A revit project template settles the quality of a drawing set before anyone draws a line. A new model is a copy of its template, so whatever is wrong in the template travels with the job to the end.
This article does not repeat how to build one — that is covered in Revit project units and templates. It answers three harder questions: which template belongs to which discipline, how to check an unfamiliar one, and what to do when the project is already half drawn. To learn modelling and documentation end to end, see the Revit Architecture course.
What a revit project template is, and why one per discipline
A template is a model with every setting already made, used as a starting point. Autodesk states that it can hold view templates, loaded families, units, fill patterns, line styles, line weights, view scales, and geometry if wanted — see Project Templates.
The practical question is different: one template for the whole job, or one per discipline?
A small building drawn end to end by one person needs only one. A multi-discipline set needs one each, because the settings differ far too much to share.
| Discipline | What only that discipline needs |
|---|---|
| Architecture | Wall, floor, ceiling and roof types; door and room schedules; title blocks |
| Structure | Column, beam and foundation types; grid and level symbols to structural conventions |
| Electrical | Electrical Settings, circuits, device symbols |
| Plumbing | Pipe run settings, pipe slopes, sanitary fixture symbols |
| HVAC | Duct run settings, Mechanical Settings, filters by system |
| Fire protection | Sprinkler and hose cabinet families, symbols to fire drawing conventions |
The template set used in teaching at the Institute is split along exactly those six disciplines. The six models are then combined through linking Revit models rather than merged into one file.
Download the Institute's template set — free, no sign-up. One file per discipline, so you take only the one you need.
| Discipline | File | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | template-kien-truc.rvt | 54 MB |
| Structure | template-ket-cau.rvt | 55 MB |
| Electrical | template-dien.rvt | 121 MB |
| Plumbing | template-cap-thoat-nuoc.rvt | 18 MB |
| HVAC | template-hvac.rvt | 38 MB |
| Fire protection | template-pccc.rvt | 40 MB |
Two things to know before downloading. First, all six are .rvt files rather than .rte, so Save As under a new name the moment one opens. Second, the architecture, structure and electrical files were saved in Revit 2025, while HVAC, plumbing and fire protection were saved in Revit 2021. A machine running Revit 2025 or later opens all six.
How an .rte file differs from an .rvt file
A Revit template carries the extension .rte, a project carries .rvt. The difference is not in the content but in how Revit treats the file.
| .rte — template | .rvt — project | |
|---|---|---|
| Opened through New Project | Produces a new model; the original is untouched | Does not appear in the template list |
| Opened directly | Opens the template itself for editing | Opens the project |
| Pressing Save | Overwrites the template | Overwrites the project |
In practice many circulated template sets are really .rvt files. They still work, but one habit is essential: Save As under a new name immediately, or the first save overwrites the template itself.
To turn a project into a template use File › Save As › Template. To go the other way, open the template and Save As a Project. Autodesk sets out the methods on Create a Project Template.
Four things to check before trusting a template
Any template downloaded or handed over deserves a check first. Ten minutes of checking against a week of rebuilding the set.
- The Revit release it was saved in. The most dangerous of the four; the next section covers it.
- Whether it is .rte or .rvt. This decides whether Save As is needed at once.
- Units and scale. Type UN and read the unit set. An imperial template inside a metric set makes every dimension written afterwards wrong.
- Weight and unused content. Run Purge Unused the first time it opens. The method and the figure worth remembering are in Revit model performance.
One more check is worth the minute: open the Project Browser to see whether views are grouped, and open a sheet to see whether the title block matches the paper size you actually use. Building your own is covered in creating a title block in Revit.
The release a template was saved in decides who can open it
Revit has no downgrade path. A file saved in a newer release cannot be opened by an older one, and no command brings it back down.
For templates the consequence is concrete: a set kept for several years drifts apart between disciplines, because each branch is updated at a different moment. The common pattern is that architecture and structure have moved to a recent release while the services branch still sits a few years behind.
Then the person on the older release can open the services templates but not the architectural one, while the person on the newer release opens everything — and every time they save, the older file is upgraded with it, locking their colleagues out.
The tidy answer is to agree one Revit release for the team at the start of the project, then upgrade the whole template set at once rather than one discipline at a time.
