Keynotes

[James B]

Hi All,

We have introduced a new documentation focused workflow for Keynotes in Archicad 28, to help simplify and consolidate tags and descriptions into one database and palette.

• Organise Keynotes into an hierarchical folder structure, with drag/drop.
• Import/Export Keynotes via XML or Excel format > we are currently investigating updating this Excel format.
• Each Keynote stores a unique Key, multi-line Description, Title and Reference.
• All Keynote fields are available as autotexts from Labels and Texts, in any viewpoint Labels and Texts are available. Mix and match these autotexts with any existing autotexts or manual text as necessary.
• Keynote Legend objects placed on Layouts, gathers all visible (or any from a selected folder) Keynotes from internal, external and PMK based drawings, and lists these in a customisable table.
• New Label frame shapes have also been introduced.

For more information:

https://community.graphisoft.com/t5/Graphisoft-Technology-Preview/Keynotes/ta-p/606482

[theupstudio_cj]

I have to be honest here...Like most said, if you can't associate the keynote to the building element it becomes useless. The element ID should become the Key. why create a new thing?

[torben_wadlinger]

In order not to let this thread get out of hand: we have discussed this very topic up and down in the beta forum (200 posts). What Graphisoft has delivered here is not yet the end - but the start should have been better. As soon as AC 28 is released, the next shitstorm will break out over Graphisoft. They know that. I hope that access to the properties will be possible via an update and not just with AC 29.

So let's concentrate on testing the functionality that is available.

[Eduardo Rolon]

You are very optimistic about AC29.

I will not spend my free time testing a tool that doesn't work for me, specially when my workflow is better.

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Start of rant

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I am still waiting for the promised upgrades to BMats, Stars, Railings, New Attribute Manager that were promised versions ago. AC26 broke the Tracker for Imperial users when they added math to it and has not been fixed. Right now I have spent the last day trying to find why converting 15,595.1765 SF to M2 using Properties the answer in AC is 1,448.7919 when it should be 1,448.8393 (I know it is a small amount) but that means I cannot trust ACs calculations. My solution is to now do all my calculations in Excel since I cannot afford to wait for an eventual solution.

Now we get a "temporary" Keynote tool and an unusable "library" despite indicating multiple times that they don't solve the problem. This is part 2 of the Attribute Manager situation. At that time we were able to convince GS to bring the old one before launch but for this one I just gave up.

My prediction is when final release comes users will be happy based on marketing and then they will get mad when they start to use it and hey don't work as advertised. Add to this the price hikes and forced subscription for new users and it doesn't look good.

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End of rant

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[dbc_LTD]

I am in agreement with you. Archicad seems to be aimed squarely at the very top-end large-scale operations who have the resources to have the personnel to be expert in each different "improvement". For the small scale operations, Archicad is no better than the others. It is not possible to learn the new features as a small operator and maintain a profitable output.

Offering a basic keynotes with the limitations numerous people have written about, is insulting. I have used cadimage keynotes for a long time, but they are not usable.  This is ridiculous. 

AC17 had the best feature of wall framing, but that was discontinued despite the outcry. Archiframe is good, but the additional cost reflects a company that has scant regard for their users.

[Gideon Taljaard]

Using the new feature Keynotes to improve Annotations and documentation in the volume-building sector

In volume-building, annotations must still be added to our plans when submitting them for Developer or Local Authority approval. These annotations are informative and are required in our plans in note form or as a mini specification or instruction. We use A3 pages for all our house plans; even the larger ones still fit at a 1:100 scale.

Then, on each sheet, we distribute around the edges a combination of notes, legends, tables, and details. These are crucial as they not only form part of the approval process but also provide instructions for the different trades on site. We have considered using a specification document to replace all the notes, but consulting with our trades has not been well received. I must include that we don’t employ trades directly but rely on subcontractors to complete the build.

Looking at the different notes on the plans provided, I tried to replicate the current notes using Keynotes. You will see the need for legends on most of the drawings. As far as I could determine, it's impossible to link objects placed in the plan to show as symbols using the Keynotes legend. But then, I stand to be corrected.

I achieved the same appearance in the Site and general notes by using the Text Tool and inserting symbols for bullet points using paste. It would be wonderful if Keynotes could offer the option to format the description, including Insert Symbol, Align left—Center—Align right—Justify, and Superscript, Bold, Italic, and Underline.

Future Considerations

While the Keynotes feature is a notable advancement, there is always room for improvement. As pointed out before, it would be great if Keynotes could include the same formatting options as the Text Tool. Additionally, implementing a centralised database for Annotations/Keynotes hosted on BIMcloud would further streamline the documentation process. Not just this, but we also need the ability to update all notes that have been placed in our plans using this centralised database.

I encourage other volume builders to unify their requests to Graphisoft, advocating for features that address the specific needs of volume building, not just architectural design. We know that Graphisoft cannot always make everybody happy. However, presenting a unified voice can influence future enhancements to serve our unique requirements better.

[Laszlo Nagy]

@Gideon Taljaard,

Sorry to ask this, but what is the purpose of this post of yours? It looks and reads like a generic AI-generated spam post except for maybe the Future Considerations part.

[Gideon Taljaard]

@Laszlo Nagy  

Thank you for your feedback. I apologise if my post seemed generic or spammy. I used AI to help draft it, but I understand it didn’t come across as intended. I’ve since updated my request to make it more personalized and relevant.

[Spencer Browne]

So I've finally gotten around to testing the new keynotes feature in the tech preview.  Having used cad image to provide some ability to key notes for a long time now I was disappointed when I realized I could not simply import my cad image keynotes excel file into the new archicad provided one, I'm not an heavy excel user and I find cleaning up the file to match the GS format tedious, on the other hand I'm happy to know that the functionality is native now.  So in conclusion ill be back with my findings over the next few days.

[James B]

@Tintifax2  you can adjust the vertical spacing here:

Can you elaborate the issue? Thanks.

 

[NigelMX]

Just noticed when placing multiple key notes at once. the keynote text is stacked one above the other and so on.

It would be better if they were concatenated in a linear fashion perhaps with a comma separator.