Introducing Rename Pro: Revit Naming Automation

Today we're launching Rename Pro, a Revit add-in that generates family type names from parameters—so naming becomes a rule you set once, not a chore you repeat forever.

The Revit community has asked for native, parameter-based type naming since 2016. Autodesk hasn't shipped it, so we built it.

The Problem It Solves

Type names rot over a project's life. Wall-1 becomes Wall-1 Copy (3); one real door shows up in the schedule three times under three names. The fallout is concrete:

• Material takeoffs and schedules double-count identical elements.
• Coordination stalls when nobody knows which type is the approved one.
• IFC/COBie exports carry the mess downstream into FM.
• File size balloons with duplicate types doing the same job.

What Rename Pro Does

It reads the parameters you choose and writes consistent type names across 40+ Revit categories (system and loadable families), in batch, in one pass. Rules are strictly parameter-based—no AI guessing, no subscription—so output is predictable and entirely under your control.

A concrete before/after, from a real rule set:

Before                          After
Wall-1                          RP_A_W_EXT_Brick-250
Exterior Wall New               RP_A_W_EXT_Brick-200
Brick Wall Copy (2)             RP_A_W_INT_Stud-100

What It Renames — and What It Doesn't

Being clear up front saves disappointment later. Rename Pro renames family type names—the names you pick in the Type Selector and see in schedules—across model categories (Walls, Doors, Furniture…) and annotation categories (Text, Dimensions, Tags…).

It does not rename sheets, views, levels, grids, or worksets, and it doesn't touch individual instances (instances don't carry their own name—they inherit the type's). If you're fuzzy on why that distinction matters, see Categories, Families, and Types. What it does, it does to every checked type at once.

How It Works

The workflow mirrors Revit's native PDF Naming Rules dialog, so it's familiar on first launch:

Select Categories → Choose Parameters → Define Name Rules → Preview → Rename

1. Tick categories in the Categories panel.
2. Send the parameters that should drive the name into your rule set from the Parameters panel.
3. Shape each segment—prefix, suffix, separator, character trimming, case, units—in the Name Rules panel.
4. Check old vs. new (in green) in the Name Previews panel. Illegal characters and name collisions are flagged here, before anything changes.
5. Click Rename.

Because names come from live parameter values, re-running after an edit keeps every name correct.

Features That Earn Their Place

• Compound structure naming for walls, floors, ceilings, roofs, slabs, and toposolids—name by layer thickness and material, with a separate marker for the structural core. See the Compound Name Rules dialog.
• Rule-based duplicate detection: types that resolve to the same name are flagged as duplicates—even when their current names look nothing alike.
• Independent unit formatting: output 250mm cleanly even in an imperial project.
• Reviewable by design: nothing is written until you approve the preview.

Lite vs. Pro

Lite runs the full naming engine on one device. Pro adds JSON export/load of your rules—so you can back them up, restore after a Windows reinstall, and deploy one standard across up to three devices and your team. Details: License Activation & Management.

Get Started

Install with Revit closed, activate your key, pick a starting template (Arch Metric, Arch Imperial, or Empty), then build your first rule. Full walkthrough: Getting Started.

New to structuring names? Start with Best Practices for Revit Naming Conventions for a convention you can copy.