Revit Worksets: Create, Check Out & Manage Worksets

Updated July 2026: Revit worksets are collections of elements inside a workshared Revit model. They help a team control who can edit parts of the model, which parts are open for performance, and how linked models or major building areas are managed.

If you are new to worksharing, think of a workset as a project container. New model elements go onto the active workset. Existing elements can be moved to another workset from the Properties palette. Team members can either borrow individual elements as they work, or check out an entire workset when that broader lock is really needed.

What Are Worksets in Revit?

A workset in Revit is a named collection of elements in a workshared project. Worksets only become important when more than one person needs to work in the same project model through a central model and local copies.

For example, an architectural model might use worksets for Shared Levels and Grids, Exterior Shell, Interior Layout, Furniture, Site, and Revit Links. An MEP model might use worksets for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, linked models, and coordination elements.

Worksets are often confused with view filters, design options, phases, and linked models. They are not the same thing:

• Worksets organize elements for worksharing, ownership, opening, closing, and broad visibility control.
• View filters control graphics in a view based on categories and parameters.
• Design options compare alternate design solutions.
• Phases manage time, such as existing, demolished, and new construction.
• Linked models separate entire models, often by discipline, building, or consultant responsibility.

The best Revit teams use worksets for the jobs they are good at, not as a replacement for every other visibility or coordination tool.

When Should You Use Worksets?

Use worksets when the project needs worksharing. Worksharing lets multiple users work on the same Revit model at the same time by using a central model and local copies. Each user edits locally, then synchronizes with central so the team can receive the latest changes.

You usually need worksets when:

• Several people are editing one RVT model.
• The model is large enough that opening every element hurts performance.
• You need to close linked models, site elements, furniture, or other heavy content while working.
• A BIM manager needs to protect important elements such as levels, grids, or linked files from accidental edits.
• The team needs a consistent way to control major linked-model visibility in host models.

You usually do not need worksets for a solo project, a small study model, or a file where only one person edits at a time. Adding worksets too early can create unnecessary management work if there is no real collaboration or performance benefit.

How to Turn On Worksets in Revit

To turn on worksets, you first enable worksharing. This creates the central model structure that stores element ownership and lets users synchronize changes.

1. Open the RVT project that will become the shared model.
2. Go to Collaborate > Manage Collaboration > Worksets.
3. When the Worksharing dialog appears, keep or rename the default worksets.
4. Click OK to enable worksharing.
5. Save the file as a project and make it the central model.
6. Ask each team member to create and work from a local copy, not directly inside the central model.

When worksharing is enabled, Revit creates default worksets. The two user-created defaults are Shared Levels and Grids and Workset1. Revit also creates internal worksets for loaded families, project standards, and views.

Important: Worksets cannot be saved into a Revit project template file in the normal template workflow. If your office has a standard workset setup, document the names and create them when the project becomes workshared.

How to Create Worksets in Revit

After worksharing is enabled, you can create new user worksets from the Worksets dialog.

1. Open your local copy of the central model.
2. Go to Collaborate > Manage Collaboration > Worksets.
3. In the Worksets dialog, click New.
4. Enter a short, clear workset name.
5. Choose whether the workset should be Visible in all views.
6. Click OK.
7. Synchronize with central so the new workset is available to the rest of the team.

For most teams, the name matters more than the number of worksets. A short list that everyone understands is better than a long list that users avoid because they are afraid of choosing the wrong one.

Recommended Revit Workset Structure

There is no universal workset structure that fits every project. A small residential model, a hospital, a tower, and a campus all need different levels of separation. Start with the reason for each workset: performance, ownership, coordination, or linked-model control.

Keep the structure shallow. Revit does not have true “sub-worksets”, and creating a separate workset for every category usually becomes hard to manage. If you need graphic control by category, parameter, phase, or discipline, use view templates, filters, and Visibility/Graphics instead.

The Worksets Dialog Explained

The Worksets dialog is where you create, rename, open, close, and review worksets. You can open it from the Collaborate tab, and you can also access the active workset from the status bar when the Worksets status bar control is visible.

• Active Workset: the workset new model elements are placed on.
• Name: the workset name. User-created worksets can be renamed.
• Editable: whether the whole workset is checked out by a user.
• Owner: the user who owns an editable workset.
• Borrowers: users currently borrowing elements from that workset.
• Opened: whether the workset is open and loaded in the current session.
• Visible in all views: the default global visibility setting for the workset.

The active workset is easy to overlook. If the wrong workset is active, new walls, floors, links, or model elements may be created in the wrong place. Before modeling, check the active workset on the Collaborate tab or status bar.

How to Assign Elements to a Workset

To place new elements on the right workset, set the active workset before modeling. To move existing elements, use the Workset parameter in Properties.

1. Select the element or elements in the view.
2. Open the Properties palette.
3. Find the Workset parameter under Identity Data.
4. Choose the correct workset from the drop-down list.
5. Click Apply if Revit does not apply the change automatically.

View-specific elements behave differently. Annotations, dimensions, text notes, detail items, and similar view-specific content belong to the workset for that view. You cannot move them to a normal model workset in the same way you move model elements.

How to Check Out Worksets in Revit

To check out a workset in Revit, make that workset editable. This gives you ownership of the whole workset, which means other users can usually see the elements but cannot edit them until you relinquish ownership.

1. Open your local copy of the central model.
2. Go to Collaborate > Manage Collaboration > Worksets.
3. Select the workset you want to check out.
4. Change Editable from No to Yes, or click the editable status control in the dialog.
5. Click OK.

