Revit - Managing Backup files for single user projects

By Dennis Collin

When users first start to use Revit there is often a question as to why Revit creates so many files, whether that is project files with a RVT extension or family components (RFA).

These files invariably are named with a number sequence as a suffix to the saved name and sit in the same folder as the expected files. These files however are simply backup files with the most recent backup having the highest number. Simply checking the time date stamp will verify this, the latest version of the file will usually be the named file without a number suffix.

These backup files can be deleted if not required, but it may sometimes be worth keeping them in the event of file corruption or if there is a need to ‘roll back’ the project. Revit will manage the number of files and will, by default, only keep the 3 most recent backups so when a file is saved for the 4^th time the oldest backup will be deleted automatically.

This setting is found under Revit file save options.

For a Workshared file the management of project saves is different and controls can be accessed from the Collaborate tab on the Ribbon menu.

For single user projects and families, the accumulation of backup files can be a little annoying, but there are a few useful plug-ins that place these backups in a sub directory which can help keep a project folder tidy and more organised.  One example plug-in is the Backup File Organiser, free to install and download from the Revit App store. This utility permits users to set number of backups, specify backup folder locations and apply different backup rules for families, project and template files.

 More information on this plug-in be can found here:

 https://apps.autodesk.com/RVT/en/Detail/Index?id=2121364206361622178&appLang=en&os=Win64

An Autodesk login will be required to download and install this application.