Shortcut tool – Central Innovation

Creating Openings

Jose Rivera — Sun, 26 May 2024 18:00:04 +0000

The Opening Tool was first introduced in Archicad 23. It is used to create openings of any shape in most of the 3D elements. Here I teach how to use this tool in 5 simple steps

1. Placing an opening

Select one of the Favorites and place it directly in the element to be operated. This can be done in the Floor Plan, 3D Window, Sections or Elevations.

2. Customising the shape

Select the opening, click on a dot or edge and use the edition commands of the palette to edit the shape. Also, it is possible to use the Magic Wand to follow an existing shape from another element.

3. Adding elements to the operation

Select the opening, click on the operation icon and then on the plus button. Click on the element to be added to the operation. The same opening will now be applied to this element.

4. Using a third element to create an opening

Select the operator element. Right-click button / Connect / Create Openings from Selection.
Select the shape of the opening (limited to rectangular or circular).
Define the offset (if needed) and if the operator element should be maintained.
Check the other options in the window and click on Create Openings.

5. Changing the symbol

On the Opening Selection Settings, open the tab Symbols and choose between the options for Uncut and Cut representation.

Edit Selection Set Tool

Natalie Adams — Tue, 14 May 2024 18:00:47 +0000

I can imagine there have been times when you would like to change multiple elements from one layer to another, modify their renovation status or any other setting they have in common, and you end up doing it, first one type and then the other, creating a high time-consuming operation. Well for your fortune there is a feature in Archicad that allows to change some common settings across multiple different elements type. i.e changing the Layer to walls, slabs, beams and column just in one click. This feature is called Edit Selection Set, and you can find it just right next to the Eye Dropper tool or in the menu Edit > Elements Settings > Edit Selection Set

I hope this tip helps you to improve your modelling efficiency!

Edit Selection Set Tool

Jose Rivera — Wed, 01 May 2024 18:00:07 +0000

I hope this tip helps you to improve your modelling efficiency!

Ci Coverings Updates – Migration

Jose Rivera — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 18:00:10 +0000

You don’t have to Migrate your Coverings right away

After installing the latest Ci Coverings update in Archicad 27, you may have noticed that your existing placed Coverings in projects now say they are Deprecated.

When you see this – please don’t panic – you will still be able to continue using your already placed deprecated coverings with no trouble. There is no need to forcibly migrate them, and if you want to make any further changes to them, you can do so by just hitting the Edit Settings button.

We would strongly recommend that when you place new Coverings, you use the new (non-deprecated) covering objects, but again, you are still free to use the old ones if you want to – for whatever reason you might have, maybe you have favourites that you want to migrate first, or you just aren’t ready to jump into the modified user interface just yet.

For more information about the updates, and to find out about the cool new stuff in the new Coverings objects, check our knowledge base here: https://cadimage.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/9474329110671-Coverings-4-38-Update-Notes

Note: if you decide to migrate, please be sure to check your settings before hitting OK, as not all fields will match up without intervention.

Update Workspace Scheme

Jose Rivera — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 18:00:14 +0000

Sometimes when you’re working in Archicad you move Palettes and Toolbars around until you finally have everything in place the way you want. But have you wonder how you can save this for the next time you open an Archicad instance? or in case you change the Work Environment Profile?

To achieve that you have a specific part of the Work Environment Profiles, where you can store and save the place of the elements in the interface you have set. This option is named Workspace Schemes.
Once you have all in the place you want to, go to the menu Options > Work Environment > Workspace Schemes. Here you will see a button to that says Store as, this will allow you to store all your Workspace Interface as how it’s been organised. Afterward you can add this Workspace Scheme to any of the Work Environment Profiles you have in Archicad.

*Note: Take into account that by default Archicad Profiles come locked so you would need to duplicate them.

Relink Story Level

Jose Rivera — Sun, 28 Apr 2024 18:00:27 +0000

It might have been times when you have been modelling a project and after a while you realised that some elements are placed in other floors even though you see them in the correct story level, so you try to change the Home Story Level, but the element changes its position as per the elevation is related to the story level it belongs.

Well I have good news for you, there is a way to sort this out, modify the home story level without changing the element position within the model.

There is a feature named Relink Home Story, which allows to relink the element Home Story as it’s name suggests but keeping it position. You can get there by right clicking in the element

This feature will allow you assign elements to the corresponding story level without affecting its position.

Gravity Tool

Jose Rivera — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 18:00:56 +0000

Another practical tool that is always there and that more than one of us ignores (Personally it took me a while to understand what it was about), is the gravity tool, that little icon shaped like a kilogram icon that comes in the default Archicad interface.

And what is it for? That tool helps us forget about the headache that occurs when we position elements on the model and those are then floating or well below the elements where they should be located. This thanks to the fact that the Gravity tool recognizes slabs or other model elements, thus positioning the object in the corresponding place. Useful, isn’t it? I assure you that you will save more than one headache using this tool.

This is specially useful if you’re working in a multiple level floor or placing elements in a terrain.

Slab/Roof Subtraction

Jose Rivera — Wed, 10 Apr 2024 18:00:04 +0000

Many times it happens that we have a slab and/or roof in which we want to subtract one or more areas, and although we can do it through the Pet palette that doesn’t always work in the most effective way since for each area we want to subtract we must click again on a node which makes the process much slower. But… What if I told you that it’s not necessary to do that? And it’s that Archicad has an option that if we select the slab or roof tool while we have selected any of these elements in the model, it will subtract the area that we draw on these. In this way we can make more subtractions more efficiently.

Note: You can even do it using the magic wand.

Label Selected Elements

Jose Rivera — Tue, 09 Apr 2024 18:00:32 +0000

Perhaps it has happened to you that you have a large amount of elements in your model and you must label them for the documentation phase, and you start to label these elements one by one and you see the end in a very distant horizon.

I must tell you that for your fortune Archicad has function that allows us to automate that process (Maybe now you are banging your head on hot having known at that time), this feature is called Label Selected Elements, and you can find it under the menu Document > Annotation > Label Selected Elements

Note: It’s important to know that this option will use the default selected label.

Math Operation in the Tracker

Jose Rivera — Thu, 21 Mar 2024 17:00:33 +0000

Quick define a distance of an element from reference a point when you drag it.

As I can imagine when you are moving an element to a place you would like to be able to write directly the distance of this element from a reference.

For example in the image below I would like this element to be 1000mm from the wall, in order to achieve that a normal workflow would be to move it next to the wall, and from then move it again 1000m to the direction desired.

To avoid that extra step, ArchiCAD allows small math operations within the tracker, so by writing the distance desired and “–” or “+” at the end, ArchiCAD immediately will rest or add that number from the distance in the tracker.

So instead of dragging the element again, just move the element to a reference point (without releasing it) and write the distance you would like this element to be from that reference. In this case “1000mm-“, and ArchiCAD will place it at the desired position.