Revit Project Browser: How to Organise It Properly for Large Projects

On a small Revit project - 30 views, a handful of sheets - the Project Browser is manageable without much thought. On a large project - 200+ views, 80 sheets, multiple disciplines, phased delivery - it becomes the most frustrating part of daily work. You spend minutes scrolling, hunting for views, opening the wrong one, and losing track of what’s current vs. superseded.

The fix isn’t complex, but it needs to happen at the start of the project, not halfway through when everyone has already created 150 views with inconsistent names. Here’s how to set it up properly.

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How the Project Browser Actually Works

Before customising anything, understand the mechanics:

The Project Browser groups views based on view parameters. By default, it groups by view type (Floor Plans, Ceiling Plans, 3D Views, etc.). But you can change the grouping to use any view parameter - including custom parameters you create.

This is done through Browser Organisation Schemes - the most powerful and least-used feature of Revit’s Project Browser.

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Setting Up a Browser Organisation Scheme

Step 1: Create Custom View Parameters

Before building a scheme, you need parameters to organise by. Add these shared parameters to your project (Manage > Shared Parameters, then Project Parameters):

Parameter Name	Type	Applied To	Purpose
View Discipline	Text	Views	Architecture, Structure, MEP, Interior
View Status	Text	Views	WIP, For Review, Issued, Superseded
View Package	Text	Views	Stage 2, Stage 3, Tender, Construction
View Zone	Text	Views	Zone A, Zone B, Podium, Tower (for large buildings)

Step 2: Build the Organisation Scheme

1. Right-click Views at the top of the Project Browser
2. Select Browser Organisation
3. Click New to create a custom scheme
4. In the Grouping and Sorting tab, add your levels:

Recommended grouping structure:

Level	Group By	Purpose
Level 1	View Discipline	Separates Architecture, Structure, MEP, Interior
Level 2	View Type	Groups Floor Plans, Sections, Elevations within each discipline
Level 3	View Package	Groups by project stage or delivery package

Step 3: Apply the Scheme

Right-click Views again > Browser Organisation > Select your new scheme. The Project Browser immediately re-groups all views.

Before vs. After

Default browser (large project):

Floor Plans
  Level 00 - Ground Floor
  Level 00 - Ground Floor - MEP
  Level 00 - Ground Floor - Structure
  Level 00 - Ground Floor - Interior
  Level 01 - First Floor
  Level 01 - First Floor - MEP
  ... (everything mixed together, 200+ items in one list)

With custom scheme:

Architecture
  Floor Plans
    Level 00 - Ground Floor
    Level 01 - First Floor
    ...
  Sections
    Section A-A
    Section B-B
  Elevations
    North Elevation
    ...
Structure
  Floor Plans
    Level 00 - Ground Floor
    ...
MEP
  Floor Plans
    ...

The difference in daily usability is enormous.

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Naming Conventions That Scale

A naming convention seems trivial until you have 200 views and can’t find anything. Here’s a structure that works:

View Naming Format

[Level/Location] - [Content Description] - [Scale if relevant]

Examples:

• L00 - Ground Floor Plan - 1:100
• L00 - Ground Floor RCP - 1:100
• Section A-A - Through Atrium - 1:50
• Detail 01 - Parapet Capping - 1:5
• 3D - Interior Perspective - Lobby

What NOT to Do

Bad Name	Problem
Floor Plan 1	Which floor? What discipline?
Copy of Level 1	Is this current? A backup? What’s different?
New Section	New relative to when?
test view	Should this exist?
Level 1 - FINAL v2 UPDATED	Version control through naming never works

Sheet Naming Format

[Discipline Code]-[Number] - [Sheet Title]

Examples:

• A-100 - Ground Floor Plan
• A-201 - Section A-A
• S-100 - Ground Floor Structural Plan
• M-100 - Ground Floor Mechanical Plan
• E-100 - Ground Floor Electrical Plan

Common discipline codes:

Code	Discipline
A	Architecture
S	Structure
M	Mechanical
E	Electrical
P	Plumbing / Hydraulic
L	Landscape
ID	Interior Design

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Managing View Proliferation

Large projects generate views fast. Here’s how to keep control:

Use View Templates Religiously

Every view should be assigned a View Template that controls visibility, graphics overrides, detail level, and scale. This ensures consistency and prevents individuals from customising views inconsistently.

Create view templates for each standard view type:

Template Name	Detail Level	Scale	Key Visibility Settings
ARCH - Floor Plan 1:100	Medium	1:100	MEP hidden, furniture shown, room tags on
ARCH - Floor Plan 1:50	Fine	1:50	All categories shown, dimensions visible
ARCH - RCP 1:100	Medium	1:100	Ceiling grid visible, lights shown, walls below cut
STRUC - Floor Plan 1:100	Medium	1:100	Architecture as halftone, structure full, MEP hidden
MEP - Floor Plan 1:100	Medium	1:100	Architecture as halftone, MEP full
ARCH - Section 1:50	Fine	1:50	Full detail, materials shown

Delete Working Views Regularly

Set a team rule: working views (test sections, temporary 3D views, “copy of” views) must be either promoted to proper named views or deleted within one week. A quarterly cleanup of orphaned views prevents browser bloat.

Use Scope Boxes for Large Floor Plates

On buildings with large floor plates, create Scope Boxes to divide each level into manageable view areas:

• Scope Box - Zone A (covers gridlines A1-A6)
• Scope Box - Zone B (covers gridlines B1-B6)

Assign scope boxes to views to automatically crop them to the correct area. This gives you L00 - Zone A - 1:100 and L00 - Zone B - 1:100 instead of one enormous floor plan.

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Sheet Organisation

Sheets have their own Browser Organisation settings (separate from views). Set up a sheet organisation scheme that groups by discipline:

1. Right-click Sheets in the Project Browser
2. Browser Organisation > New
3. Group by the first characters of the sheet number (use a filter on the Sheet Number parameter)

Or use Revit’s built-in sheet organisation parameter and manually categorise.

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Template Setup: Do It Once, Use It Forever

All of the above - browser schemes, naming conventions, view templates, scope boxes - should be built into your firm’s Revit project template (.rte file).

A good template includes:

• Pre-configured browser organisation schemes
• Standard view templates for all disciplines
• A starter set of views with correct naming
• Sheet templates with title blocks
• Pre-loaded shared parameters for browser grouping

When you start a new project from this template, the browser is already organised. New team members don’t need to configure anything - they just follow the established structure.

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Quick Wins for Existing Projects

If you’re mid-project and the browser is already messy, these actions help immediately:

1. Add a View Status parameter and tag all current views as “WIP” or “Current”. This lets you filter out superseded views.
2. Rename views in bulk using a Dynamo script (search for “Dynamo rename views by parameter” - there are ready-made scripts for this).
3. Assign view templates to all views - even retroactively, this improves consistency.
4. Delete duplicate and unused views - check the “Referenced on Sheet” built-in parameter. Views not on any sheet may be candidates for deletion.

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Want to master Revit project management? The Archgyan Academy Revit courses cover project setup, standards, and practical workflows for real-world projects.