Best way to reference multiple external archicad files/model

[Anonymous]

This may sound a bit confusing and i wasn't sure how to word it, but bear with me here.

Our office has just received a new project which is for 10 double storey apartments. All of these apartments are the exact same design, with two of them being a mirror image. This is the first time we have received a job of this nature since starting with Archicad earlier this year.
Doing jobs similar to this in the past in AutoCAD we would draw and document a single apartment, then save it as a w-block and place the copies of it where they were located. This way when we made changes or added new detail to the plan/elevations it would automatically update across all of the apartments.

Not wanting to go back to the dark side (AutoCAD) I am wondering about the best way to do a similar thing in Archicad. Any help on this would be awesome!

Things to note:
-I have no real knowledge of IFC
-Want all floor plans, elevations, sections, and dimensions to be part of the reference
-All apartments will be the same floor levels and heights

[Barry Kelly]

Without getting into specifics you will want to learn about Hotlink Modules.
Basically model up apartment one with all its sections and elevations (i.e. the complete documentation minus the site plans.
This will be used for all the standard hand apartments.

For the reverse hand you will need to start a new project (using the same template as the first) and then hotlink in apartment one.
You will have the option to mirror the hotlink and bring in all stories at the same time.
Note this will just bring in the plan annotation and the 3D model.
You will need to setup and annotate all of the sections and elevations again.
Place this hotlink in the Archicad layer and you will have complete control with all the layer combinations.

Create another file for the site plans (again using the same template (i.e. same layers, attributes and storey heights).
Now hotlink in the apartment one plan again for each apartment with the standard handing.
For the reverse hands hotlink in apartment one again but mirrored or hotlink in the mirrored PLN - this just means you will have a hotlink inside a hotlink (nested hotlinks) which is fine but just needs a little more care (nested hotlinks can be turned off which you won't want to do).
Place these site hotlinks in the Archicad layer and you will have complete control over the layers as you did in the apartment files so you can created a combined elevation of all apartments or a full 3D view of the entire complex.

If you place the hotlinks in any other layer then you will only see the model if that layer is turned on (you can still control all the other layers as long as that master layer is on). If the mater layer is turned off then your entire hotlink will be turned off.

Just a brief explanation to get you started.
As you have more specific questions just post again.

Barry.

[Anonymous]

Barry, thanks heaps! I haven't used hotlinks before but this sounds like its exactly what I'm after. Ill be sure to look further into them. Thanks!