Click 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 do it in Revit
Step 1: Plan the phases first
Click Manage tab › Phasing panel › Phases. A new project has two phases, Existing and New Construction. Phases can't be reordered once you add them, so settle the sequence before you start (Autodesk Help: Create a Phase).
Step 2: Add a phase
On the Project Phases tab, click the number box next to a phase to select its row, then under Insert click Before or After. Click the new phase's Name to rename it, and click OK.
Step 3: Set up a view for each phase
Duplicate a plan for each phase and name it for the phase, such as "Level 1 - Existing". In the Properties palette, under Phasing, set the view's Phase. A view template can set the Phase Filter for many views at once.
Step 4: Choose a phase filter
Set Phase Filter in the same place. Show Previous + Demo shows what's there and what comes out, for a demolition plan. Show Previous + New shows what stays plus the new work, and Show Complete shows the finished result (Autodesk Help: About Phase Filters).
Step 5: Set an element's phases
Select elements and set Phase Created and Phase Demolished under Phasing in the Properties palette. New elements take the phase of the view you draw them in.
Step 6: Demolish elements
Click Modify tab › Geometry panel › Demolish; the cursor turns into a hammer. Click each element to demolish, then click Modify to stop. An element demolished in one view is demolished in every view of that phase (Autodesk Help: Demolish Elements).
Step 7: Undo a demolition
Select the element and set Phase Demolished back to None in the Properties palette.
Step 8: Remove a phase by combining it
In the Phasing dialog, select the phase's row and under Combine with click Previous or Next. The selected phase is deleted, and elements created or demolished in it move to the phase it joined (Autodesk Help: Combine Phases).
What to watch for
Draw in the right phase. New elements take the phase of the view you draw them in, so new work modeled in a view set to Existing comes out existing. Check the view's Phase before you start. For alternatives that exist at the same time, such as two lobby layouts, use design options instead. See how to use design options.
Later-phase elements disappear. An element created in a later phase than the view's has no status in that view and doesn't show. If walls vanish when you change a view's phase, that's usually why.
Rooms belong to one phase. A room exists only in the phase of the view it was placed in, so you can't tag existing rooms in a demolition plan the usual way. Autodesk's workaround overlays a rooms-only copy of the existing plan on the sheet.
Phase graphics are project-wide. The Graphic Overrides tab of the Phasing dialog sets how existing, demolished and temporary elements look in every view. Views differ only in the phase filter they use, and a schedule has its own Phase and Phase Filter too.
Demolished doors leave infill. Demolish a door or window and Revit fills the opening with infill that matches the wall. You can change its type in a section with Show Previous + New, but you can't move or copy it.
Phasing is set one element at a time. A renovation can mean hundreds of walls, doors and fixtures, each needing the right Phase Created and Phase Demolished. One wall left in New Construction shows on the demolition plan as new work, and it's easy to miss until someone reviews the set. That's the repetitive part an AI agent for Revit can take on, with you approving each change.
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
Set the selected walls to Phase Created: Existing and Phase Demolished: New Construction.
Select the walls first. Mira reads them, tells you which already match, sets the rest in one step after an Allow, and reads each wall back.
How do I create a new phase in Revit?
How do I delete a phase in Revit?
What is the difference between Phase and Phase Filter in Revit?
What do the Revit phase filters show?
How do I demolish an element in Revit?
Why did my elements disappear when I changed the view's phase?
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 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.
- 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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