Challenges with library management

[Polar Bear]

Dear Archicad lovers, Why on earth is library management so complicated.  I just came from a year of handling a super large project in Revit. Today back in Archicad, and god!!! it is incomprehensible! unless you are native to archicad since ages!  and about to drop it all.  Tired of this complicatedness! anyone has tricks to understand ?

[Topic title edited by moderator to be more descriptive. Original title "Library"]

[Barry Kelly]

What problems are you having?

Barry.

[Polar Bear]

Thank you for replying. 

The problem is simply for me to understand the structure of library. 

For example,  I see some missing parts, and the file is a new file!  Why are there missing items and how to delete it?  there seems to be no simple way to manage this.  

I was sold Archicad on the basis that files are lighter, partly due to this kind of library management, things are stored out of the file and linked.  Strangely, i just completed a 5000 sqm fully furnished school building on revit, and the file is still lighter than a simple house on Archicad!  And with all other archaic things.  

So it make me wonder on why they go on creating some ai functions when the basic structure is still far behind other bim software in terms of intuitiveness of usage?  And i know, heard that song before: Archicad was there before revit and these functions are fine (accordingly old users).  For new users: it is a pain (why should we manage layers? why should we manage what goes above what? (i sometimes printed by mistake with dimensions and wall hidden under floors !  how come???), hence any entry into Archicad is far far far harder than entry into other bim.  And i tried often implantation of archicad in several offices in India: Failed. 

The simple intuitiveness of the software has never really been fully addressed i feel.  They run (graphisoft) after some hightech stuff (like AI)  to catch up, rather than ensuring the basic intuitiveness of their product, which would facilitate entry into the software.  As a result, they drag some structurally archaic functions & capacity. 

And i know, for any old users it is all easy etc.  The best example coming to mind is adobe indesign compared with affinity publisher.  Affinity has been deployed without these structurally archaic capacity, which is such a pleasure to work with!

i might be totally wrong 🙂

Sorry for these complains.  

[Patrick M]

if you are referring to the .libpacks... yeah, I haven't talked to anyone who likes them.

If you mean tracking duplicates and missing parts, maintaining a healthy embedded library, and updating server libraries... yeah, none of it is 'easy' or intuitive.

... 

Once you have the libraries you need loaded there are some rules of thumb to keep it all sorted. Library maintenance/management shouldn't be a daily issue for most people (unfortunately, I find myself in outside that group of 'most people').
...
Rules for library management:
-avoid duplicates. These are usually found in the embedded library
-avoid missing parts. These are a PITA to track down; you need to find the missing part and add it to the embedded library, or remove it from the project.
-do not load .lcf and .libpacks

-do not use images of 3-5MB in the embedded library

-no not use objects over 10MB in the embedded library

-keep things organized, use folders in your embedded library

-if the E/L gets over about 300MB, consider breaking it out into a project based library
...
I've heard that to update .libpacks on a bimcloud, you can just re-upload them. I have not found this to work... I have no useful tips on updating .libpacks, other than painstakingly cycling through them over the course of 30-40 min. (or hours depending on your internet speed)

...

yeah, libraries are a bit much; but once you have them in your template/files, you shouldn't have to think about them much.

[Barry Kelly]

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@Polar Bear wrote:

For example,  I see some missing parts, and the file is a new file!  Why are there missing items and how to delete it?  there seems to be no simple way to manage this.  

---

There are Graphisoft libraries and 3rd party libraries.

The Library Manager will tell you what is missing and where Archicad expected to find it (the file path to the library/object).

You have all of the Graphisoft libraries available when you install Archicad.

But if the file was created in say version 25 and is still using the 25 libraries, then you need to install 25 to get access to that library.

You can also use the 27 library and the migration libraries if you have them already (these are included in 28 but not 29+.

If the file you are working on is from another person (computer), the it could be possible that the libraries they were using are in a different folder path to the same libraries on your machine.

If that is the case, it is just a matter of re-linking to those libraries.

If the file you are using is linking to 3rd party object, then you need to ensure you have those 3rd party libraries on your machine.

Again it is then a matter of in Library Manager, linking to where you have those libraries saved.

Without those 3rd party libraries, you will have "Missing" objects, and there is nothing that can be done other than to find those libraries.

If you can show an image of your Library Manager with the missing objects (and expand the 'warnings' section at the bottom, we can help you in finding what you need.

Barry.

