topic Re: AutoCAD convert's questions in Collaboration with other software

!Restored: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Tue, 09 Jul 2024 08:02:41 GMT

Hello. New here, new to ArchiCAD.

I have been working on ACAD for many years now. Mostly 2D layouts. Whatever needed 3D has been done in MAX. But now i'm thinking stepping up a bit and doing most of the stuff in 3D from the start.

I have a big problem - need to convert to ArchiCAD from AutoCAD. Not a happy puppy at the moment.

So, the question is - where does one start converting from ACAD ? Worst thing i can do is read dry manuals of course. Dont want to

Are there any DO's and DONTs while converting ?

Where do i pick up STEP-BY-STEP tutorials for AC10 ? I'd rather stick to practical excercize, than read thru manuals.

I'm gonna miss my command line, by the way...

Are there any touching points between 3dsMAX and archicad ? besides the obsolete 3DS file format ? Can i get fully textured objects from MAX over to AC10 ?

Is there any way to properly rework autocad made line drawings (plan layouts) into archicad elevated walls, etc ? I still prefer doing precision 2D drawing on acad...

#EDIT1# Did some more reading on the board and some questions popped up. Does AC10 support proper multi-core or multi-cpu utilization ?
Or multi-core multi-cpu for that matter ? My rig is well off for acad2000 but i doubt ids gonna cut it for AC10. Thinking of getting a new rig, possibly with couple of dualcores onboard (quadcores are a bit too hip for now.)?

Sorry if i lack of consistency in the post - its 5:06AM now, cant sleep over the converting issue, searching the net for AC stuff, etc...

Thanks...

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Dennis Lee — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 21:02:30 GMT

I converted to AC not that long ago, and for me, I

1) did the tutorials at http://www.graphisoft.com/products/archicad/ac10/ITG/
2) read a bunch of stuff on my distributor's website (www.digitalvis.com), and
3) bought the book called PROJECT FRAMEWORK,
4) as well as LIGHTWORKS IN ARCHICAD.
5) Also, I frequently visit some AC blogs, ArchiCAD East and On Land.

Of course, when you have a specific question, you search on this forum. However, in order to really convert, you really have to jump in and do one project first in my opinion.

Good luck and welcome!

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Gerald Hoffman — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 22:45:01 GMT

This was a conversion guide I saw from quite a while back. It may be wrong for some commands but might help you find some of the things you will be looking for.

http://users.swing.be/geoffroy.magnan/archicad/transition/index.htm

On the multi CPU question AC itself can only use one processor but if you have multiple instances open it helps. The Lightworks rendering engine can use 2 processors and I notice a speed difference when rendering.

Welcome to ArchiCAD. I don't think you will be sorry after you get over some of the frustration.

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 23:59:08 GMT

What i'm missing the most is a command line operation in AC. I have started ACAD from r10, DOS version with only rudimentary gui then, so, no icons'n'grapgics'n'stuff. I do hate clicking icons to achieve my ends. I find it more effective and fast to execute operations/commands on CLI.

Besides the fact that AC10 is very counter-intuitive for a person converting from acad+max combo...

Are there any plans for multicore (or multiCPU) utilization in AC10 ? Is there any "reasonable" reason to get hippiest CPU for it ? How much ram ?

One thing that bugs me most is what sort of graphics card to get for this rig ? Is there any good reason to shell out for dedicated openGL card (Gf-FX or FireGL)? If so, how much difference is between baddest possible mainstream card (GF8800?) and dedicated openGL ? Which brand is better - ati firegl or gf Quadro?

Boss specifically asked me to look into buying a new rig for this operation. Any specific points to cover while looking into this ?

At the moment i've got a HP XW-4200 with FireGL3100 and 1gb ram, that is rubbish by now. Especially for archicad, i gather...

Any advice is welcome.

What rig configs do you, people, use ?

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Gerald Hoffman — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 00:03:36 GMT

Check out the signatures in most peoples posts for equipment. it will give you an overall idea.

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 01:07:27 GMT

Not a bad idea, but i'm still interested in differences between main stream and dedicated opengl cards... is it worth the extra extortionate wonga they charge for opengl cards ?

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Gerald Hoffman — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 01:23:25 GMT

I can only speak to the cards that I have had. The Nvidia I have now in this Dell Laptop is excellent. I had an ATI 9600 PRO in a Box before this and it was OK in most situations but struggled with larger model files in 3D views.

I think for most people a good gaming card works well in ArchiCAD but other people might want to add their 2 bits worth.

Also check out the Graphics Card Data base near the bottom of the main page. Drivers can make a big difference as well.

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 12:49:31 GMT

Hi threedee,
I have been told by GS developers that the higher end cards such as the quadro have more stable drivers as a rule, but the additionall advanced opengl commands available in these cards are not utilized by ArchiCAD. So, no it isn't worth the money. Go with a high end "gaming" type card. It is essentially the same back end hardware, but not the same driver.

As far as your command line withdrawal...I've always found this curious. AutoCAD is about the only program I can think of, of any type, that has a command line. AutoCAD users always miss it, but never seem to realize that no other app has it. I've always thought that if it was really that much of a productivity enhancer command line interfaces would be rampant. They're not.

You'll b e OK once you learn the keyboard shortcuts you need to use.

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 14:25:27 GMT

This leads to another question. It cant get any more high-end than Gf-8800 (24-feb-2007), but the question is - 384 or 768 meg version ? Does archicad utilize bigger vga memory ?

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

KeesW — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 21:38:29 GMT

Hello threedee

Hardware
I'd say that your home computer is Ok. I don't know about your work computer - it might be a bit light on. Many users recommend over 1GB RAM (although that is all I run at present).

