Why Can't I Open My Model on BIM 360 from within the Revit Application?

If you've uploaded your Revit model to the BIM 360 Documents web interface and it's not appearing in the BIM 360 model list in the Revit application, here's what's going on...

Revit models can be stored in BIM 360 Documents in two ways:

  • When you upload them to the BIM 360 Documents web interface, they're stored as single-user Revit models on the BIM 360 cloud drive (and aren't openable from within the Revit application).
  • When you upload them to BIM 360 as Cloud Revit Models using the Collaborate > Manage Collaboration > Collaborate tool, they're stored as shared Cloud Revit models that can be accessed simultaneously by your project team (and can be opened from within the Revit application).

Although they appear to be similar in the BIM 360 Documents web interface, they behave differently based upon how they're uploaded to the cloud.

So, If you want to share your model with other members of your project team to work on simultaneously:

  • Open your project model in the Revit application.
  • Switch to the Collaborate tab and open the Collaborate tool.
  • Choose to Collaborate in BIM 360 Document Management.
  • Navigate to the folder in BIM 360 Documents where you'd like to create the Cloud Revit Model.

Once you've created the Cloud Revit Model (also called the Central Model), always open the Cloud Revit Model from within the Revit application.

  • Open the Revit applicaation.
  • Choose BIM 360 from the list of common locations at the left side of the File Open dialog.
  • Navigate to the folder in BIM 360 Documents where you created the Cloud Revit Model.

Never open a Cloud Revit Model from the BIM 360 Document web interface.  The web interface is a great way to share your latest published version of the Cloud Revit Model with others who don't have the Revit application installed on their computer, but as a model editor, always open the Cloud Revit Model from the File Open dialog within Revit.

Saving a Cloud Revit Model - Workflow
Saving a Cloud Revit Model - Demo