Make revit model cloud workshared

[MiWolff]

Revit models can be dragged and dropped to an open Docs window. This is fine for quickly looking at files - especially if you do not have the appropriate revit version available.

In order to make them cloud workshared, you need to remove them, open them inside revit, initiate collaboration, find your project again (which may still be open in your browser), go to the sub-folder you just removed the file from and ok it.

The idea is to allow to initiate any revit file from within the web interface. Any model older than or of the hidden version of the cloud project would be immeadiately updated to that version, newer models would not be altered. The logged in user needs to have the appropriate licences but other than that, I see no reason why this could not be implemented.

[webmasterY7WBQ]

I get what you’re aiming for, but I don’t think it’s as straightforward as it sounds.

Dragging a model into Docs is really just a storage/viewing action—it’s not actually “registering” the file as a live Revit Cloud Workshared model. That step still has to happen inside Revit because that’s where the model gets split into central/cloud data, permissions get applied, and version compatibility is validated properly.

If Autodesk allowed cloud worksharing to be initiated purely from the web UI, they’d have to solve a few tricky things behind the scenes:

• Handling version upgrades safely (especially with models that have add-ins, links, or custom families)
• Ensuring the collaboration cache + central model are created correctly
• Managing user permissions and licensing checks in a way that doesn’t break mid-process
• Avoiding accidental upgrades—once a model is upgraded, there’s no going back

That said, I do agree with your core point: the current workflow feels clunky. Having to remove → open in Revit → collaborate → re-save to the same location isn’t exactly intuitive, especially for teams managing lots of files.

A middle ground that would make sense is something like a “Prepare for Cloud Worksharing” option in Docs—basically a guided step that launches Revit with the right context and walks the user through collaboration setup, instead of doing everything manually.

Also, if you’re dealing with this at scale (multiple models, teams, versions), it’s worth looking into structured BIM workflows. We’ve seen setups—like what Tejjy Inc implements for clients—where project templates, folder structures, and collaboration steps are standardized so this process becomes a lot less painful and error-prone.

Right now though, I think Autodesk keeps it inside Revit deliberately to avoid breaking models during that critical conversion step.