Importing a spreadsheet as custom Database

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,
so far, we've been using a spreadsheet to manage our design specifications. The file (in microsoft excel format) contains keys, components, descriptions, units etc.

Now, we would like to start using the built-in Archicad calculation features. We'd like to organize our take-offs with AC lists. To do that, we need to have our own custom database. Is it possible to import our existing excel database into Archicad?

By the way, we are using AC13 and we're soon going to switch to #15, although I don't think there's any big difference between the two versions when it comes to the calculation menu.

Thanks!

Enrico

[Karl Ottenstein]

Yes. You should consider purchasing Eric Wilk's book "ArchiCAD From CAD to Quantity Survey" which explains exactly that approach: defining your database in Excel and importing it into AC and going from there. No doubt you'll have other questions which this book will address.

It was originally published in French and then later a separate English translation. You would have to contact his company to see if it is still sold. Shows as 25 euro in French; 30 euros in English:

http://www.boutique-fc-cadlink.com/fccllfr001-p-28.html

http://www.boutique-fc-cadlink.com/fccllen001-p-29.html

You're also correct about changes to the Calculation menu - essentially nothing has changed since version 6.5.

Cheers,
Karl

[Anonymous]

Thank you Karl!

Wow, nothing changed since version 6.5?

[Karl Ottenstein]

Enrico wrote:
Thank you Karl!

Wow, nothing changed since version 6.5?

You're welcome -hope the book is still in print. If there has been any change since 6.5, it has been so small as to have escaped notice. Even the documentation has not changed - after all these years, still not including a single practical example of how to link a property object to an element to extract useful information or to generate a graphic list scheme. Hopefully, Graphisoft will not abandon this feature, as there is nothing in the interactive schedules that offers the same capabilities.

Cheers,
Karl