Link another model into your model

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Bring another model from your project, like a core and shell building published from Revit, into the model you're working in. It comes in as a reference: you can design around and inside it, but you can't accidentally change it. If you've linked models in Revit or used Xrefs in AutoCAD, this works the same way.

When to link a model

Link a model when someone else owns it and you need it as context. For example:

  • You're doing an interior fit-out, and the building team publishes the core and shell from Revit.

  • You want to reuse a library of Revit families without bringing in the building they came from.

A linked model stays exactly as its owner published it. You do your work in your own model.

⚠ You can also open a published model and draw in it directly, but re-publishing from Revit replaces that model and anything you added in Motif is lost. If the building team will keep publishing updates, link it instead.

⚠You can't hide other categories inside a linked model yet.

Add the model to your Content Library

The model you want to link must already be in your project. Models published from Revit or Rhino appear on the project page as their own model, next to your default model.

  1. Open the model you want to work in, for example your default model.

  2. Click the Content Library button in the left toolbar, directly below the Motif logo.

  3. Click + at the top of the Content Library and choose Add model from project.

  4. Check the model you want to link, then confirm.

The model now appears under External source in the Content Library.

Place the linked model

Adding the model to the Content Library doesn't place it yet.

  1. Under External source, click the model.

  2. Click Place instance.

  3. Either click in the model to place it where you want, or click Place in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen to place it at the origin (0, 0, 0).

Placing at the origin uses the linked model's own origin, so a building published from Revit lands where it sits relative to its origin in Revit.

💡 You're adding the link to the model, not to a view. It shows up in every floor plan, section, and 3D view of your model, not just the one you had open when you placed it.

Work inside the linked model

Once it's placed, work around it as you would in any model: create floor plans, sections, and 3D views, draw walls, place furniture, and add annotations.

You can't select and edit what's inside the link. Nothing you do changes the original.

Create levels to match the link

Levels inside a linked model belong to that model, so you can't make floor plans from them. To get floor plans at each story, create matching levels in your own model, either by hand or by asking the agent, for example "Create levels in this model to match the levels in the linked model."

⚠You'll see the linked model's levels as well as your own. You can't hide only the link's levels yet. To hide all levels in a view, open the view's Properties, go to Visibility overrides, and turn off levels.

Open the original to edit it

Select the linked model and click Edit. The original model opens in a new browser tab, where you can make changes if you have edit access. Those changes don't appear in your model until you update the link's version (see below).

Reuse assets from a linked model

Every family and asset inside a linked model can be placed in your own model on its own.

  1. In the Content Library, find the model under External source.

  2. Click the arrow next to it to see everything the model contains.

  3. Select an asset, like a countertop, chair, or door, and click Place.

This places a new copy in your model. The original model isn't changed.

💡 Use a published model as a family library. Publish a Revit file that holds your firm's standard families, add it to any model as an external source, and place only what you need, without placing the building itself. Rename the source model to something like Firm Revit library so it's easy to find.

💡Rename the source model - Open the model first with Edit or from the project page and click its name at the top left of the screen.

Choose which version you see

Linked models don't update automatically. When the building team publishes a new version, you decide when to pick it up, so you're not coordinating against changes before you're ready.

  1. Select the linked model.

  2. In Properties on the right, find Reference version and click the pencil icon.

  3. Choose Select newest version, or pick a specific version.

Need help? Reach out to us at community.motif.io