Copy-paste text from Plotmaker9 to Archicad9?

[Thomas Holm]

I'm trying to transfer some text labels, including 2D graphics, from Plotmaker to Archicad.

I select what I want in PM (a Master layout), copy, and Paste in Archicad.

If the selection contains graphics (lines and polylines) I get a dialog to choose btw paste as "drawing elements" or "single figure". If I choose the latter, I get a very crude anti-aliased screen dump (looking like a poor jpg).
If I choose drawing elements, I get the graphics. But the dimensions are weird - some lines are longer then the original, some shorter. Fills are out of proportion. And all the text has disappeared!

So I try to select, copy and paste just the text blocks. Then I get no choice at all - it pastes at once as a raw screen dump.

What am I doing wrong? Is there a good workaround to transfer it all to scale, in proportion, and containing editable text??

[Thomas Holm]

OK I found a workaround.

1. In PM, create empty layout with the master in question.
"Publish" the layout to competitor's undocumented, reverse-engineered file format (dwg), taking care to use a suitable translator, set to "Model Space".

2. In Archicad, Save your current project, then Open (with File Type set to All or Competitor's undocumented, reverse-engineered file format /dwg/) the published file (in Competitor's undocumented, reverse-engineered file format /dwg/).

3. Hack layers and settings to your liking.

4. Select and copy.

5. Close the file without saving (unless you want a redundant Project in addition to the file in Competitor's undocumented, reverse-engineered file format /dwg/)

6. Open your original project.

7. Paste.

8. Why is this complex special-expert's-knowledge-requiring detour necessary?

9. Or am I just the usual idiot?

[Thomas Holm]

What's the matter? Do I stink? Or are my questions too silly? Nobody answered this one either:
http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=47190#47190

[Aussie John]

Thomas
dont feel unloved. I think you are hi-lighting the main reason why plotmaker and archicad should be one program. As well as text you can copy many things such as arcs or curved polygons and end up with a mess in archicad.

[Anonymous]

Thomas

I too have had problems copy-pasting things from PM to AC and back. I was trying to transfer my PM 9 masters to PM3.1, only workaround I could find was to paste items into AC then copy-paste to PM. Nothing came through correctly. Text that was 3.5mm changed to 3.297 (or similar), lines were also not to scale, fills changed, a total nightmare. I ended up just redrawing everything in the PM3.1 masters.
This is maybe not related to what you are experiencing, I just felt sorry for you.
Now, what was that smell...?

[Thomas Holm]

Well I guess that I've used Archicad long enough that when i run into a problem, it usually IS a problem. Not to brag, but that's the reason I refuse to subscribe to our distributor's support...

Thanks for the answers! Sometimes it helps just to know that you're not alone. And the dwg workaround really works, it's just that I find it weird to need to hack your greatest competitor's files to get your own program working.

And John, I DON'T think Archicad and Plotmaker should be one program. That may be fine if you're a sole practitioner, but in an office where collaboration is essential, keeping them separate means different people can work with different stages of a project - without having to buy another AC license.

If Graphisoft made AC and PM one program, they'd have to release an Archicad Lite at the same time. I think the present situation is better (If only PM's tools worked the same, copy/paste worked both ways, and multiple undos, etc, etc....)

[Ignacio Azpiazu]

I would have never thought of wanting to copy from Plotmaker to ArchiCAD the way things are, two programs one handling 'modelspace' and the other 'paperspace', precisely because in one you are handling 2D output entities and in the other 3D input and database entities. To me it only makes sense that you need to come up with an 'interpreter' file in between, in this case a DWG.

[Thomas Holm]

Of course. But there are cases. AC and PM evolves, and you change your workflow. Years ago we put more info in PM than we do now. And sometimes we have to re-use items!

[Anonymous]

Thomas wrote:

And John, I DON'T think Archicad and Plotmaker should be one program. That may be fine if you're a sole practitioner, but in an office where collaboration is essential, keeping them separate means different people can work with different stages of a project - without having to buy another AC license.

If Graphisoft made AC and PM one program, they'd have to release an Archicad Lite at the same time. I think the present situation is better (If only PM's tools worked the same, copy/paste worked both ways, and multiple undos, etc, etc....)

I used to think the same... However now you must have a key to update the drawings in plotmaker to run the background archicad; so the separate program makes much less sense.

[Thomas Holm]

/blushing/ Oh... I forgot that. You're right!