Checking out a workset is useful when you need to protect a whole group of elements for a short, controlled task. For example, a BIM manager may check out Shared Levels and Grids while adjusting datum coordination, or a team lead may check out linked model worksets during a link cleanup.

For normal daily modeling, use element borrowing instead. When you edit an available element, Revit can borrow that element only. This creates a smaller lock and avoids blocking teammates from unrelated work inside the same workset.

How to Manage Worksets for Performance

One of the best practical uses of worksets is performance. When a workshared model is large, you can open only the worksets you need and close the ones that are not required for the current task.

To open or close worksets after the model is open:

1. Go to Collaborate > Manage Collaboration > Worksets.
2. Select the workset you want to change.
3. Click Open or Close, or change the value under Opened.
4. Click OK.

To choose worksets while opening a file, use the Open options in the Revit Open dialog. The common options are All, Editable, Last Viewed, and Specify. On large projects, Specify or a carefully managed default can save time because Revit does not need to load every heavy linked model, CAD file, site object, or furniture workset.

Good candidates for separate worksets include linked RVT files, linked or imported DWG files, furniture and equipment, site context, large facade systems, room separation lines, and spatial zones such as wings or towers. Weak candidates include tiny categories, one-off elements, or anything that users will not assign consistently.

Workset Visibility vs View Templates

Worksets can control visibility, but they should not become your only visibility system. If you hide a workset in a view, it can affect everyone who opens that view. This is why BIM teams usually reserve workset visibility for broad model organization and use view templates for documentation standards.

Use workset visibility for:

• Turning linked models on or off in host models.
• Closing large project areas for performance.
• Separating heavy site, furniture, equipment, or coordination content.
• Keeping datum and link worksets predictable across views.

Use view templates and filters for:

• Discipline graphics.
• Drawing standards.
• Halftone, lineweight, color, and pattern rules.
• Category-specific visibility.
• Sheet-ready plan, section, elevation, and detail appearance.

To control workset visibility in a view, open Visibility/Graphics, go to the Worksets tab, and set each workset to the required visibility state. To keep views consistent, apply those settings through a Revit view template.

How to Use Worksharing Display

Worksharing Display is a visual troubleshooting tool for workshared models. It appears on the View Control Bar when worksharing is enabled and can color elements based on worksharing status.

• Checkout Status: shows whether elements are editable by you, owned by someone else, or not owned.
• Owners: colors elements by the user who owns them.
• Model Updates: helps identify elements changed or deleted since your last sync.
• Worksets: colors elements based on their assigned workset.

Use Worksharing Display when you want to understand why an element cannot be edited, who owns a part of the model, whether a view is showing the correct workset assignments, or which areas changed since your last update.

To customize colors, open Worksharing Display Settings from the View Control Bar, choose the display mode tab, enable Show for the items you want, and assign colors that are easy to read.

Worksharing Monitor in Revit

Worksharing Monitor is useful for file-based workshared projects. It helps you see who is working in the project, whether your local copy is up to date, whether a Synchronize with Central operation is still running, and whether editing requests need attention.

1. Open your local copy of a workshared model.
2. Go to Collaborate > Synchronize > Worksharing Monitor.
3. Review central file access, editing requests, and notifications.
4. Use it during busy team sessions to understand sync activity before sending repeated editing requests.

Worksharing Monitor does not replace clear team communication, but it can reduce confusion when several people are syncing, borrowing elements, or waiting for access to the same part of the model.

Revit Workset Best Practices

A strong workset setup is boring in the best way: clear names, predictable ownership, fewer locks, faster opening, and no mystery categories. The goal is not to create the most detailed workset list. The goal is to help the team work without blocking each other.

For model coordination, combine worksets with other Revit tools instead of forcing one tool to do everything. For example, use worksets for major model containers, Copy/Monitor tools for coordination of key references, and scope boxes for view extents and consistent documentation areas.

Common Workset Problems and Fixes

Revit Worksets FAQ

Where is the Worksets dialog in Revit?

Go to Collaborate > Manage Collaboration > Worksets. In a workshared model, you can also use the active workset control on the status bar if the Worksets status bar item is turned on.

How do I create a new workset in Revit?

Open the Worksets dialog, click New, enter the workset name, choose the default visibility option, and click OK. Then synchronize with central so other users can see it.

How do I check out a workset in Revit?

Open Collaborate > Worksets, select the workset, and make it editable. This checks out the whole workset to you. Use this carefully because it can block other users from editing elements in that workset.

Should I check out a workset or borrow elements?

Borrow elements for normal daily modeling. Check out an entire workset only when you have a clear reason to reserve that whole group of elements, such as protecting levels and grids, managing linked files, or doing a short controlled cleanup.

Can worksets be included in a Revit template?

No. Worksets are part of a workshared project, not a normal project template file. Keep your office standard as a documented naming list and create the worksets after worksharing is enabled.

Does Revit LT support worksets?

Revit LT can open and edit a workshared model in a limited sequential workflow, but it does not support true multi-user worksharing. It cannot synchronize with central like full Revit, and it cannot fully manage worksets in the same way.

Final Thoughts

Revit worksets are most useful when they make collaboration simpler: clear ownership, controlled linked models, faster opening, and fewer editing conflicts. Start with a short structure, keep the active workset correct, borrow elements for normal edits, and only check out whole worksets when the team really needs that level of control.

Once the model is workshared, review worksets regularly. If one workset becomes a dumping ground, clean it up early. If users keep hiding worksets manually in views, move that logic into view templates. A good workset setup should support the project quietly in the background while the team focuses on modeling.

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.