Issue:
Are you getting warnings or error messages in your Revit model? Are those warnings making the model slow to open or making the file crash? Are there some warnings that are more important than others? Can some be ignored? Fixing warnings is not difficult but can be time consuming. This blog will go over some helpful tips to address these issues.
Causes:
Large Files
Excessive number of groups in a file
In place families placed in multiple locations
Grouped Arrays
Model Lines
Solution:
Understanding Revit Warnings is important to your success at a functioning problem free file. There are a few types of warnings that can pop up from time to time. Some of those can be ignored and some cannot.
Ignorable Warnings: Sometimes while working or performing an action a Warning pop up will be triggered and show up in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. It will have a yellow tinted background and no action buttons. If you click anywhere on the screen the warning will be dismissed. No action is required to continue. Think of this warning as Revit’s way of saying “HEY! I just want you to know the current action means …”
Action Dialog – Can be Ignored: These will also appear in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. These messages include a dialog box with action buttons. There will be 3 buttons, an action button, ok and cancel. The action button can change depending on the warning and what Revit is suggesting you do to fix the issue/ warning. If you want to ignore the message, you can click the Ok button and it will close the warning. It will not resolve the issue. Clicking Cancel allows you to change your mind and not follow through with the action Revit is suggesting. IF the suggestion Revit is giving is not one that you want to follow through with, you can click ok and perform another solution.
OR
Action Dialog – Cannot be ignored: These pop-ups will look similar to the last except there is no OK button. It is greyed out. It will not allow you to ignore them. The options are to perform the action Revit is suggesting or to select cancel and try another option or fix the issue that caused the warning. Then try again. These types of warnings are Revit’s way of saying “HEY! Stop what you are doing and make a decision to continue.”
If the warnings are left unresolved for a long time they will compile, and this can cause slow performance and even model corruption if it gets bad enough.
To help prevent build up and issues, it is a good idea to check the Warnings dialog on a regular basis and address issues before it stops work.
Additional Tips:
Oversized families
This happens all too often. Once the families are exported you can sort by file size and do some clean up. The ideal file size for families is under 1mb. If the families are over 2mb the files will need to be cleaned up or rebuilt to fix.
How to export families
**I have a designated folder where I can export all families into. This should be a place where there is plenty of storage space available. **
1. In the project browser go to Families, right click and select Save.
2. Then path them to the family export folder. Make sure it’s set to “All Families”, this will save all families in the model. Then select “Save”.
3. If Revit stops exporting a family and gives a warning you will want to note which family is giving the issue. If you hover your mouse over progress bar while exporting, it will show a portion of the name of the family to help. You can also expand the warning pop-up and export it with the family name.
4. Export and save the html file with the same name as the family. After it is saved, the next option is to continue to the next family to export. Repeat this process until all the families have been exported and saved. Then go through the html files to fix any damaged families and reload into the rvt file.
5. The html file gives the element ID’s listed in the warning:
Conclusion:
Running Audits and purges often on your models as well as cleaning up errors right away will keep all models healthy and working properly.
About the Author
More Content by Heather Volk
