Learning how to copy in Revit starts with one habit that differs from AutoCAD: select the elements first, then run the tool. Get that order right and half the copying mistakes disappear.
This article runs from selecting the right thing, through the tools that copy inside one view, to pasting onto another level. To learn modelling and documentation end to end, see the Revit Architecture course.
Select elements in Revit: four ways and the order that matters
Every editing tool begins with a selection. The status bar spells out four moves: click to select, press Tab to cycle to another element, hold Ctrl to add, hold Shift to remove.
The Select button at the head of every tab holds five boxes that decide what may be picked at all.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Select links | Allows linked models to be selected. On |
| Select underlay elements | Allows elements of the underlay to be selected. Off |
| Select pinned elements | Allows pinned elements to be selected. On |
| Select elements by face | Allows a click on a face to select. Off, so by default only an edge selects |
| Drag elements on selection | Allows dragging the moment you click. On |
Select elements by face being off is the source of a familiar complaint: clicking the middle of a roof or floor selects nothing. In a 3D view the face is large and the edge is thin, so turning this box on makes selection far easier.
To take several elements at once, drag a box, and the direction of the drag changes the result.
Dragging left to right gives a solid box and selects only what sits entirely inside it. Dragging right to left gives a dashed box and catches anything the box touches. The second direction is the one for sweeping up a whole run, every wall along a line for instance.
Filter a selection and read the Properties palette
A dragged selection usually catches things you did not want. The Filter dialog, opened from the bottom right of the status bar, narrows it down by category.
| No. | Part | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Category column | One row per category. Clear a row and that group leaves the selection |
| 2 | Count column | How many of each category, a quick read of what the model holds |
| 3 | Total Selected Items | The running total, updated the moment you clear a box |
A daily example: drag over a whole floor, then filter down to doors alone to change their type, or to walls alone to change their height. Check All and Check None switch everything at once.
Once selected, the Properties palette tells you what you are holding.
| No. | Part | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Family and type | The top row names the family and type of what is selected |
| 2 | Category filter and Edit Type | Names the category with the count selected; the button beside it opens the type parameters |
| 3 | Base constraints | The base level and the offset from it |
| 4 | Top constraints | The top level, the height and the top offset |
Edit Type changes the type itself, so one click there can alter hundreds of walls at once. To change a single element, edit its instance parameters instead.
Where the modify tools sit on the ribbon
Select something and the ribbon opens a contextual tab whose name begins with Modify. Select a wall and the tab reads Modify Walls.
| Panel | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Clipboard | Cope, Cut, Copy, Paste. The Paste button carries a drop-down, covered below |
| Geometry | Join makes two elements one solid; Cut carves one element with another |
| Controls | Pin, unpin and the position controls |
| Modify | Move, Copy, Rotate, Mirror, Array, Align, Offset, Trim, Extend, Split, Pin |
The sequence is nearly the same for all of them: select, run the tool, then follow the prompt on the status bar. The options bar under the ribbon usually adds a tick box or two. Most tools carry a two-letter shortcut, MV for Move and CO for Copy among them, listed in full in Revit keyboard shortcuts.
How to copy in Revit within one view
The Copy tool, shortcut CO, copies and places the copy immediately. It is not the same as Copy to Clipboard, which only puts elements into memory for pasting later.
Four steps: select the elements, run the tool, click a start point, then move the cursor and click, or type the distance instead. Autodesk lists every method on About Copying Elements.
| Box | What it does |
|---|---|
| Constrain | Locks the direction, allowing movement only perpendicular or collinear to the element |
| Disjoin | Breaks the association with neighbouring elements first. The moved element takes a new element ID |
| Multiple | Places several copies in a row without restarting the tool |
These three are shared by Move and Copy. Disjoin deserves care: an element that has been disjoined carries a new ID, so schedules and tags pointing at the old one lose their target.
One more method deserves mention: Create Similar. Select an element, run the tool, and Revit opens the right command with that exact type already loaded, ready to place another.
Copy to another level with Paste Aligned
This is where Revit parts company with 2D software, and it is the question that comes up most. Copying inside one plan is the CO tool, but repeating a typical floor upwards goes through the clipboard.
| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Paste from Clipboard | Pastes and lets you pick the position with the mouse |
| Aligned to Selected Levels | Pastes onto one or many levels, keeping the plan coordinates. The one used most |
| Aligned to Selected Views | Pastes into another view. Greyed out when copying from a plan |
| Aligned to Current View | Pastes into the view already open |
| Aligned to Same Place | Pastes at the original position, for moving between projects on shared coordinates |
Four steps to paste onto another level. Select the elements in the lower plan. Press Ctrl + C. Open the drop-down under Paste and pick Aligned to Selected Levels. In the dialog, hold Ctrl to pick several levels at once, then click OK. Autodesk sets out all five items on Paste Aligned Elements.
