074 View Renamer
Chris McKeown / July 1, 2025
Standards
Overview
The View Renamer tool allows you to rename Revit Views based on a configurable set of criteria — combining View Parameters, static text, and string manipulation options to build precise, consistent View names across your project.
Table of Contents
Key Features
- Filter views by type, parameter, and search string
- Build new names from any combination of View Parameters and free text
- Reorder name segments with Move Up / Move Down
- Manipulate the existing View Name with replace, crop, and insert operations
- Apply case formatting (UPPER, lower, Title, Sentence)
- Rename the View, the Title on Sheet, or both simultaneously
- Settings saved and restored between sessions
Requirements
- A Revit project with at least one non-template View
- Workshared models: ownership of the Views you intend to rename
Running the Tool
Launch
Navigate to the Bonus Tools tab and select View Renamer.
Step 1 — Select Views
Choose a View Type from the dropdown to filter the list.--- order: "038" title: "038 View Duplication" description: "Quickly duplicate multiple views. Duplicate views by replicating dependent existing views (with optional sheets), or by duplicating views based on other views or by level." authors: ["Chris McKeown"] tags: ["Sheet & View Manipulation"] image: "/tutorial/38-View-Duplication/image.png" publishedAt: "2025-07-01" isFeatured: false isEditorsPick: false isDeleted: false isVisible: true
Overview
The View Duplication tool allows you to quickly duplicate multiple Views across three different modes — standard duplication, new Views by Level, and replicating dependent Views with optional Sheet recreation.
Table of Contents
Key Features
- Three duplication modes: Duplicate Views, Views By Level, and Replicate Dependent Views
- Duplicate, With Detailing, or As Dependent copy options
- Optional inclusion of dependent Views when duplicating
- Scope Box assignment per duplicate copy
- View Template assignment on duplication
- Custom View naming on creation
- Sheet recreation when replicating dependent Views
- Search and filter to quickly find Views or Levels
- Settings saved between sessions
Requirements
- A Revit project with at least one non-template View
- For Replicate Dependent Views: at least one View with existing dependent Views
- Workshared models: ownership of the Views you intend to duplicate
Running the Tool
Launch
Navigate to the Bonus Tools tab and select View Duplication.
Select a duplication mode using the radio buttons at the top of the dialog.
Mode 1 — Duplicate Views
This mode duplicates existing Views using Revit's standard duplication options.
Set the number of copies using the numeric field.
Select the duplication method:
- Duplicate — copies the View geometry only.
- With Detailing — copies the View including all annotation and detail elements.
- As Dependent — creates a dependent copy of the View, optionally associated with a Scope Box.
Both Duplicate and With Detailing also support an Include Dependants checkbox to carry across any existing dependent Views.
When As Dependent is selected, a Scope Box grid appears allowing each copy to be assigned to a different Scope Box.
Search and filter the View list to narrow down results.
Select the Views to duplicate.
Click OK to run. A confirmation dialog reports the number of new Views created.
The newly created Views (and any Scope Box-cropped dependents) will appear in the Project Browser.
Mode 2 — Views By Level
This mode creates new plan Views for selected Levels using a chosen View Family Type.
Set the number of new Views per Level.
Select the Plan View Type to use for the new Views.
Search and filter the Level list.
Select the Levels to create Views for.
Click OK to run. A confirmation dialog reports the number of new Views created.
The new Views will appear in the Project Browser associated with their respective Levels.
Mode 3 — Replicate Dependent Views
This mode replicates the full set of dependent Views from one parent View onto other parent Views, with an option to recreate associated Sheets.
Choose the source View — the existing parent View whose dependent Views will be used as the template for replication.
Enable Recreate Sheets if the source View's dependents are placed on Sheets and you want matching Sheets built for the new copies.
Search and filter the target View list.
Select the target Views — each selected View will receive a replicated set of dependent Views matching the source.
Click OK to run. A confirmation dialog reports the number of new Views created.
The replicated dependent Views (and any recreated Sheets) will appear in the Project Browser.
Rename Views on Creation (All Modes)
All three modes support an optional Rename Views checkbox. When enabled, click View Name to configure a naming structure using the View Namer sub-dialog. The assembled name pattern is shown in the text field and applied to each new View on creation.
View Template Assignment
In Duplicate Views and Views By Level modes, enable Select a View Template and choose a template from the dropdown to automatically apply it to each newly created View.
Tips and Best Practices
- Use Replicate Dependent Views for level-by-level rollout. If your project uses a standard set of dependent Views (e.g. zone crops) on one level, Replicate Dependent Views lets you stamp that structure across all other levels in seconds.
- Combine with Rename Views. Setting up a naming pattern before running means new Views are immediately named correctly — no manual renaming pass needed.
- Scope Boxes speed up As Dependent workflows. Pre-create your Scope Boxes before duplicating, then assign each dependent copy to its zone directly from the grid.
- Recreate Sheets saves significant setup time. When enabled, new Sheets are created to match the source Sheet layout including titleblock placement and viewport positions.
- Search to reduce selection mistakes. Use the search field to filter to only the Views or Levels you need before selecting — especially useful in large projects.
Common Use Cases
Duplicating a standard floor plan across all levels — Use Views By Level, select all levels, choose the appropriate Plan View Type, and optionally apply a View Template in one pass.
