topic Re: working with hotlinks in archicad is a pain in the neck ! in Project data & BIM

working with hotlinks in archicad is a pain in the neck !

TMA_80 — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 21:24:42 GMT

I would like to express how working with hotlinks can be so convoluted.

From a practical point of view, I placed several room arragements to be saved as hotlinks at a lower level, then updated the changes and saved them (selection saved as a hotlink). However, updating them is extremely complicated:

Sometimes, the update does not actually update the hotlink.

In addition, there are some unwanted levels in the generated hotlink files.

As a result, I have to break the link and relink the hotlink from the Hotlink Manager.

Re: working with hotlinks in archicad is a pain in the neck !

Patrick M — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 19:44:09 GMT

yeah, HLM's are a pain; and I only use them for specific reasons. They are the best tool for incorporating a consultants IFC file. They are also great for campus and multi-building projects, where you may need to reposition one building as a block, or where buildings are closely orientated to each other but need to be documented separately.
I know they are often used as "block" for standard units within a single building; but even on the 500,000 sq. ft. tech project I'm working on, I haven't found them so useful that they compensate for their clunkiness. We have about 4 different bathroom configuraitons in that project; so we copy those bathrooms around and replace native components when they change. We don't export as a .mod and update.
Additionally, they are a HUGE pain in multi-file projects, since there is still not a user friendly method for managing and centralizing attributes between multiple project files.

Re: working with hotlinks in archicad is a pain in the neck !

Ignacio Azpiazu — Sun, 08 Feb 2026 02:07:21 GMT

Updating should not be an issue, neither should elements from other stories.

Google the “iceberg” method: cleanest for attribute management, simplest for udpating practice practice is to create each on its own lower level, and publish it as a module from there (in its settings you control whether it brings in elements from other stories or not). On a solo file you just hit save and they will update, on a teamwork file I don't remember now if you need to update them or just send-receive.

On a teamwork file, you need to have Hotlink Manager reserved, so it is best to have a specific user as the “hotlink manager” guy.
Modules have some issues with mirroring and doors and labels (which require workarounds), but overall they are a great, life-changing procedure.