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155 Isolate By Workset

Chris McKeown / July 1, 2025

Worksets

~4 min read822 words
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Overview

Isolate By Workset temporarily isolates all elements belonging to the same workset as the currently selected element. The isolation applies to the active view instantly with no dialog — making it a natural companion to 154 Set Active View Workset and ideal for keyboard shortcut assignment.

Isolate By Workset

Table of Contents

Key Features

  • Temporarily isolates all elements on a workset in the active view — no dialog, no extra clicks
  • Reads the workset from the selected element automatically
  • Isolation is temporary (the standard Revit temporary hide/isolate mode), so it is easy to reset
  • Designed for keyboard shortcut assignment
  • When multiple elements are selected, uses the first element in the selection set

Requirements

  • The project must be workshared — the tool will display File is not Workshared and exit if not
  • At least one element must be selected before running
  • The active view must support temporary isolation (not a Sheet)

Running the Tool

This tool has no interface. The workflow is:

  1. Select an element on the workset you want to isolate.
  2. Run the tool — either find Isolate By Workset on the Bonus Tools Ribbon or use 115 Search Tools, or press the assigned keyboard shortcut.
  3. The active view immediately isolates all elements assigned to that workset. Everything else is hidden temporarily.

To exit the isolation, use Revit's standard Reset Temporary Hide/Isolate (the lightbulb icon in the view control bar), exactly as you would after any other temporary isolation.

Assigning a keyboard shortcut (recommended)

  1. Go to View tab → User Interface → Keyboard Shortcuts
  2. Search for 155 or Isolate By Workset
  3. Click Press new keys, type your desired combination, and click Assign
  4. Click OK

Pairing this with a shortcut for 154 Set Active View Workset gives you a fast two-key workflow: isolate a workset to review it, then activate it to start editing.

Tips and Best Practices

  • Pair with 154 Set Active View Workset. A natural sequence is: select element → isolate its workset to review → activate its workset to edit. Two shortcuts, zero dropdown navigation.
  • Only the first element in a multi-selection is used. Select a single representative element for predictable results.
  • The isolation is temporary. It uses Revit's built-in temporary isolation mode and is cleared the same way — click the lightbulb in the view control bar and select Reset Temporary Hide/Isolate. No permanent visibility changes are made.
  • Works per-view. The isolation applies only to the active view. Switch to another view and it will be unaffected.
  • Useful for reviewing element counts. After isolating, the status bar shows how many elements are visible — a quick way to check what's on a given workset in the current view.

Common Use Cases

Reviewing discipline content — Select any duct and isolate to see only Mechanical workset elements in the view. Quickly assess what's modelled without adjusting visibility settings.

Checking workset assignments — Select an element you suspect is on the wrong workset, run the tool, and see which other elements isolate alongside it. Anything unexpected is misassigned.

Coordination reviews — Isolate a consultant's workset to review only their content in a linked model context, without permanently hiding other elements.

Before editing a workset — Isolate the target workset first to get a clear view of existing content, then use 154 to activate it and begin editing.

Cleanup and QC — Cycle through worksets by selecting representative elements and isolating each in turn to verify that elements are correctly assigned and nothing is on the wrong workset.

Troubleshooting

"File is not Workshared" message Worksharing must be enabled on the project. If the file should be workshared, check whether it was accidentally opened as a detached copy.

Nothing happens / no isolation occurs Confirm that at least one element is selected before running. Also check the Output Dialog for errors. If the active view is a Sheet, temporary isolation is not supported — switch to a model view.

The wrong elements isolate When multiple elements are selected, the tool uses the first element in the selection set, which may be on a different workset than expected. Select only the specific element you want to base the isolation on, then run the tool.

All elements disappear from the view The workset may exist but have no elements visible in the current view — they may be on levels, phases, or in areas outside the view crop. Try the same workset in a 3D view for a complete picture.

Keyboard shortcut not responding Verify the shortcut is correctly assigned in the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog and check for conflicts. A Revit restart is sometimes needed after assigning new shortcuts.