How to Restore Lost Elements Using Revit® Backup Files or Copies

Last time, I explained how to transfer views, family types, elements, etc. between different Revit® projects. This time I would like to show how to restore lost elements using Revit backup files or copies.

Imagine you’re working on a big project, and you notice that some Revit® elements that had been modeled a few hours or even days ago are missing. That might happen on workshared projects when team members don’t own worksets, and everybody can edit anything. So, sometimes someone might accidentally delete someone else’s elements.

To transfer the missing elements, you need to find a backup file where the elements are still in their place, or a local copy of the project that wasn’t synchronized with the central file for some time (and has the missing elements in it).

Now you have to open both projects in Revit. The best way to transfer elements is in plan views, so activate in both projects same-level plan views. Mark the elements in the project where they are still in their place (you can use right click and Select All Instances >Visible in View or just select all and filter the required elements).