Ryan Lenihan

BIM Cache Cleaner 3.5.3 Update

Revit General,

Revit 2026 changed how cloud model caches can be configured, and BIM Cache Cleaner wasn’t picking that up properly.

In Revit.ini, Revit now allows the cloud cache to be redirected using:

[CloudModelCache]
CacheLocation=...

On a few machines I tested, [Directories] ProjectPath was empty, but CacheLocation was set. BIM Cache Cleaner was still scanning the default location:

%LocalAppData%\Autodesk\Revit

So it simply never saw the real cache.

In 3.5.3, the scanner now checks CacheLocation first. If it’s present and valid, that’s the path it uses. If not, it falls back to the default. That fixes cache discovery for Revit 2026 users who’ve customised their setup.

While fixing that, I did a small amount of internal cleanup to make future changes less brittle.

I added a basic dotnet test project so there’s at least a sanity check without having to mockup cache folders for various Revit versions before shipping changes. It’s not exhaustive, but it’s better than relying on manual testing alone.

I also wrapped filesystem access behind a simple IFileSystem interface. That pulls file and directory operations (and timestamp handling) into one place and reduces duplication between the normal scan and the quarantine scan. Behaviour stays the same; the code is just easier to reason about when path logic gets weird.

I also took this as an opportunity to try out Claude Code combined it with GLM5 to help investigate the Revit 2026 config and help with some of the refactor. First time using an AI coding tool, and it worked out quite well. I kept the scope tight, worked in small steps, and manually checked every change before it went anywhere near a release.

Version 3.5.3

  • Fixed: Custom cloud cache locations set via CacheLocation are now detected.
  • Improved: More robust handling of non‑standard cache paths.
  • Internal: Basic test harness and simplified filesystem access.

If you’re on Revit 2026 or newer and your cache lives somewhere non‑standard, this update should behave a lot better.

If it doesn’t, let me know in the comments.

As always, you can download the BIM Cache Cleaner right here at revit.com.au

Introducing the BIM Cache Cleaner

Technology

Originally posted on digitalbbq.au

Back in 2017, I wrote a post about cleaning up Autodesk Collaboration for Revit (C4R) cache files. I then wrote a small windows application, C4R Cache Cleaner, that helped the end user work through that process without having to trawl through the journal files manually. That application became one of the most downloaded tools on revit.com.au

Fast-forward eight years, C4R has evolved, my tool has too, and the BIM Cache Cleaner is finally ready.

Why the Update?

The original C4R Cache Cleaner automated what you could already do manually, scanning journal files to find and remove corrupted files from your collaboration cache.

It worked well, but had a few limitations:

  1. You needed to know what file you were looking for
    There was no way to automatically tell which file was the problematic one. You needed someone with good problem-solving skills to figure out which file needed removing before removing it
  2. Revit only keeps a limited number of journal files.
    Once an old model dropped off the list, the cleaner simply couldn’t “see” it.
  3. Unknown deletions made people nervous.
    While reading the journal files is perfect for resolving issues with corrupted cache files, people started to use the cache cleaner as a tool to recover space, which led to the addition of the “delete all not found in journals” option. It was handy but too vague for comfort.

A New Approach

Rather than relying on journal files, the new tool digs straight into the cache itself using OpenMCDF — a library that directly reads the files in the cache.

That change has unlocked a whole new layer of visibility.

Now the BIM Cache Cleaner can:

  • Uncover every model in your collaboration cache — no missing files.
  • Extract metadata such as model name, project name, and Revit version — without opening Revit.
  • Instantly detect corrupted files, automatically grouping them under “Corrupt Files.”
  • Provide a full audit view of your cache before you delete anything.

This means you can finally see what’s taking up space and decide what to remove.

What’s New in Version 3

  • Moved to .net 8.0 and WPF
  • Models are now shown in a tree view hierarchy, that distinguishes between working and linked models
  • Selective deletion — remove a single model, an entire project, or all caches for a Revit version
  • Advanced Mode for fine-grained cleanup (hidden by default, use with caution!)
    • Audit Tab showing file and folder type, size, and structure
    • Detailed list of everything associated with each model (PacCache, backup, central, links, link centrals)
  • CSV export of the full audit report
  • Copy-out function to extract local model copies with readable names
  • Age-based colour coding (yellow: >30 days, orange: >60 days, red: >90 days)
  • Revizto support for both v4 and v5, showing total folder size for easy space management

The new version has gone well beyond being a tool for corrupted file removal; it’s a proper cache management tool.

You can now understand what’s stored, how old it is, and how much space it’s using before you clear it.
It’s faster, safer, and gives complete control back to the user.