How architectural, structural and MEP templates differ
The three branches differ across three layers, and each layer is harder to carry across than the one before.
The display layer. Architecture needs wall line work, material hatches, and the 1:100 and 1:50 scales. Structure needs heavier grid symbols and its own structural plans. Services need colour filters by system, which architecture never uses.
The discipline settings layer. This is where they diverge most. Mechanical Settings governs duct sizes and how duct runs are annotated. Electrical Settings governs circuit naming and device symbols. Architecture has neither dialog, and between electrical and ductwork the two have nothing in common.
The library layer. Each discipline loads a quite different set of families. Putting all six sets into one template only makes the file heavy for content nobody uses.
Hence the practical advice: do not try to build one universal template. Build a base holding what is genuinely shared — units, title blocks, text types, dimension styles — and branch each discipline from it.
Applying a template to a project already under way
A familiar situation: the job is half drawn when a proper template finally arrives. Starting over is out, but the settings can still be brought across.
The command is Manage › Settings › Transfer Project Standards. Four steps:
- Open both files: the template and the project in progress.
- Standing in the project, run Transfer Project Standards.
- In Select Items to Copy, choose the template under Copy from, then tick the groups you want.
- If the Duplicate Types dialog appears, choose Overwrite to replace same-named types, or New Only to take just the new ones.
What comes across: system family types, line weights, materials, view templates, object styles, mechanical and electrical settings, annotation styles, fill patterns, colour fill schemes, print settings and global parameters. Autodesk lists them in full on Transfer Project Standards.
What Transfer Project Standards will not carry
This is the part few people know, and the reason the command never quite replaces starting from the right template.
| Does not transfer | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| Floor plan and ceiling plan view types | Duplicate the type in the target project and set its properties by hand |
| Elevation and section view types | As above |
| Visibility settings for linked models | Set them again in Visibility/Graphics |
| Loaded families | Load them again from the library |
Three traps to remember, from Tips for Transferring Project Standards:
- Text types, dimension styles and arrowheads must go across together, because dimension styles call arrowheads. Sent separately, the relationship breaks.
- View templates and filters must also be transferred at the same time.
- If the target project already holds view templates with the same names, delete them before transferring to avoid trouble.
Afterwards, reopen a few existing views and check whether line work or symbols changed unintentionally. Switching display on and off is covered in hiding and showing elements in Revit.
Try it: check a template, then apply it to a project
A thirty-minute exercise. You need any template and a project already under way.
- Right-click the template file and read its size and extension. Note whether it is .rte or .rvt.
- Open it. Read the title bar to see which Revit release is running.
- Type UN and note the length unit and the number of decimal places.
- Open the Project Browser. Count the views and see whether they are grouped.
- Open a sheet and check the title block against the paper size you normally use.
- Run Purge Unused, note the Number of items checked, then click Cancel without deleting.
- Open the project in progress. Keep both files open.
- Go to Manage › Settings › Transfer Project Standards and pick the template under Copy from.
- Tick only Text Types, Dimension Styles and Arrowheads, then click OK.
- Open an existing view that has text and dimensions. Compare before and after.
Step 9 is the one worth doing carefully: it shows why those three groups have to travel together.
Frequently asked questions
Should a template be .rte or .rvt?
Prefer .rte, because Revit then produces a fresh copy instead of opening the original. An .rvt template still works; just Save As under a new name as soon as it opens.
Can one template serve every discipline?
On a small job drawn by one person, yes. On a multi-discipline set, split them, because services settings and architectural settings share almost nothing.
The project is already half drawn and the template arrived late. Now what?
Use Transfer Project Standards. Note that it will not carry plan, elevation or section view types, nor loaded families.
A template was saved in a newer Revit release. How do I open it?
You cannot, and there is no downgrade. Either someone on the newer release exports an intermediate format, or the team upgrades together.
Where can I download the Institute's template set?
In this article, in the first section. The six files download separately by discipline, free and without signing up.
Why is the template already heavy when I open it?
Because it accumulated for years. Run Purge Unused three times over; the drop is usually substantial.
Related articles
- Revit project units and templates — building a template and adding it to the list
- Linking Revit models — combining disciplines into one set
- Revit model performance — Purge Unused and keeping files light
- Revit terminology — a quick look-up for the settings named here