Required Internal Settings Are Missing

One or more required internal settings are missing from the model.

You may encounter this error when opening or upgrading a Revit model.

Issue: A required internal setting is a unique element that contains information needed to retain settings in the model. In rare cases, a model becomes corrupt, and a required internal setting is missing. These internal settings do not affect the display of model elements, but related information may be missing or inaccurate.

For example, one required internal setting is Revision Settings. If this setting is corrupt or missing from the model, the Sheet Issues/Revisions dialog may report incorrect numbering options, sequencing, or revision names.

Other examples include the following:

Solutions: When the error dialog displays, choose the option that makes the most sense for your situation.

Repair and open

Choose this option to repair the model and open it in Revit.

  1. In the dialog, click Repair and open.

    The software attempts to repair the internal settings by registering them in the model or by creating new default settings. In either case, some information may be lost in this process. For example, if the issue is related to revision settings, custom settings related to revision numbering may be lost and revert to the default settings.

    When the repair is complete, the model opens.

  2. Examine the model to check for unexpected changes related to the repaired settings.
    Required internal setting Model settings to examine
    Keynote Table Check the contents of the keynote table.
    Keynotes on Sheets Tracking Keynote legends:
    • For keynote legends that filter by sheet, check the legend to ensure that it lists all expected keynotes.
    • If the method for keynote numbering is By Sheet, confirm that key values display in keynote legends and are numbered correctly.

    Scan sheets for blank keynotes.

    Revision Settings

    Click View tabSheet Composition panel (Sheet Issues/Revisions). In the dialog, check that the following settings and information are defined appropriately for the model:

    • the sequence, numbering scheme, and the revisions in the matrix
    • the Numbering setting: Per Project or Per Sheet
    • the Numbering options: Numeric and Alphanumeric
    • the Arc length for revision clouds

    Scan sheets for correct revision numbering in revision schedules and revision tags.

    Revision Clouds on Sheets Tracker

    If the model uses revision numbering per sheet, check that revision schedules contain the correct revisions for that sheet, and that the assigned numbering is correct.

    Scan sheets for blank revision tags.

  3. If you discover that some settings are missing, try the following:
    1. Keep the repaired model open in Revit.
    2. Open an earlier version of the model in the same session of Revit.

      Backup copies of the model are stored in the same folder as the model. They use the file name <project_name>.<nnnn>.rvt, where <nnnn> is a 4-digit number indicating how many times the file has been saved. Open one of these backup copies in Revit.

    3. In the repaired model, use the Transfer Project Standards tool to transfer settings from the backup model to the repaired model.
    4. Examine the repaired model again to check relevant settings.

Repair, open, and synchronize

Choose this option to repair a workshared model and open it in Revit.

If the model is a local copy of a workshared model, the software performs the following steps:

As a result of this process, you do not need to open the central model to repeat the repair.

  1. In the dialog, click Repair, open, and synchronize.

    Refer to the steps in the previous section on Repair and open to repair the model and open it in Revit.

  2. If the model is a local copy of a workshared model, Sync with Central to update the central model with the repair.

Do not open the model

To discontinue opening the model, click Do not open the model.

Instead, you may want to open an earlier version (backup copy) of the model that does not generate this error. See About Backup Files.

You will need to repeat any changes that were saved in the most recent, corrupt version of the model.

Parent topic: Troubleshooting: File Issues