This Operation Could Not Be Completed

This error message came up for a customer of mine when they were upgrading a Revit 2013 project to 2014 and using Revit Server.  The file worked perfectly in 2013, but as soon as the file was upgraded to 2014, they couldn’t save it to Revit Server 2014…the above mentioned error popped up.

So, like I do with a lot of my customers, I had them send me the file so I could test it out on my end.  This allows me to test the file using my setup, which helps determine if it’s a file issue, Revit Server issue, or maybe both.  Now, you might be asking…”how do you know what issue it is?”  If I can replicate the error on my end, it’s likely a file issue or potentially both.  If I can’t replicate the issue, then chances are it’s an issue with their Revit Server.

While I was getting the file downloaded from the customer, I had them try another file (different project) and it worked perfectly.  Okay, that narrows it down to more than likely being a file issue…but I still wanted to verify that on my end to make sure.  Sure enough, I got the file and received the exact same error message when trying to save the file to Revit Server 2014.  Autodesk, here we come!

I worked with Autodesk support to get their take on the file. They attempted to do the same thing we did, get the file saved to Revit Server 2014…same error.  After they reviewed the journal and log files (which I looked at as well, but couldn’t decipher what was going on) they determined that it was an issue with the project’s permission data.  The “short-term” fix was to detach the central and blow away the worksharing…yep, bring it back to a single-user file.  Then, once that process was completed, re-enable worksharing.  By doing that process, the permission data was stripped out and re-established and the file could now be saved to Revit Server 2014.  However, the file was sent over to the development team for them to take a look at what was going on in the upgrade process since the file worked just fine in 2013.

The development team came back and said they found the issue, it was an invalid workset ID assigned to one of the elements.  They were able to fix the file by assigning a workset ID to the problem element.  They sent me the fixed file and it worked perfectly.  And they didn’t sent back the converted single-user file back, they sent back the original file with the original worksharing/worksets.  Sweet!

But, I couldn’t stop there….I had to ask the question; “Is this a fix I could have done, or does this issue need to be handled by the development team?”  The answer, they had to do it as we “end users” don’t have the ability to assign workset ID’s to elements.  However, you might be able to cut/paste the problem element once you know what element it is (by investigating the journals/logs) and fix it that way…

Challenge Accepted!! (when I get time to test it out …)

Linked File Cannot Be Saved Error Message

I've had a few clients get this message in the past and seen a few posts on AUGI as well.  Many have said that it's a meaningless message and that is can be ignored, but it's an annoyance and usually messages in Revit mean something.

This past week I had a client get it again and the linked Revit file hadn't been touched in quite some time, so it was really puzzling.  Usually, you can just open the linked file, save it, close it, then reload the link and be go to go...but this time that didn't work.  So I sent the message to Autodesk and here's the response I received...(I added the bold and underline to point out a few things)

Thank you for contacting Autodesk Support.  I apologize this issue is occurring as I know it must be frustrating.  Our development team is working to correct this on a future release.

If a linked RVT file contains a linked DWG (or other "CAD format") file, and the DWG file has changed on disk since the last time the linked RVT file was saved, then when the linked RVT file is loaded (as a link)  the DWG file is reloaded which Revit interprets as a modification.

As long as your client is not trying to make any changes related to shared coordinates, the message is harmless and can be ignored.  But if they are trying to do something related to shared coordinates (including moving an RVT link that uses shared coordinates), the message will prevent those changes from being saved. 

A workaround is to open the linked RVT file that the message complains about, save it, and close it.  That should save the RVT link with the latest version of the DWG links inside it, so that when it is later opened as a link the message will not appear.  Of course, the message will reappear when a DWG file is modified again, until the RVT link is re-saved.

So it appears that it is a harmless message as long as you are not doing anything with shared coordinates.  This message has been coming up in a few releases of the software now, so hopefully the development team can come up with a solution.  And if they do, hopefully it's not like the Wall Sweep fix that wasn't documented.

And yes, once everyone STC and closed local files, they were able to open the link, save, close and the message went away.

Update Ready for download for 2008 January Bug

Here's a response (and fix!!!!) directly from Autodesk regarding the Failed to Open and Unspecified Error Messages....

I am happy to announce that Autodesk has fixed the “Y2K8 bug”!We just posted a new build (20080101_2345) of Revit Architecture 2008, Revit Structure 2008, and Revit MEP 2008 that fixes the problem. It is still considered Web Update #3 because replacing the existing file was the fastest method of delivering it to the public. Therefore, the executable file names are the same as the previous build (20071102_2345).We have updated the Web Update Enhancement Lists to add the following items:

• 
  Improves stability when editing groups, saving views/groups to the library or creating a new project with template set to “None”.
• 
  Improves stability when upgrading or linking a project from Autodesk Revit Building 8.1/Revit Structure 2 or older.

I would also like to inform everyone that we are only releasing this fix in the English version. Because of the time necessary to localize the update for the other languages, it would not be ready before February 1, 2008 when the problem will go away.

Here are the links to the updated downloads...

RAC: www.autodesk.com/revitarchitecture-download
RST: www.autodesk.com/revitstructure-downloads
RME: www.autodesk.com/revitmep-download

Thanks Autodesk for getting a solution out in a relatively timely manner...but sorry to hear that it's only available for the English version at this time.

Failed to Open or Unspecified Error Messages

There have been a couple bugs revealed with Revit since the calendar changed to January 2008. If you are trying to open a file that was last saved in 8.1 (or earlier) you are probably getting a "Failed to Open" error message. Or, if you are editing a group, saving a view, group or schedule out to an external file, you are probably getting an "Unspecified Error" message.

Autodesk was made aware of this problem and today released this responce on their Service and Support page....http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=10458150&linkID=9243099

This issue will only occur in January, 2008. As of February 1st, 2008, this issue will no longer occur.

To work around this issue

1. On the Start menu (Windows), click Settings > Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click Date and Time.
3. In the Date and Time Properties dialog box, on the Date and Time tab, change the month to any month other than January.
4. Click OK.
5. Perform the required task.
6. Change the system date back to the current date.

Warning! Changing the system date can impact other software and utilities on your computer. Please contact your system administrator before making these changes.

So, if you are one of the lucky ones that can actually change the month or make any change to your clock settings, you can get around the issue. But, if your IT department/person has locked everything down tight, you'll have to get permission from them or have them change it before you can do any of the tasks that are affected in the month of January!