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About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.
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They offer us these antiquated and outdated formats, yet no FBX!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
76 REPLIES 76

The only thing official is the statement in the video that Laszlo linked to.  Please stop beating this drum, my friend... they are working on it, which is good news, and nothing we say will make it appear sooner.

One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.5, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB

I have no info on what "very soon" means in this specific case. I just thought this info was relevant to this discussion, it is good news in my opinion, so I quoted it here.

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

I'll put away my bullhorn... or drums in this case 😂 Thanks Karl!

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 was, and thanks for posting Laszlo. 👍

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

Have a look at the documentation for the ModelPort Add-On. It seems to like FBX a lot.

Think Like a Spec Writer
AC4.55 through 27 / USA AC27-4060 USA
Rhino 8 Mac
MacOS 14.2.1
Valaira
Participant

For those who also want a solution at this moment. I created for me a Script in Blender as Workaround, where I can export an File-Format OBJ from Archicad and import these File into blender with preparing everything to add the Materials. (It's just workng with one single obj)

Manual for using the script

_________________________________________________________

1. Step: Create a folder named "obj" in the same folder as the blender file

2. Step: Drop the obj file into the obj-Folder

3. Step: Copy and paste the Script in blender

4. Step: Click ond the Scene "modell" or create it

5. Run the script

_________________________________________________________

Script

_________________________________________________________

import bpy, os

# Getting Path, which the File is saved
filepath_split = os.path.split(bpy.data.filepath) #list with [path, name]
folder_path = filepath_split[0] + "obj"

# Importing the OBJ-File from a folder in the same Path, which is named "obj"
for file in os.listdir(folder_path):
if file.endswith('.obj'):
obj_path = folder_path + "\\" + file
imported_object = bpy.ops.import_scene.obj(filepath=obj_path)
else:
print("There is no File with the Format OBJ in the folder.")

# Iteration through all Objects in the Collection "Modell" and prepare them for Texture-Mapping
for obj in bpy.data.collections["modell"].all_objects:
# Activating the Object, which will be edited
obj.select_set(True)
bpy.context.view_layer.objects.active = obj
# Creating the right Shade of the Objects
bpy.ops.mesh.customdata_custom_splitnormals_clear()
# Transform and Rotate the Objects correct
bpy.ops.object.transform_apply(location=False, rotation=True, scale=True)
# Selecting the Object in Edit-Mode
bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode = 'EDIT')
# Seperates the Object and sort it by the Material
bpy.ops.mesh.separate(type='MATERIAL')
# Select the geometry
bpy.ops.mesh.select_all(action='SELECT')
# Call the smart project operator
bpy.ops.uv.smart_project()
# Toggle out of Edit Mode
bpy.ops.object.mode_set(mode='OBJECT')
# Deselect the object
obj.select_set(False)

# Naming the Materials by their names.
for ob in bpy.data.collections["modell"].all_objects:
if ob.active_material:
ob.name = ob.active_material.name

# Creating new Collection an taking the Model inside this Collection.
collection_name = "Object_Import"
collection = bpy.data.collections.new(collection_name)
coll_target = bpy.context.scene.collection.children.link(collection)
collection = bpy.data.collections["modell"]
for obj in collection.all_objects:
bpy.data.collections[collection_name].objects.link(obj)
bpy.data.collections["modell"].objects.unlink(obj)


Screenshot_Script_Import_OBJ.PNG

Thanks for your well explained workaround. I have my own involving Skecthup. The only issue I have with OBJ is its lack of feature richness. Even if it ends in FBX after the process, it started as an OBJ with limited versatility.

How are you finding the end result to be quality-wise?

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

Is it "very soon" now?

hiCAD - BIM technology distribution and implementation
Francois_MCD
Expert

Fantastic! Graphisoft... 😎  FBX export is expected in the next Archicad release.
See the "Coming Soon" section of the exciting new Development Roadmap
https://graphisoft.com/product-roadmap/fbx-export-import

 

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

Well, in the Q & A session of yesterday's Building Together conference, it was said that items that are in the "Coming soon" category will be in Archicad 27, which includes FBX Export/Import as well:

https://graphisoft.com/product-roadmap/coming-soon

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