topic Re: Relative path issues in Revit Architecture Forum

Relative path issues

spm8C88E — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 15:10:42 GMT

Hi, My company has a few different offices, 2 work on the same server and 1 has its own server. Most of the team working on this office server based project are on one server, but I am on the other with access to their server. The thing is their server has a different name for me. The linked model is set to relative path, but revit shows the path all the way back to the server name. So when I open the model I get an error because the path is not right. Is there some way to tell revit only look back 2 folders for relative paths? It seems like the relative path here is acting like it's absolute.

Re: Relative path issues

Basam.Yousif — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 15:46:19 GMT

1. Can you make the server path the same for all of you?

2. Put all models in same folder as the model, and they will load for all users.

3. Use the cloud.

Re: Relative path issues

spm8C88E — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 11:25:05 GMT

Hi, thanks for the suggestions.

1. As far as i know changing the server is not possible.

2. Currently all the models are in the same folder, but as you see in the attached image, despite having a relative path, revit is looking all the way back to the server for the linked file. How do I tell revit beyond setting it as a relative path to stop looking all the way back to the server?

3. Not possible due to cost.

Re: Relative path issues

TripleM-Dev.net — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 20:39:15 GMT

The host model, it that a workshared model?

If so and you are not getting moved central warnings the models are accessed from the same path.

If the linked model is in the same path it should work.

Reading the different servernames I would expect workshared models issues.

- Michel

I do believe the path is internally saved as relative, but will be shown as absolute.

The relative path is determined from the location of the Central model (or the open project file if not workshared)

Re: Relative path issues

SteveKStafford — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 21:14:37 GMT

Unless your network is using Revit Server and/or a replication system service that supports Revit worksharing you're living dangerously, meaning file corruption and losing work.

The path Revit uses to find a central file depends on the mapping used by the person who enabled worksharing initially. If your mapping points to \\ServerName01\Projects\MyProject01 and the other users are mapped to \\IPAddress\Projects\MyProject01 Revit regards those as unique and different paths and it will treat other users attempts to create a local file as working on a different central file than you...thus the warnings.

One possible solution is to use the DOS SUBST command to create a virtual path that will fool Revit into thinking that your share to the server is the same as the server the others are using. You'll need some EyeTee support to get that working reliably.

None of that resolves the underlying danger however of working across a WAN without file synchronization that is specifically designed to allow Revit worksharing to function.

Re: Relative path issues

spm8C88E — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 07:27:31 GMT

Hi @SteveKStafford

Thanks for this info, unfortunately i'm not very knowledgeable on servers and the IT side of things so i will bring this up with our IT. Simply put I believe the issue is that I have access to the other server but it is called A: for me and to everyone else working on the project the server is named B: and everything else is the same. I now have a login such that the server will be called B: for me as well. So i was hoping this solved the problem, but now I'm concerned because I was the one to enable worksharing on the models before I had a login account with the correct server naming. If i only access those models through the same server would this be workable or do i need to start over entirely?

So far the issue seems to be with the linked models having different paths, which is why i was concerned that relative pathing wasn't working. I don't believe anyone has received an error when creating a local file or synching to the central.

Re: Relative path issues

SteveKStafford — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 18:55:59 GMT

When you compare the path displayed at the top of the Synchronize with Central dialog with the other people working on the project they should show the same information, exactly. If that's not true then whoever is different will get a message when they attempt to create a new local file. It sounds like you've resolved it for now though.