Linking files - best practices

[jeff.95551]

I've seen posts in the past about this, but I'm having a hard time finding them, especially with all the new forums.

I'm doing multiple building projects for the first time in Revit, so now we're linking files. I know a lot of you do this regularly, and I know that there are issues out there. For example:
Project location - besides the shared locations, which we're working on, linked buildings don't always seem to share the same 'z' location.

Editing a file linked into another building - Revit doesn't seem to like to have both (master file & linked building) open at the same time. Besides just getting really organized with workflow, how else can this be addressed?

Those pesky level tags in elevations and sections - every link and every copy of every link has them, and they can't be edited, moved, adjusted, or fixed. Seems you can globally turn off all the levels, but that's it...

Thanks,

Jeff

[mruehr]

For Different Z coordinate read up on Places and Location
Have a site Project link into it your Buildings For Every Building have a unique Location
controlling of Levels and other Visibility settings is under Revit Links Each link can be individually controlled
you can open a linked file in a new session of revit
there is a good tutorial on it in the Help Files

[chodosh]

Best practice is to control the location of every file from a single location, e.g. a coordinates file or your site file. Larger projects may require that said file be worksharing-enabled to assign each linked RVT to it's own workset and therefore compartmentalize the workflow. Architecture to Architecture is tricky, you will have a lot of duplication if any of your buildings share elements or spaces. Duplicated elements, as you alluded to, can include levels, grids, matchlines, etc. Copy/monitor is your friend in this and again, you may want one file to drive some of the standards and copy from that into all the others.
Best,
LC