RFA viewer online: open Revit families without Revit
Drop one or more .rfa files to see each family’s preview image, Revit version, category, OmniClass code and every type with its parameter values. Export the types as CSV or as a ready-to-use Revit type catalog, or browse our ready-made Revit families.
Runs in your browserNothing is uploadedBatch of filesTypes and parametersType catalog (.txt) export
Open Revit families
Drop .rfa family files here
One family or a whole batch. No Revit needed.
Your files never leave your computer. They are read in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Only three small parts of each file are read: the preview image, the family metadata and the version header. The model itself is never loaded.
What you see for each family
- Preview: the thumbnail Revit saved with the family.
- Details: Revit version, category, OmniClass and file size.
- Types: every family type with its parameter values.
- Exports: the types as CSV, or a Revit type catalog (.txt).
Families
No families open yet. Drop .rfa files above or choose them to see their preview, types and parameters.
Everything shown comes from the PartAtom metadata Revit writes when it saves a family. It lists each type with its parameter values, but not the parameter groups of type parameters or any formulas, and it can leave out instance parameters. Values are shown exactly as Revit saved them, in the family's own units. Check the family in Revit before you rely on a value.
Need families for your next project? Parametric, ready to load, for furniture, equipment, MEP and more.
Browse 3,300+ ready-made Revit familiesView a Revit family in three steps
Drop your .rfa files
Drag one family or a whole folder’s worth onto the tool, or choose them. The files are read in your browser and never uploaded.
See the preview and types
Each family gets a card with the thumbnail Revit saved, its version, category and OmniClass, and a table of every type and its parameter values.
Copy or export
Copy the types as CSV for Excel, or download a type catalog (.txt) to put next to the family so Revit lets you pick types when you load it.
Where the viewer finds its data
A Revit family is an OLE compound file: a small file system inside one file. The viewer reads its directory and only three small streams, never the geometry, so even a large family opens in a moment.
| Stream | What it holds | Shown as |
|---|---|---|
| RevitPreview4.0 | A short Revit header followed by a PNG thumbnail (128 × 128 px in every family we tested) | Preview image |
| PartAtom | Atom XML: family name, category, OmniClass, family parameters by group, and one entry per type with its parameter values | Details, family parameters, types table |
| BasicFileInfo | The Revit release and build that last saved the file | Revit version |
Projects (.rvt) have no PartAtom, so the viewer tells you it’s a project and shows only its version. Some older families don’t store PartAtom either; open and save them in Revit to add it.
How the type catalog is written
A type catalog is a comma-separated .txt file with the same name as the family, saved in the same folder. The first line starts with a comma and declares each parameter; every next line is one type.
Desk 1200,1200,3
Desk 1600,1600,4
| Parameter | Declared as | Value written |
|---|---|---|
| Length (metric) | ##LENGTH##MILLIMETERS (or CENTIMETERS, METERS) | The number in that unit |
| Length (imperial, 2′ – 6″) | ##LENGTH##FEET | Decimal feet: 2.5 |
| Area / Volume | ##AREA##SQUARE_METERS or SQUARE_FEET / ##VOLUME##CUBIC_METERS or CUBIC_FEET | The number |
| Angle | ##ANGLE##DEGREES | Degrees |
| Yes/No | ##OTHER## | 1 for Yes, 0 for No |
| Text, Integer, Number, Material, URL | ##OTHER## | As in the family |
| Currency | ##CURRENCY## | The number, without the symbol |
Format from Autodesk Revit Help, “Create a Type Catalog” (Revit 2024). Parameters with other units (for example mass per unit length) are left out and listed under the export buttons, rather than guessed. Text with commas or inch marks is put in double quotes.
RFA viewer questions
You can’t edit a family without Revit, but you can look inside it. Drop the .rfa file on this viewer and it shows the preview thumbnail, the Revit version, the category and every type with its parameter values. Everything runs in your browser, so you don’t need Revit, an Autodesk account or a plugin.
The viewer lists the family parameters by their Revit group (Dimensions, Identity Data, Other and so on) and shows a table with one row per type parameter and one column per type. Use the filter box to find a parameter by name. Formulas and the groups of type parameters aren’t stored in the metadata the viewer reads, so check those in the Family Editor.
Open the family here and select Download type catalog (.txt). The file gets the family’s name. Put it in the same folder as the .rfa. When you load the family, Revit shows the catalog so you can choose which types to load. In Revit itself you can also use Export Family Types, which is not available in Revit LT.
Each card shows the Revit release that last saved the family, read from the file’s BasicFileInfo header. A family saved in a newer Revit can’t be opened in an older one. To check many files, including projects, use the Revit Version Checker.
Revit saves the thumbnail from the view that was active when the family was last saved. If that view was empty, the preview is blank. Some backup copies (such as Family.0001.rfa) and older files have no preview at all. To fix it, open the family in Revit, switch to a 3D or plan view and save it.
No. The files are read in your browser with JavaScript and never leave your computer. Only the directory and three small streams of each file are read, usually under 50 KB even for a large family. The CSV and type catalog are created on your computer too.
Keep working with Mahelak tools
Need a custom tool, Dynamo script or Revit family?
Tell us about your project and we will send you a quote before any work starts.