Retrace your own steps.

Open the model you believe to be the central directly (don't create a new local or detach) then re-save it, ensuring that before you press save you go to Options and have the "make this a central file" checkbox ticked.

Then have your operator try again and post back your result.

Thanks for your response,...I was sucessful correcting the issue. I opened the central file directly from the network by double clicking on the file, saved as, my local file, synconized, then closed out again. I open the file this time from Revit rather than double clicking on the central file,..now the 'Create New Local' is not ghosted. I sent out a message to all our operators this morning that if the local file does not include their user name ie(11-129model_ckarl.rvt) as a suffix as it appears in options under user name, then it was not done correctly,...We now see this on each one of our local files.

Thanks again,

Chuck

This, IMO, is how you should always open a central file - and the primary reason why I disable "Recent Pages" on my team's installs.

Well the truth is, if it does not suffix their windows login name to the filename, it is not a local file.

Unless you've reason for them to open from their locals directly, you should have them always open the central file directly, from within Revit at the start of each work session. The first thing your users should then always see when doing this (after the first time) is the Revit request "Do you want to : (save a new local) / (append a timedate stamp to the existing local)" - it's the biggest clue-factor that they're doing it "right".

One thing that I have noticed through the years is that high maintenance employees will screw this one up regarding opening the local from the central. There is an option at the bottom of the dialogue box to detach from central rather than creating a new local,...someone will choose the wrong option even though the default is to create a new local. For this reason, I have pathed each operators user files under options, to a local file that I created that contains all the local files. They can open the local and sync to the central,..simple.

Hi charles, i also encountered same problem with you in one of my projects... but we just found out that the when we mapped the directory of the server, it is different with my partner's directory, but still on the same server.. kinda difficult to explain but here is the actual directory we mapped..
pwc20 (\\172.16.184.2)(x: ) --------------------- correct directory
pwc20 (\\172.16.184.2)(z: ) --------------------- wrong directory
you better check the directory... or just talk to any IT in your firm to confirm if you can locate same directory in a server..

Agree 1000% with you Snowy!
No one should EVER double-click on the .rvt file from Explorer.
Maybe it's because I've often got multiple versions of different software on my machine, but I have never trusted double-clicking for anything more complicated than a PDF file.

That said, I've been advocating for years that Revit should make the whole "Make a Local Copy" process go away.
Well, not exactly go away, but make it invisible to the user. Fine if Revit makes a Local Copy, but that whole proces should be in the .
Right now there are too many ways to screw it up:

• Double-click in Windows Explorer - opens the Central File directly.
• Open from Recent Files - sometimes Recent shows Central, sometimes Local
• Open Local file - If the Central has been moved or worse, replaced, the Local may be out of synch and cannot be SWC'd

There are just too many opportunities ways for the process to go wrong.

My suggestion is that Opening a Central file ALWAYS makes a Local, and that the Local is hidden away in the Temp folder.
The user should never see anything other than the Central and shouldn't have to worry about which version of the file they are looking at.
A knowledgeable person should be able to dig out the Local or open the Central directly, but the average user should never have to see any of that complexity.

Can you think of any other software that makes you keep track of two copies of the same file?
I'm not saying the Central/Local concept is a bad idea. In fact, I think it borders on the genius.
I just want it all to happen in the so the typical user doesn't have to be aware of it.

If the path to the local file is correct, you will only be looking a one file, your local file,...assuming that you open Revit first. This is not rocket science,...just don't open the central model.

With all this being said, this subject is like POTATO/potato,...choose one method, stick to it,...and fire everyone who does not follow office standards.

Thanks for the tip, I will look into it

Not exactly.
The FIRST time you open a project, you MUST go to the Central - obviously; you don't HAVE a Local.
The Second time you can use your Local.
Unless, perhaps, your Local happens to be 3 or 4 months old, and the Central has been upgraded. Then you'll find out your Local is incompatible - AFTER it's all the way open.
Or if for some reason you DID need to open the Central directly.
Or if you opened a Link from the Project Browser.
Or if you can't herd 75 cats, and one of them opens by double-clicking from Explorer (like they do with all of their Word Docs and Excel Spreadsheets - which are the only thing they normally work on because they are a Principal) even after being told not to.

My is just that there are a lot of ways to screw up this process. It's a whole lot simpler that it used to be in the days of manually copying and renaming the Central file, but it seems to me that it could and should be made more idiot-proof.