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Dear Community Members,
Standardized notes are a powerful way to keep details clear and coordinated. This month’s tip highlights a smart solution shared by @Andrew OToole that uses Archicad Keynotes to create automated detail notes, so you can manage and update them from a single, central list.
The challenge
Detail drawings often require many repeated notes, such as waterproofing descriptions, fixings, or finish specifications. Typing or copying these texts manually into every section and detail makes them difficult to keep consistent, especially when a note changes later in the project.
To address this, the workflow uses Archicad’s built‑in Keynotes feature as an alternative to traditional text labels, so that detail notes are driven from a central keynote list and can be updated project‑wide in one place.
The solution
Store your standard detail notes in the Keynotes database, then place them as keynote labels on your details so that all annotations reference a single source.
On your layouts, a keynote legend object lists all used notes automatically, so the text is managed once but displayed wherever it is needed in sections, details, and legends.
When a note needs to change, you edit it once in the Keynotes palette (or in an exported Excel file and re‑import it), and all linked labels and legends update together, keeping every occurrence of that note in sync.
Step 1: Build your detail‑note library with Keynotes
Open the Keynotes palette via Window > Palettes > Keynotes and create a set of notes that match your typical detail requirements.
- Use the Key as a unique code (for example D‑101, D‑102).
- Use the Title for a short label (for example “Roof flashing”).
- Use the Description for the full specification text that will appear in the legend.
Step 2: Place keynote labels on your details
In your section or detail viewpoints, select the elements you want to annotate and place keynote labels from the Keynotes palette (either by double‑clicking a keynote or using the Place Label button).
You can choose whether the label shows just the key, just the title, or both, depending on how much text you want inside the drawing versus in the legend.
Step 3: Generate an automatic keynote legend
On a layout, use the Place Legend button in the Keynotes palette to place a keynote legend object that lists all keynotes used in the project or on the current layout, according to its settings.
Adjust the legend’s object settings (columns, fonts, and which fields to show) so it reads as a clean, structured list of detail notes that matches your office standards.
Step 4: Update notes from one central source
If you need to change wording or add more detail, edit the note in the Keynotes palette, or export the database to Excel, edit there, and import it back.
All keynote labels and legends using that note will update automatically, ensuring that the same detail note is consistent across every drawing where it appears.
The result
Using Keynotes as automated detail notes gives you a single source of truth for standard annotations: you manage the text once, then place it wherever it is needed in your sections, details, and layout legends.
This workflow helps keep documentation consistent, reduces repetitive editing, and makes it easy to roll out wording changes across an entire project in just a few clicks.
Give it a try and let us know how it works for you! Here’s the link to the original forum discussion where you can leave kudos to @Andrew OToole for this tip.
Do you have a clever solution or a favorite tip for everyday challenges? Share it with the community and it might be published in the Insights blog!
