Ever received a Revit file and needed to know which version it was saved in before doing anything else? Maybe you manage multiple Revit versions on your machine, or you need to warn a colleague before they try to open it. Here are two quick methods that will tell you exactly which version a .rvt file is — no guessing, no failed opens.
Method 1 — Use the Revit Open dialog preview
This one is built right into Revit and most people never notice it.
- Open Revit and go to File → Open
- Navigate to the .rvt file but don't double-click it yet — just single-click to select it
- Look at the right-hand preview panel in the dialog box
- Revit shows you a thumbnail of the file and just below it the version it was saved in
Quick and easy, but it requires having Revit open in the first place. If you just want to check a file version without launching Revit at all, Method 2 is much faster.
Method 2 — Open the file in Notepad (no Revit needed)
This is the one worth remembering. Every .rvt file stores its version information in plain text in the file header — and you can read it with nothing more than Notepad.
- Right-click the .rvt file → Open with → Notepad
- You will see a wall of unreadable characters — that is normal
- Press Ctrl+F to open the Find dialog
- Search for: F o r m a t (with spaces between each letter, exactly like that)
- Notepad will jump to a line that reads something like: Format: 2021 or Format: 2024
- That number is the Revit year version the file was last saved in
Why the spaces? Revit stores strings in Unicode with null bytes between characters, which Notepad renders as spaces. So the word "Format" in the file header appears as "F o r m a t" when viewed as plain text. Once you know this trick you will never forget it.
Which method should you use?
Use Method 1 when you are already in Revit and just need a quick check before opening. Use Method 2 when you want to inspect a file before deciding which Revit version to launch — or when you do not have Revit installed at all, for example on a project manager's machine.
Both methods work on any .rvt file regardless of version. The Notepad trick also works on .rfa family files.
Do you know any other ways to inspect Revit file metadata without opening them? Share in the comments below.