Revit 2027 not remembering my custom docked UI locations (Project Browser/Properties)

[meganKU4LH]

No idea if this has been an issue for anyone else but it's the first time I've experienced it since 2015. 

I always prefer to have the Project Browser on the left side and Properties palette on the right. Revit 2027 stacks them both on the left and opens the new ai assistant on the right. Every time I was closing the ai assistant (sorry Autodesk) and docking the UI's to where I want them but after closing down Revit, I'd open it up the next day only to have everything default to the original positions. Only a minor thing but annoying nonetheless.

I went down a rabbit hole trying to figure it out and figured out that the RevitUILayout  file was missing. I further discovered that Revit creates this file naturally upon closing when you have changed the layout, but mine hadn't.

I believe the method of closing down was incorrect to instigate this process. I normally save and close the project file, and then close Revit via the X in the corner.

The solution was to:

1. Open Revit

2. Create a new project

3. Change the locations of the docked menus to what I want

4. Save the file ( just named it "test' so I could delete it later)

5. Instead of closing the file first, I just went to FILE - EXIT REVIT

When I reopened Revit the UI's were docked in the correct location. I tested it on multiple files and closed and opened the files ad Revit the way I usually did and they worked. I checked the AppData folders for the RevitUILayout and it now exists.

This was probably a very obvious solution  to a non-issue for those who are very familiar with the technical side of Revit, but even after using Revit for more than 10 years there are always quirks that happen when switching versions so hopefully this helps some of the noobs out there!!

[jose_Miquelao]

Revit stores docking and palette positions in the user-profile RevitUILayout file. If that file is missing or is not updated correctly, Revit can revert to its default workspace layout on the next launch—particularly after a version upgrade or when the new AI Assistant panel changes the default docking arrangement.

Your workaround is sensible:

1. Open Revit.
2. Create or open a project.
3. Arrange the Project Browser and Properties palette as required.
4. Save the project.
5. Use File > Exit to close Revit completely.
6. Reopen Revit and verify the layout.
7. Delete the temporary project if it is no longer needed.

Using File > Exit may give Revit the opportunity to commit the layout file cleanly. Closing with the window X should normally work as well, but if Revit is closing a document first, exiting during a busy operation, or failing to shut down cleanly, the layout state may not be written.

Additional precautions

Once the layout is correct, it is worth making a backup copy of the relevant RevitUILayout file. Its exact location can vary by Revit version and Windows user profile, but it is normally under the Revit user configuration folders in %AppData% or %LocalAppData%.

You can also try the following if the problem returns:

• Close every Revit project before exiting.
• Use File > Exit rather than terminating Revit through Task Manager.
• Check that Revit is not being closed by a logoff or Windows shutdown process.
• Verify that the user has write permission to the Revit user-profile folders.
• Check whether company profile-management or roaming-profile software is restoring an older layout file.
• Copy the working layout file to a safe location before experimenting with a new Revit release.
• If the layout becomes corrupted, close Revit, rename the existing layout file, and allow Revit to generate a new one.

The important detail in your discovery is that the layout file was missing, and that a clean File > Exit caused Revit to create it. That makes this more than simply a docking preference issue—it may indicate that the layout had never been committed to the user profile in the first place.

It would also be worth testing whether the behavior occurs only on upgraded installations or only when the AI Assistant panel is present, since either could explain why the issue appeared for the first time in Revit 2027.

[obulesub]

Hi @meganKU4LH, 

Good morning! Did you get a chance to look into the previous message from jose_Miquelao. Please check and kindly let us know your response. Thank you!