Revit Design Options: A Trainer’s Workflow Without Duplicate Models
Revit design options let you model and compare alternative parts of a building inside a single project file, so you can present several schemes without juggling duplicate models. Use them only for the pieces that truly vary, such as an entrance or a roof, and keep everything common in the main model. Dedicated views and schedules show each option side by side, and Accept Primary folds the winner into the building.
TL;DR:
Views and schedules set to Automatic show the main model and primary option only, so duplicate each one and assign it to alternatives.
Keep hosted elements, such as doors and their walls, together; elements in sibling options cannot reference one another through dimensions or constraints.
In workshared projects, option definitions belong to the shared Design Options workset, so assign an owner to each set and synchronize changes regularly.
Accept Primary deletes alternatives irreversibly; save a detached archive first, then make the chosen option primary and review views and schedules afterward.
Table of Contents
What do you need to know about design option terminology?
Before touching the dialog, get the vocabulary straight. Autodesk’s terminology definitions frame everything that follows:
Design option set: a collection of alternatives for one design decision. Think “Entrance Options” or “Roof Options”. Each set answers a single question, so keep them narrow.
Design option: one alternative inside a set, for example a glazed canopy versus a solid porch within Entrance Options.
Primary option: the preferred option in each set, and the one that shows by default.
Secondary option: any other alternative in the set. It stays hidden until you look at it deliberately.
Active option: the option you are currently editing. Elements you draw land inside it.
Dedicated view: a duplicated view whose Design Options tab points at a specific option instead of the default behavior.
By default, a view displays the main model plus the primary option of every set. That is why a freshly built secondary option seems to vanish: nothing is wrong, the view simply is not set to show it.
One more rule shapes how you plan. Elements inside an option can interact with the main model, but elements in different options of the same set cannot see each other. Keep that in mind when deciding what belongs where.
Where do design options live in a Revit project?
You manage everything from the Manage tab, in the Design Options panel. The Design Options dialog lists option sets on one side and the options within the selected set on the other, with buttons to create, rename, delete, and mark an option as primary. A status bar control also lets you switch the active option while you work, which is handy once you have several sets.
Autodesk describes the feature as a way for a team to develop and evaluate alternate components in one file, with multiple sets allowed and each addressing an individual design decision. The structure has real project-level consequences in team models:
In workshared projects, all design options and option sets sit in a Project Standards workset named Design Options, per Autodesk’s page on design options and worksets.
That workset governs who can change option definitions, so adding or renaming an option needs the right ownership.
Elements inside an option still follow normal ownership and check-out rules, which decides who can edit a given option’s geometry.
Planning option sets early prevents two teammates from creating overlapping sets for the same decision.
How do you create and edit design options step by step?
Autodesk’s best-practice guidance starts with a simple rule: build the main model first, including everything common to all options, and use design options only for the parts that will vary. Then follow this sequence:
List your decision areas. Pick the questions the client or team actually needs answered, such as roof form, entrance, or lobby layout. Each becomes its own option set.
Create an option set. On the Manage tab, open Design Options, choose New under Option Set, and give it a clear name like “Entrance Options”. Revit creates the first option automatically and marks it primary.
Add secondary options. With the set selected, choose New under Option and create one per alternative. Name each descriptively (“Option B, Glazed Canopy”) so view names stay readable later.
Edit the primary option first. Select the set, choose Edit Option, and model the preferred scheme. Everything you draw goes into the active option.
Add or move elements into other options. Select existing elements and use Add to Set to copy them into an option, or switch the active option and model fresh geometry.
Finish editing. Choose Finish Editing in the Design Options panel or switch back to Main Model. Only then do your changes settle into the right place.
Repeat for each secondary option, setting it active before you edit it.
Keep variant geometry inside options and common geometry in the main model. If a wall that never changes ends up in an option, you will chase it through every comparison later.
Pro Tip: Create one option set per decision, not one giant set for the whole scheme. Smaller sets can be accepted independently, so a roof decision never has to wait on an entrance decision.
How do views and schedules show each option?
Views and schedules do not adapt to design options on their own. Autodesk’s guidance on dedicating views to a design option states it plainly: a view set to Automatic shows only the main model plus the primary option, so you must create dedicated views and schedules manually to visualize or quantify the others.
Here is how to do it:
Dedicate a view: duplicate the view, open its properties, go to the Design Options setting, and pick the specific option for the set. Rename the duplicate so the option is obvious, such as “Level 1 Plan, Entrance B”.
Dedicate a schedule: duplicate the schedule and dedicate it to the option. Autodesk notes that this makes the schedule list elements from the main model and the specified design option, so quantities reflect that scheme rather than the primary one.
Compare on sheets: place dedicated views next to each other on a sheet. Autodesk recommends exactly this for side-by-side evaluation, and it is the clearest way to let a client see differences at a glance.
Mind other view types: a drafting view holds no model geometry, so it is unaffected. Our guide to the Revit drafting view explains why.
Views set to Automatic show only the main model plus the primary option, so every other option needs its own dedicated view and schedule. If a secondary option looks missing, check the view’s Design Options setting before anything else.
