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ArchiCAD TechTips Page

May

Cadimage: Dimension your building quickly
2013-05-15
How much time do you spend dimensioning your floor plans? Did you know that like almost every other drawing process ArchiCAD has the ability to do this for you?

Shoegnome: Modeling tips for Chimneys in ArchiCAD Part 2 Part 3
2013-05-14
Learn a few tricks about how to model detailed chimneys with Complex Profiles and the Morph tool.

BIM Engine Blog: Hyperlinks and ArchiCAD Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4
2013-05-13
Did you know that the PDF sets you have been printing for years are WAY more powerful than you ever knew? In fact, after reading this series of posts, you might stop printing physical sets altogether.

Cadimage: Contextualising Presentation Drawings
2013-05-09
If you are wanting to brush up your elevations for presenting to your clients there are a few simple tricks you can use to contextualise your drawings.

April

Shoegnome: The Basics of making a Movie from ArchiCAD
2013-04-30
How to make a quick fly-through movie in ArchiCAD. Here’s the video on Cameras and Camera Paths in ArchiCAD.

Cadimage: How to create a Sheet Index
2013-04-24
Learn a nice simple way to setup an automatic sheet index based on your subsets of drawings.

BIM Engine Blog: Project Migration and old versions of ArchiCAD
2013-04-22
This article gives you useful tips about how to convert files back and forth, how to keep old files compatible with newer and newer ArchiCAD versions.

Cadimage: Why am I getting a library loading report?
2013-04-12
Get rid of the Library Loading Report by addressing the problems. This article covers the most typical situations where a library part can go missing/be duplicated.

Shoegnome: Reinforcement plans in ArchiCAD
2013-04-04
Are you about to model reinforcements in ArchiCAD? Check this article about a tool, that will surely help you.

Cadimage: Create quick structural grids
2013-04-08
Automatically place structural elements along your Grid System using the checkboxes built into the Grid tool.

Cadimage: Recovering a lost Pet Palette
2013-04-03
Constantly looking for the Pet Palette? Make it follow your cursor to keep it always close.

March

Cadimage: Keeping track of changes
2013-03-19
Check out the well hidden Project Notes feature of ArchiCAD if you are looking for a way to track changes.

EricBobrow: ArchiCAD Training
2013-03-17
Check out Eric's latest YouTube video, where he shares some best practices. This is a great conceptual overview for any ArchiCAD user.

Cadimage: Renovation Color Schemes
2013-03-12
If your not a fan of the default ArchiCAD Renovation color scheme, you can change it suit your own preferences. Go to Options>Element Attributes>Renovation Override Styles…

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The ArchiCAD video series: Door and Window Tools
2013-03-12
In this movie we demonstrate the major capabilities and key benefits of the Door and Window Tools.

BIM Engine Blog: EcoDesigner STAR – Thermal Bridging Simulation Part 4
2013-03-07
We’re hitting the Start Simulation Button! Finally. Doing so gives us two results which we can subsequently place as images on our detail.

Cadimage: Display setting for an overhead slab
2013-03-08
If you want to change the way a floor slab above display on your current story all you have to do is activate the custom settings in the Floor Plan Display Options.

EricBobrow: ArchiCAD Tutorial
2013-03-07
In this 15 minute video, we look at how to make a 2D symbol more flexible by adding a parameter to control the size of the text and doing some simple editing of the GDL script.

Cadimage: Lock your Grids
2013-03-06
If you are one of those people who likes to use Grid Lines, It is usually a good idea to lock them into place.

Cadimage: Energy Evaluation zones
2013-03-04
If you have started to use Energy Evaluation in ArchiCAD 16 you will realize the importance of zones. If not, heres how important they are: VERY!

EricBobrow: ArchiCAD Tutorial
2013-03-04
In this 16 minute video, we look at how to create a basic 2D symbol as well as a quick way to save a new 3D object.

BIM Equity Blog: Enhancements to ArchiCAD ...
2013-03-01
It's great to be able to see exactly how small adjustments affect the light. There is also the possibility to choose to simulate a SLR camera, called "Physical Camera", which opens up entirely new possibilities for adjusting the light's character.

