Revit: “The central model has been copied or moved”- Issues saving or opening

Issues: When opening a Revit drawing you get the following error:

Causes: One or more users are pathed to the central model using a different mapped letter drive than others in the office.

When a central model is created, Revit stores the path of the central file as it appears on the computer creating it. If another computers pathing is different, the error above will pop up.

Another cause for this message is that someone physically moved the central model to another location/drive or IT swapped out the server.

Solution: Confirm that all users working on that project or any Revit model are mapped to the central file using the same folder.

To change the Mapped drive: (I recommend consulting your local IT professional before trying this)

1. Open a file explorer and go to “This PC”
2. Right click on “This PC” and select “Map a Network Drive”
3. In the drive list make sure you select the same drive letter as the other users
4. In the folder box type the path for the folder / computer or browse to find the desired location. To connect to the new location every time you log on, select the “Reconnect at sign-in” check box. Then select Finish.

See Image below.

Note: If you are unable to connect to the network drive or folder, the computer you are trying to connect to may be turned off, or you may not have admin permissions. Try contacting your network administrator.

To fix a file that has been moved to a new location.

1. Select open then navigate to the new location.

2. Select on the file and then select detach from central.

3. Select open to open the file.

4. Select save and save the file over the original file you opened.

5. Next close the file and re-open the central model to create a new local file.

About the Author

Sr. Support Specialist<br><br>Paul is responsible for client technical support as well as the set-up and configuring of plotters; support and service calls; and the installation, demonstration, and education of clients in AutoCAD, AutoCAD Architecture, AutoCAD MEP, AutoCAD P&ID, Advance Steel, Navisworks, Raster Design, Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, Revit Structure and 3D Studio MAX. He draws upon his years of experience as a technical engineer to assist customers in the creation and implementation of standards, the set-up of plotter and pen styles and the creation of custom blocks.

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