Proactive Worksets User Guide

This guide covers everyday use in Revit and configuration management for BIM coordinators.

Before you begin

Proactive requires:

• Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit.
• Autodesk Revit 2025, 2026, or 2027.
• A workshared Revit model. Proactive remains inactive in a non-workshared model.
• A published Proactive JSON configuration linked to the model.
• The target worksets named by that configuration to exist in the model.

The standalone Proactive Config Manager requires the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime. The Revit add-in uses Revit's installed runtime and does not need a separate runtime installation.

Install Proactive

1. Close Revit.
2. Run ProactiveSetup.exe.
3. Select the installed Revit versions that should receive the add-in.
4. Include Proactive Config Manager if you create or maintain configurations.
5. Start Revit and confirm that the Proactive tab appears.

The standard installer is per-user and does not require administrator rights. To upgrade, run the newer installer over the existing installation. To uninstall, use Windows Settings > Apps > Installed apps.

Quick start for Revit users

1. Open a workshared Revit model.
2. Look at the floating Proactive Command Panel. If it reports a configuration error, ask your BIM coordinator which configuration the model should use.
3. If you are responsible for linking the model, select Proactive > Workset > Load Configuration…, choose the published workset-gatekeeper.json, and confirm. The link is saved in the model and therefore affects other users of that model.
4. Wait for Proactive to validate and activate the configuration. A green status dot means it is operating normally.
5. Model as usual. Proactive processes eligible changes during safe idle moments.
6. If the Command Panel reports held elements, open Control Centre to see the cause and take the appropriate action.

Use Workset > Show Current Configuration whenever you need to confirm which configuration the active model is using.

Understand the status displays

The floating Command Panel shows the active model's state. Click the purple P to collapse or expand it; drag the P to reposition it. Select Control Centre to open the detailed panel.

The Command Panel also provides:

• Ignore Selected: Make the current Revit selection an intentional exception.
• Ignored: Review elements currently excluded from governance.
• Control Centre: Open or close the detailed status and controls.

Control Centre

Control Centre contains:

• Current engine and configuration status.
• Catch-up progress when a model-wide scan is running.
• Needs Attention counts for rule conflicts, missing target worksets, and access restrictions.
• The ignored-elements list, including restore actions.
• Recent activity and a link to the full activity log.
• The Undo reprocess delay preference.
• Shortcuts to Load Config and Open Config Manager.

Resolve elements that need attention

Proactive uses three system holding worksets so unresolved elements stay visible and recoverable.

Expand an attention card to inspect the affected elements. You can select an element in Revit from the list or ignore selected exceptions.

If an element matches no rule and its category has no fallback rule, Proactive leaves it in place and records the outcome. Add a rule or category fallback if that element should be governed.

Use the Revit ribbon commands

Open the Proactive tab in Revit.

Workset menu

When moving a model to another configuration, use Load Configuration… directly. Do not unload first. Proactive presents a stronger confirmation when the new configuration belongs to a different project.

Utilities

• Create Worksets: Preview and create several worksets from a pasted list or from the linked configuration.
• Workset Auditor: Review current element-to-workset assignments and optionally move selected groups.

About

Use About Proactive… to see the installed version. The About menu also lets you replay the Command Panel and Workset menu tutorials.

Ignore an intentional exception

Ignoring is appropriate when a deliberate project decision should override the normal workset rules.

1. Select one or more elements in Revit.
2. Select Ignore Selected on the Command Panel, in Control Centre, or in the Workset ribbon menu.
3. Confirm that the ignored count has increased.

Proactive sets the instance parameter Proactive Workset - Ignore. While the value is enabled, the element is not assigned, held, deferred, or retried.

To return an element to governance:

1. Open Ignored or the ignored-elements section in Control Centre.
2. Find the element by category, family, workset, or element ID.
3. Select Restore, or use Restore all for the complete list.
4. Run Rescan Model Now if you want the restored elements checked immediately.

Moving elements through Workset Auditor records the move as an intentional decision and ignores the moved elements so Proactive does not immediately move them back.

Create and audit worksets

Create Worksets

Use this utility when preparing a new model or when a rule reports a missing target workset.

1. Select Proactive > Utilities > Create Worksets.
2. Paste one workset name per line, or load the standard list from the linked configuration.
3. Review the preview. It separates names that can be created, worksets that already exist, duplicates, and invalid names.
4. Confirm the creation count.

The utility never renames or deletes existing worksets and never moves elements. Proactive does not silently create user-defined target worksets simply because a rule names them.

Workset Auditor

Workset Auditor reports what is currently in the model; it does not decide whether an assignment is compliant with the configuration.

1. Select Proactive > Utilities > Workset Auditor.
2. Choose Worksets, Categories, or Flat list.
3. Search or filter by workset, category, family, or type.
4. Tick a group or row.
5. Select Select in Revit for a read-only review, or choose a destination and select Move elements.
6. Review the result summary, including elements Revit could not change.

Set up a configuration

This section is for BIM coordinators and configuration administrators.

Create the first project

1. Open Proactive Config Manager from the Start menu or from Workset > Rules… in Revit.
2. On first run, choose a shared practice root if the configuration will be used by multiple coordinators.
3. Select New Project.
4. Enter the project and configuration names, project code if used, and target folder.
5. Optionally import an existing JSON configuration as the starting point.
6. Open the new configuration.

A project may contain several configurations, for example separate Architecture, Structure, and MEP configurations.

Connect to an existing configuration

Use Connect to Existing Configuration rather than creating a second copy of a colleague's project.

