Tools & Attribute defaults

[Francois_MCD]

Hello all

I'm wondering if there is a way to get a readable schedule (ie. Excel) for all default Attribute (pens, layers, lines, fills, surfaces > and their indexes) linked to Tools, Library Objects, Favorites & Work Environment settings?

Example (referring to the INT version of Archicad & the default template): 

When you open Archicad & the default template first time after a clean install, the Tools, Library Objects & Work Environment settings are pre-linked to specific attributes.

In the process of rebuilding our template for Archicad 28, my aim is to not change / relink the linked attribute assigned to a setting. A table of default Attribute settings will help a great deal to understand the relationships much faster (ie. which attributes & indexes are used by default vs unused).

I might be mistaken, but if I remember correctly, in AC27 & earlier the active Tool settings is saved with the Archicad template file. Then when loading the template, the Tool settings are loaded as well.

I expect to get smoother migration with new AC releases & Global Library updates going forward if we can maintain default indexes & attributes and just add the rest we need for our templates. Is my understanding correct?

[Erik Bjornhage]

You are not mistaken.

In fact, the tool "remembers" the setting you had the last time you used it - so it's not even template specific.

But yes, the tool has the settings you used when you saved the TPL.

However, changing to the desired "default" is something that takes an unnecessary amount of time when creating a template.

A schedule of some sort would be very helpful for getting a good overview (and imagine if we could export/import and edit outside of Archicad)

[Francois_MCD]

Thanks for your reply @Erik Bjornhage 

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@Erik Bjornhage wrote:

You are not mistaken.

In fact, the tool "remembers" the setting you had the last time you used it - so it's not even template specific.

But yes, the tool has the settings you used when you saved the TPL.

Yes, when loading the template, the tools are set to their state when the template was saved and thereafter the tool will remain on the last sued setting.

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@Erik Bjornhage wrote:

However, changing to the desired "default" is something that takes an unnecessary amount of time when creating a template.

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 Avoiding the tedious template updates is exactly the thing I am trying to do by the way I intend to build our new template, specifically while AC28's new Global Library and some other aspects kind of makes it necessary now. This is also the best time to get rid of old workflow setups & implement new ones based on new features that hopefully will fit well on this new foundation template.

Remapping Object default Attribute settings with the JSON table and remapping the Favorites with Python scripts is one thing only and does not cover all the tools. It's also something not all users will grasp that quick or be comfortable with. Also, if we do the remapping now to suite our templates, we will need to do it with every Library Pack update and new Archicad version... if my understanding is correct. 

I'm thinking, building the templates to align with the out-of-the-box defaults would be more beneficial in the long term.

It will be easier to create Pen Sets, Renovation Filters, Model View Options, Graphic Overrides & Properties (as triggers) etc to generate our desired outputs.
Also only knowing which Attribute Index numbers is linked / used where will also aid when adding & managing new attributes on specific unused index numbers.

It's quite difficult trying to figure this out by only seeing small bits in isolation. This type of data can be searched, filtered & understood quickly if it's together in one Excel or similar format. I really hope we can get a readable table of some sort to speed up this planning with insight. 

[Erik Bjornhage]

"This is also the best time to get rid of old workflow setups & implement new ones based on new features that hopefully will fit well on this new foundation template."

Yes, when you are forced to question your setups and workflow that can lead to many interesting and useful insights 😁

"Also, if we do the remapping now to suite our templates, we will need to do it with every Library Pack update and new Archicad version... if my understanding is correct."

That we have to do it with each Archicad version is like it is today - but having to do it with every LibraryPack-update sounds worrying. This is where we would absolutely need an import/export function - or some sort of table that we could edit easily outside Archicad (or inside if the UI was simple and logical enough).

"I'm thinking, building the templates to align with the out-of-the-box defaults would be more beneficial in the long term.

It will be easier to create Pen Sets, Renovation Filters, Model View Options, Graphic Overrides & Properties (as triggers) etc to generate our desired outputs.
Also only knowing which Attribute Index numbers is linked / used where will also aid when adding & managing new attributes on specific unused index numbers."

Yes, we have tried doing this (ish) although some of our edits do change the default. It's a tricky balancing act - and although we can sometimes see the long term benefit of such changes it can sometimes be hard to convince our co-workers that it is necessary for them to change the way they are doing things - or to convince our directors that it is worth the time for development.

Let's hope for some interesting and useful tools to come...

[SeaGeoff]

If I am not mistaken, the changes we make to the mapping values table will stay with our templates so our custom default settings will survive library updates. I am hoping this will enable a balanced approach where I can impose my custom attributes on the global library but avoid tinkering with the libpacks themselves. But like you I am still trying to figure out how it all fits together. FYI there is a parallel discussion around this topic here.