Schedules, door ID and repetitive modules

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

How are people handling door IDs in projects with non-residential repetitive modules (labs, hotels, hospitals, office buildings, schools)?
1) My usual way of doing that was to use hotlinked modules for the repetitive stuff and get the door tag to identify the door type, which works OK. But I am now discovering that
2) many US practices use the tag to identify the door *unit*, so that each individual door in the building gets a unique ID, which I think there is no way of doing with repetitive hotlinked modules.
Given the choice of modeling everything 20 or 200 times each time a change is made to the repetitive design or putting the door tag ID manually at the end of the process I guess I would go for the manually tacked-on door tag object --but that will not show in the door schedule. I am trying to understand the reason for the unique ID for each door, and I am thinking that maybe it is a practice coming from residential and that should be done away with in this type of buildings (where each door is less unique anyway), but since this is the first time I come across this method I am not sure if there is any hidden logic to it that I am not seeing.
3) Another option would be to break the hotlinks at the end of the process and manually give an ID to each door object, which would then show in the schedule. But since nobody can ever be right about when 'the end of the process' is, in practical terms this would end up working exactly the same as '2)'.
So what is everybody doing?

[Chazz]

Karl,

A confusing situation, yes. In fact, it would appear that I have fanned the flames of that confusion (does confusion have flames and if so could you really fan them?). I had not seen the other page until 10 min after I posted. I always rely on the graphisoftus site for new stuff. Deep sigh...

You might think a company that makes a tool that's supposed to help us convey our ideas with crystal (even legally binding) clarity might consider these things before posting such a flummoxing set of contradictions. Ugh....

Thanks as always for your vigilance and hard work.

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

Err I was glad that the Zone Number detection from within the door in the module provided a way of giving unique tags to each door in repeated modules without having to break the links, but it still doesn't solve a fairly typical situation which is a facade section that repeats independently of the room layout, so that a given room may have more than one of the same panels.

I don't think there is a workaround to this without an API, since modules don't have any sort of 'ID' that can be detected by the door, and since doors don't have a way of telling if they are the first second or third instance in a zone.

This is a bit depressing because at the critical more labor-intensive and potentially more labor saving point in the process (door naming, scheduling, and last minute changes) repeated instances of a hotlinked module just will not work unless I find a way of persuading the world around me that they don't really need unique IDs for each door, which is what they happen to have been doing since times immemorial.

[Karl Ottenstein]

Ignacio,

Forgive me for forgetting... but have you made a wish for this functionality yet? If so, could you post the link here?

Thanks,
Karl

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

Karl wrote:
but have you made a wish for this functionality yet?

I haven't yet because 1) I was not yet positive that the functionality was not available somehow, and 2) I am still not sure what I should be asking for.

At this point I think it would be some sort of Module Instance ID, readable in Hotlink Manager, usable in Find&Select, and readable by objects just as they can read the Zone they are in. So that one could come up with the specific object instance ID by doing Zone Number + Module Instance + Object User ID.

There have been wishes in this sense in the past, I am not sure if they went into that much detail in terms of its absolute need for basic usability of basic tools (modules, scheduling) in typical projects. I'll check out and add to the thread or create a new one.

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

There goes the wish. Please vote. Favorably.
http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=8554

[Anonymous]

I have just run into this issue since this is our first time using hotlinks in an ArchiCAD project (college housing with multiple units). Our firm heavily relies on door and window schedules and it's essential for us to have unique door IDs for each one despite the repetition. Seeing that this issue has been approached 3-4 years ago, I was wondering if it has been resolved? Using AC12 here and would rather not add another library such as Door Builder. Thanks!

[Laszlo Nagy]

I do not think any progress has been made on this issue.

Can you tell a bit more about the purpose of each instance of a Door/Window having a unique ID?

[Anonymous]

I believe that by having a door/window schedule tagging each door/window individually, an architecture firm would have very clear indication and communication with the contractor/builder displaying all the correct properties of each door/window on the construction drawings. The contractor would also appreciate knowing which door and its location will have this assigned hardware, finish, etc.

If I followed the method ArchiCAD is currently giving us, we will have approx. 50-75 doors sharing the same ID. I highly doubt all 50 doors will have the same hardware or finish. Using a door schedule with unique IDs, while it may seem very repetitive, at least we will have control of properly indicating which door will have this hardware or this finish. It also would not make sense for me to create a new module of the exact same layout just so I can separate them by door hardware or finish.

Other firms may have other reasons for creating unique door/window IDs for scheduling, but this is our most pressing reason - being able to control the hardware and finishes of each door/window using the schedule sorted by unique ID.

[Laszlo Nagy]

OK, I get what you mean.
It is not possible at the moment.
All you can do is break the hotlink in those instances so you can change the IDs.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Laszlo (as I believe that's what most users call you here) for confirming that. Us ArchiCAD users will have to put our heads together and figure a solution for this. Probably deciding whether to compile door IDs and list quantity or breaking hotlinks.

Hopefully this "issue" can be something for Graphisoft to consider in future releases.