Surface Scheduling

[Anonymous]

Hi!

This is my first time posting to the forum, so please bare with me. I have spent forever trying to make a schedule that lists various finishes in my projects. Everything from paint colors to tile to steel to wood paneling. It seems that the best way to do this is by scheduling surfaces. Of course, surfaces have no inherent properties. It would be ideal to add things like an ID and notes to each surface...

I know Archicad wants us to use the software by programming all data into elements, but It quickly becomes a data management nightmare. Does anyone know a workaround?

[Eduardo Rolon · Accepted solution]

DBS you are still limiting your options when it is not necessary.

99% of your schedule can be produced with properties, You will need to read on that. It is not going to be easy but conceptually you can either write some of the description in the BMat, some in the surface, some can be expressions that read the code from the surface (If mat has -S in the name then finish is "shinny), some can be properties only tied to construction elements (If slab with material "WP6" then description is "wood planks 6" wide…").
In AC23 you will be able to add Classifications to BMats which will open a new set of possibilities for expressions and scheduling.

The hopeful item is that you only have to do this once and then you can resuse it and that will be easier than copy/pasting from Excel.

[Anonymous]

Aaaaaaahhhhhh... I see what you mean about the properties. -S is shiny, -M is matte, etc, etc.

That's a decent workaround. It is cumbersome compared to simply adding properties directly to surfaces, but you have definitely given me hope. Thanks for your help!

[Pink Projects]

Great thread, and one I've been consistently thinking about as the 23 template is constructed. @DBS, have you unlocked the code in achieving your desired finish schedule? I'm looking for something very similar and can't wrap my head around the solutions presented here. Any additional thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Trying from my side, the AC23 system allows us to create consistent scheduling with some BMat and properties. It's working great. But is it a way to add a small preview image of the material surface ?
Do we know, for example, if the .JPG from a 3D texture can be added into this type of schedule ?
It would be the "cerise sur le gateau" !

[kmitotk]

@Thomas VH you can add images into a schedule cell. Add any of the 2D or 3D previews field to the schedule. In the 2D/3D preview cell, you can add dimensions and labels but you can also add images there. What I do is putting the imported image right on top of the 2D/3D preview image and use the display order to hide the 2D/3D preview underneath the imported image.

The only thing is that the imported image only exists in the schedule cell and not in the element itself as its property. So when you copy/paste or export the element, it won't carry the image with it, which is unfortunate.

[Karoly Horvath]

Hi László,

I know this thread is old,  but actually that is kind of a problem, right? 

Adding properties to BMat does nothing good. In fact it was quite a dumb move.

Surfaces should have properties and Composites and Custom Profiles. 

Now stick with Surfaces:

Every single project needs a finishes schedule. 

Nobody will create a new bmat for every different paint and tile and carpet etc. We use surfaces for that. Often we even apply images to those surfaces that represent a selected product. 

Now that's what we need to be able to schedule:

The Code of the finish (surface) ,  the name,  the size, the supplier,  manufacturer and yeah with god's help,  where they are used,  like: door frames, ceiling paint, balcony balustrade etc... 

[Laszlo Nagy]

Yes, I agree. More attribute types need to have their own Properties, not only Building Materials.