Why re-link the Central file?

Issues with central files are well-known, when working with Worksharing in Revit. There could be many reasons for ending up with unusable central file. Most common reasons are central file being corrupted, overwritten, worksets issues, etc. Read more about the eventual causes on Autodesk webpage.  

IMPACT users will need to make a new copy of the central file and continue working on the model. This could be an issue if there are already saved elements in the database, as those will appear double when resaving. 

IMPACT provides a sustainable solution that you can use in such situations without getting double elements in the IMPACT database/ Project Manager. There is a checkbox, called Retain IMPACT Element IDs, that appears when linking the model, if IMPACT detects that there are elements that have been saved in the IMPACT database before. The picture below illustrates the solution. 

The workflow is described in steps below. Once the steps are fulfilled, the user can continue working on the project by usual workflow. 

Figure 1 - New development that retains the Element IDs, after the user relinks the central file. 

Steps to re-link Central model

1. Locate the unusable/corrupt/overwritten/etc. Central model in IMPACT project folder. 

Figure 2 - Locate the Central file that needs to be relinked to the IMPACT project. 

2. Go to Revit -> Open file -> Project. Find the unusable Central model in IMPACT project folder and mark the checkbox Detach from Central, as shown below. Afterwards press on Open. 

Figure 3 -  Mark Detach from Central. 

3. Choose ´´Detach and discard worksets´´ option. A detached copy of the Central model will be opened. 

Figure 4 -  Choose Detach and discard worksets. 

4. Press on Save As in order to save the detached copy of the Central model. 

IMPORTANT:  Save the detached copy of the Central file on a location different that than IMPACT project folder. For example Desktop. 

IMPORTANT:  Remove ´´_detached´´ from the file name, when saving in order to keep the same name of the Central file. It is important to keep the same name, so that IMPACT will recognize the central file, when linking again later. 

Figure 5 -  Save the detached central file with the same name. 

5. Remove or rename existing corrupt central file from the IMPACT project folder.

Do the same with the backup folder.

In the example below, the corrupt Central file is renamed to ´´CENTRAL MODEL_OUTDATED´´. The backup folder - CENTRAL MODEL_OUTDATED_backup 

Figure 6 -  Rename or remove the unusable central model in the IMPACT project folder. 

6. Now open the detached copy of the Central file.

Figure 7 -  Open the detached copy of the central file. 

7. Link the file to the same IMPACT project via Link Project command.

Now it is time to link the detached copy of the central file to the IMPACT project. If there are saved elements in the detached copy of the central file, IMPACT will detect their IMPACT Element IDs. 

IMPORTANT:  Check Retain IMPACT Element IDs when linking the model to the IMPACT project. This will keep the same element IDs in the model you are linking and will prevent double elements in the database / Project Manager. 

If there are no saved elements in the detached copy of the central file, there are no assemblies with IMPACT Element IDs either.  In this case, the Retain IMPACT Element IDs checkbox will not be shown, because IMPACT will not detect any saved elements in the Revit model. 

Figure 8 -  Check Retain IMPACT Elements IDs

8. Activate worksharing and close the file. Now this file is the new central file in the IMPACT project. Read more in Create IMPACT Revit Central file article. 

Figure 9 -  Activate worksharing 

9. Before opening a local file, you will need to delete all local files, associated with the previous Central model from your machine. 

IMPORTANT:  Search the folders on your machine, where you usually store local files. If an outdated local file with the same name exists, this will trigger an error in the further process. 

Figure 10 -  Delete all local and backup files, associated with the old central file. 

10. Open a local file. In the example below, IMPACT Project files function has been used. Read more in Create IMPACT Revit Local file article. 

Figure 11 -  Open a local file. 

11. Check the properties of a saved element. The IMPACT Element Mark and ID are retained. If the user resaves the element, IMPACT will keep the ID and in that way dublicates of elements will not appear in the database/ Project Manager. 

Figure 12 -  Element IDs are retained.