Updated November 2026
How to size a Revit or BIM archive, and who says they want it
Size a Revit archive by counting projects, RVT models and RFA families, then totaling the folders in GB and noting the oldest year. Ventra names Revit in 5 of the 31 listings in its catalog, while Mode and Polyshares name AutoCAD and leave Revit out, so ask each buyer whether it takes native BIM files.1,2,3,4
Sizing
How to size a Revit archive
A Revit archive has no single storage meter, so measure it where the files live, on file servers, Revit Server and any cloud projects. Polyshares' AutoCAD guide gives a method that carries over: check the size of the top folder, search for the file type, and report the total in GB, saying whether PDFs and images are counted.5
Add the counts a buyer will ask for next. Ventra's catalog reports each dataset by units, volume, formats, years covered, region and rights, so note the number of projects and building types, the RVT and RFA file counts, the total GB, the Revit versions you used and the year of your oldest model.1
Export
How to export Revit models with their links intact
Autodesk's eTransmit add-in is the usual way to package a model, since it copies linked Revit models, linked IFC files and CAD links along with the host and repaths them to the save location. It copies what is saved on disk, so save first, and read the transmittal report afterward, which lists any dependent files it could not find.6
Some files need copying by hand. eTransmit doesn't automatically include point clouds, shared parameter files, lookup tables, material rendering images, XRefs linked to CAD models or external fonts. You also don't need to export before you talk to a buyer, because Polyshares says its intake needs only the size.7,5
Other BIM files
Navisworks, IFC and Rhino files
Check which Navisworks files you have before you count them. An NWD file holds all the model geometry and review markups, an NWF file holds only links to the original files with no geometry, and an NWC file is a cache, so a folder of NWF files without the source models isn't a copy of anything.8
Ventra's company data page names Rhino and SketchUp, and doesn't name Revit, so count those files as well and ask about IFC. In the catalog, all 5 listings that name Revit also list other formats, so count the whole project folder and not only the RVT files.9,2
Who wants it
Who says they want Revit and BIM data
Direct proof is limited to Ventra so far, with 5 of the 31 catalog listings naming Revit, and those show what it is gathering, not what has sold. Ventra says labs look for CAD libraries specifically, and told us CAD datasets don't need its 30-person minimum.2,10,11
Polyshares lists architecture and construction firms as in demand, and its intake lists AutoCAD and not Revit, so raise your format early. Mode's source list names AutoCAD with "+1K more", which leaves Revit an open question there too.12,4,3
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
Family libraries are worth a separate line, in our view, because they are your own standards and not tied to one project. Ventra's catalog reports units and volume for each listing, so give the RFA count alongside the project count.1
Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.
Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Questions to talk through with your buyer
Every business is different, so these are best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over them with you before anything is signed.
Questions for this kind of business
- Do Autodesk's terms say anything about licensing Revit files for AI training?
- How are consultants' linked models identified and removed?
- How are client names and addresses removed from sheets and model properties?
- Who owns this data: the company, an estate, or someone else?
- Do customer, supplier or platform contracts, NDAs or API terms restrict this?
Questions for any buyer
- Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
- Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
- Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
- How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
- What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
- Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
- Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?