Four Revit Shortcuts to Stop the Repeat Click
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Key takeaways
- Clicking the same button again, to copy, to match, to lock an element in place, is the exact pattern four default Revit shortcuts remove.
- Four default Revit 2024 shortcuts stop the repeat click: Array (AR), Match Type Properties (MA), Pin (PN) and Unpin (UP).
- All four live in the Modify panel and work on most model elements, not just one category.
- This is the full list of the four Revit shortcuts from the video, promised for commenting SHORTCUTS: what each one does and where it lives in Revit.
Stop clicking the same button twice. Array, Match Type Properties, Pin and Unpin do it in one move. This is the full list of the four Revit shortcuts from the video, with what each key does and where it lives in Revit.
You just clicked the same button again
Copying an element by hand, matching its type by eye, or dragging it out of place by accident: the pattern is always the same button, clicked again. Four default Revit 2024 shortcuts stop that specific pattern: Array (AR), Match Type Properties (MA), Pin (PN) and Unpin (UP). This is the full list of the four Revit shortcuts from the video, what each one does, and where it lives in Revit.
All four come from Autodesk's default Revit 2024 shortcut list, and all four sit in the same place: the Modify panel.
Array (AR): duplicate an element without redrawing it
Array is AR. Select the element you want to repeat, activate AR, and choose linear (a straight run) or radial (around a center point). Set the number of copies and the spacing, or the angle for a radial array, and Revit places every copy for you in one pass. It replaces copying and pasting the same element over and over and nudging each copy into place by eye, which is also where spacing errors creep in across a long run.
Match Type Properties (MA): make one element look like another
Match Type Properties is MA. Activate it, click the element whose type you want to copy (a door, a wall, a piece of furniture), then click the element or elements you want to change. Revit switches the target to the source element's type in a single move, instead of you opening a type selector and scrolling to find the matching family and type by hand. It works across a selection, so reassigning the type of every chair in a room, or every door on a corridor, takes one click per element instead of a trip through the properties panel each time.
Pin (PN): lock an element so it can't move by accident
Pin is PN. Select the element and activate PN, and Revit locks it so it cannot be moved or deleted until it is released. It is the fix for the elements a whole model quietly depends on: grids, levels, linked files, reference planes other geometry snaps to. A pinned element thrown out of place by a careless drag or an accidental delete is a slow, hard-to-trace error to find later; pinning it removes that risk at the source.
Unpin (UP): release a pinned element to move it again
Unpin is UP. Select a pinned element and activate UP, and the lock is removed, so the element can be moved, rotated or deleted again like anything else. It is the deliberate second step: nothing gets unlocked by accident, because unpinning takes the same explicit action pinning did.
Where to find all four: the Modify panel
Array, Match Type Properties, Pin and Unpin all live in the same place in Revit: the Modify panel, on the contextual ribbon that appears once something is selected. Array and Match Type Properties speed up repeating and reassigning work that would otherwise mean redoing the same clicks by hand; Pin and Unpin protect that work once it is placed. Learning one makes the other three faster to find.
These four are a start, not the whole list
Revit 2024 ships with about 195 default keyboard shortcuts in total, covering navigation, visibility, annotation, MEP and more, split into seven sets. The full Revit shortcut sheet has all 195, organized by category and searchable in one field, sourced straight from Autodesk's own reference, including how to reassign any of them through the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog (its own shortcut is KS).
How to create hotkeys in Revit for a command with no default key
Not every command ships with a default shortcut, and any of AR, MA, PN or UP can be reassigned too. Open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog with KS, or from the Modify tab, type the name of the command you want in the search field, select it, type the key combination you want in the "Press new keys" field, and click Assign. The same dialog shows every default assignment already in use, so check the full Revit shortcut sheet first to avoid picking a combination that is already taken.
When the bottleneck isn't the shortcut anymore
Four shortcuts fix how fast one person arrays, matches and locks elements. They do not fix a Revit workload that has grown past what one person can carry, which shows up as the same project architect quietly absorbing routine modeling work between the tasks only they can do. That is a staffing question, not a keyboard question; see do you need a dedicated Revit hire or more overflow help for how to tell a recurring workload from a one-off spike, and who staffs the Revit to render handoff at your firm for the same question on the step right after modeling. Working on wall placement instead? Four Revit shortcuts that replace dragging walls into place covers Align, Trim/Extend to Corner, Offset and Split Element.
WorldTeams places pre-vetted Revit professionals, from the top 3% of applicants, in your time zone in less than 72 hours, with a dedicated account manager and a two-week replacement guarantee if the fit isn't right. Over 370 companies in the US already staff Revit work this way; see worldteams.com for details.
Checking a model's appearance rather than repeating a click? Four Revit shortcuts that change how you see a model covers Wireframe, Hidden Line, Shaded with Edges and Tile Views.
- Revit shortcuts
- Revit workflow
- BIM staffing
Frequently asked questions
Answers to the questions readers ask most about Revit shortcuts for array, match type properties, pin and unpin.
What is the keyboard shortcut for Array in Revit?
Array is AR. Select the element, activate AR, choose linear or radial, then set the number of copies and the spacing or angle. Revit places every copy for you, instead of you repeating copy and paste by hand for each one. See Array above for the full walkthrough, and the full Revit shortcut sheet for where every other command sits.
What does Match Type Properties (MA) do in Revit?
Match Type Properties is MA. Activate it, click the element whose type you want to copy, then click the element you want to change, and Revit switches the second element to the first one's type in one move. It replaces opening a type selector and scrolling to find the right family and type by hand. More detail is in Match Type Properties above.
How do Pin (PN) and Unpin (UP) work in Revit?
Pin is PN and locks a selected element so it cannot be moved or deleted by accident, which matters most for grids, levels and reference elements other work depends on. Unpin is UP and removes that lock so the element can be edited again. Both are explained with where they live in the Modify panel in Pin above and Unpin above.
Are Array, Match Type Properties, Pin and Unpin the complete list from the video, or is there more?
They are the full list of the four Revit shortcuts from the video: Array, Match Type Properties, Pin and Unpin, the ones that stop the repeat click for copying, matching and locking elements. Revit 2024 ships with about 195 default keyboard shortcuts in total; the complete set, organized by category, is on the WorldTeams Revit shortcut sheet, which documents these same four commands against Autodesk's own reference.
Can Array, Match Type Properties, Pin or Unpin be reassigned to different keys?
Yes. Revit's Keyboard Shortcuts dialog, itself opened with the shortcut KS, lets you change any default assignment, including AR, MA, PN and UP, to a different key combination. That dialog is covered on the WorldTeams Revit shortcut sheet, and the underlying command set is documented on Autodesk's own Revit product page.
How to create hotkeys in Revit for a command that has no default shortcut?
Open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog with KS, or from the Modify tab, type the name of the command you want to find, select it, and type the key combination you want to assign in the 'Press new keys' field, then click Assign. This works the same way for a command that already has a default key, like AR or MA, and for one that ships with none. The WorldTeams Revit shortcut sheet lists every default assignment, so you can check what is already taken before you pick a new combination.
What if a Revit workload needs more than four faster shortcuts?
Four shortcuts speed up how one person works. They do not fix a Revit workload that has grown past what one person can carry, which is a staffing question rather than a keyboard question; see do you need a dedicated Revit hire or more overflow help for how to tell a recurring workload from a one-off spike.
