Unable to copy elements from file - Insert From File error

[Anonymous]

Hello all,
I have implemented a system for a detail library. The idea is to have a Revit file containing a large number of details. The details are broken up with view naming as well as the project browser and placed on sheets set up for a number of known construction types. When in the project I use the “Insert from file” command/tool to bring in the sheet thus bringing all the associated drafting views. All the views contain only 2D elements and no elements reference any 3D model geometry or it associated annotations much like the ones listed in the Revit help (below). Sometimes I get the error/warning massage “Unable to copy elements from file.”.
I have an unproven hypothesis that contains holes in it’s theory. One I believe that when purging a project it removes unused types of families. I think this somehow in the database indicated the family is now different and thus you are not given the option to replace the family with a newly updated one coming from the source file being inserted. Secondly It may not know how to handel the difference resulting in an error. I know that to date that I can copy/insert everything to a new RVT when the file is blank. Ok, so there is something in my file that I have created that I must remove first. I have tested and removed elements one at a time hunting for the bad element. As soon as I thought I had it another test would show that it would work with this same element.
While an answer may not be imminent the hierarchy, theory or evaluation process of Revit may be useful in troubleshooting this issue thus I welcome the smallest insight. Below you will find a image of the Revit help that I referenced above as well as a number of users with the same issue.

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=80153&highlight=cant+insert+from+file
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=81255&highlight=cant+insert+from+file
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=75043&highlight=cant+insert+from+file
http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=73480&highlight=cant+insert+from+file

[Anonymous]

Only Drafted and schedule views in Revit can be saved out to files and then inserted into other projects.

Mel Persin, aia

[Anonymous]

Thanks, for the response. All content is Draftings views and Schedules with no ties to any Model elements. Edited by: wakorb on Apr 9, 2009 5:30 PM

[Anonymous]

I recently had this happen to only one of eleven detail libraries I had been working on. I finally tracked it down to one (or maybe two) detail component families modified in an earlier version, that for some reason when upgraded become extremely "finicky" as to insertion points/work planes. When these were deleted and purged from the library, then the drafting views would come in. I had to go through the details, and then insert these again from the 2009 library, and re-modify those again to do what the previous versions had been modified for.

I had been under a crunch, so failed to save a version of the library before the changes to file a support request with the factory. I'd advise you to file the request, then diagnose the issues.

[Anonymous]

THANKS Scott, for your response and your continuing commitment to share and discuss. I sent off a request to ABC a few days ago but have got nothing from them yet. I did the same tracking it down to some items only to find that at other times they would work. It is just frustrating.

[Anonymous]

I have a very similar issue (see following link). Were you able to find a solution or explanation?

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=102843

Thanks,
Ben

[Anonymous]

I have attached the response from Autodesk product support. I found this to back up what we thought as well.

[activistarchitect]

I had this same issue.  I have a work around.  It's tedious, but it can go pretty fast once you get used to it. 

1) Open the detail view of the detail you wish to import. 

2) Delete linked callouts if there are any. (remake them later in the destination sheet file)

3) Copy the detail to the clipboard.

4) Open the sheet view that you want to add the detail view.

5) Create a NEW detail view, and title it the same as the detail on your clipboard.

6) Paste from the clipboard into your 'new' detail view.

++++the key here is that it does recognize that there are families, etc with the same name in the new revit file, BUT it updates the imported ones with the current versions in the current file.++++

7) Insert the new detail view into the sheet.

If the PASTE doesn't work, (it didnt for me sometimes), then I CUT and pasted the stubborn detail in the same place and the nfor some reason it worked after that. 

Pretty annoyingg and not as efficient as Revit claims to be.  Hopefully they'll solve the duplicate family problem soon.

[cuen.saul]

and 7 years and 7 versions later...the exact same "unable to copy..." problem persists.

Dear Autodesk, we don't pay for a prettier, more cloudable, more networkable software, we pay expecting a more EFFICIENT tool.

90 % of fails and crashes are only because Revit conflicts with itself.

[Base12]

I have stand alone files with sheets of standard, typical details.  With some of them, I can copy multiple details at a time, but with others Revit errors out when trying multiple details (the same ones that copy fine individually).  Some entire sheets work, others do not... but will sometimes work if details come in one at a time.  Some do no work at all, requiring a new drafting view to be created in the target file, and the 2D linework copy/pasted into the new view.  When cut/pasted back into the original view which didn't work originally, and then reimported, suddenly it works??  2016, still waiting for this, and hundreds of others fixes.  It feels like the development team has completely given up on us??

[seijord1]

I am working on a Detail Library and have come across this issue in Revit 2015. I've found that the above solution posted by Cuen.Saul works, which is to just copy and paste the detail to a new drafting view, and then import into the new project. From what I can tell, it does NOT have to do with duplicate families in both projects, because then why would it work after copy/pasting the exact same detail? This is a strange, time consuming issue when you are importing 2,000+ details, and it would be great if Autodesk could look into it.

[trunyan]

I was having a similar issue when trying to copy a detail from one project to another. It was for a single item, however it was user error. When I clicked on the detail, I clicked on the name and it was highlighted, then I clicked ok to import. However I found that it did not actually click the check mark to the left when I highlighted the name of the detail. As soon as I realized that I went back and clicked the check mark and viola I now have the detail transferred. 

I wish the error read; nothing selected cannot import or something along those lines because I too thought it was a program error.

