Revit Design Options: How to Create and Use Them (7 Steps)

A Revit design option is an alternative version of one part of your model, kept in the same project file as everything else. With Revit design options you can model two lobby layouts, three facades or two roof shapes side by side, show them to the client, and then keep the one that wins. This guide shows how to create design options in Revit in 7 steps. The steps are checked against Autodesk’s Revit 2027 help and work the same way in earlier releases.

What Is a Revit Design Option?

A design option in Revit is one possible answer to one design question. The question itself is called an option set, for example “Lobby Layout” or “Facade Material”. Each answer inside the set is an option. Everything that is the same in every answer stays in the main model.

You only need five terms to work with the tool:

Where Are Design Options in Revit?

You reach the design options tools from two places:

• Manage tab > Design Options panel. It holds the Design Options button (opens the dialog), the active option drop-down, Add to Set and Pick to Edit.
• The status bar at the bottom of the Revit window. It shows the active design option, a drop-down to switch options, and the Active Only or Exclude Options checkbox.

If you cannot see the tools on the status bar, go to the View tab > Windows panel > User Interface drop-down and tick Status Bar – Design Options.

What changed for design options in Revit 2027

The workflow is the same as in earlier versions. Autodesk’s “What’s New in Revit 2027” page lists one change for this tool: editing view-related elements while you work in a design option is now more consistent. The 2027 help also says that the Active Only and Exclude Options checkboxes keep their setting for the whole session and are visible in all tools. Revit 2027 removed the Options Bar, but the design options controls were never on it. They stay on the status bar and the Manage tab.

Design Options vs Phases vs Worksets

Design options are easy to confuse with two other Revit tools that look similar but solve different problems. Check which one fits before you create an option set:

A quick rule: if the question is “which one do we build”, use design options. If the question is “when does this happen”, use phases. If the question is “who can edit this”, use worksets.

How to Create Design Options in Revit: 7 Steps

1. Build the Main Model First

Autodesk’s first best practice is to create as much of the model as possible before you add any design option. Model everything that stays the same in every option once, in the main model: the structural grid, the core, the envelope and any systems that will not change. Keep design options for the parts that vary.

This avoids duplicate geometry and keeps the file lighter. It also matches how Revit works: levels and views cannot belong to a design option, so they always sit in the main model.

2. Create a Design Option Set and Its Options

Each option set should stand for one design decision with more than one possible answer, such as a kitchen layout, a facade material or a furniture arrangement. Name the set after the decision (“Kitchen Layout”), not after one of the answers.

1. Go to the Manage tab > Design Options panel > click Design Options.
2. In the Design Options dialog, under Option Set, click New. Revit creates “Option Set 1” with one option inside it, marked (primary).
3. Select the set, click Rename under Option Set, type a clear name and click OK.
4. With the set selected, click New under Option to add a secondary option. Repeat for each alternative.
5. Select each option, click Rename under Option and give it a name that describes the idea, such as “Island” or “L-shape”.
6. Click Close.

✨ Tip: Be careful with Make Primary once the model is detailed. Autodesk warns that references from the main model to the former primary option can be lost when you swap the primary.

3. Add Elements to a Design Option

A new option set is empty. You fill each option in one of two ways: model new elements while the option is active, or move elements that are already in the main model.

To add new elements while an option is active:

1. On the status bar, open the design options drop-down and pick the option. You can also use the drop-down on the Manage tab > Design Options panel, or select the option in the dialog and click Edit Selected.
2. The main model turns halftone. This shows that you are editing the option, not the main model.
3. Draw, place or load the elements this option needs. Revit adds them to the active option.
4. When you finish, set the drop-down back to Main Model.

To move existing elements from the main model into an option:

1. Make sure the selector says Main Model, then select the elements to move.
2. Go to the Manage tab > Design Options panel > click Add to Set.
3. Choose the option set, then tick the options that should receive the elements.
4. Click OK.