BIM Equity Blog: Expert rendering in Artlantis ...
2013-03-01
Artlantis is the BIM programs (and SketchUp's) best friend. It renders your models from Revit, ArchiCAD, VectorWorks and SketchUp, quickly and without having to be an expert.

February

Cadimage: Zone boundaries with open plan spaces
2013-02-28
The best method to place zones is the Inner Edge method. This means the zone ‘connects’ with all its bounding elements

ArchiCAD SADC: Create Custom Truss
2013-02-26
It is quite an easy process to create a custom truss in ArchiCAD, it only take lines to create, just follow a few easy steps detailed here.

Cadimage: User defined Guide Line shortcut keys
2013-02-26
Start to place your wall, hover over a point (end or intersection etc), hit the single shortcut key, and the Guide Lines will appear as you move your mouse, to make your desired Guide Line stay, simply click on it.

BIM Engine Blog: EcoDesigner STAR – Thermal Bridging Simulation Part 3
2013-02-22
There’s now one final step before we can press the Start Simulation button. We need to designate what the fills mean.

BIM Equity Blog: ArchiCAD is also for contractors
2013-02-22
CG Jensen is one of Denmark medium-sized construction companies. They use ArchiCAD as part of the design of their projects, which include include preparation of manufacturing drawings on large construction projects.

Shoegnome: The Return of Work Environments: The Basics of setting Work Environments plus importing and exporting them
2013-02-22
Here's a video talking about the basics of setting up and saving Work Environments. I also cover how to export and import them.

Cadimage: Defining the site within Energy Evaluation
2013-02-21
By default the site will set to be level at sea level with ArchiCAD’s Energy Evaluation. To change this go to Design>Energy Evaluation>Environment Settings.

BIM Engine Blog: EcoDesigner STAR – Thermal Bridging Simulation Part 2
2013-02-19
Now that the geometry is ready (discussed here), we can actually launch the Thermal Bridging Simulation. Go to the Design/Energy Evaluation Menu and then select Thermal Bridge Simulation.

BIM Equity Blog: More EcoDesigner Star and on how to draw air ...
2013-02-17
The latest bid for advanced energy calculation based on the BIM model is EcoDesigner Star, which Graphisoft launched a public test version of a couple of weeks ago.

Shoegnome: Picking a Subtype for an ArchiCAD Object (and some other important tips)
2013-02-15
Along with the Morph Tool there have been some tweaks that mean there’s no excuse to not make lots of objects (and share them).

Cadimage: Wall Covering is Storey Sensitive
2013-02-14
In plan view a wall can be set to visible on all relevant stories. For each storey, the wall will display with the doors and windows that belong to that storey.

BIM Engine Blog: EcoDesigner STAR – Thermal Bridging Simulation Part 1
2013-02-14
Now we really begin our EcoDesigner STAR adventure. I see three things that we need to tackle with Thermal Bridging Simulation to feel comfortable using it on a real project and adding it to our bag of design and analysis tricks.

EricBobrow: How to Import 3D Objects from IFC and DWG files
2013-02-13
n this ArchiCAD tutorial excerpted from the Best Practices Course you'll learn how to import manufacturer components as 3D library parts.

Cadimage: Finishing off walls in 2D
2013-02-13
Ever had a situation where a wall has to terminate inside a room? Heres a simple way to make that look a little tidier.

BIM Equity Blog: ArchiCAD Particularly for small architectural firms!
2013-02-12
We believe that the best tool for a small studio is ArchiCAD . It is a program developed especially for architects and is therefore flexible in terms of making changes in the project till the very end.

Cadimage: Locking Layers
2013-02-12
When in the Layer Settings dialogue box (Ctrl+L PC, or cmd+L for Mac) you can Lock layers off within a layer combination once items have been placed.

Cadimage: Where to place your reference lines?
2013-02-11
There are no hard and fast rules about which side of the wall the reference line should be on. However a good rule of thumb to follow is to keep the reference line to the outside of your building for exterior walls.

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The ArchiCAD video series: The Column Tool
2013-02-11
In these movies we demonstrate the major capabilities and key benefits of the Column Tool.

BIM Equity Blog: Good news for the planet: EcoDesigner STAR
2013-02-10
ArchiCAD already has a built-in tool for energy analysis, which is perfect as a guide to sketch based on when designing buildings with integrated solutions for sustainability.

