Whats the best way to keep multiple design iterations in one model?

[gnarkill283]

I need to make numerous design changes in my model which may or may not be approved. Whats the best way to keep multiple design iterations in one model and also be able to continue with a select number of the changes? Worksets? Phases? Design Options? One design change requires editing a model group - how can I keep the original version and a new one within my model without the new changes affecting the original state of the model.

[RobDraw]

Look into design options.

[kadmonkee]

you may want to look into archiving and creating different models to accomplish the scope of work you are looking for.

worksets only serve a small function

Phases serve a larger function

Design options serve a small portion of an area or location within the building

working with model groups will certainly cause issues when changing any of the above variables

depending on the complexity of your design things could become more troublesome than expected when trying to settle into all those variables in One model.

the model could become unmanageable.

[gnarkill283]

So I looked into design options but what should I do when I want to finalize the use of a certain design option? Delete the original model content and copy the design option content into the model? Seems no different than having 2 separate models entirely. Or will I have to mess with view settings in every view to show the finalized design option?

[ToanDN]

yes you can finalize options whenever you want to. There is a button for that. That is the least you should be worried about.

If you are not familiar with Design Options (based on what you wrote) then it can be frustrating in the beginning.

I would suggest reading this carefully.

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/revit-products/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2019/EN...

[dcsank]

Holy **** Revit won't stop crashing now. I copied that model group into 3 design options and when I go to modify something it will randomly crash... Not sure if I can work like this saving after every move

[bill_gilliss]

Well, you'd think the Design Options would be just the thing, but I've found it to be really a pain. Mostly this has been because if a hosted component like a window is part of, say, Option 1, then its host (the wall) has to be part of Option 1 as well -- plus everything else, proposed and existing, that is hosted by the wall. So you have to duplicate the wall and all its hosted components for each option that involves the wall.

If I've gotten this wrong or things have changed with a new release, please somebody tell me, but working on a 60,000 SF historic renovation project with multiple floors and multiple design options proved very difficult. We ended up using separate not-very-detailed models until the basic design direction was clear, then stayed with that model and deleted the others. Sigh.

[SarahTQE2J]

For us designers, our bread and butter is multiple design options for our clients. I've never used "design options", and after reading the above I'm considering saving as and saving multiples of the same project, changing the materials in each...then moving forward with the file my client liked the best. 🙃

[mhiserZFHXS]

I don't think you should write off design options based off of a couple of comments, though I'm not necessarily saying you should definitely use them either. They are very helpful in some situations, and are more work than they're worth in others. You should definitely try to work them once or twice to understand the workflow, and then you can decide on a project by project basis if you want to use them.

I certainly hope design option improvements are in the pipeline, because it should absolutely be feasible to use them whenever you have options in a project, but Autodesk has some big issues to address before that's the case.