Save a backup, then click Manage tab › Settings panel › Purge Unused. Revit lists the unused families, types, views and other objects, all checked. Clear what you want to keep and click OK. In a workshared model, open every workset first.
Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to purge unused families, line styles and view templates.
How to do it in Revit
Step 1: Save a backup first
Autodesk recommends a backup copy before you purge. Save one with File tab › Save As › Project, then purge the original, so anything you remove by mistake is still in the copy.
Step 2: Open every workset
In a workshared model, all worksets must be open to use Purge Unused. Click Collaborate tab › Manage Collaboration panel › Worksets and set Opened to Yes for each closed workset (Autodesk Help: Open Worksets).
Step 3: Open Purge Unused
Click Manage tab › Settings panel › Purge Unused. The dialog lists the views, families and other objects that nothing in the project uses, and every one is checked (Autodesk Help: Purge Unused Objects).
Step 4: Keep what you'll need
Expand the list and clear the check boxes for anything you'll place later, such as families the template carries for the next phase of work. Click OK to delete everything still checked.
Step 5: Delete unused line styles
Click Manage tab › Settings panel › Additional Settings › Line Styles, select a line style, click Delete and confirm with Yes. Only line styles someone created can be deleted; Revit's own stay (Autodesk Help: Delete a Line Style).
Step 6: Delete unused view templates
Click View tab › Graphics panel › View Templates › Manage View Templates, select a template and check Number of views with this template assigned. Click Delete; if views use it, choose a replacement template or remove the references (Autodesk Help: Delete a View Template).
Step 7: Delete single families by hand
For a few items, expand the category in the Project Browser, select the family or type (hold Ctrl for several), right-click and choose Delete from Project. Revit warns you if any of them are placed.
What to watch for
Purge won't delete what's in use. Families with types placed in the project, types that host other families, and system families such as walls stay, whether you purge or delete by hand.
Purge inside heavy families too. Autodesk recommends purging unused elements in families as well as in the model, especially the largest and most complex ones. Open the family, run Purge Unused there, and load it back into the project.
Check which views use a template. Before you delete a view template, a view list with the View Template field shows which views it's assigned to. More on templates in how to create a view template.
Compact after a big purge. Removing unused families and types usually makes the file smaller. In a workshared model, also select Compact Central Model the next time you synchronize; more in how to speed up a slow model.
Every project starts heavy again. Purge at closeout, and the next project still starts from a template full of families it may never use, while copied details bring their own line styles. Autodesk recommends a minimal project template over a comprehensive one. Keeping the families and styles teams actually reuse as firm standards lets the template stay lean without anyone hunting for what was cut.
Or, just ask Mira to do it.
Mira is an AI thinking partner for Revit that automates the work you repeat and builds tools your team needs.
- Type this in Mira
At project closeout, purge all unused families, line styles, and view templates from this model.
Mira lists the unused families, line styles and view templates before it deletes anything, waits for your OK, and names anything it kept and why. Deleting them takes a small tool Mira writes, which asks Allow first, and one Ctrl+Z undoes the purge.
How do I purge unused in Revit?
Is there a shortcut for Purge Unused in Revit?
Why can't I purge a family in Revit?
Does purging reduce Revit file size?
How do I purge line styles in Revit?
How do I delete unused view templates in Revit?
Related Revit how-tos
- How to Group Elements in RevitSelect the elements, click Create Group on the Modify | Multi-Select tab (or type GP), name the group and click OK. Model elements make a model group; view-specific ones, like text, make a detail group. Edit Group changes every instance at once. Or, just select the elements and ask Mira to group and name them.
- How to Set Up Worksets in RevitWorksets split a shared Revit model into groups of elements that team members can own and open separately. Click Worksets on the Collaborate tab, save the file as the central model, give each person a local copy, then create worksets and assign elements with the Workset property. Or, just ask Mira to move a category to another workset.
- How to Use Phases in RevitClick Manage tab › Phasing panel › Phases to add phases in order. Each element has a Phase Created and Phase Demolished; each view has a Phase and Phase Filter that decide what it shows. Demolish with Modify tab › Geometry panel › Demolish. Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to set the phases on a selection.
- How to Speed Up a Slow Revit ModelWork through Autodesk's list: fix warnings, purge unused families, and delete CAD imports, images and views you don't need. Unload links and close worksets you aren't using, set a simple starting view, compact the central model, and turn on hardware acceleration. Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to find the heaviest families and say which are still needed.
- How to Use Design Options in RevitClick Manage tab › Design Options panel › Design Options, then New under Option Set and under Option for each alternative. Pick an option on the status bar to model in it, set views to show each, then Accept Primary once the client chooses. Or, just ask Mira, a free add-in, to list every option set and what each holds.
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