Revit Tip: Revit Project Browser: Discipline‑Phase‑Workflow Organization

Tame large projects and find what you need faster by leveraging Revit’s Project Browser Organization settings.

What this gives you:

• Consistent, predictable view and sheet structure across teams and projects.
• Reduced hunting time and fewer publishing errors.
• Cleaner deliverables and easier QA/QC handoffs.

Access it quickly:

• In the Project Browser, right‑click Views (or Sheets) and choose “Browser Organization…”.
• Create separate schemes for Views and for Sheets to match your workflows.

Recommended approach for Views:

• Create a scheme called “Discipline_Phase_Workflow”.
• Grouping and Sorting (keep to 2–3 levels for clarity):
  • 1st: Discipline
  • 2nd: Phase
  • 3rd: View Type (Plan, Section, 3D, Schedule, etc.)
• Optional custom parameters to fine‑tune:
  • View Sub‑Discipline (e.g., Arch | Interiors | Facade)
  • Workflow (Working | Review | Publish)
• Filters to declutter:
  • Filter by Workflow = Publish to prep sheets.
  • Filter by Phase = New Construction for CD issuance.

Recommended approach for Sheets:

• Create a Yes/No Project Parameter “Sheet Set” or a Text parameter “Issue Set”.
• Group by:
  • Discipline (from sheet number prefix or a parameter)
  • Issue Set (e.g., 50% CD, IFC, Permit)
  • Sheet Number (ascending)
• Use Filters to show only current issue set during publishing.

Five‑minute setup that scales:

1. Add Shared Parameters “View Sub‑Discipline” (Text) and “Workflow” (Text or Yes/No) to Views via Project Parameters.
2. Right‑click Views > Browser Organization… > New to build your scheme with the group/sort and filters above.
3. Repeat for Sheets with “Issue Set”.
4. Check “Hide empty folders” to remove noise.
5. Save these schemes in your company template so every new project starts organized.

Power tips:

• Use a “Working” scheme (broad, minimal filters) for day‑to‑day modeling and a “Publish” scheme (focused filters) for issuance.
• Adopt a controlled vocabulary for custom parameters (fixed picklists like Arch, Struct, MEP) to avoid typos and folder sprawl.
• Pair Browser Organization with View Templates so naming, graphics, and organization reinforce each other.
• Leverage the Project Browser’s search field to jump straight to a view or sheet by partial name/number.
• Discipline‑specific teams can swap schemes (e.g., Mechanical shows Systems first) without changing project data.

Governance and portability:

• Store schemes in your project template; update annually with your standards review.
• When needed, use Transfer Project Standards carefully to move Browser Organization between files.

Looking to standardize across offices or versions? Consult with your Autodesk reseller; NOVEDGE can help you align templates, parameters, and deployment. If you’re upgrading Revit or building new templates, consider bundling training and licensing through NOVEDGE to accelerate adoption.

You can find all the Revit products on the NOVEDGE web site at this page.