Making The Most Out of the Revit Project Browser

Your efficiency with Revit often depends on how well you can use the project browser.  This essential element of the user interface can either enhance your workflow or slow you down, depending on how you organize and navigate through it. Whether you’re an architect, engineer, or construction professional, optimizing your use of the Project Browser can significantly improve productivity and help you gain a competitive edge in the AEC industry.

What is The Project Browser in Revit?

The Project Browser in Autodesk Revit is a navigation tool that allows you to manage all the views, sheets, schedules, and families in your project file. Think of it as the control center for your model. From plan views to 3D views, elevations, and even Revit families, everything you need is accessible here. Understanding how to efficiently navigate and organize the Project Browser is crucial for staying on top of your BIM (Building Information Modeling) workflow.

At its core, the Project Browser is structured as a hierarchical tree that organizes and categorizes all the components in your project. For example, plan views, elevations, and 3D views are listed under specific categories that make it easy to locate exactly what you need, when you need it. The categories are grouped by types like views, sheets, schedules, legends, families, groups, and more. This organization not only helps you find information quickly but also ensures consistency in your model management.

For AEC professionals working on large-scale projects, the Project Browser’s role becomes even more critical. As your project grows in complexity, so does the number of views, sheets, and schedules you need to manage. Without an organized and easily navigable Project Browser, you could quickly lose track of your work, leading to inefficiencies and errors. By properly leveraging the Project Browser, you maintain control over the model, ensuring that you can quickly switch between different aspects of the project without unnecessary delays.

Navigating and Searching in the Project Browser

Navigating the Revit Project Browser can feel overwhelming at first because of the extensive list of views, sheets, and other elements. However, the key is to become familiar with its layout and take advantage of search and filter functions.

Using the search box and customizing the drop-down options can save significant time, especially when working with large projects. For instance, right-clicking within the Project Browser allows you to search for specific views or sheets. Additionally, learning how to collapse or expand categories helps you focus on the selected views or worksets relevant to your current task.

Customizing the Project Browser to Your Workflow

One of Revit’s strengths is its flexibility, which extends to how you can organize the Project Browser. Customizing the browser based on your specific workflow can lead to a more efficient and organized project environment.

Common customization options include organizing views by discipline (like architecture, MEP, or structural), sub-discipline, or view type (plan views, elevations, 3D views, etc.). You can also create browser organizations based on phases or worksets, giving you easy access to only the relevant parts of your BIM model. This customization can be done through the View tab under Browser Organization. To start organizing your Project Browser, follow these steps.

Step 1:  Open Project Browser

There are a few ways to open the project browser.

• Click on the View tab >Windows panel >User Interface drop-down menu> Project Browser.
• Select any element in your model, right-click it, and select Find in Project Browser.
• Right-click anywhere within the application window, select Browsers, and then select the Project Browser.

Step 2:  Locate the Browser Organization Option

Once in the Project Browser, you can open “Browser Organization” by right-clicking on either Sheets or Views. You will see the “Browser Organization…” option. You can also access this button by selecting the View tab > Unser Interface > Browser Organization.

After you open the Browser Organization menu, you will be presented with further options to customize your views and sheets.

Organizing Views and Sheets

Organizing views, sheets, and schedules in the Project Browser is not just about appearance; it’s about efficiency. Autodesk Revit allows you to group items by various parameters, such as phase, discipline, and project parameters.

Organizing Sheets

To organize your project effectively, first decide on a logical structure. For example, grouping floor plans, elevations, and 3D views under discipline-specific categories is common in complex Revit models. Typically, Revit users order their drawings with a letter indicating the construction discipline, followed by numbers indicating details about the drawings. For example:

• S – Indicates a structural drawing.
• A – Indicates an architectural drawing.
• E – Indicates an electrical drawing.
• A series of numbers starting with 1 may indicate a plan.
• A series of numbers starting with 2 may indicate a section.
• A series of numbers starting with 3 may indicate elevations.

After you have decided how you want to organize your sheets, you can further categorize them by their Prefix and Sheet Series Numbers. First, open the Browser Organization box. There, you will see the sheets tab. Locate Sheet Prefix and click edit. From here, you will have access to the Grouping and Sorting Tab, where you can increase the Leading characters value to 3. This will organize your sheets into sorted, easier-to-manage groups.

Organizing Views

Large-scale projects can have hundreds of different views, making it very hard to locate the specific one you are looking for. To help you organize your views efficiently, you can add parameters to the Project Browser.

1. Adding a Parameter

The first thing you need to do is locate the Manage tab and select Project Parameters. From this dialog box, select Add… Now you can choose to create a Project Parameter that applies only to your current model or you can create a Shared Parameter for use across all of your different projects.

After selecting the type of parameter you want to create, find and select the Views check box within the Categories list on the right side of your screen. You will then be asked to give your new parameter a name. Under Type of Parameter, select Text from the dropdown menu, choose a heading to group it under, and then hit OK.

2. Grouping Your Views

Now, you can begin grouping your project views. First, open up your Browser Organization > Views > New. Here you can create a name for your new group.

Once you’ve named your group, find the Grouping and Sorting tab. Here you will see the Group by dropdown menu. Select Type. Doing so will sort your views by section, plan, or 3D views.

The next dropdown menu you will see is Then by Here, you can select the Parameter you just named. Your views will now be sorted into their new View Types. You can repeat this process as many times as you like until you have organized your views exactly how you want them.

Conclusion

Mastering the Revit Project Browser can drastically improve how you manage your Revit models. By understanding the basics of navigation, learning how to customize and organize the browser according to your workflow, and taking advantage of custom browser organizations, you can reduce time spent searching for views and increase overall productivity. Whether you’re dealing with a simple floor plan or a complex multidisciplinary Revit model, an optimized Project Browser setup ensures you stay organized and focused on what matters most: delivering high-quality project outcomes.