request revit and nobody answered?
The holder has to open their local, go to Editing Requests, click Grant and synchronize before the right passes to you. If they are away, the simplest route is to ask them to synchronize and release as soon as they are back.