Performance Optimization in Revit

[s.messing]

I have been scouring the net and elsewhere to learn as much as possible about how to make a Revit file more "efficient" which in my case means faster (but also smoother/ cleaner). I have compiled a list that I would like to share. Any response would be appreciated. I hope to be helpful to others who are in my situation and also to be helped by those who have tried out some of these techniques. Maybe people can help me rank these issues with numbers or rate them as very important, important, or not important?

I will give an example project so that you can see where I am coming from: We have one project that is in the office now that is a slow monster! Eight story building on a plinth block with two stories of garage. 175 Megs; 8 person team; 6 standard worksets (core, shell, interior, grids, etc); several linked CAD files; several linked Revit files (Central, Structure, Existing, Site); 3 Gig switch; 3-8 min. STC times (sometimes more); 3-8 min. open times (local or central). There are many instances when the file is slow, but most especially when STC and usually when opening. So, without further delay, these are some of ideas about how to be more efficient in Revit. This list does not address hardware concerns, though it probably should.

1. Compacting Central and local files regularly (maybe once a week)
2. Making components instead of groups and in place familie
   
3. Uncheck preview image box in save menu
   
4. Opening specified worksets (not last viewed worksets)
   
5. Removing/ unloading linked dwgs
   
6. Only linking dwgs into necessary views
   
7. Limit locking of objects (unless necessary)
   
8. Turn on Open GL and overlay planes off
   
9. Clean (purge) unused families regularly
   
10. Save locally on your hard drive not on a server
    
11. Keep a "lean and appropriate" template file
    
12. Minimize the use of imported geometries (CAD or otherwise)
    
13. Use only the detail that you need in families
    
14. Don’t “over model” (don’t put in 100 unnecessary 3D toilets, for example)
    
15. Put things on worksets that are not visible by default (example: finishes)
    
16. When STC, have one open simple view
    
17. When STC, turn off shadows and shading
    
18. Staggering STC’s
    
19. Avoid or use carefully groups, arrays, and unit types
    
20. Start with generic types (walls, floors, etc.) and get more specific as necessary
    
21. Turn off shadows (for all views, and especially during printing)
    
22. Regularly review and fix warnings
    
23. Don’t pour hot coffee on your machine when you are unhappy
    
    

Anyway, I’d love to hear what you all think. Have a good day.

Thanks,

Stephen

[Wes Macaulay]

Your STC times are insanely fast given the size of the file and the team (more team members usually translates into longer STCs due to greater volumes of data to be reconciled).

Your tips are spot on... how is file linking for you in terms of drafting elements landing where they should?

[Dimitri Harvalias]

Great list and very important for all to realize what's going on in the background with Revit.
I have a team working on a 600,000sf multi-tower, one square block project with 3 users. The file is a mish mash of linked rvt and dwg's, design options etc.
They were having performance issues and I looked at the file. It was 207 megs and should be nowhere near that large at this stage. I compacted the central file and it went down to 57megs. Needless to say performance has improved.

[DaveP]

We've noticed that an occasional SaveAs seems to cut the file size down, too. Don't know if it just does an automatic Compact before the SaveAs, but it often makes the Central 70 to 80% the size of the original.

[dgraue]

Be sure to check through your families for duplicates. We discovered that a number of our families were duplicating for some reason so instead of just one "Tub" we ended up with "Tub-01" through "Tub-15". We had to select all instances of each one and change back to the original tub and delete the duplicates. After we worked through a number of family categories our file size reduced about 15%.

We also "Save-As" every three weeks and at project mile-stones to reduce the file size by 40%. (But the file size creeps back up a little each day. Revit files seem to compile extraneous data that can only be purged through "Save-As". Factory, do you have your best people working on a solution to this?

DG

[patricks]

Be sure to check through your families for duplicates. We discovered that a number of our families were duplicating for some reason so instead of just one "Tub" we ended up with "Tub-01" through "Tub-15". We had to select all instances of each one and change back to the original tub and delete the duplicates. After we worked through a number of family categories our file size reduced about 15%.

We also "Save-As" every three weeks and at project mile-stones to reduce the file size by 40%. (But the file size creeps back up a little each day. Revit files seem to compile extraneous data that can only be purged through "Save-As". Factory, do you have your best people working on a solution to this?

DG

I'm pretty sure Compact File does the same as a Save As, in terms of reducing file size.

[MikeJarosz]

Your STC times are insanely fast

First time I've ever heard STC called "insanely fast". Haven't heard that one in these parts.

[david.kingham]

Our STC times are very short (maybe 1 minute) on a 100mb project...made a huge difference to switch to a gigabit network

[neb1998]

Our STC times are very short (maybe 1 minute) on a 100mb project...made a huge difference to switch to a gigabit network

wouid make sence, on a 100 meg network your only getting about 10-12 meg real speed per sec

[Steve_Stafford]

Make a new local each morning. I know I know you don't have to but I hate waiting for a project to open and then waiting again while reload latest, does its thing. If you copy/paste a new local in the morning you just have to open the file, no reload required and it takes less time to boot...pun intended.

Further if you wait until the end of the day to do major project updates like replacing groups, changing all the sheets, replacing a few families that are all over the project...you'll find making a new local in the morning avoids having everyone reload latest to get these changes and you don't have to wait as long for STC because they aren't doing so, comes down to timing.

Also, the more Revit linked files you have the more slowly it will open initially. If they are on their own worksets you can choose not to open/load them initially either.