Click 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.
How to do it in Revit
Step 1: Build the main model first
Model everything the options share before you add any options. Use design options only for the parts that vary, such as an entry or a roof, and keep the rest in the main model.
Step 2: Create an option set
Click Manage tab › Design Options panel › Design Options, and under Option Set click New. Revit names it Option Set 1 and adds a primary option; select each and click Rename to name them for the question and the scheme (Autodesk Help: Create a Design Option Set).
Step 3: Add the alternatives
Select the set and, under Option, click New for each alternative, then rename it. A secondary option shows in no view until you set a view to show it.
Step 4: Model inside an option
Pick the option from the Design Options list on the status bar, or click Pick to Edit on the Design Options panel and select one of its elements. Everything you model now belongs to that option; pick Main Model from the same list when you're done (Autodesk Help: Edit a Design Option).
Step 5: Move shared elements into the set
A door in an option needs its host wall in the option too, since main model elements can't host or reference elements in a secondary option. Select the main model elements, click Manage tab › Design Options panel › Add to Set, and check the options that should each get a copy.
Step 6: Show each option in its own views
Duplicate a view, open Visibility/Graphics and, on the Design Options tab, pick the option to show for each set. Put these dedicated views on sheets to compare schemes, and add tags and dimensions there, because annotation belongs to a view, not to an option (Autodesk Help: Dedicate Views to a Design Option).
Step 7: Accept the chosen option
In the Design Options dialog, click Finish Editing if an option is open, select the chosen option and click Make Primary, then click Accept Primary. Revit moves the primary option into the main model and deletes the set and its other options, so save a backup first (Autodesk Help: Incorporate a Design Option into the Main Model).
What to watch for
Turn on the status bar list. If the status bar doesn't show the Design Options list, turn it on at View tab › Windows panel › User Interface › Status Bar - Design Options. The Design Options panel on the Manage tab has the same list.
Make Primary can break references. When you promote another option, references from the main model to the old primary option can be lost. Check dimensions and tags afterward.
Selecting across options. While you edit the main model, Revit won't select elements in an option, and the other way round. Clear Exclude Options or Active Only on the status bar to select them; from Revit 2027, both settings hold for the whole session.
Deleting an option deletes its views. Deleting an option removes its elements and the views whose Visible In Option is set to it, and Revit lists its other dedicated views so you can keep them. A primary option can't be deleted until another option is made primary.
Options aren't phases. Design options are alternatives for the same point in the project; phases track existing and new work over time. For renovation work, see how to use phases.
Old options slow every model. Autodesk notes that every option updates when the main model changes, even when no view shows it, and that rooms in options add time to check for conflicts (more on slow models). Across a firm's active projects, sets left over from schematic design pile up, and nobody remembers which one is still live. Listing what each model holds is the repetitive part an AI agent for Revit can take on, with you deciding what to accept or delete.
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
List every design option set in this model, its primary option, and how many elements each option holds.
Mira only reads the model for this one. It lists each option set, its primary option and how many elements every option holds, and changes nothing. It may write a small tool to read the options, which asks Allow first.
How do I create design options in Revit?
How do I show a design option in a view in Revit?
How do I accept a design option in Revit?
How do I move elements into a design option?
Can you tag or dimension a design option in Revit?
Why can't I select elements in a design option?
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 Purge Unused in RevitSave 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 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.
Try it yourself.
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