FAMILIES DUPLICATED BY REVIT

PROBLEM:

You discover there are multiple copies of families in your project.

CAUSES:

Revit has been presented with 2 families that have the same name, but different contents.

This can be caused by a number of scenarios including:

Copy & Pasting Families

If you Copy to Clipboard (Ctrl C) and Paste a family from one Revit project to another, that has the same name but do not have identical contents.

This also can happen if you copy and paste Groups containing families between project files.

The Family on the right below had an extra extrusion added to it, so Revit loaded it as a separate family and renamed it.

Not Synchronising with Central often Enough

You make changes to a family, reload it into your project, but do NOT Synchronize with Central.

Then some-one else makes their own changes to that family, but DOES Synchronized with Central.

When you do eventually Synchronized with Central Revit sees that the family you changed (which is in your local file) is different from the one in the central file so renames yours.

Editing Families by Opening them from a Project File

Some-one has made changes to a family and reloaded it, but NOT Synchronize with Central.

You open the family from inside the Project file using the Edit Family command.

You make changes to the family, reload it into your project.

BUT you have actually edited a superseded version of the family – some-else had already changed it.

When you Synchronize with Central Revit sees that the family you changed (which is in your local file) is different from the one in the central file so renames yours.

PREVENTION:

DON’T copy and paste families between project files unless you are sure the family does NOT already exist in the file you are pasting in to. Alternatively open the families to be pasted and load them into project. Once all are loaded then Paste.

DON’T copy and paste groups containing families between project files unless you are sure the families do NOT already exist in the file you are pasting in to.

ALWAYS Synchronise to Central immediately after reloading a family.

Do NOT edit family files by opening them from within a Revit project. Find them on the server and open them from there.

FIX THE PROBLEM:

You need to identify which family is correct (the one that has the changes wanted in it - remember this happens because some-one has changed a family).

Usually this will be the duplicated family - i.e. with a 1 or 2 at the end of its name.

First go to a view where the family can be viewed (i.e. will be visible).

TIP: create a 3D view without a Section Box or Cropped view, turn off everything you are not looking for.

In the project browser find the family you want to get rid of, highlight one of its types.

Right click, go to Select All Instances, and pick In Entire Project.

Zoom out until you can see at least one selected instance of of the family.

If the selected instances are NOT in a Group (or multiple Groups) follow instructions below.

If they are on a group you will have to edit each group, find the family instance and change it to the correct family & type.

Deselect (pick anywhere)

Select one of the family instances that were selected.

Right click, go to Select All Instances, and pick In Entire Project.

In the Properties window change the family and type to the one you want to keep.

Repeat for other types (if there are other types in the family).

When done delete the family.

But first check it is no longer used.

Find it in the Project Brower, highlight one of its types, right click, go to Select All Instances. If In Entire Project is grayed out there are no instances in the project.

Repeat for other types.

When done highlight the family in the Project Browser, right click and select Delete.

NOTE: If a warning comes up saying there is an instance still in the project, check to see if it is in any Legends.

(Alternatively do a Purge Unused to get rid of duplicated families no longer used).

If you have kept a duplicated family (e.g. SE_CALL_EMERGENCY1), rename it (e.g. to SE_CALL_EMERGENCY).