Alpha Update Block Models
Refresh a configured block document when source models are re-uploaded, without losing manual changes
Update Block Models
The Update Models command (in the Block Update panel of the Alpha ribbon) refreshes a document that was produced by Block Configure after one or more of its source models were re-uploaded to Alpha. Only models with a newer upload on the server are swapped — every placed instance of them, in place — while everything else in the document, including your manual changes, stays untouched.
Use it when you've opened a configured block, added manual work (annotations, extra elements, moved a house), and a modeler has since uploaded a corrected version of one of the source models. Re-running Block Configure would rebuild the document from scratch and lose your work; Update Models swaps just the outdated geometry.
How It Works
When a block is built, the add-in stamps the document and every placed model group with provenance metadata: which block configuration produced the document, and which model upload (and placement) produced each group. Update Models reads that metadata, re-fetches the block configuration's current model list, and compares upload timestamps per model.
Running an Update
- Open the configured block document (
block-<blockId>.rvt). - Click Update Models in the Block Update panel of the Alpha ribbon.
- The window shows where the document came from. For documents with metadata, the project and block are pre-selected; otherwise pick them manually.
- Click Check for Updates. Each model placed in the document gets a row:
- Update available — the server has a newer upload than what's in the document. Checked by default.
- Up to date — document and server match. Not selectable.
- Unknown (no metadata) — the instances carry no provenance (legacy document or manually duplicated group). Selectable, but unchecked by default.
- Removed from config — the model is placed locally but no longer part of the configuration. Informational only; nothing is touched.
- Review the selection and click Update Selected Models.
The add-in downloads the new model versions, deletes the outdated group type (which removes all its instances), and re-places the new geometry at each instance's location. The whole update is one undo step — a single Ctrl+Z reverts everything.
What Is and Isn't Preserved
| Manual elements elsewhere in the document (walls, annotations, …) | Preserved |
| Other models' instances | Preserved |
| Moves/rotations you applied to a swapped model's instances | Preserved — the new version is placed at the instance's current position |
| Edits you made inside a swapped model's group | Replaced by the new upload |
| Instances of the swapped model you deleted | Stay deleted (reported in the summary) |
| Ungrouped copies of the swapped model | Untouched (they're no longer the model's group) |
Legacy Documents
Documents built before update tracking existed carry no metadata. The add-in falls back to matching the file name (block-<blockId>) and the group type names, and all rows show Unknown (no metadata) — the server timestamp can't be compared against anything, so check the models you know changed. Mirroring for such instances is inferred from the configuration's expected placements; mirrored instances that were manually moved may need a visual check afterwards. After a successful update, the swapped groups (and the document) are stamped, so the next run is fully metadata-driven.
Troubleshooting
- "This document does not look like a configured block" — the active document has no Alpha metadata, no
block-…file name, and no model groups. Open a document produced by Block Configure. - A model failed to update — its change is rolled back (other models still go through) and the reason is shown in the status area. Typical causes: the new RVT doesn't contain a group with the model's name, or the download failed.
- All rows say "Removed from config" — you most likely picked the wrong block configuration. Nothing destructive happens by default; re-check the project/block selection.