Help, Revit files are eating my server memory!

[m_cahoon14336]

Using Revit, I have noticed our office file server is filling up fast. Some projects will involve one person, others will have worksets with 3 to 4 people. How are other firms dealing with this file growth? I know about the Revit back-up file that are created each time we save, but are there other files that I need to look at deleting from time to time? We also store files on portable back-up drives.

[Wesley]

Try doing a search on your server for this string: "*.0???.r??"
That will find all the backup files for all Revit formats - files, templates, groups, families. As long as you have a good backup system in place, you can delete them. My system is set for the backup to ignore them, and to delete any that it finds that are more than 30 days old..

With workset projects, make sure you turn down the number of backups that the file auto-creates (anybody - does it still default to 20??)

Cheers,
Wes

[The Sweg]

Another thing that you may want to consider is trying a 'Save As' and just slightly changing the file name (I usually just add a space or two at a strategic location in the file name when I'm finished with the project). Some kind fellow on these forums shared that with me not too long ago, and I found that it took my 54meg project down to 19meg. That starts to add up quick. Hope this helps!

[DaveP]

Which version are you on?

8.0 & previous versions put literally thousands of folders under the Central_backup folder. 8.1 cleaned up a lot of the backup files and now keeps most of the backups in a single file that's roughly the size of your Central file.

If you are on 8.1 and your problem is the *.000 files, I've attached a Batch file that will help clean those up. Just put this in the root folder of your project & double click on it. It will delete all *.000 files (OK, technically, its *.00??.r*) in all sub-folders beneath the folder the batch file is in.

[Wes Macaulay]

I think it still defaults to 20. The number of backups doesn't seem to affect storage requirements, but we are loving the new backup system 8.1 uses since the Matrix-like backup folder system is now gone.

[m_cahoon14336]

We are using ver. 8.1.