BIM Equity Blog: Artlantis
2013-02-08
Artlantis is distinguished by being created for architects. It is an extremely simple user interface, which doesn't seem scary.

Shoegnome: Creating keyboard shortcuts in ArchiCAD, a quick and helpful video
2013-02-08
I regularly get questions about keyboard shortcuts. Probably the top two questions are “Is there a keyboard shortcut for Function A?” or “How do I make a keyboard shortcut for Function A?“.

Shoegnome: Tiling Accessory for ArchiCAD
2013-02-04
Creating wall and floor tiling plans in ArchiCAD can be a troublesome task. In order to make these tasks easier, you could choose to download and use [eptar]’s wall and floor tiling application for ArchiCAD.

January

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ArchiCAD: Free Form Structure in BIM
2013-01-30
The advantages of free form modeling in BIM - Create and edit native BIM elements with custom geometry directly in the BIM environment.

DWG/Import/MatchPenColors

How to Match DWG colors to any ArchiCAD Pen Colors
2013-01-30
In ArchiCAD you can use your default or template pen colors, if you match the AutoCAD and ArchiCAD colors following this workflow.

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The ArchiCAD video series: Parameter Transfer
2013-01-29
This video clip is part of the ArchiCAD Video Series introducing the fundamental concepts, tools and techniques of Graphisoft ArchiCAD. In this movie we demonstrate the major capabilities and key benefits of Parameter Transfer.

Cadimage: Need a bit more workspace – enable full screen
2013-01-28
If you have ever felt that the status bar at the bottom of the Window title bar are taking away from precious workspace you can turn them off…

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Classics Remodeled in ArchiCAD - The Roman Ionic Column
2013-01-28
With the help of ArchiCAD's MORPH Tool we continue the series featuring classical column orders like the Roman Ionic order.

Shoegnome: Cutting a hole in a 2D Morph
2013-01-24
Someone had a question about how to cut a hole in a 2D Morph. Well the easiest way to explain that was to do a quick video. So here's the answer.

Shoegnome: Quick and Pretty Renderings From ArchiCAD
2013-01-24
Here's a quick video sharing how I create fast renderings in ArchiCAD that combine the best of the Sketch Rendering Engine and the Internal Rendering Engine. Your clients and coworkers will love the final images created. And they take next to no time to make.

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Classics Remodeled in ArchiCAD - The Roman Doric Column
2013-01-24
With the help of ArchiCAD's MORPH Tool comes the series featuring classical column orders like the Roman Doric order.

ArchiCAD SADC: EcoDesigner: Change the Climate Data to reference one of the climatic zones of South Africa
2013-01-23
The first step before changing the climate data is to set the Project Location. This is important considering that choosing one of the climatic zones of South Africa would not help you to locate the project correctly.

ArchiCAD SADC: Angled Parking Bay Object
2013-01-23
Does your design require angled parking bays? If so then with a quick search you can find this on BIMcomponents.com. This is so easy to do by searching the cloud-based community database, directly from within ArchiCAD 16.

ArchiCAD SADC: Display dimensions in “mm” & areas in “m2”
2013-01-23
A common request I receive is “how do I get my dimensions to show in mm and my areas to show as m2″. The first thing I refer to is the fact that views in the “Navigator -View Map” control the output of dimensions.

ArchiCAD SADC: EcoDesigner: Climatic zones of South Africa & Energy Analysis
2013-01-23
A new feature of ArchiCAD 16 Energy Evaluation is the ability to choose the Climatic Data for your project location.

BIM Engine Blog: Surprising Benefits of the Morph Tool
2013-01-23
A line that is drawn using the Morph Tool can have all sorts of IFC parameters and everything else you’d need from a proper BIM element.

BIMES: What Makes a Good Estimating Model?
2013-01-21
Model according to means and methods of construction, Model according to the output required, What should be modeled? What should NOT be modeled?

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The ArchiCAD video series: The Beam Tool
2013-01-14
This video clip is part of the ArchiCAD Video Series introducing the fundamental concepts, tools and techniques of Graphisoft ArchiCAD. In this movie we demonstrate the major capabilities and key benefits of the Beam Tool.

