WorkFlo Apps builds precision tools and plugins for MEP fabrication detailers. Each one comes from a real bottleneck in detailing — automating layout, dimensioning, numbering, support modeling, and the file housekeeping that quietly eats your day. No theoretical features, just the niche, specialized utilities a detailer actually reaches for, all built on the Autodesk Fabrication API.
Model more in less time.
Below is one of our free tools — upgrade your old family type catalog files so they load cleanly in Revit 2021 and newer.
We're still putting the finishing touches on our first tools — but we didn't want you to leave empty-handed. Thanks for stopping by our little corner of the internet; here's a small token of appreciation, free to use.
You've probably bumped into this annoying issue yourself — we sure have. Rather than fight it every time, we found a quick way around it so we could get back to modeling, and turned that into the tool below. It's just one of the many little snags that crop up while you work — now it's one less.
Revit 2021 renamed dozens of unit keywords in its database. Type catalog text files written for Revit 2020 or earlier now throw errors when you load the family. Drop your old catalog files here and this tool rewrites the outdated unit keywords to their Revit 2021+ names — instantly, right in your browser.
Tell us where to send your converted file.
Heads up: run this on pre-2021 catalog files. A converted file uses the new unit names, so it will no longer load in Revit 2020 or earlier. The tool only changes unit keywords it recognizes — everything else in your file is left exactly as-is.
🔖 Found this handy? Add us to your bookmarks and visit again — we'll always be putting out small, free tools to help with the daily grind.
If a family won't load in Revit 2021 or newer and you see Invalid column unit type, or the type catalog is quietly ignored, it's almost always because Revit 2021 renamed dozens of unit keywords. Older catalog .txt files still use the old names, so Revit rejects them.
The fixed file loads in Revit 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024+. The breaking change happened in 2021 and the new names carry forward, so one conversion covers all of those versions.
Only the outdated unit keywords in the header row — for example GALLONS_US_PER_MINUTE → US_GALLONS_PER_MINUTE, or POUNDS → POUNDS_FORCE. Everything else in your file is left exactly as it was. The mapping matches Autodesk's official list of changed identifiers.
No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser — your catalog file never leaves your computer.
No. It uses the new Revit 2021+ unit names, so run it on the pre-2021 catalogs you're upgrading — not on files you still need in Revit 2020 or earlier.
Have a question about a tool, need a custom utility, or want to discuss your fabrication workflow? Reach out directly.
info@workfloapps.com