How to Downgrade Revit File

How to Downgrade Revit File

Are you looking for how you can downgrade your model to an older version of Revit? If you are, you are likley stuck in the predicament of having realised that Revit is version specific and you have worked on a project in the wrong version and need to downgrade.

How does Revit Version Compatibility work?

Revit has always been version specific however you can upgrade an older project to a newer release of Revit. This is a one time process and is also permanent so always be certain when upgrading.
For example I have Revit 2020, 2021 & 2022 installed. I start a project in Revit 2021 and save it, I try to open it in Revit 2020 but due to forward compatibility I am unable to do so as the project is newer than the Revit. I try to open the Project with Revit 2022, I can, howerver upon opening Revit 2022 will convert the file to this version of Revit (only permanent if you then save the project).

Can I downgrade my Revit Project?

Officially no, however…

There are two work arounds (both not ideal) which might help if you are desperate.

  1. You can export Plan Views to DWG which can then be imported into an older version of Revit. It’s not a Revit model but it’s something that might save you some time re-doing the work.
  2. Export to IFC, again not ideal but IFC files can be imported by older version of Revit. You may experience data loss and the 3D geometry will no longer be Revit elements but it might get you out of a pinch.

Conclusion

As mentioned, the official stance is no you cant downgrade but technically and depending on what you need and how desperate you are, the above two work around’s might just help you. My recommendation is firstly to make sure you are working in the correct version of Revit and secondly to make sure you have backups (which seriously, you need to have) in the event you accidently upgrade an existing model which you can fall back on.