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Classics modeled in ArchiCAD - The Star Wars Tie Fighter
2013-01-10
The Tie Fighter spacecraft is a classical element in George Lucas' film series. With the help of ArchiCAD's MORPH Tool, remodeling this vehicle for Clones brings back some great memories and shows some useful modeling techniques!

BIM Engine Blog: We All Have Blind Spots
2013-01-10
In a discussion on the ArchiCAD LinkedIn group, the conversation got around to Element IDs. If you’re working with COBie, then elements need to have unique IDs.

BIM Engine Blog: Simple ArchiCAD videos
2013-01-09
Have you noticed the new series of ArchiCAD videos on YouTube? Graphisoft has been quietly posting these short videos on the ultra basic functions of ArchiCAD: e.g. Slab Tool, Wall Tool, Magic Wand, and most recently on Element Information.

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The ArchiCAD video series: Element Information
2013-01-02
This video clip is part of the ArchiCAD Video Series introducing the fundamental concepts, tools and techniques of Graphisoft ArchiCAD. In this movie we demonstrate the major capabilities and key benefits of Element Information.

December

DWG/Import

How to Import DXF/DWG files to ArchiCAD
2012-12-28
ArchiCAD supports all major model and data exchange formats, including AutoCAD's native DWG and the industrial standard DXF. In this article you can see how to import DWG/DXF files to ArchiCAD.

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Happy Holidays to the ArchiCAD community
2012-12-21
In the Christmas spirit, here is a Reindeer modeled with MorphTool in ArchiCAD, that you can download to your own ArchiCAD 16 project from the BIMcomponents portal.

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The ArchiCAD video series: The Slab Tool
2012-12-20
This video clip is part of the ArchiCAD Video Series introducing the fundamental concepts, tools and techniques of GRAPHISOFT ArchiCAD. In this movie we demonstrate the major capabilities and key benefits of the Slab Tool.

Cadimage: Control what you see in your trace reference
2012-12-18
Did you know you can turn off certain elements when using Trace Reference? By default some items like dimensions are turned off so the same process can be used to turn them on

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The ArchiCAD video series: The Wall Tool
2012-12-17
This video clip is part of the ArchiCAD Video Series introducing the fundamental concepts, tools and techniques of GRAPHISOFT ArchiCAD. In this movie we demonstrate the major capabilities and key benefits of the Wall Tool.

Open BIM: The COBie standard
2012-12-13
COBie – Construction Operations Building information exchange – was developed in the US to collect information during design and construction, ready for handing over to the building operator.

Cadimage: Ceiling Fan
2012-12-13
Need a ceiling fan for your electrical layouts? A quick search of the online objects will reveal that a number of free ceiling fan objects are currently available.

DWG/Import/DrawingReference

Tips to Import DWG Files as Trace Reference
2012-12-13
Sometimes we get reference files in DWG format that we should not modify. To display two different views concurrently in any ArchiCAD window, we can use Trace Reference.

ArchiCHAZZ: Stop Worrying and Learn to Love the Element ID
2012-12-12
Among ArchiCAD data fields the Element ID offers the broadest functionality to identify and group elements for Interactive Schedules, Lists, Find and Select Criteria Sets, and the IFC Manager.

ArchiCAD SADC: Codemeter and Wibukey license upgrade
2012-12-12
There are various methods of incorporating DWG/DXF files into ArchiCAD projects. Each method has its own impact on how the files will affect or be affected within the ArchiCAD project.

Cadimage: Keeping track of changes
2012-12-11
All projects change, clients changing their minds etc, We all know this happens. There is generally no way to avoid it. The good folks at GRAPHISOFT are aware of this and have built in a handy little notebook for you.

ArchiCAD SADC: Importing DWG/DXF into ArchiCAD
2012-12-10
There are various methods of incorporating DWF/DXF files into ArchiCAD projects. Each method has its own impact on how the files will affect or be affected within the ArchiCAD project.

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The ArchiCAD video series: The Magic Wand
2012-12-06
The first clip of the brand new ArchiCAD Video Series is available on YouTube. These short tutorials are useful not only for beginners. Today's clip is about the Magic Wand.