Creating zone-cropped dependent Views — Use Duplicate Views with As Dependent, set the number of copies to match your Scope Boxes, and assign each copy to its zone directly from the grid.
Rolling out a coordinated View set to a new building wing — Set up one parent View with all required dependent Views and correct parameters, then use Replicate Dependent Views to stamp it across the remaining parent Views.
Building a phased Sheet set — Use Replicate Dependent Views with Recreate Sheets enabled to generate a new Sheet set mirroring an existing phase's layout, ready for a new construction phase.
Troubleshooting
No Views appear in the list Check the View Type filter and search field — they may be excluding all Views. Try clearing the search string or changing the View Type selection.
Replicate Dependent Views mode has no source Views available The source dropdown only shows Views that already have dependent Views. If it is empty, no plan Views in the project currently have dependents set up.
New Views are created but named "Copy of..." The Rename Views option was not enabled. Rename the Views manually, or re-run with Rename Views enabled and a naming pattern configured.
Sheet recreation does not fully replicate the layout Sheet recreation copies titleblock type, viewport positions, and schedule positions from the source Sheet. Some elements such as text annotations or detail groups placed directly on the Sheet are not carried across.
Duplication fails for some Views in a workshared model Ensure you have ownership of the relevant worksets or Views before running. Borrow the necessary elements and retry.
Scope Box grid is not visible The Scope Box grid only appears when As Dependent is selected as the duplication method. Switch to As Dependent to reveal it.
Select a Search by Parameter to filter views by a specific parameter value.
Enter a Search string to further narrow the list.
Select the Views you want to rename. Views shown in red are already placed on a Sheet.
Step 2 — Rename Options
Choose what to rename — the View, the Title on Sheet, or both.
Step 3 — Case Options
Select how casing should be applied to the new name.
| Option | Result |
|---|---|
| No Change | Keeps existing casing |
| UPPER CASE | All characters uppercased |
| lower case | All characters lowercased |
| Title Case | First Letter Of Each Word Capitalised |
| Sentence case | First letter of each sentence capitalised |
Step 4 — Build the New View Name
Use the parameter grid to construct the new name by stacking rows in sequence. Click Add to append a row; Delete to remove selected rows.
Set a row's Type to Text Field to enter static text.
Set a row's Type to a View Parameter (e.g. Associated Level) to insert its live value.
Use Move Up / Move Down to reorder segments.
The Example field shows a live preview of the assembled name structure.
Step 5 — Manipulate the Existing View Name (Optional)
When the View Name parameter is included as a row, the following options become available to modify that segment before it is inserted into the final name.
Replace Text — substitute one substring with another (e.g. ABC → DEF).
Left Crop N Chars — remove N characters from the start of the name.
Right Crop N Chars — remove N characters from the end of the name.
Crop at Position — remove N characters starting at a given index position.
Insert Before — prepend a prefix to the name.
Insert After — append a suffix to the name.
Insert at Position — inject text at a specific character index within the name.
Step 6 — Execute
Click OK to run. A progress bar tracks the operation and can be cancelled mid-run.
A summary confirms how many Views passed and how many failed.
If renaming fails, ensure you have ownership of the relevant elements in workshared models.
Tips and Best Practices
- Plan your naming structure first. Decide which parameters and text segments you need before building the grid. This reduces back-and-forth.
- Use the Example field. The live preview updates as you build — check it before committing.
- Combine Parameters and Text Fields. For example:
[Associated Level]+_(Text Field) +[View Name]produces level-prefixed names automatically. - Rename Title on Sheet separately. The Title on Sheet can be a more readable, long-form label while the View Name remains compact.
- Use Replace Text to clean up prefixes. If existing views have a legacy prefix like
OLD_, use Replace to strip it across all selected views at once. - Red views are on Sheets — rename with care. Renaming a View that is placed on a Sheet also affects how it appears in the Sheet's viewport title (if Rename Title on Sheet is enabled).
Common Use Cases
Standardising names across a View type — Select all Floor Plans, build a name from Associated Level + a Text Field separator + a description Text Field, and rename in one pass.
Stripping a legacy prefix — Select all affected views, add the View Name parameter row, enable Replace Text to swap the old prefix with nothing, and apply.
Adding a project phase suffix — Insert a Text Field row at the end of the grid containing _DD (or equivalent) to append a phase code to every selected View.
Syncing Title on Sheet with View Name — Enable both rename checkboxes and use an identical grid configuration to keep the two values consistent.
Troubleshooting
Renaming fails for some Views Ensure you have ownership of the elements in a workshared model. Borrow the relevant worksets or request ownership before running the tool.
The Example preview shows parameter names instead of values The Example field shows the name structure (types), not live parameter values — this is expected. Actual values are only resolved when the tool runs against each View.
A View name ends up with a number appended (e.g. _1)
Revit does not allow duplicate View names. If the new name already exists in the project, the tool appends an incrementing number to make it unique.
Title on Sheet did not update for Schedules The Rename Title on Sheet option does not apply to Schedule Views — this is a Revit API limitation.
Some Views in the list are not being renamed Only Views that are selected (highlighted) in the list are processed. Use Ctrl+A to select all, or Ctrl+Click / Shift+Click to refine the selection.