Good Revit naming conventions are the cheapest BIM standard you can adopt. They cost nothing, they make every schedule and browser list readable, and clients notice them at handover. This article gives a practical standard for families, types, views, sheets and worksets, with examples you can copy.

Why Revit naming conventions matter

A model is read by many people: modelers, coordinators, the client’s facility team and the next consultant. When names follow one pattern:

• schedules sort correctly and filters can rely on the name;
• anyone can find the right type without opening its properties;
• duplicates such as "Door 1", "Door 1 2" and "Door copy" disappear;
• the model passes the client’s BIM audit without a renaming round.

General rules

Keep a few rules for every name in the project:

1. Same order, always. Decide the order of fields once (for example category – description – size) and never mix it.
2. One separator. Use an underscore or a hyphen between fields, not both. Avoid spaces at the start or end.
3. No vague words. "New", "Copy", "Final", "Test" and person names do not belong in a delivered model.
4. Units in the name only when needed. If sizes are in the name, state the unit once in your standard (for example millimetres) and keep it consistent.
5. English or local language, not both. Mixed languages make sorting and searching unreliable.

Families

A family name should say what the object is, not who made it. A common pattern is:

Category_Description_Variant

Examples:

• Door_Single-Flush_Glazed
• Window_Casement_2-Panel
• Column_Concrete_Rectangular

If your client follows a classification such as Uniclass or OmniClass, put the classification code in a shared parameter instead of the name. Names stay short and the code is still schedulable.

Types

Type names carry the size or the build-up that makes a type different. Put the defining dimensions in a fixed order:

• Doors and windows: Width x Height, for example 900x2100mm.
• Walls: total thickness and main material, for example 200mm_Concrete or Int_100mm_Plasterboard.
• Beams and columns: the section, for example 300x600mm or UB 305x165x40.

For scan-to-BIM work this is where most clean-up happens: every measured opening becomes a new size, so type names drift fast. Renaming types by hand from their parameters is slow; Rename Types renames every type of a family from a pattern such as {Width}x{Height}mm in one step.

Views

View names should tell the level, the purpose and the discipline:

Discipline_Level_Purpose

• ARC_L01_Floor Plan
• ARC_L01_Working (for modelers, not for sheets)
• STR_Section_A-A
• ARC_3D_Coordination

Keep working views clearly separate from sheet views, for example with a "Working" suffix or a browser organization by view purpose. Then nobody edits the view that is placed on a sheet by mistake.

Sheets

Sheet numbers usually follow the client’s document standard. When there is none, use discipline plus a running number: A-101, A-102, S-201. The sheet name says what is on it: Ground Floor Plan, Sections A and B.

Worksets

Worksets are for splitting work and controlling visibility, not for categories. A short list is enough for most scan-to-BIM projects:

• Point Cloud
• Shared Levels and Grids
• Architecture_Exterior
• Architecture_Interior
• Structure
• MEP
• Links

Putting the point cloud on its own workset lets the team close it when they don’t need it, which also keeps Revit faster (see point cloud slow in Revit).

Make the standard stick

• Write it on one page. A naming standard nobody reads is not a standard. One page with examples is enough.
• Put it in the template. Start every project from a template that already follows the standard.
• Check before delivery. Review family, type and view names before every handover, and clean up leftovers. Cleanup ZetaBIM Data removes the helper items ZetaBIM created during modeling.

Next steps

Naming is one part of a good BIM standard. Read how LOD and LOA define what you deliver from a scan, or see the full Revit point cloud plugin workflow for modeling faster from laser scans.

Get ZetaBIM

ZetaBIM is a Revit plugin for scan-to-BIM teams. See the complete guide to the Revit point cloud plugin workflow. Download ZetaBIM to try it, browse more ZetaBIM tutorials, or watch the videos on the ZetaBIM YouTube channel.