Unload links prior to Revit project upgrade.

[bjur]

I would love a little button in the upgrade dialog box that says "Unload all linked files prior to upgrading".  This way I can open my file and then if I need to see a linked file in the upgraded version, I can upgrade those as needed.

It's common to have to open an old file in a current version of Revit.  We don't keep more than a couple version of Revit installed at a given time unless there is an ongoing project currently using it.  That said, when time goes by and we need to open an old revit file in a current version of Revit, the upgrade process is unbelievably long as Revit tries to upgrade every linked file prior to opening.  Some of our models have 5 revit files linked in from different disciplines.  Vote for this...you know you want it.

[Nurlan-A.]

Unload links and open checkbox (or Open with unloading links) in the Open Dialog Box for a model upgrade.

[Mirko.Jurcevic]

Revit should have feature to open a model without links (or with uloaded links).

The best example is when you have a model with many links (more than 5).

Also, upgrading the whole project with linked files can be a nightmare, for example:

- project was created with old Revit version which user does not have on a computer

- project has many links and it needs to be upgraded to more recent version of Revit

- opening each file means upgrading that file AND each link in file (temporary).

- each linked file will be (needlessly) upgraded as many times as number of links.

Try this when each model size is about >200MBs and you have 7-10 links. 

[Chris_D_UK]

This is the bane of my life and needs sorting. When we upgrade our large projects such as hotels, where rooms are links, it can take a whole day to complete! It's really easy to sort too - just give us a dialog to "skip upgrading links and unload" or something like that.

[Anonymous]

Place links on a workset and do not load the workset when upgrading.

[lmpka]

I agree it would be nice to have an option for not loading links.  For project upgrades to a new revit version,  you can use the eTransmit add-on which can convert the file and all its links in one swoop, although it can still take quite a while to convert all the files.  All the converted files will be dumped in the same directory, and can be sorted out when it's finished.

[JensDeSmedt]

We always place our linked models on a separate Workset and the Workset dialog opens by default.
It also helps to open big projects much quicker and avoid big problems when linked models become corrupt.

A (default) forced unload will be very useful for a batch upgrade process.

[bjur]

I fully agree that this is a viable work around...and I do love me a good work-around.  However, I really love simple features that fix the multitude of Revit sins committed years ago before we learned the proper work-arounds.  I'm hoping the factory can add the 1 button / function call to the model upgrade dialog box to cancel out my lack of foresight when setting up a boatload of projects years ago.  For a guy that's used Revit since version 2, I should have known better.

[munderwoodTZNNN]

We are also setup with our links on separate worksets, and that helps in normal day-to-day business.  As an owner, our record models may have upwards of 30 or more links to process.  

Where this would come in really handy:  When a 3rd party app is created, it is difficult, if not impossible to invoke the Open -> Specify... (worksets) and select specific worksets to close during an automation run. 

This would be ideal, as well as an ini setting to set its default state, as well as a way to access it via API:

[munderwoodTZNNN]

This thread could probably be combined with:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/revit-ideas/unload-links-prior-to-revit-project-upgrade/idc-p/9346178...

...and a few others.

[paul_brickler]

I would love to see this implemented.

Many of our models have multiple links in them from various consulting engineers, and we don't always need those to be upgraded along with our main model.  We started using Revit in 2008, so some of our older archived files aren't in versions that we have around anymore.

Also, if we could get rid of those annoying pop-ups that only have ONE BUTTON OPTION [OK] [Close] etc, which pause an already long and tedious model upgrade experience, sometimes multiple times, that would be fantastic.

[hanhs1h0]

We also really need this functionality - as BIM consultant (3rd party checker) we often receive files that are not well organized with the aforementioned setup workarounds by others, but often need to debug or upgrade. It would be preferable if we can select to not load each and every link which are in old version(s).

[minjie.wang]

Revit develop team has posted a related design proposal at Revit preview release forum with this Link, your insights or suggestions are much appreciated.

[nedwards9820]

With SkethUp Pro you get a warning "you're opening a file created with a newer version and some data may get lost if you save the file".  Wouldn't that be nice.

But AutoDesk is concerned to make the user pay not only for their software but for the cheek of having used it for some time.

[paul_brickler]

My 2021 model has been temporarily upgrading links, needlessly, for the better part of an hour, now, with the occasional break to give me a warning message with only the one option (OK, Cancel, ETC) that just pauses the entire process for no apparent reason.  WHY?

[jperkins1MXXNE]

I agree with several statements in this thread. we need a button such as the suggested 'unload links' one. I too am suffering through a set of design models where there are 23 different models and they are all crosslinked to each other. upgrading these files is a marathon of frustration - as stated, needless temporary upgrades of linked files that will themselves be upgraded in this process if I can ever get to them. Hours of waiting to click a 'cancel upgrade' button or 'OK' for the process to proceed. each model sits on 75% loaded for an eternity.

This is a seriously broken process.

[zefreestijl]

either upgrading the linked files will also be saved as newer version,

or please let us unload the linked files before any upgrades. thx

[rnarracci]

A bit late on this thread but since this is the top Google search result on this subject I thought I'd respond. 

I'd love to have a "Unload all linked files prior to upgrading" button, but to my knowledge, that still doesn't exist mid 2024. My reason for wanting it is the same as others...to avoid multiple, slow, temporary upgrading of a constellation of cross-linked models.

In lieu of that, a solution applicable to either LAN or Cloud based workshared files is to turn off all worksets prior to opening the file (all content, including links will be on one of the file's worksets). In doing so, you'll limit the upgrading to the immediate file content. Once you're in the file, unload all links and then turn your worksets back on. After saving this and all of the upgraded crosslink files to a new location, you can reopen them one at a time and re-link to the upgraded versions.

A graphic description of turning off worksets prior to opening files is here...

https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/How-to-turn-off-wo...

FWIW, a major benefit of storing projects on the cloud is a single push button upgrading of an entire constellation of project files.

Good luck!