Managed vs. recorded content
It helps to start with a clear understanding of where content is actually managed in Kinship.- The Library is your team’s central, approved repository for general-purpose content. This is where most of your content should live.
- Collections are separate libraries for content that’s specific to a project, client, manufacturer, or other context.
- Projects and Models show what’s currently loaded in tracked Revit models. That content isn’t managed the same way, and may change as the model evolves.
Search and prioritization support good content management
One of the most helpful parts of Kinship search is how it reflects the way your team organizes content. In Revit, search results are sorted by relevance and by content source. Items from the Library are shown near the top, marked with a green icon. This prioritization helps your team confidently load the right content — the content that’s been approved and maintained by your content managers. When a Collection is assigned to a project, its items appear even above Library content in search — because they’ve been selected specifically for use on that project. Assigned Collection items are marked with a blue icon and treated as project content during the search.The Library: your firmwide source of truth
The Library is where you store and manage content that’s approved, maintained, and intended for use across all of your team’s projects. It serves as the central source of truth for the content you want everyone to use.What it holds
The Library supports a wide range of Revit content such as loadable (component) families, system families, views, sheets, view templates, schedules, fill patterns and filled regions and more. See Supported content types for the complete list of supported content.How it’s organized
Content is automatically organized by discipline and category. You can also add items to custom Lists for curated sets, such as sector-specific kits. Learn more about Library ListsSuggested Content
If you are tracking projects, Kinship will be able to discern what content in your projects comes from your Library. Kinship will then begin to identify commonly occurring content from your projects that is not in your Library and suggest it to you. This feature is a good reason alone to track projects, and a powerful way to expand your Library. Suggested content will give you information like the percentage of tracked projects the content was found it, the placed instances of that content, and if you go deeper, it will show you the specific project instances and allow you to view that content and / or push it to the Library. It is a very powerful feature intended to help you to grow your Library quickly with content your team is using frequently.Automated quality checks
Kinship also runs health checks to flag common issues, such as missing default types or non-native geometry. Learn more about health reports.Pending Approval
Content in Pending Approval is not searchable or placeable with Kinship. It is isolated in this section until it is approved and moved to the Library or to a collection. Content in Pending Approval can be there for one of 3 reasons.- It was uploaded to the Library by a user. Content uploaded by user will always end up in Pending Approval.
- It was uploaded by an Admin and the Admin selected “Add as Pending Approval” during upload.
- It was removed from the Library and moved to Pending Approval by an admin for some reason.
Collections: separate libraries for specialized needs
Collections are independent libraries used for content that isn’t meant to be part of your main Library. Each Collection is fully separate, with its own content and settings. Adding the same family to two Collections results in two separate copies.When to use Collections
Collections are ideal for:- Client-specific standards
- Manufacturer content
- Legacy content
Helpful features for real-world needs
Collections support the same types of content as the Library. They also include a few extras designed for flexibility:- Access controls: Make a Collection visible to your team, restrict it to specific users, or limit access to admins only.
- Contribution settings: Choose whether team members can contribute content, or keep it locked down to managers.
- Search visibility: Hide a Collection from Revit search if needed. This is useful for WIP or early-stage content.
- Project assignment: Assign a Collection to a project so that its content shows up higher in search results.
- Sharing options:
- Share with your team, with view or edit access.
- Share with other Kinship teams for collaboration.
- Share externally using a read-only link for browsing or downloading.
Real-world patterns
Many teams use the Library and Collections side by side to match how they work:- Firmwide baseline: Store your approved standards in the Library.
- Specialized needs: Use Collections for project-specific or client-specific variations.
- Project targeting: Assign a Collection to a project to prioritize its content in search.
- Confidential work: Combine restricted Collections with restricted projects to control access.
- Partner collaboration: Use shared Collections to work with other firms or vendors.
Managing content over time
Kinship supports a full content lifecycle that mirrors how teams actually manage and improve their Revit libraries. It’s designed to give content managers structure, visibility, and control at every stage.Add to Library
- Add items to the Library and choose whether to set the item as approved or leave it pending approval to hold it out of circulation.
Publish
- Once approved, items become discoverable in both Revit and the web app, marked with the green Library icon.
- Add items to curated Lists for specific roles or needs, such as starter packs, discipline kits, or sector-specific libraries.
Monitor
- Track adoption across projects: see where items are used, how often they’re loaded, and what their source was.
- Review modification rates after loading to identify families that may need improvement or standardization.
- Use content health reports to surface issues across Revit versions, such as missing default types, non-native geometry, or version mismatches.
Maintain
- Temporarily unapprove an item to pull it from circulation while resolving issues.
- Edit items directly in Revit, then overwrite the Library version to preserve usage history and analytics.
- Use health reports and analytics to prioritize your efforts, focusing on high-use or high-modification families.
Deprecate or retire
- When an item is no longer part of your standard Library, move it to a legacy Collection to keep your Library lean.
- Kinship maintains a full usage history tied to the Library and Collection items, so audit trails remain intact even as items evolve or get retired.