If you build dedicated schedules often, our walkthrough of a fast Revit schedules workflow covers the duplication habits that save time.
How do design options work with worksharing?
Worksharing adds coordination, not new rules. Because every option and set lives in the Design Options Project Standards workset, as covered earlier, option structure is a shared resource, and changes to it affect everyone on the model.
Teams can work on different options concurrently, since each option’s elements are separate. The trouble starts at the edges:
Assign an owner per option set. One person creates and manages the set, and others edit within it. This avoids duplicate sets for the same decision.
Sync often. Option definitions and edits only reach teammates after a synchronize, so long gaps invite conflicting changes.
Avoid editing shared host elements from inside different options at once. A wall in the main model that two people alter through different options is a collision waiting to happen. Settle host changes in the main model first.
Agree on the active option before reviewing. Mixed states during a coordination call cause confusion about which scheme is on screen.
If your team is new to shared models, our Worksharing course covers ownership and synchronization in a project setting.
How do you accept a design option safely?
Accept Primary is how you commit to a decision. It incorporates the primary option into the main model, and the other options in the set are deleted. Autodesk’s professional-practice advice is blunt: create a detached copy of the model first, because accepting removes the other options and the removal of option definitions is irreversible.
Save a detached archive. Use Save As, then detach from central if the project is workshared, and store the copy with a clear name such as “ProjectName_Archive_PreAccept”.
Make the chosen option primary. In the Design Options dialog, select the option you are keeping and choose Make Primary.
Run Accept Primary. Select the option set, choose Accept Primary, and confirm the prompt that warns the other options will be deleted.
Decide what happens to dedicated views. In the Delete Dedicated Option Views dialog, views are unchecked by default, and you can choose which ones to preserve. Keep any you want as record views.
Check the model. Open your key views and schedules to confirm the accepted scheme appears where it should.
What causes common design option errors?
Most problems trace back to a few constraints. Autodesk keeps a page of design option troubleshooting topics listing the common errors and warnings, including these:
Hosted components without their host: adding a door or window to an option without the wall that hosts it triggers an error. Keep interdependent elements together in the same option, or leave the host in the main model.
Room option conflicts: rooms are bounded by walls and other elements, so room areas and perimeters can differ from one option to the next, and a room cannot straddle options carelessly. Create rooms inside the option whose boundaries define them and check area schedules per option.
Unsupported elements: not every element type can live inside an option. Annotations and detail items tend to behave differently from model geometry, so treat them as view-level content and re-check them in each dedicated view.
Cross-option references: an element in one option cannot reference an element in a sibling option of the same set. Dimensions, alignments, and constraints that cross that line will fail or be rejected.
Hidden secondary options: if an element seems to disappear, confirm the view’s Design Options setting before assuming the geometry is gone.
When a warning appears, read it for the element name and the option involved. It usually points straight at the host or boundary you separated.
What does a practical design options checklist look like?
I’m Steve Fagan, an Autodesk Certified Trainer, and here is the short version we teach in our project-based Revit courses:
Finish the main model with everything common to all schemes before creating any option.
Create one option set per decision area, with clear names.
Keep hosts and hosted components together.
Dedicate views and schedules for every option you plan to show.
Archive a detached copy before Accept Primary.
On when to use options at all: options suit alternatives inside one building that you will eventually choose between. If the alternatives are separate buildings or stages of construction over time, linked models or phases usually fit better. Our Intermediate course works through these choices on real project files.
Pro Tip: Name dedicated views with the option in the title, and sort sheets so comparison views sit together. Clients read names before they read drawings.
What does design options training teach that docs alone do not?
Reading the help pages tells you what each button does. What it cannot show you is the moment a client asks “can we see the other roof next to this one?” and the answer is already on a sheet, ready to go.
In training sessions, the learners who gain the most are the ones who set up the main model carefully, build options for one decision at a time, and archive before accepting. Those habits save rework later, because a decision made in a meeting does not turn into a week of rebuilding. A structured course gives teams a shared routine, so one person’s tidy setup does not become another person’s puzzle.
— Steve
Where can you build design options skills with our courses?
We teach design options inside project-based Revit training, with hands-on exercises, direct trainer support, and lifetime access to the materials. Our Intermediate course and Advanced course cover the model setup that options depend on, and our Worksharing course covers the team side, from ownership to synchronization. If you want one structured path from fundamentals to confident project work, start with our Revit course, priced at 79 EUR one-off, and take a look at what is included.
FAQ
What are design options in Revit used for?
Design options let you model alternative parts of a building, such as a roof or an entrance, in one project file. You compare them in dedicated views and then accept the chosen one into the main model.
Why can’t I see my secondary design option?
Views set to Automatic show only the main model and the primary option. Duplicate the view and set its Design Options tab to the secondary option, as Autodesk’s guidance on dedicated views explains.
Can I undo Accept Primary?
No, plan on it being permanent. Accepting removes the other options, so save a detached archive copy first, as Autodesk recommends.
How do I get quantities for each design option?
Duplicate the schedule and dedicate it to the option. The schedule then lists elements from the main model and that option, so quantities match the scheme.
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