✨ Tip: Move a hosted element together with its host. A door needs its wall in the same option. If you try to add a door, window or other insert without the host, Revit shows an “Inserts in Design Options” error.

4. Create a Dedicated View for Each Design Option

By default a view shows the main model plus the primary option of every set. To show a secondary option, you need a view that is dedicated to it.

1. In the Project Browser, right-click the view > Duplicate View > choose Duplicate (model elements only) or Duplicate with Detailing (model elements plus annotations and details).
2. Rename the copy so the option is in the name, for example “Level 1 – Kitchen – Island”.
3. In the Properties palette, find Visibility/Graphics Overrides and click Edit (shortcut: VG).
4. Open the Design Options tab.
5. For each option set, change the Design Option value from Automatic to the option this view should show.
6. Click OK. Repeat for each option you want to present.

What Automatic means: the view shows the primary option, and switches to the active option while you edit one. Keep one working view on Automatic for modeling and use dedicated views for presenting.

Place the dedicated views next to each other on a sheet to compare the options or to show them to a client.

See how to duplicate views and sheets efficiently

5. Add Annotations in the Dedicated Views

Tags, dimensions, keynotes and detail items are view-specific. They belong to a view, not to a design option, so you cannot add them to an option. Add them in the dedicated view instead.

1. Open the dedicated view and check on the Design Options tab that it points at the correct option.
2. Add the tags, dimensions and notes that this option needs.

Filters, visibility settings and view templates work as usual in these views, so you can keep the same look across every option.

Learn more about annotation symbols

6. Create a Schedule for Each Design Option

A schedule follows the same rule as a view. On the default Automatic setting it lists the main model plus the primary option of each set. Elements in a secondary option are not counted until a schedule is dedicated to that option.

1. Create the schedule you need, then duplicate it once for each option.
2. Rename each copy clearly, for example “Door Schedule – Option 1”.
3. Open the schedule. In the Properties palette, find Visibility/Graphics Overrides and click Edit.
4. For each design option set, choose the option this schedule should count. Click OK.

Each dedicated schedule now shows the main model elements plus the elements of its own option. This gives you quantities and areas you can compare option by option.

Learn more about syncing schedules with Excel

7. Accept the Final Design Option

When the decision is made, you merge the chosen option into the main model with Accept Primary. Revit moves the primary option’s elements into the main model and deletes all secondary options and the option set. Do this only when the decision is final.

1. Go to the Manage tab > Design Options panel > click Design Options.
2. If you are editing an option, click Finish Editing.
3. Select the option you want to keep. If it is a secondary option, click Make Primary.
4. Under Option Set, click Accept Primary.
5. Click Yes to confirm, then click Close.

After you accept the option, check the model and the Project Browser. Make sure the elements joined the main model correctly, and delete or rename the views and schedules that were dedicated to the removed options. Save a copy of the file first if you may need the rejected options later.

How to Select and Edit Elements in a Design Option

Most “I can’t select it” problems come from one checkbox on the status bar. Its name changes with what you are editing:

• Exclude Options shows while you work in the main model. When it is ticked, you cannot select elements that belong to a design option. Clear it to select them.
• Active Only shows while you edit a design option. When it is ticked, you can only select elements of the active option. Clear it to select elements in the main model and in other option sets.

To find out where an element lives, hover over it. The tooltip and the status bar show the option set and the option name in front of the category, family and type. Main model elements show no option name.

To jump straight into the right option, go to the Manage tab > Design Options panel > click Pick to Edit, then click an element. Revit makes the option that owns the element the active option.

What You Cannot Put in a Revit Design Option

Design options hold model elements. A few things are left out by design, and knowing them saves a lot of confusion:

• Levels. If you add a level while editing an option, Revit puts it in the main model and shows it in halftone.
• Views. A view cannot belong to an option. You dedicate a view to an option instead (step 4).
• Annotations and details. Dimensions, tags and keynotes belong to the view they are drawn in (step 5).
• Joins across the boundary. You cannot join the geometry of an element in a secondary option with an element in the main model. If two elements must join or clean up together, move the main model element into the option as well.
• Hosting from the main model. Elements in the main model cannot host or reference elements in a secondary option. Put the host and its hosted elements in the same option.

