Revit Array: How to Array in Revit

The Revit Array tool makes evenly spaced copies of one or more elements. It works in two ways: Linear (along a straight line) and Radial (around a center point, which is how you array along a curve). For a free-form path such as a spline, Revit uses a different tool: a divided path with a repeated component. The steps below are checked against Autodesk’s Revit 2027 help, with a note where older releases look different.

Revit Array Types: Which One Do You Need?

The Array tool in Revit only creates linear and radial arrays. The other two methods on this page use different tools to get a similar result, so pick the row that matches your path.

Where Is the Array Tool in Revit?

The Array command is on the Modify tab > Modify panel. The default keyboard shortcut is AR. You can start it in two ways:

• Select the elements first, then click Modify | [Element] tab > Modify panel > Array.
• Click Modify tab > Modify panel > Array first, select the elements, then press Enter.

Revit 2027 note: Autodesk removed the Options Bar in Revit 2027 and moved its controls to the ribbon and the Properties palette. The array settings (Linear or Radial, Group and Associate, Number, Move To, Constrain) now sit on the contextual ribbon tab. In Revit 2026 and earlier, look for the same settings on the Options Bar below the ribbon. The steps are otherwise the same.

Array settings explained

Revit remembers these settings the next time you start the Array tool.

Quick Practice Setup (Optional)

This short exercise gives you a straight line, a curve and one component to array. Skip it if you already have elements to repeat.

1. Open floor plan: Level 1.
2. Go to the Annotate tab > Detail panel > click Detail Line.
3. Draw panel > Line > sketch a straight line.
4. Draw panel > Start-End-Radius Arc > sketch a curve.
5. Select both lines.
6. Go to the Modify | Lines tab > Edit panel > Convert Lines. The detail lines become model lines.
7. Go to the Architecture tab > Component drop-down menu > click Place a Component.
8. Place the component on the start of the straight model line.

How to Create a Linear Array in Revit

A linear array repeats an element along a straight line in any direction: horizontal, vertical or at an angle.

1. Select the element.
2. Go to the Modify | [Element] tab > Modify panel > click Array (shortcut: AR).
3. On the ribbon, choose Linear.
4. In Number, type how many members you want in total.
5. Set Move To to 2nd.
6. Click the point the array starts from, for example a corner or the center of the element.
7. Move the cursor in the direction of the array (a blue dashed box previews the next member) and click once to set the spacing. You can also type a distance and press Enter.
8. If Group and Associate is ticked, a number box appears. Type a new count if you want to change it, then press Enter.

✨ Tip: Use Move To: 2nd when you know the spacing, such as columns every 6 meters. Use Move To: Last when you know the total length, such as 8 chairs that must fit along one wall. With Last, your second click places the final member and Revit spaces the others evenly in between.

✨ Tip: Untick Group and Associate before you apply the array if you only need simple copies. You avoid extra groups and help keep the RVT file size down. Leave it ticked if you may need to change the number of members later.

The same steps work on datum elements. See how to add multiple levels with Copy or Array.

How to Create a Radial Array in Revit (Array Along a Curve)

A radial array repeats elements around a center point. To array along a curve in Revit, put that center point on the center of the arc. The members then follow the curve and rotate with it.

1. Select the element.
2. Go to the Modify | [Element] tab > Modify panel.
3. Click Array (shortcut: AR).
4. On the ribbon, choose Radial.
5. Click Center of rotation: Place. You can also drag the blue center control.

6. Right-click the curve > Snap Overrides drop-down menu > select Centers.
7. Click the curve. The center of rotation jumps to the center of the arc.
8. In Number, type how many members you want in total.
9. Set Move To to 2nd.
10. Click the point where the array starts. This sets the first ray of rotation.
11. Move the cursor along the curve (over the blue dashed box) and click once to set the angle between members. This is the second ray.
12. Type a new count in the number box if needed, then press Enter.

✨ Tip: If you know the angle, type it in the Angle box instead of clicking the two rays, then press Enter. For a full circle, set Move To: Last and enter 360.

✨ Tip: To change the curvature of a radial array, click an associated element, then click and drag the points of the array control. With Group and Associate on, these controls let you resize the arc angle, change the radius and move the whole array.

How to Edit or Ungroup an Array

You can edit an array only if it was created with Group and Associate ticked.

Change the number of members

1. Click one member of the array.
2. Click the thin array line that appears, or the number shown on it.
3. Type a new value and press Enter.

With the array line selected, the ribbon shows Append to End. It decides where new members go:

• Ticked: the spacing stays the same. New members are added at the end of the array, and removed members come off the end.
• Not ticked: the two ends stay where they are. Revit spaces all members evenly between them again.

Change the spacing or edit one member

Select a member and move it, or change its temporary dimension. The other members follow in proportion. To change what is inside each member, double-click one to edit the group. Every member updates when you finish.

Ungroup an array

Don’t forget to ungroup an array when you no longer need it. Select the array members > go to the Modify | Model Groups tab > click Ungroup. You can also select the array line and press Delete, which removes the array link and leaves the members in place. Deleting one member of an array ungroups the remaining ones.

