Survey Coordinate Tool

[LukaS]

Hello!

For UK&Ireland only, there is a specific tool developed, available free of charge (with Archicad licence), that enables user to mark world coordinate points, regardless of orientation and origin offset.
It is a two step process: first you set up your Survey Point - origin with custom coordinates. Then you use coordinate dimension tool (not the one we have, neither is that World Coordinate Dimension) that calculates and displays coordinates. Very basic and simple tool, but essential one in the last stages of project - e.g. mark out plan.

Issue with the tools we have is - World Coordinate Dimension only shows values in degrees but does take north offset into account (so the problems are units that you cannot change), on the other hand, Coordinate Dimension tool shows coordinates in right units but is unable to calculate north offset.

Is there a way that rest of us users can get hands on the Survey Coordinate Tool?

Other solution would be to program existing World Coordinate Tool to show coordinates in right units (distance from equator and prime meridian). I am guessing the tool already uses dimension units (because we work in x y z system), but then calculates those units to degrees. The small correction (or addition) would be to put an option in not to convert to degrees - like in Dimension Tool, where you can choose.

Maybe there is a similar tool or a way with existing ones for doing this out there that I am not seeing, Graphisoft?

Thanks!

[LukaS]

In general, how to you guys make Construction Documentation plans with marked coordinates of the plot and the building for surveyors to measure on site?

The workaround I currently use is making separate AC file where orientation of new building matches survey plan, which is always orientated to north. In this case, existing coordinate tools do the trick.
But that is a workaround and it comes with many problems for seamless workflow, obviously.

How to you overcome this problem? Am I missing something?

Cheers,
Luka

[Anonymous]

Hi, LukaS

We follow Graphisoft's Site Plan Creation Workflow Guide, see especially chapter 5.9 Real World Coordinates. tl;dr: Use hotlinks in a separate file for 3D content and a worksheet with a .pmk file for 2D.

[LukaS]

Hi villelahtinen,

Thanks for the reply.
That is precisely what I meant with the phrase "workaround". It just feels wrong doing this.
Using hotlinks does help with keeping floor-plans up to date, but having separate file means not using same layout file structure, having to duplicate the rest of visuals on layouts, saving two files etc. I know this is a standard procedure with bigger projects - to have them joined as modules in one file, but that does not excuse the missing functionality of coordinate dimension tool. If nothing else, you have to have two separate BimX files on site, even for small housing projects

I am not saying this is a deal breaker, I am just trying to say it is easily avoidable step. Already solved in UK&Ireland apparently

I just can't find a good reasoning for this, am I the only one?

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I agree, it really is a cumbersome workflow. But it's the only way I know to export dwg file in real world coordinates. I wish there were a better solution for this, perhaps similar to the IFC Survey Point object.

[Laszlo Nagy]

villelahtinen wrote:
Hi, LukaS

We follow Graphisoft's Site Plan Creation Workflow Guide, see especially chapter 5.9 Real World Coordinates. tl;dr: Use hotlinks in a separate file for 3D content and a worksheet with a .pmk file for 2D.

Villelahtinen is referring to a GS-created material that is a paid material so I removed the link to it from the post.