ArchiCAD SADC: gbXML add-on, How to export model from ArchiCAD for engineering analysis
2012-12-05
Many users battle with placing of zones when exporting ArchiCAD model to gbXML for use in engineering analysis, as a result elements like walls do not show when imported into other softwares.

November

ArchiCAD SADC: Trimming Bodies: Sometimes walls disappear when “trimming elements to roof”-How to fix this
2012-11-29
Sometimes walls disappear when trimming elements to roof, this might be due to the position of the trimming bodies in relation to the position of the walls to be trimmed.

ArchiCAD SADC: Morph Tool: how to offset a specific distance from the edges without using construction lines
2012-11-28
Most users believe they need construction lines to denote a specific distance when offsetting from the face of the morph to create another face for editing.

ArchiCAD SADC: Fills: Changing the orientation of fills on floor plan
2012-11-28
ArchiCAD fill orientation often needs to be adjusted at times, whether it be a cut fill of walls in floor plan or even cover fills of a slab, mesh or roof elements. Various settings allow you to manage the orientations.

Cadimage: ArchiCAD Stairs not recognised in Solibri
2012-11-28
If you are running BIM Validation checking in Solibri and your Stairs are being reported as having No Construction Type check your IFC properties in ArchiCAD.

Eric Bobrow: Multi-Story Buildings: Basic & Advanced Strategies
2012-11-26
In this excerpt from the Best Practices Course ArchiCAD training website, several methods of modeling multiple story buildings are demonstrated, starting simply then gradually getting to a more sophisticated process that will generate very clean section drawings with lots of detail.

Cadimage: What determines whether a material is transparent in Elevation?
2012-11-26
You will notice several different Glass materials in standard ArchiCAD. For example Glass Clear appears transparent in 3D and Elevation (when transparency is turned on).

Cadimage: Making your whites whiter - Paint-01
2012-11-19
Paint-01 is the default material for a lot of ArchiCAD elements however when viewing in 3D people have commented that it looks more like a dull grey.

Cadimage: Remember ArchiCAD 11 > Trace & Reference
2012-11-16
Most people will remember the useful addition of Visual Compare allowing the use of the Splitter to achieve the “tracing paper” effect to compare different sets of information on screen.

BIM Engine Blog: Adding Legibility to Details
2012-11-14
Do you know how to color Elevations and Details in ArchiCAD?

Cadimage: Navigator Buttons
2012-11-14
Did you know that the buttons on the bottom left hand side of your screen are in fact short cut buttons?

Cadimage: Setting up Project Info to use Autotext in ArchiCAD
2012-11-13
When you load a new project you will notice that the Master Layout will contain Autotext fields such as #Client Name and #Architect etc. Check out this tip about how to fill this information.

TopCommands

Top 12 ArchiCAD Commands You Should Use all the Time
2012-11-12
Would you like to work faster and more efficiently in ArchiCAD? We have collected 12 lesser known ArchiCAD shortcuts that can ease your daily workflow.

Cadimage: Change the material of selected edges on a Slab
2012-11-12
If you create a slab where the edge material is set to match your exterior walls, when you cut a hole in it the material will appear along the inside edges.

Cadimage: Sick of the pet palette following your mouse?
2012-11-09
Do you find you start getting frustrated with the pet palette following your cursor and getting in the way while you are trying to edit? If you want this to stop happening, check this article.

Eric Bobrow: How to Create a New 3D Object with Custom Hotspots and 2D Symbol
2012-11-08
A great tutorial from Eric Bobrow about how you can create your 3D model cleanly in ArchiCAD with a sufficient level of detail that you will not have to draw much in 2D to create beautiful and accurate sections and elevations.

Cadimage: Grid display in 3D and sections/elevations
2012-11-07
If you are using Grids in your floor plan, you can set them to show in section, elevation and 3D. All you need to do is set the correct R.L. to display them at in the dialogue box.

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Classics modeled in ArchiCAD - The Sagrada Familia - Passion Towers
2012-11-05
The West facade of Antoni Gaudi's most famous building, the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain is remodeled in ArchiCAD with the help of the MORPH tool.

Cadimage: Publishing A single PDF
2012-11-01
One of the things we often hear through our support center is “Can I publish multiple layouts as a single PDF file?” The simple answer is “Yes, Of course you can!”, and here is how to do it.


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