Revit Array Along a Path: Splines and Irregular Curves

There is no “path array” option in the Revit Array tool. It only creates linear and radial arrays, so a single arc works but a spline does not. To array along a path in Revit, use one of these methods:

• Divided path + Repeat in a mass or adaptive family. This is the method shown below.
• A railing with your element nested as a baluster. The railing path can follow any sketch.
• Dynamo, with a script that places points along the curve.

Steps: divide a spline and repeat a component

1. Go to the Massing & Site tab > click In-Place Mass.
2. Assign a name to the mass > click OK.
3. Create tab > Draw panel > select the Spline Through Points tool.
4. Sketch the path > select the path.
5. Modify | Lines > Divide panel > click Divide Path.
6. Properties palette > Nodes > Number (change the value to set how many copies you get).
7. Go to the Create tab > Model panel > Component.
8. Place the adaptive component on the first node.
9. Select the component > Modify | Generic Models tab > Modify panel.
10. Click Repeat. Revit places the component on every node and groups the result as a repeater.

✨ Tip: To turn the repeater back into separate components, select it and click Modify | Repeater tab > Repeater panel > Remove Repeater. The copies stay in place.

How to Create Adaptive Components?

Repeat only works with an adaptive component. Here is how to make a simple one with a single placement point.

1. Go to the File tab > New drop-down menu.
2. Select the Generic Model Adaptive.rft template.
3. Click Open.
4. Go to the Create tab > Draw panel > Point Element.
5. Add a point anywhere in the viewport > select the point.
6. Modify | Reference Points tab > Adaptive Component panel > click Make Adaptive.
7. Go to the Modify tab > Work Plane panel > click Set Work Plane.
8. Sketch the profile of the element on the work plane of the adaptive point.
9. Select the lines of the profile.
10. Modify | Lines tab > Form panel > Create Form.
11. Family Editor panel > click Load into Project.
12. In edit mode of the In-Place Mass > Create tab > Model panel > Component.
13. Place the component on the first node.
14. Select the component > Modify | Generic Models tab > Modify panel > click Repeat.

Watch our video tutorial on how to make adaptive components:

How to Create a Parametric Array in a Revit Family

A parametric array lives inside a family. Parameters control its length, spacing and number of members, so the array updates when you type a new value. Think of shelves in a bookcase or louvers on a facade panel.

1. Go to the File tab > New drop-down menu.
2. Select the Generic Model.rft template > click Open.
3. Go to the Create tab > Reference Plane (shortcut: RP).
4. Sketch two reference planes, one on each side of the central plane and parallel to it.
5. Annotate tab > Aligned (shortcut: DI).
6. Add dimensions between the three reference planes.
7. Click “EQ” to keep equal spacing between the two dimensions.
8. Add one more dimension for the overall width.
9. Select the overall width dimension.
10. Modify | Dimensions tab > Label Dimension panel > Create Parameter.
11. Name the parameter (Overall Width).
12. Parameter Data panel > select Instance.
13. Click OK.
14. Create tab > click Component to load a family into the generic model.
15. Align (shortcut: AL) the component to one reference plane > lock the alignment.
16. Modify | [Element] tab > Modify panel > Array (shortcut: AR).
17. On the ribbon, set Move To: Last and keep Group and Associate ticked. Click the first plane, then the opposite plane.
18. Align (shortcut: AL) the last component to the other reference plane > lock the alignment.
19. Modify tab > Properties panel > Family Types.
20. Change the Overall Width value > click OK. The array stretches to fit.

Control the number of members with a parameter

1. Click one member of the array, then click the array line.
2. On the ribbon, open the Label drop-down and create a new parameter. Name it Count.
3. Open Family Types and change Count to test the array.
4. Optional: add a Spacing length parameter and give Count a formula such as roundup(Overall Width / Spacing). The number of members now follows the width.

✨ Tip: Array a nested family (a component you loaded) instead of raw extrusions. Nested families keep their alignment locks and are much more stable when the family flexes.

Array of 1 or 0: since Revit 2025, linear and radial arrays in the Family Editor can flex to a value of 1 or 0. In Revit 2024 and earlier, an array needs at least 2 members, so a count formula that returns 1 breaks the family. If your office still supports older versions, keep the formula at 2 or more.

Revit Array Limits and Common Problems

• Array is greyed out. Select an element first. Also note that arrays are not supported for most annotation symbols.
• Revit will not group the selection. You cannot group detail components and model components together. Array them separately, or untick Group and Associate.
• You cannot change the count. The array was made without Group and Associate, or it was ungrouped. Delete the copies and array again with the option ticked.
• The spacing is wrong. Check Move To. With 2nd, your clicks set the gap between two members. With Last, they set the whole length.
• You need a very large array. Users on the Autodesk Community forum report a cap of 200 members when you type the count in a project. The usual answers are to array the array, or to drive the count with a parameter inside a family.
• The model feels slow. Every grouped array adds a group type. Repeat elements and their parameters only when necessary, and ungroup arrays you will not edit again.

Revit Array FAQs

Mohamed Fakhry

Mohamed Fakhry has helped thousands of architects and designers find their next project with step-by-step guidance on his blog, mashyo.com. About Mohamed

His journey began during his university years when he recognized the need for information-rich 3D models to accelerate learning and improve production processes. Now, Mohamed shares his expertise through Revit tutorials that are accessible to all.