The Problem

Autodesk® Revit® files (projects | .rvt, families | .rfa, templates | .rte) are heavily dependent on the Revit version they have been saved in. Because of this when a Revit file is opened in a different version of Revit, the user either gets a notification that the file has been saved in a later version of Revit, or they are greeted with a dialog informing them the file is being upgraded. Additionally, the most recent version that was installed on the user's machine is the default Revit version that is opened when the user opens a Revit file in the file explorer.

When the version of Revit the file has been saved in isn’t identified in the file name picking the right Revit version can be a guessing game. This can lead to countless hours canceling upgrades or opening the correct Revit version to then open the file through Revit’s interface.

The Solution

In comes File Version Checker. This is a lightweight application that can be set as the default application for Revit files. When the user opens the Revit file through their system’s file explorer, the File Version Checker will read the basic file information of the file to determine exactly what version of Revit it was saved in. It will also read the user’s Revit install location to determine the Revit versions available on the user’s system. If the user has the same version of Revit that the file has been saved in, the application will present the user with a convenient “open” button. If the user has newer versions of Revit installed, they will also be given the opportunity to upgrade the file to the Revit version of their choice.

Note: This app uses a custom installer (and not the standard App Store installer).