Hi all!!

[Anonymous]

Hi all!

I am new to this forum and to the ways of ArchiCAD but just from installing and playing with it a bit I can see why you guys like it so much. I have used Chief Architect for a while but since experiencing ArchiCAD it doesn't even touch it!

Any one know of any web sites with in-depth tutorials for ArchiCAD?

Adam

[Bob Moore]

There are several tutorials available. The one that comes in pdf format with Archicad is a good start. Try both levels. I found Virtual Tutor 9 to be worth the money. It comes from GraphosoftAustralia. Contact your Graphisoft Reseller and arrange one on one tutoring, that's usually the best way to learn.

[Anonymous]

Our best investment was getting a year of (dealer) support. We also got the cd mentioned in the previous post, we found it somewhat helpful to get us started, definitely not "in-depth". We're newbies to AC also and the first couple of months were exasperating due to the very limited documentation that came w/the software...we did get some help here on the forum, but if it was not for our dealer support, we would possibly have canned the program, which is really too bad, because I can't find anything that is better (I've been looking at CAD software since 1985, and have been a fulltime user since 1990!). In some ways our familiarity w/Autocad made if more difficult as I was constantly tempted to do certain aspects of projects in Autocad and expected Archicad to behave like Autocad. There's a lot to learn and we did not find the learning intuitive, and it's not like we're a couple of dummies, the other person in our little firm was trained in nuclear engineering and is just about to get his Master's in Engineering Management.

[__archiben]

ads7 wrote:
Any one know of any web sites with in-depth tutorials for ArchiCAD?

hi adam

it may seem like overkill, but there's nothing like one-on-one training to thoroughly teach you the basic concepts and processes. i don't know who your dealer is, but contact them to see what they offer. if it's BITE design (nottingham/london) you're in luck - both howard and adrian are excellent tutors . . . a day with one of them will pay itself back a hundred-fold . . .

good luck!
~/archiben

[Bob Moore]

Ben is right. One on one training is worth the price. By working through the tutorials you can develop a good feel for how the product works and have questions to ask when you take one one one training.

[Anonymous]

"Bob Moore" wrote:
One on one training is worth the price. quote]

After spending nearly $8,000 for 2 licenses which included one year dealer support (indispensable IMO) as well as the tutorial CD mentioned in earlier post, PLUS one full day one-on-one "basics" class, I found additional one-on-one tutoring at $75-$100/hr out of my budget. We do complex residential structures, so we were constantly running into "issues". If a person could afford another $1,500-2,000, I would say a good way after getting through the basics would be to go through an entire small (tyical) project in the course of 2 or 3 days with a tutor. Next best thing is good dealer support which worked for us.

For me what would have been really helpful is to get some sort of roadmap that shows how AC "thinks" and the AC resources like the Library that are integral to the working of the program. Anyway, I'm getting the hang of it now and often find the answers to my questions before the dealer tech support gets back to me.

[Bob Moore]

Josephus,
I probably should have said worth the time. In fact my reseller gave me 6 hours of instruction when I purchased Archicad. He had me work through the tutorials first so I had a feel for the software before we went through instruction time.

[TomWaltz]

Bob wrote:
Josephus,
I probably should have said worth the time. In fact my reseller gave me 6 hours of instruction when I purchased Archicad. He had me work through the tutorials first so I had a feel for the software before we went through instruction time.

I've always felt that was an important thing.

People who go into training cold don't retain very much. Those who go in with a little time with the tutorials first, maybe even some attempts at modeling/drafting, retain a LOT more.