Download

You can download a copy of the BIM Cache Cleaner right here on revit.com.au

digitalBBQ – A New Home & Fresh Start

Revit General

Hey everyone!

Big news: I’m moving my ramblings from revit.com.au to digitalbbq.au! This change is more than just a URL – it’s a complete refresh in content and approach. I’ll be honest, revit.com.au started to feel a bit limiting for me over the past couple of years, and it’s time for a change.

I’m breaking free from the shackles of revit.com.au with digitalBBQ, where I can dive into everything from the nitty-gritty of digital delivery to the broader strokes of our industry, and even the odd tale from life outside of work (because let’s face it, there’s a lot more to me than BIM).

Expect a mix of everything – from hard-hitting industry insights like the impact of billable hours on innovation​​ to more personal stories like my recent travels to New Zealand​​. You might even find me waxing lyrical about the perfect pulled pork burger​​.

digitalBBQ is sleek, user-friendly, and ready for action. So, keep up with me as I explore new horizons and share a few laughs (and maybe a recipe or two) along the way.

Thanks for your continued support – I can’t wait to share more awesome content with you on digitalbbq.au!

Revit Batch Unit Converter Update

Revit Addins, Revit APIs and API Developlment, Revit General

The Revit batch unit conversion tool has been updated to work with Revit 2021. For those not familiar with the tool, it allows you to convert the current document, or to batch process families to convert them from metric to imperial.

Please refer to the updated posts regarding the unit conversion tool here:

Details of updates in the following posts:
Revit Bulk Unit Conversion Addin | REVIT.AU
Revit Bulk Unit Conversion Addin – digitalBBQ

I have released the source code for both the old version (pre-2022 versions of Revit) and the new version (for 2022+). You can view the code on GitHub here:

GitHub – Revit Unit Conversion Addin – pre-2022 version
GitHub – Revit Unit Conversion Addin – 2022 and newer version

You can download the Unit Conversion Addin here: Revit Unit Conversion Addin | REVIT.AU

To assure users that there is no malicious code in the file provided, please refer to the VirusTotal results, which have been run directly on the file hosted on GitHub. A snapshot of the results are below:

BIM360 Docs – How to Download RVT instead of ZIP

Revit General

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you download model source files from BIM360, sometimes they’re a singular Revit model and sometimes they’re a bundled ZIP package containing the Revit links?

Ever wondered why, or how to change this to get just the singular model?

They’re generally pretty easy to spot in the BIM360 web portal, you just need to look at the file size.

The files highlighted in green which have a much smaller file size will be downloaded as the singular Revit file, while the files highlighted in red with the larger file size will pull down the file plus it’s links in a ZIP package.

The resulting downloads from BIM360

But what’s the difference between these files? Are there particular publish settings that are required?

Well.. sort of.. you’ll kick yourself when you realise how simple it is, but then you’ll also be annoyed at how time consuming it could be on a large project.

Unload your links prior to publishing!

The model in the top screenshot is the 11mb model, it doesn’t have it’s links loaded and this is the way that it is published.

Meanwhile, the file with three links loaded is the 297mb model, so in reality the ZIP package could be much larger if all the links were currently loaded.

The problem I see with this is that with large projects, to achieve this you will need to unload the links, synchronise and then publish. That’s a lot of work when you have a lot of models but as always, there is potential to automate the mundane tasks.

But that’s a post for another time.

Clear Cache in Desktop Connector 13.x

Revit General, ,

Top tip from a co-worker, the new Desktop Connector 13.x allows you to clear the Desktop Connector cache, so if you’re someone that is limited on space or wants to clear up old project data, then this is for you!

This isn’t the same cache as your C4R/BIM360 cloud model cache, but rather the cache of files from Desktop Connector. This cache would include items such as non-workshared RVT links, DWG, IFC, NWC links or other files that you have been accessing through desktop connector.

It’s a simple enough process to clear up the space, and unlike my C4R Cache Cleaner, you cannot delete individual files, it simply deletes the entire cache for a given project.

Right click on your project of choice, and from there the only menu option that you’re presented with is to free up space.

Confirm that you want to clear the cache and you’re away. Once you see the confirmation notification, you’re all done.

I personally only had 2.9gb of cache for this particular project, but others on my team are reporting upwards of 25gb of files they no longer needed locally cached.

Need to reclaim more space?

If you’re struggling with available space on your system and a hard drive upgrade isn’t an option, I highly recommend Space Sniffer if you’re on Windows. It gives an easy to follow visual representation of what is taking up space on your system and where.