Common Revit Design Options Problems (and How to Fix Them)

• Elements disappeared from a view. The view is pointed at a different option. Open Visibility/Graphics Overrides > Design Options tab and check which option the view shows. Set it to Automatic if this is your working view.
• You cannot select an element that is right there. Check the status bar. In the main model, clear Exclude Options. While editing an option, clear Active Only, or switch to the option that owns the element.
• A schedule shows the wrong quantities. A schedule on Automatic counts the main model and the primary options only. Dedicate a copy of the schedule to each option (step 6). If numbers look doubled, check that the same elements were not left in the main model and also copied into an option.
• You created an option set, but nothing looks different. A new set is an empty container. Add or move elements into each option first.
• Walls do not join correctly. Main model walls may not join as expected with walls in a secondary option. Move the main model walls that touch the option into the option set.
• “Inserts in Design Options” error. You tried to add a hosted component without its host. Select the host and the insert together, then use Add to Set.
• “Option Conflict Between Rooms” warning. A room in the main model overlaps a room in an option. Keep each room in one place only: in the main model if it never changes, or in the options if its shape does.
• “Elements in Main Model Will Be Deleted” error. This can appear when you use Make Primary, because main model elements depend on the old primary option. Move those elements into the option set first, then try again.

Revit Design Options Best Practices

• Model shared elements (structure, core, site) once in the main model. Do not copy them into every option.
• Name option sets after the decision (“Facade Material”) and options after the idea (“Brick”, “Timber”).
• Keep each option as small as possible. Only the elements that differ, plus the elements that must join or host them.
• Use design options only for true either/or comparisons. Use phases for changes over time and worksets for team work.
• Build the dedicated views and schedules before you present the options to a client.
• Set the selector back to Main Model when you stop editing an option, so new elements do not land in the wrong place.
• Accept the primary option once the decision is made. Old option sets add geometry and keep the file larger. After that, purge unused elements to clean up what is left.

Revit Design Options FAQs

Where are design options in Revit?

Go to the Manage tab, Design Options panel. The same panel has Add to Set, Pick to Edit and the active option drop-down. The active option also shows on the status bar. If it is missing there, tick Status Bar – Design Options under View tab, User Interface.

How do I create a design option in Revit?

Open Manage tab, Design Options. Under Option Set click New, which creates a set with one primary option. Under Option click New for each extra option. Select an option, click Edit Selected, close the dialog and model the elements.

What is the difference between a primary and a secondary design option?

The primary option is the preferred one. Revit shows it by default in every view and schedule. A secondary option only shows in views and schedules that are dedicated to it. Each option set has one primary option and one or more secondary options.

Can a Revit project have more than one option set?

Yes. Option sets are independent, so a project can have one set for the facade, another for the lobby and another for the roof. In each dedicated view you choose one option per set, which lets you show any combination.

What happens when I click Accept Primary?

Revit moves the elements of the primary option into the main model and deletes all secondary options and the option set. Do it only when the decision is final, and save a copy of the file first if you may need the other options.

How do I delete a design option without accepting it?

Open the Design Options dialog, select the secondary option and click Delete under Option. To remove a whole set and every option in it, select the set and click Delete under Option Set. The elements in the deleted options are removed from the project.

Do design options make a Revit file larger or slower?

Every option adds geometry, so a project with many open option sets is larger than one with none. Keep options small, and accept the primary option when each decision is made.

Can design options include structural or MEP elements?

Yes. Design options hold model elements of any discipline, such as structural framing, ducts and pipes. The limits are levels, views, and annotations and details, which cannot belong to an option.

Treat a Revit design option as a temporary workspace for testing ideas, not as a permanent home for the finished design. Model the shared parts once, keep each option small, present with dedicated views, and accept the primary option when the decision is made.