• Update library parts with missing GUID

Some library parts are missing a GUID -- or time to update your library

In ArchiCAD 12 you may see the below dialog.

Like many other users you may have become fond of ArchiCAD 7 and older library parts. These objects always tend to creep into even your most recent projects. Not a big trouble, but it is now time to at least update the objects before trouble strikes. A GUID is an important identifier and it is highly recommended that all library objects have one.

The "Edit GDL Library Parts" in the below screen shot can be accessed from the window/toolbars menu. From this tool you can examine the GUID status of your library objects. I have highlighted the tool to choose from the toolbar and the problem in the example library. The GUID of "Car 01 70" object is all zeroes!

This missing data can be created using the "update library parts" special menu choice. First, make sure that only the library with the missing GUID library parts is loaded. Also make sure that the library only consists of gsm files. Container files and PLAs will not be updated with this tool.

Finally, run the special menu command "update library parts". For more information about how to set up the special menu see other wiki articles on this subject like Special Menu.

The changes you made to the loaded library will not show until you reload the library. The update library tool is not particularly robust, so it is important to verify your work. After reloading the library you can see that a GUID has been created for the old library part.

If your library is rather complex you might consider downloading the library developer kit from http://www.graphisoft.com/support/developer/downloads/ The kit contains tools to export/import libraries in xml format. Needless to say the complexity of library developer kit is beyond the scope of this wiki article.