Because plan coordinates are kept, each element lands in the same position upstairs, with its type and every instance parameter intact. Even so, open that level and check: doors and windows survive only where a wall exists at that spot, and the floor above rarely has the same walls.
The Revit array tool: linear and radial
The Array tool, shortcut AR, copies elements into an evenly spaced run. It suits a row of identical windows on a facade, a line of columns, or a row of seats.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Linear / Radial | A run along a straight line, or one following an arc |
| Group and Associate | Puts the whole run in a group. Clear it and the copies stand alone |
| Number | The total number of copies, the original included |
| Move To 2nd | The figure you type is the gap between neighbouring members |
| Move To Last | The figure you type is the length of the whole run, divided evenly |
| Constrain | Locks the direction, perpendicular or collinear to the element |
The two Move To settings cause most of the confusion. Pick 2nd and type 1200 and the members sit 1200 mm apart. Pick Last and type 1200 and the whole run is 1200 mm long, with the copies bunched together. Autodesk gives every step on Create a Linear Array.
A radial array works almost the same way, with one extra move: drag the centre of rotation to the right place before setting out, because it starts at the middle of the selected element.
Mirror, offset and align in Revit
These three cover what is left, and all three sit on the same Modify panel.
Mirror reflects a selection about an axis. There are two buttons: Mirror - Pick Axis uses an existing line or reference plane, while Mirror - Draw Axis lets you sketch a temporary one. The Copy box on the contextual tab is on by default; clear it and the element flips across instead of leaving the original behind. You cannot mirror about empty space, as the cursor needs a line to snap to.
Offset, shortcut OF, copies or moves an element parallel to itself. The options bar offers Graphical to drag the distance, or Numerical to type it. Tick Copy and you get a parallel duplicate; clear it and the element simply moves. The tool works on a whole chain of elements from the same family, which makes it the quick way to run a second wall line parallel to the first.
Align lines one element up with another. Pick the reference element first, then the ones to bring into line. Multiple Alignment handles several at once, and the Lock box adds a constraint so that moving the reference later drags the others along with it.
One convenience is worth knowing: Revit remembers these settings between uses. The Copy box on Mirror, the Constrain and Disjoin boxes on Move, and every Array option keep whatever state you left them in. Turn one on and forget it, and it is still on next time.
Try it: repeat a typical floor upwards
A ten minute exercise. Work on a project with at least two levels and some walls and doors already built.
- Open the ground floor plan, hover where a wall and a door overlap, press Tab a few times and read each candidate name on the status bar.
- Drag left to right across a corner of the building and note how many elements you catch.
- Drag right to left over the same area, compare the count, and explain the difference.
- Open the Filter dialog, clear every category except Doors, and click OK.
- Press Ctrl + C, open the drop-down under Paste and choose Aligned to Selected Levels.
- Pick the second level and click OK.
- Open the second floor plan and count how many doors arrived and how many were dropped.
- Select one of the pasted doors and read its Level box in Properties to confirm it sits on the right level.
- Select a window on the facade, press AR, set Number to 4 and Move To to 2nd, then array a run at 1200 mm spacing.
- Clear Group and Associate, repeat the array, and compare what happens when you delete one member.
Step 7 carries the real lesson: any door that finds no wall upstairs is simply dropped, which is why the destination level must always be checked. Placing doors and building door types is covered in how to add doors in Revit.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Copy and Copy to Clipboard?
Copy, shortcut CO, duplicates and places the copy in the view you are in. Copy to Clipboard puts the elements in memory so you can paste them later, including onto another level or into another project.
Why are some doors missing after pasting to the level above?
Doors and windows have to sit in a wall. Where the upper floor has no wall in that spot the copy cannot exist, so Revit drops it. Checking the destination level is part of the job.
Clicking the middle of a floor selects nothing. Where is the setting?
Open the Select menu and turn on Select elements by face. It is off by default, so only clicking an edge selects.
How do I make array members independent of each other?
Clear the Group and Associate box before setting out. Revit then makes the same number of copies without grouping them, so editing one leaves the rest alone.
Related articles
- Revit keyboard shortcuts — the two-letter codes for every modify tool
- How to add doors in Revit — placing doors and repeating them on identical floors
- Levels and grids in Revit — levels are what Paste Aligned pastes onto
- Revit project units and templates — set the units before typing any copy distance