1. On the Projects screen, select the connect action.
2. Browse to a configuration folder or to a container holding several project configurations.
3. Allow Config Manager to validate the identity and add the connections to this computer.

Remove only disconnects the current computer. Delete permanently removes Proactive's shared configuration content and requires an explicit typed-name confirmation. Treat those actions differently.

Config Manager page reference

Users without admin access can review a configuration but cannot stage, restore, import, or publish changes.

Build workset rules

Rule evaluation model

Each rule set is a category sheet. A rule contains:

• A stable rule ID and a descriptive name.
• One Revit category.
• A target workset.
• Zero or more match conditions.
• AND or OR condition logic.
• An enabled or disabled state.
• An optional fallback state.
• A priority number when that rule set uses priority resolution.

Only enabled rule sets and enabled rules participate in governance.

Available condition sources

• Type Name
• Family Name
• Instance Name
• Parameter, with a Type or Instance scope
• File Name
• Path

Available text comparisons are equals, not equals, contains, not contains, starts with, and ends with. Matching is case-insensitive unless Aa is enabled for the condition.

AND and OR

• AND means every condition in the rule must match.
• OR means at least one condition must match.

Example: a Walls rule can use Type Name contains External OR Type Name starts with EXT- and target A-External.

Fallback rules

A fallback rule has no conditions and matches elements in its category that were not matched by another rule. Fallback priority is fixed at 99. Use one when every eligible element in a category must have a destination.

Overlapping rules and priority

The safe default is Apply by priority: Off. If two rules in the same category both match, Proactive treats the result as a conflict instead of guessing.

When Apply by priority is on, the matching rule with the lowest priority number wins. An exact tie at the winning priority remains a conflict.

Prefer mutually exclusive conditions where possible. Enable priority only when the ordering is intentional and documented.

Add a rule

1. Open Rule Sets and select or add a category sheet.
2. Select Add Rule.
3. Give the rule a descriptive name.
4. Select its target workset. Use Add new workset… if the reusable name is not listed.
5. Add conditions and choose AND or OR.
6. Mark it as a fallback only if it should catch all otherwise unmatched elements in that category.
7. Enable the rule after reviewing it.
8. Fix any inline validation errors before saving.

Declaring a workset name in Config Manager does not create that workset in Revit. Use Create Worksets in each model that needs it.

Save, validate, and publish changes

Config Manager separates editing from live runtime use:

1. Make changes on Rule Sets, Worksets, Settings, or Admin Access.
2. Select Save Changes. This writes the changes to the Draft configuration; it does not change the Published package used by Revit.
3. Open Validation and select Validate All, or review validation on the Publish page.
4. Resolve every error. Warnings should be reviewed but may not block publishing.
5. Open Publish, review the change summary, and select Publish.
6. In Revit, confirm the active configuration/version in Control Centre or Show Current Configuration.
7. Run Rescan Model Now when the new rules should be applied to existing elements.

Backups are created automatically when the configuration is saved. Restoring a backup first checks that the backup is valid; if validation fails, the current configuration remains unchanged.

If another coordinator changes the configuration after you opened it, publishing is blocked to prevent overwriting their work. Reload the latest configuration, reapply your changes, and publish again.

Share configurations with other coordinators

Use one genuinely shared location that every coordinator can reach:

• A UNC network share, such as \\server\BIM\Proactive.
• A mapped network drive.
• An Autodesk Construction Cloud folder available through Desktop Connector.

One coordinator creates the project. Everyone else connects to that existing project or points Config Manager at the same practice root. Do not independently create projects with the same display name: each creation has a different internal identity.

Folders under a personal Desktop, Documents, OneDrive, or Dropbox path are suitable only for single-machine use. They are not a reliable multi-user configuration store because each user's absolute path differs and file synchronization is not a live shared registry.

When a configuration is under the practice root, Proactive stores a portable or logical reference so different machines can resolve the same configuration even if their mapped drive letters differ.

For additional deployment detail, see Shared multi-user setup.

Troubleshooting

Logs and diagnostics

For assignment questions, start with Workset > View Activity Log. It records assignments, holding outcomes, refusals, and configuration events for the session.

For configuration or support issues:

1. Open About & Diagnostics in Config Manager.
2. Review the health checks.
3. Select Copy Diagnostics and include the result with the issue report.
4. Include the Revit version, model size, affected element IDs, and what you were doing when the issue occurred.

Operational logs are stored under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Proactive\Logs by default. Config Manager's local activity log is stored under %APPDATA%\Proactive\ConfigManager. A coordinator may configure the shared outcome-log destination under Settings as Project Logs, User App Data, or an absolute custom folder.

Frequently asked questions

Does Proactive create every target workset automatically?

No. It automatically manages its three system holding worksets, but user-defined target worksets are created only through an explicit Revit action such as Create Worksets.

Do Draft changes affect Revit users?

No. Revit uses the Published configuration. Draft changes become available only after validation and publishing.

Does unloading a configuration delete it?

No. It removes only the link stored in the Revit model. The shared configuration files remain in place.

Can I manually place an element on another workset?

Yes, but Proactive may move it back if it remains governed. Ignore the element when the manual placement is an approved exception, or update the rule when the change should apply generally.

Can one project have several configurations?

Yes. A project can contain separate configurations for different disciplines, models, or governance needs.

What happens while Proactive is paused?

New elements remain where they are drawn. Queued, held, and deferred work is preserved and resumes normally when Proactive is restarted.