You can take a visual deep dive through your folders to see where data is stored. Just keep in mind some things are critical to the operation of Windows and can’t be deleted, but if you have 7 versions of Revit installed for example, when you see how much room they take up it might finally give you the nudge that you need to uninstall a few versions that you no longer use.

Help! My BIM360 Desktop Connector Icon Has Disappeared!

Revit General, , ,

Over the years I’ve experienced that Autodesk’s Desktop Connector can at times be a little finicky after updating. With the release of the new version 13.x things seem to be no different.

The most common issue I’ve experienced when updating desktop connector is for the BIM360 icon to disappear from Windows Explorer.

So if this happens, how do we get the icon back? Here are a few things you can try from least destructive to most destructive.

Refresh Your Drives

First, try to refresh your drives. This only refreshes your Autodesk related “drives” and will not affect anything on your local machine or your network.

Right click on the Desktop Connector icon and select Refresh Drives from the menu.

It works some of the time, but not that often. Not a problem though as there are more things to try.

Log out and in again

As simple as it sounds, this is always the first thing you should try. It’s quick and easy and will sometimes get the job done.

Right click on the Desktop Connector icon in the task bar and select Sign Out from the menu. Once Signed out, sign back in. Simple.

Delete Your Desktop Connector Cache

Ok, so now we’re getting.. sort of.. serious. Deleting things!

First, log out of Desktop Connector and close it.

Next, head to the following folder:

%localappdata%\Autodesk

Or if you want to browse manually, this will be C:\Users\<your user name>\Local\Autodesk and look for a folder that looks like the one highlighted below

Delete this folder. Alternatively if you’re a bit worried about the results of deleting the folder, rename it so that it’s suffixed with .old

Our next step is to head to the folder

%localappdata%\Autodesk\Web Services

Delete the Desktop Connector folder under Web Services.

Do not delete the Desktop Connector folder from the folder in the previous step!

Restart Desktop Connector by launching it from the start menu. You will see the “Welcome to Desktop Connector” dialogue.

Close the window and wait for a few more seconds and your BIM360 icon should reappear!

Reinstalling Desktop Connector

On the very rare occasion, even after following these steps you still won’t see the BIM360 icon, you’re going to have to reinstall desktop connector.

The correct way to reinstall is to follow the steps above to clear out the Desktop Connector cache.

Once the cache has been cleared, uninstall desktop connector and restart your computer.

Once the computer has been restarted you can then reinstall Desktop Connector and everything should work once more.

What if I still can’t see it?

In my experience the above steps should be all you need to take. If you’re still not able to see the icon there is one step left that might fix it..

C4R (and BIM360) Cache Cleaner Tool

Revit General

Alrighty, calm down! I know C4R is the old and BIM360 is what we mostly work with now, but it was a long time ago when I created this handy little tool.. and “BIM360 Cache Cleaner” doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.

You might remember a post I made a while back about how to manually clean out your C4R (now BIM360) cache. It’s a rare occurrence but on sometimes you end up with corrupt models in your local cache and you need to blow them away.

But explaining to the average user how to clear these models by searching journals and digging through their appdata folder, not to mention don’t forget your PacCache folder.. man.. it’s hard work!

As I’ve been getting involved in big projects again, I’ve already had two instances where I have had corrupted local files. This could be caused by all sorts of things, but I find usually the culprits are

  • Dropped internet connection during open or sync
  • Project partners running different patch versions of Revit (i.e. 2020.1 and 2020.2.1)
  • Corrupt family elements

Realistically though it could be caused by any number of bad Revit practices and the bigger the project, well, the more chance you’re going to stumble across things that break models.

All that aside though, a long time ago I decided to create a tool that would assist with this local cache cleaning process, and as I’ve found that I’ve needed to use it recently, I thought I would provide it free of charge for anyone that might find it useful.

It’s pretty easy to use, and it’s premise is simple. C4R Cache Cleaner is a standalone program that reads the journal files saved on your local machine to discover local copies of BIM360 files stored on your machine.

It won’t tell you what models are corrupt, and it doesn’t save a list of files that you’ve opened over time. If the project or the file isn’t found in a journal file.. well.. it just won’t show up.

The reason for this is that when you want to fix up a locally corrupted model, it’s something that you have been working on just now. There is no point to over complicate the tool to record a history of models through Revit addins and other fun stuff.

Most people should be able to figure out how to use the tool without any further instruction, but just in case you want a little more direction on how to clean your cache, I present you with probably the least pretty diagram I’ve created.

Hopefully someone else out there will find this little tool helpful, I know I do.. but I’m kind of biased.

Download

Download Now

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