Error Message says "cannot open local and central files in the same session," but the central is not open

[jbrr27]

I used "Insert Views From File" to import views from another project (Revit File B) into my current project (Revit File A). A few minutes later, I tried to open Revit File B. Revit thinks its central file is still open, and gave me the message that the local and central file could not be open in the same Revit session.

There are two workarounds: Close Revit completely and reopen (obviously a hindrance to efficient workflow), or detach Revit File B from Central (may work if you're just copying a few objects into File A and closing File B, but still an unnecessary slowdown).  I experienced this for the first time today, but the only online forum I found referencing the issue showed it happening back to 2015 with no other solutions to date.   Is there any real fix?

[Simon_Weel]

Third option: start a second Revit session and open file B in that one.

[RobDraw]

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@jbrr27 wrote:

There are two workarounds: Close Revit completely and reopen (obviously a hindrance to efficient workflow), or detach Revit File B from Central (may work if you're just copying a few objects into File A and closing File B, but still an unnecessary slowdown). 

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If you are having to "copy a few objects" often enough that it slows you down and affects efficiency, maybe a different workflow is in order.

[jbrr27]

That could work as well, as long as you're not doing something that requires being in the same session for both models.  It's still a workaround rather than a fix though.

[jbrr27]

It's not copying the objects that's the slowdown.  It's Revit not allowing the model from which I want to copy to be opened in the current session.  When Revit isn't locking you out of opening the model in your session, it's a breeze to copy between models.  It was just one time in this case, so it's not a matter of frequency.