I am in the process of buying two new computers and have virtually settled on a quad-core PC running XP Pro64 (Vista is not yet recommended), 4 GB RAM and (possibly) a NVidea 8800 graphic card. Dual processor Macs are very nice, very fast but a bit more expensive, and I've got too much PC software that I would also have to update. If I didn't already have PC's , I'd probably buy Macs.

Learning
I moved from Autocad about 8 years ago and found it very frustrating. (I'd been using Autocad since version 9). I stuck at it because I thought (and still do) that 3D was the way architectural drawing and presentation was going - and because ArchiCad was fun!! I learnt by doing a project completely in Archicad - took weeks and when it was nearly finished, I stuffed it by removing a wall in elevation, and destroyed the model (not realising that ArchiC puts everything in ONE model). I redrew the who project by hand in about 3 days! A nasty lesson.

You must stick with it for your first project - and your boss should allow you to do so.

There might be tears, incredible frustration but at the end, a bright light. I also attended courses and did lots of tutorials. 'Framework' was one of my most useful books and I still refer to it. I finished up teaching it at our local TAFE college for about 4 years.

Another very useful source is the ArchiCad 10 virtual tutor. It is a DVD which takes you through all the common, and some less common, commands and explains how to use them. Can't speak highly enough of it.

You speak of missing the command line - my pet hate was ArchiCad's way of doing offsets - I thought that this was so clunky compared to Autocad! Now, I can't remember how I used to do it. It took me a year to unlearn my Autocad ways.

Good luck and keep at it. If you enjoy designing, rather than just drafting, ArchiCad will give you enormous pleasure and lots of fun!

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:16:19 GMT

But which 8800 ? with more or less memory ? 384 or 768 ? Will AC10 make use of 768 megs of onboard ram ? Will it impact performance ?

As for home computer, well, the sole purpose of that machine is to play games and enjoy DVDs on big screen, so no serious AC is being done on it.

What you people are saying is - get a mean gaming rig and use it to do AS ? Machine has to last at least 2 years, as did my old cadding iP4 here.

So, if i go like quadcore, 4gb, top range 8800, and possibly 10k rpm system hdd ? Will that hold for next 2 years ? When AC11 is coming out ? Will AC11 run on that machine ? These are the questions my boss will ask me to answer. I'm a technical guy, i know my ways around in hardware (more or less), but i have NO CLUE WHATSOEVER about AC and hardware it relies on the most...

Any help appreciated...

P.S. Is there any way of changing workspace background to colour black ? I hate working on white space, and that carries on to any other app i ever worked with (except coreldraw and general illustration)...

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 09:23:38 GMT

threedee wrote:
P.S. Is there any way of changing workspace background to colour black ? I hate working on white space, and that carries on to any other app i ever worked with (except coreldraw and general illustration)...

I'm not a techie, so I'll answer the easy one.

Go to View > Grid Options > Grids and Background

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

KeesW — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 11:43:58 GMT

Hello threedee

I think that you are asking questions that require a crystal ball - even Autocad couldn't possibly think more than a few years ahead.

Have a look at the hardware section of this list - minimum requirements are listed. From these it seems that a good quality 256 video card will do the job. Therefore a basic 8800GTS is sufficient. However, also look at the video card tests and you'll some that work and others that don't. The 8800GTS has not yet been tested and without this, we can't know how, or if, it performs. If I get one, it will be on a sale or return basis.

You might also check this: http://www.aaarchitect.com/archicad_benchmarks.htm

There is lots of useful stuff on ArchiCad-Talk and most of your questions can be answered if you spend a bit of time looking for them. Reading Archicad 10's instructions won't do any harm either!

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Djordje — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:28:24 GMT

threedee wrote:
P.S. Is there any way of changing workspace background to colour black ? I hate working on white space, and that carries on to any other app i ever worked with (except coreldraw and general illustration)...

Don't do that.

What you see is what you get - Archicad actually shows you ALL THE TIME what is going to happen on the paper. You don't have the abstract layer between the display and the output.

This is the first thing you shoudl unlearn.

If the pure white bothers you, go for very light grey. Try to use the colours that you would like on the printout immediately. Set your pen sets.

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:39:49 GMT

Tried that and all my hopes went out the window. I'm highly astigmatic, hard to get a proper prescroption for glasses, so things like very high contrast dont look good. I'm not half blind or some such thing, but i have trouble seeing fine lines (especially vertical) on a white background. This is fixed by setting background to black. Cant drive because of that, especially at night with lights blasting in my face...

But archicad messes the usefulness of black bkg while panning (mid mouse button). While colours are seen ok, the outline of actual walls disappear (black on black, shading disappears). Bugger. Plus, our standard of doing things dont involve many colours in drawings. We are adopting a strategy of "as simple as possible", meaning not cluttering drawings with colour and arrows,'n'stuff.

My acad set is consisting of only primary colours (7 in total), and some of them, while set to display colour are plotted in black.

But then again, my eyes are not the problem with AC so just ignore me on this

(got an appointment with optical laser surgery for a consultation of what can be done to fix this.)

#Edit1# Cant be any worse than light grey

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Djordje — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:43:57 GMT

OUCH!

Sorry, man ... it must be hard!

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Anonymous — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 10:42:38 GMT

Nothing too bad, just got used to it. Getting my eyes lasered some time this autumn...

Someone mentioned a book "Framework" for archicad here. I cant find it to buy. Amazon.co.uk doesnt sell it, ebay both .com and .co.uk dont have any...

Any other places to buy online ? Preferably sold in europe.

Any other good example/training books with CDs out there ?

Re: AutoCAD convert's questions

Laura Yanoviak — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 15:41:12 GMT

Objects Online still has 'em:

www.objectsonline.com/customer/product.php?productid=116041&cat=0&page=1

Not as applicable to AC10, but still very worthwhile.