Revit Tip: Worksharing Display Modes — Visualize Ownership, Checkout Status, Model Updates, and Worksets

Use Worksharing Display Modes to instantly see who owns what, why you can’t edit something, and where coordination is blocked—without hunting through dialogs.

How to access:

• Open any model view, then click the Worksharing Display icon on the View Control Bar (lower-left of the view window).
• Choose a mode: Owners, Checkout Status, Model Updates, or Worksets.
• Click the adjacent Settings gear to adjust colors and legend visibility.

What each mode reveals:

• Owners: Colors elements by the user who owns/borrowed them. Great for identifying who to ping when a change is blocked.
• Checkout Status: Shows editable vs. non-editable vs. owned-by-others at a glance. Perfect for quick “Why can’t I move this?” checks.
• Model Updates: Highlights elements that have been changed in the central or in locals but not yet Reloaded Latest/Synchronized. Use it before you commit edits.
• Worksets: Colors elements by workset to validate modeling locations, spot misfiled content, and decide what to close to improve performance.

Everyday workflows that benefit:

• Before editing a dense view: Turn on Checkout Status to avoid conflicts and minimize Editing Requests.
• During coordination: Use Owners to direct questions to the right teammate and to clear “Who has this?” confusion.
• Before Sync with Central: Toggle Model Updates to ensure you’ve Reloaded Latest so you don’t overwrite someone else’s work.
• Model housekeeping: Use Worksets display to find elements on the wrong workset and fix them with one pass.

Best practices:

• Assign a keyboard shortcut (e.g., WD) for Worksharing Display and quick-toggle between modes.
• Pair with Collaborate tools: Reload Latest often, Sync with Central with Relinquish options checked, and use Editing Requests when ownership is required.
• Keep the legend visible in complex models to decode colors quickly; store your preferred color standards in your template.
• Use with Scope Boxes and clean View Templates so analysis colors remain readable.
• Remember: Worksharing Display is a temporary visualization aid—it won’t affect plotted output or exported graphics.

Troubleshooting tips:

• If an element appears owned by someone offline, contact them to Sync and Relinquish. If necessary, coordinate with BIM management for server-side remedies.
• When ownership looks correct but edits still fail, Reload Latest to pull in others’ changes, then try again.
• If many elements are unexpectedly “owned,” look for a pinned view or group edit session and ask the owner to finish and relinquish.

Power moves:

• Create a saved “Coordination” view with Worksharing Display hotkeys and a View Template that maximizes contrast and reduces annotation clutter.
• Combine with Selection Filter and Schedules to repair misassigned worksets in bulk.
• Log recurring conflicts. Patterns often signal a need to refine team workset standards or borrowing etiquette.

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