Purge Unused in Revit: A Trainer’s 4 Steps for Safe Cleanup
Purge Unused scans your Revit project and removes families, types, materials, and other elements that nothing in the model currently references, shrinking file size and speeding up performance. Before you touch it, save a backup copy of your project and, on a workshared model, open all worksets. Then open Manage > Settings > Purge Unused and work through the list.
TL;DR:
Before purging, save a backup, open every workset, sync the central model, and ask teammates to pause new placements until cleanup ends.
Run Audit first, then repeat Purge Unused two or three times; nested families and materials may become removable only after their parent is deleted.
Purge removes database references, but it does not reclaim disk space until you save with Compact File checked in the Save As options.
Purge Unused leaves placed elements, system families, views, sheets, and area schemes alone; remove unused rooms manually through the Project Browser or a schedule.
Purge aggressively at project handover, but review selections during active work; templates may contain types and materials needed for upcoming projects.
Table of Contents
How to run Purge Unused in Revit
Purge Unused lives under the Manage tab, inside the Settings panel. Clicking it opens a dialog listing every family, type, material, and other object that nothing in the model currently uses, grouped by category with checkboxes next to each row.
The dialog gives you two quick controls: Check All selects everything shown, and Check None clears your selections so you can review items individually before committing. Items you leave unchecked stay in the project even if they’re unused, which is useful when you want to keep a few types for near-term work.
Follow this sequence for a safe purge, as described in Autodesk’s official guidance:
Save a backup copy of the project before making any changes.
On workshared models, open all worksets so Purge Unused can evaluate the full project.
Open Manage > Settings > Purge Unused, review the list, and click OK to remove the checked items.
Reopen the dialog and repeat the process until nothing remains to purge.
You can also purge inside a family file: open the family in the Family Editor, run Purge Unused there to clear out nested subcomponents and unused types, then reload the family into your project. On a shared project, sync your changes to the central model before and after purging, and give your team a heads-up so nobody places new content mid-purge.
What Purge Unused removes and what it leaves alone
Purge Unused targets content that nothing in the model points to right now. That includes unused loaded families, unused family types within those families, unused group types, and materials or material assets no element references.
What it won’t touch:
System families like walls, floors, and roofs, which Revit manages differently from loadable families.
Any placed element currently sitting in the model, even if it looks redundant.
Views, sheets, and area schemes, which Purge Unused does not evaluate.
Shared or nested families that remain referenced by something else in the project.
Nested families and materials often survive the first purge pass because they only become “unused” once their parent family is removed, according to Autodesk’s documentation. Running the tool a second or third time catches items that were locked behind a dependency the first time around.
The cleanup order that actually works: Audit, Purge, Compact
A reliable cleanup routine follows a specific order, and skipping a step is the most common reason purging disappoints. Practitioner guidance from Mashyo lays out the sequence clearly.
Run Audit first, using Save As and checking the Audit option, or File > Open with Audit checked. This catches file integrity issues before you start deleting things, and scheduling it roughly weekly on active models catches problems early.
Run Purge Unused, repeating the pass two or three times until the dialog comes up empty. Each pass frees nested families and materials that the previous pass couldn’t touch yet.
Save with Compact File checked, found in the Save As dialog under Options. This step physically rewrites the database and is what actually reclaims disk space.
Pro Tip: Compact File alone can shrink a bloated RVT by a noticeable margin even without further purging, since Revit never automatically reclaims deleted space on save.
Beyond the model itself, clearing Revit’s temp directories, journal files, and collaboration cache helps keep your machine running smoothly, particularly for cloud-workshared projects. Close all Revit sessions and sync your model before clearing anything, as Nonica’s cache-cleaning tools note, since clearing cache while Revit is still writing to it risks corruption.
Fixing common Purge Unused problems
A single pass rarely clears everything, and that’s expected rather than a sign something’s wrong.
File size didn’t shrink after purging: Purge only deletes references inside the database; you still need Save As with Compact File checked to physically reclaim the freed space.
Checkbox is grayed out: the item is still referenced somewhere. Use the Project Browser or a model search to find the reference, or temporarily place a test instance to confirm where it’s used, then remove the dependency before purging again, per Autodesk’s troubleshooting notes.
Purge seems to find fewer items each time: that’s normal. Three passes in one session is common because nested elements only surface as purgeable once their parent is gone.
Working in an older Revit version: some older releases had a known issue where purging view types could delete associated views, so practitioner records recommend caution before purging view types in uncertain cases.
Trainer checklist for a safe purge session
Before opening Purge Unused, work through this short checklist:
Save a dated backup copy (project_v01_prepurge, for example) so you can roll back if something looks wrong.
Open all worksets and sync to central before starting; ask your team to pause new placements during the session.
Run Audit first, then Purge Unused, repeating until the dialog shows nothing left to remove.
If family bloat persists, open the family file directly, purge inside the Family Editor, and reload it into the project.
Finish with a Compact Save and check the file’s size on disk to confirm the reduction actually happened.
Pro Tip: Keep your pre-purge backup until you’ve opened the cleaned file, checked a few views, and confirmed nothing critical went missing.
When to purge everything versus when to hold back
A full purge makes sense when you’re closing out a finished project and archiving it, but office templates and early-stage projects deserve a lighter touch. Stripping a template of types and materials you expect to reuse next week just creates rework.
My practical rule: purge aggressively at project handover, purge selectively while work is still active, and treat Audit, Purge, and Compact as core skills worth learning properly rather than habits picked up by trial and error.
— Steve
Learn safe model cleanup the structured way
We built our Revit Course Only training around the workflows architects actually use day to day, including the Audit, Purge, and Compact routine covered here and the family cleanup habits that keep models lean, alongside detailed Revit to CGI workflows that show how model cleanliness benefits downstream processes. You work through practical exercises with direct trainer feedback instead of guessing your way through the Purge dialog, and lifetime access means you can revisit the material whenever a new project throws a curveball.
What you get | Detail |
Course | Revit Course Only |
Price | See the pricing page for current details |
Access | Lifetime material access |
Link | Start the course |
If worksharing and central model housekeeping are your bigger pain point, our Worksharing Course covers that ground directly.
FAQ
How do I purge unused rooms in Revit?
Rooms are placed elements, not loadable families, so Purge Unused does not remove them directly. Delete unused or unplaced rooms manually through the Project Browser or schedule view, then run Purge Unused afterward to clear any room-related tags or types left behind.
How do I purge unused families in Revit?
Open Manage > Settings > Purge Unused, review the families listed with no instances in the model, and check the ones you want removed before clicking OK. Repeat the process two or three times, since some nested families only become purgeable after their parent family is deleted, as Autodesk explains.
How do I purge unused viewport types in Revit?
Viewport types appear in the Purge Unused dialog alongside other unused types once no view is using them. In older Revit versions, purging view types has occasionally deleted associated views, so check your results carefully before confirming the purge in uncertain cases.
What does purge unused mean in SketchUp?
SketchUp’s Purge Unused command removes unused components, materials, styles, and layers from a model file, similar in purpose to Revit’s tool but built for SketchUp’s own file structure. The two tools solve the same clutter problem but work inside different software with different element types.
How many times should I run Purge Unused in Revit?
Most projects need two to three passes in one session, since each pass frees nested families and materials that weren’t purgeable the time before, according to Mashyo’s cleanup guidance. Keep repeating the process until the Purge Unused dialog shows nothing left to check.
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