[Patrick M]

yes, I have definitely seen a lot of changes in the past 5-ish years; graphisoft has shifted their focus on development and community.
the "but revit can..." argument seems to have taken a top priority over what many archicad users actually need/want. The MEP add-on was an extra, now it's integrated. Thats fine, but I've only needed that 2-3x in my life. The structural analytical functions, presumably to compete with revit structures, is by and large ignored even by structural enginneers using archicad. Now the race for AI integration... I realize things have to start somewhere, but the ai rendering solution in archicad is laughably bad (adding chimneys and swimming pools and converting cabinets to entire building facades), and the ai assistant is more like microsofts 1990's clippy than a helpful tool IMO. eventually there may be ai based tools that are useful (qa/qc, code compliance, annotation functions, graphic consistency checks, etc)
...
Any way, regarding libraries. I think Archicad has always had a steep learning curve. Libraries are no exception. The linked libraries should keep archicad lighter, but there is also the projects embedded library. Definitely keep an eye on that, as it directly impacts file size.
That said, file size with modern computers is not the hang up it once was. I have clients with 10-15GB files on their BIMclouds. They function fine, as long as the file size is not the direct result of bad file management (IE bloated embedded libraries, excessive polygons, excessive SEO, etc.).

...
tracking down missing parts is frustrating. Check where they are missing from in the library loading report. Missing from attributes, as in the screen shot below, are easy enough to clean up or replace in the surface manager. Missing from library 'x', you could add that library back in, but most times this results in duplicates. The tedious slog of a solution is to go to the project map, set up a find and select criteria that states:
Element Type is Object
Library part is missing

then go viewpoint by viewpoint to track them down, making sure that all layers, renovation filters, and design options are visible. Once you find them, you can determine if it's more appropriate to relink the missing object to a counterpart in your linked libraries, or to just delete it from the file.
...
I am sorry this is a frustrating hurdle to get over; I hope you are able to get some assistance, either with file maintenance or training to overcome some of the learning curve issues.

[Polar Bear]

Thanks all a lot for your responses!

I am soon giving up!  Too many archaic functions!  Too little progress on making the software intuitive. At the end of the day, my time designing and handling project is far more precious than handling the software complexity (layers, library, stuff on top of other stuff (i once printed to realise my dimensions were shifted behind the floor!!!) etc.!). 

Tracking these hidden missing library will take me so long, why should it?  We are in 2026 sorry!

My feeling about archicad: To do these systemic changes would need so much time and investment and pay so little (in terms of marketing), they prefer to focus on some fake silver lining such as AI and MEP, which hey! who uses it???

Library item missing: 

Thank you all!

[Patrick M]

Those missing parts are a product of the move in AC28/29 to a new library system. They can be extracted and added in. I have a client that has about 1/3 of the AC27 library brought in as a custom library to avoid missing elements in the move to the libpack system.

[Barry Kelly]

@Polar Bear ,

You seem to be opening a file from and older version of Archicad (27 or before) in version 29.

If you are doing this there is no need to load the 28/29 global library packs.

These are not compatible with new files and should only be used if you are starting  new file from a version 28 or 29 template. 

They can be removed, unless you have started to place objects from these libraries.

If you are opening an older file, just keep loading the old libraries.

In version 27 the main library was call 'Archicad Library 27'.

You need to load that library and the migration libraries if the file was started in a version before 27 - which your file seems to be as it has older objects.

If you still have version 27 installed, you will have these libraries in the 27 program folder.

For some unknown reason, in 28 the version 27 monolith library was renamed as 'Archicad Library 28' - this was a silly and confusing decision by Graphisoft.

It is actually just the version 27 library.

So load that folder and also the migration libraries.

If you don't have version 28 installed and only have version 29, you will find that these older libraries are not included with the default installation (like they are for version 28).

So you either need to install the older versions or you can download just the libraries from here ...

https://www.graphisoft.com/en-au/downloads/?section=monolith-template-and-library&localization=INT&p...

Choose your language version and you need to download the latest monolith library and also the migration library.

 

Basically, if you are opening an old file, you need to keep using the old libraries.

Do not try to load the new global library packs as well as they are not compatible with the old objects, and it will just become confusing having both libraries loaded at the same time.

Barry.

[Polar Bear]

Thank you so much!

I just want to remove it. Flush it!  Any quick way ?  Purge?

I have no time searching and loading other library stuff.  I just want a clean new file!

Thank you!