[babaloo771]

Don't know if this is still an issue or not, from what I can find online it appears it is.  Very frustrating that AD can't seem to fix this after years of complaints.  I'm using Revit 2018 and encountered this issue when creating a library file of millwork details, all fairly simple drafting views with no detail elements, other than filled regions, etc. 

The solution that worked for me:

I tried placing the desired drafting views onto a blank sheet view, saved the file, and then imported the sheet view into the target model file.  The sheet view came in with all views represented. They appear to all be undamaged, but I did get this error message:

"Some elements were deleted because elements that they require for references were not copied."  Looking over the details, I'm unable to find anything missing, so I'm not sure what that's about.

One oddity I found while trying to figure out a work-around - when I imported a "made-from-scratch" drafting view from the source file, it worked fine.  Then when I created a copy by using "DUPLICATE WITH DETAILING", the import would fail when trying to import that detail.  So something is happening thru that process that Revit apparently doesn't like what it sees.  In this case it was a big problem because a lot of the details were made from copies.

Anyway, the procedure above worked for me in this limited case.  It's not such a bad deal since you can organize these sheets into categories that can then be imported as a unit. 

[Andy.Ion · Accepted solution]

So, having struggled with this problem for the past couple days, I've finally found MY culprit. Hopefully this will help someone else having the problem, though I understand it may not.

Context: I was trying to "Insert Views from File" to import my company's typical details into a project, and received the "Unable to copy elements from file" error, which is pretty lazy programming, frankly. Because our typical details are drafting views, but have 3D isometric views, the 3D isometrics were achieved using 2D dwg imports.

At some point, some of the dwg imports were partially exploded. It was those partially exploded dwgs that were preventing not only their views from being imported, but other views as well. I haven't wrapped my head around that part.

My solution was to replace all dwg imports with unexploded versions from an archived source file.

Then I deleted all of the subcategories of the imports. I suspect because different imported dwgs have subcategories (derived from ACAD layers) that have the same name, this was what Revit couldn't resolve.

I also purged unused from the source file.

Another problem to check is the materials of the imported categories (see screenshot)

I'm sure I explained this very poorly.

[cuen.saul]

and 9 years and 9 versions later...the exact same "unable to copy..." problem persists.

Thanks for the tip. In fact there are several things that cause the problem ergo several solutions.

I have a 100 % Revit created drafting view detail catalog with the same problems. Another cause (in my case) is, when some elements have dimensions (not parameter, not constrained, just a simple dimension). Mostly when I annotate regions and masked regions the error arise. Also, when I annotate some line based families (not all of them).

So the easy thing to do is to erase dimensions or not even annotate until the view is inserted.

Anyway, is not safe to say the same about the families because they duplicate all the time and if you want to purge, the instace values changes to default when you change from the duplicated family to the desired one.

Duplicated region patterns, duplicated line patterns, duplicated materials, duplicated everything. Is a bit absurd the size of garbage that a final project can have considering all the inherited properties from a profile family to a nested family to a family to a project.

[Anonymous]

Here are the steps (in no specific order) that I used to resolve the issue of inserting over 200 drafting views from one project to the next.

Working in a detached file I: 

1. Deleted all constraints

2. Removed any Callouts from Drafting Views

3. Deleted all dimensions

4. Removed all Imported Object Styles

5. Removed all DWG links

6. Transferred Project Standards from detached file to target file

7. Finally I ungrouped all Detail Groups in the detached file using a script

It took a couple (painful) tries to come up with the workflow above, but it eventually worked for me once i got rid of the Detail groups.

Possibly all that was needed was the ungrouping of the Detail Groups, that was the last step i tried before it worked, so if you are faced with this issue, you may want to try the last step first, ungrouping Detail Groups , saving you from going through the others!

Hope this helps others out there in the same situation!

Cheers!

ND

[Waseem-KH]

I had the same problem using REVIT 2019, after struggling with this issue for more than an hour, it was easy fixed by turning around the logic way of Revit, I created a new drafting view in the target Revit file, from the source I opened the detail drafting view, copied (Ctrl+C) all the items, then Pasted (Ctrl+V) in the target file, all the items was pasted. finally I adjusted the scale to match the source.

the job was successful DONE.

Hope this will help you solving this issue...

[mmcintosh-ral]

I had not experienced this problem until today in Revit 2020, and it is very unnerving.

I'm only transferring one sheet of drafting views, and tried deleting dimensions from a single detail on the sheet, and when I did that the sheet was able to transfer into my project, but the repeating detail that the dimension had been connected to also didn't come through.  I wish this software were more stable.

[ToanDN]

---

@mmcintosh-ral wrote:

I had not experienced this problem until today in Revit 2020, and it is very unnerving.

I'm only transferring one sheet of drafting views, and tried deleting dimensions from a single detail on the sheet, and when I did that the sheet was able to transfer into my project, but the repeating detail that the dimension had been connected to also didn't come through.  I wish this software were more stable.

---

Maybe you need to run Transfer Project Standards > Repeating Detail Types to bring the types in your project first.

[mmcintosh-ral]

Thanks-

well that makes sense-

I was trying to check in the family list in the new file to see if it was missing items that might be needed- the detail item for the repeating detail was there, but I couldn't figure out where the repeating details themselves are listed.

Really dumb question, but is there a place to see a list of repeating details in a project? I like knowing where things are located, and just couldn't figure it out today.

thanks again for your help.