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SOLVED!

No FBX in Archicad 26

Having downloaded Archicad 26 today, my first order of business was to see if they’ve included FBX export from the 3D window.

 

Nope.

 

Everyone, I’m at a loss for words. Imagine a word processing app not being able to save PDF, or an image editing program not being able to save JPG!

 

FBX is the industry standard for 3D model exchange and asset creation, and our $5K software with a $900 yearly price tag to remain current can’t save an industry standard format… SketchUp can… Revit can… Archicad falls short!

 

What are our options? A petition? An en masse open letter to major software publications highlighting this glaring omission?

Graphisoft has stopped responding to any forum post regarding FBX, and obviously from its lack of FBX exportability in Archicad 26, Graphisoft has ignored our repeated requests!

 

But guess what Archicad can export?

  1. Electric Image (last release in 2013)
  2. Piranesi (last release in 2007)
  3. Wavefront (acquired by Autodesk in 2008)
  4. Collada (last release in 2008)
  5. VRML (last code update in 1997)

 

They offer us these antiquated and outdated formats, yet no FBX! What do we do next?

 

Graphisoft, you’re on the clock here. We need a response and we need it now.

Rex Maximilian, Honolulu, USA - www.rexmaximilian.com
ArchiCAD 27 (user since 3.4, 1991)
16" MacBook Pro; M1 Max (2021), 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 32-Core GPU
Apple Vision Pro w/ BIMx
Creator of the Maximilian ArchiCAD Template System
1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
Solution
Laszlo Nagy
Community Admin
Community Admin

Did you guys watch the Building Together event?

In the "Building for the future of Architecture w/ Q&A" session, there was a question about when FBX Export can be expected, to which the following answer was given by @Janos Detre, Senior Business Product Manager, Graphisoft Product Success:

 

"The short answer is very soon. We definitely acknowledge that FBX is a very performant file format and it is used for all those [the question mentioned the following use cases: real-time rendering, augmented reality, metaverse, gaming, and asset warehouse markets] which you mentioned basically, very, very efficient visualization pipelines, also towards AR and VR apps, and what I can tell you is that we are actively working on providing this capability, especially the export option which you explicitly mentioned, very, very soon. So we are on it."

 

https://events.graphisoft.com/event/building-together-2022/planning/UGxhbm5pbmdfMTAzNjEwMA==

The question and answer start at the 26:30 mark.

Loving Archicad since 1995 - Find Archicad Tips at x.com/laszlonagy
AMD Ryzen9 5900X CPU, 64 GB RAM 3600 MHz, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 500 GB NVMe SSD
2x28" (2560x1440), Windows 10 PRO ENG, Ac20-Ac27

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76 REPLIES 76
Djordje
Ace

... you forgot Lightscape 😉

BTW, Datasmith...

... speaking of, any news from Unreal when the export plugin will be available? Their web still says 23-25... https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/datasmith/plugins

Djordje_0-1657961997851.png

 

Djordje



ArchiCAD since 4.55 ... 1995
HP Omen

Haha! I didn't see Lightscape in the export list.

Rex Maximilian, Honolulu, USA - www.rexmaximilian.com
ArchiCAD 27 (user since 3.4, 1991)
16" MacBook Pro; M1 Max (2021), 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 32-Core GPU
Apple Vision Pro w/ BIMx
Creator of the Maximilian ArchiCAD Template System

Ah yes, always frustrating to know I can't save to Twinmotion until... whenever that may be. I have a new project to start for a housing subdivision unit types with color scheme options. I'll have to stick with 25. I've been flirting with saving out to SKP from Archicad as my new method of export/import, but who knows what wrinkles that may entail down the line.

Rex Maximilian, Honolulu, USA - www.rexmaximilian.com
ArchiCAD 27 (user since 3.4, 1991)
16" MacBook Pro; M1 Max (2021), 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 32-Core GPU
Apple Vision Pro w/ BIMx
Creator of the Maximilian ArchiCAD Template System

I've asked the question to TM team - someone will probably reply soon:

https://twinmotionhelp.epicgames.com/s/question/0D54z00007p3STbCAM/ac26-plugin?language=en_US

AC26 ARM // MBP M2 Max // Twinmotion | Corona | Rhino

www.senoglu.dk

Francois_MCD
Expert

@Rex Maximilian & @Emre Senoglu I'm not sure but this could be a issue of "licensing". FBX is a proprietary format licensed by Autodesk and that's probably a factor in it's availability in Archicad. 

Regards
Francois Swanepoel
Everything happens in Archicad since v6.5 (2000) ‌
Hiking, Motorbiking, Good food, Gr8! Beer & excellent conversation 😉
#MadeByDyslexia is my unfair advantage – expect curious ideas, creative big thinking & small typos.
<> www.fusionBIM.co.za <> www.Scirrus.co <> www.BIM2fusedVR.com <> (new) Anatomy of Archicad Course

That is an interesting bit of info; but DWG is also, which has been available extensively on Archicad since the 90s. Hmmm... but, we don't know as GS has offered no explanations since it first became unavailable (albeit from Epic) in 25. I'd love to know why.

Rex Maximilian, Honolulu, USA - www.rexmaximilian.com
ArchiCAD 27 (user since 3.4, 1991)
16" MacBook Pro; M1 Max (2021), 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 32-Core GPU
Apple Vision Pro w/ BIMx
Creator of the Maximilian ArchiCAD Template System

It is always safer to save to 25 and then export to TM, than to go to SKP, adding a layer of troubles...

... guessing from experience with the previous versions, the exporter will show up quickly.

Djordje



ArchiCAD since 4.55 ... 1995
HP Omen

Yup, workarounds and hoops to jump through. If only there were an FBX format to save to... I haven't found any advantages to using Datasmith in 25 over FBX in previous versions. I also don't use the Direct Link as it locks you in even more to a closed environment for future edits and refreshed imports.

I also use AR apps and have to save down to 24 to export FBX with Epic's TM add-on.

Rex Maximilian, Honolulu, USA - www.rexmaximilian.com
ArchiCAD 27 (user since 3.4, 1991)
16" MacBook Pro; M1 Max (2021), 32GB RAM, 1 TB SSD, 32-Core GPU
Apple Vision Pro w/ BIMx
Creator of the Maximilian ArchiCAD Template System
Mjules
Mentor

Planning to leave Archicad. would be the best solution. 

Martin Luther Jules
AC 10-27 (Full)
Asus | 64 GB RAM | Windows 11