Cigraph Problem

[Anonymous]

Joseph wrote:
CadImage products are very useful but have had problem with above issues, bugs in there products and not a good tech support.

Cigraph's customer service isn't exactly stellar, either. I've been trying to get my ArchiStair upgraded for almost *three weeks* now, utterly without success.

Their website is down half the time I try to log on, so I couldn't order the upgrade through them and get the serial number right away (or what I had at least hoped would be right away). Objects Online has to jump through their hoops before they will issue a serial number also.

And God help you if, like me, you find yourself having to replace your hardware key, because your Cigraph add-ons will stop working, and you will not be able to upgrade them without a major hassle.

Almost 3 weeks ago, Fabrizio told me he would reset my serial number since I couldn't find it when he got a message from my reseller showing the hardware key had been replaced, so I forwarded him the message from Graphisoft documenting it had been sent.

So, did I get the reset number? No. Fabrizio claimed he never got the forwarded email. And even after resending it, he *still* didn't reset the unlock code, or whatever the hell they call it. When I wrote him to remind him the other day, all he did was tell me to download the demo, that I didn't need the old registration ID for that!

As if that solves my problem - particularly since the demo version only allows you to do 10 commands.

Not 10 staircases, mind you, or 10 days' worth of use - but 10 *commands* - including modifying existing staircases. So, if you're novice at this program like I am, you may not get very far on even *one* staircase, if you need to make modifications after you first create it.

So, once you even figure out how to load the damned thing in the first place, which is the world's worst pain in the ass to actually get it working, you *still* find yourself with just a demo version despite having purchased the software.

I am so pissed right now I could just spit.

Wendy

[Thomas Holm]

Matthew wrote:
Every so often I am reminded of my work on speedikon.

Have to agree there. I think if Bentley had chosen to buy Speedikon instead of BiricWorks/Triforma, the BIM market would have been different now. It had many of the advantages of Archicad!

[Fabrizio Diodati]

Can we go Object Base ArchiStair? I think this will solve a part of problem of not having the Stair as an object when thing go wrong.

dear Joseph, could you explain me what do you mean?
Do you mean that the result shouldn't be a unique stair but a "collection" of single parts?

[Anonymous]

andyro wrote:
in fact, I consider archistair and door/window builder absolutely indispensible, but hugely problemmatic from a cad/project/library management perspective.

The whole add-on situation drives me crazy. I simply can't keep up with what I've got and the upgrades. And then when the upgrades are so difficult to install, it makes me just want to tear my hair out. It's doubly frustrating when the program *is* as indispensable as ArchiStair is, because otherwise, I'd just ditch any program that was this difficult to cope with and be done with it.

Fabrizio finally sent me a list of all the steps I needed to take to install this upgrade, step by step, complete with screen shots, which at least clarified the process better, and let me see what *ought* to have been coming up on the screen at each step. That at least made it clear that there was not just one serial-type number necessary to install this thing, but no fewer than *three* - including the Archicad dongle number.

Who can keep track of multiple codes necessary to install one piece of software? It's hard enough to keep track of one. And one of these - the unlock code - isn't even sent via email.

Even with more detailed instructions than are provided with the software or on the website, the upgrade *still* didn't work - like I kept telling him over and over in email. I really don't understand why, but he just didn't seem to believe me. I finally had to stay up late when I would have much rather gone to bed to call him in Italy.

I can see that he really was trying to help, and that to some extent, we were just miscommunicating, but he just didn't seem to believe me when I kept telling him it wasn't working. It was so frustrating. At least now I realize why we didn't seem to understand each other.

The reality is that there are major pieces of the installation process that are simply not well-explained anywhere.

It just doesn't make sense to have an installation procedure that's so doggoned difficult that a person who is generally considered a power computer user should have to be tearing her hair out for more than two weeks and making international phone calls in order to get the program installed and working, though.

Fabrizio, if you at least put the same explanation as you sent me in your last email message into the software installation packet somewhere, say as a ReadMe file - and/or on the website where it could be easily found - that would go a long ways towards helping people through the process more easily.

Wendy

[Fabrizio Diodati]

Dear Wendy,

first of all it has been a pleasure to speak with you by phone.
Then, for sure anything can be inproved (and must be improved!) but:

Fabrizio, if you at least put the same explanation as you sent me in your last email message into the software installation packet somewhere, say as a ReadMe file - and/or on the website where it could be easily found - that would go a long ways towards helping people through the process more easily.

If you look at the attached image, you can see how, from the same serialization dialog window, you can get just the same info I wrote you (better explained!) just clicking on the Help button.
Furthermore, inside all our add-on folder there is a ReadMe file (just like you call it!) that explaine some other further info.

In the next week I will assemble a movie showing the whole serialization process, we will upload it on our web site and I hope this will help all the users who have trouble on this field.

If you agree (please send me a private e-mail) you will be my beta tester about this movie: you will decide if it is enough clear...

Friendly
Fabrizio

[Frank Beister]

Maybe this should be posted to wishlist, but the embedding of AddOns is beside installing the serials not good solved in ArchiCAD. It seems to become more and more AddOns for the all-in-one-software ArchiCAD. If it has to be that way a GS certified and in AC implemented mechanism of requesting and installing AddOns is necessary. Look to open source. Look at FF. That I have to download even GS published AddOns manualy is a strange way for a software of the 21th century.

[Anonymous]

Thomas wrote:

Matthew wrote:
Every so often I am reminded of my work on speedikon.

Have to agree there. I think if Bentley had chosen to buy Speedikon instead of BiricWorks/Triforma, the BIM market would have been different now. It had many of the advantages of Archicad!

...and some we are still waiting for, like view filters and classcodes. Of course a good view filter required writing a thousand (or two, or more) lines of code.

[Anonymous]

F. wrote:
Maybe this should be posted to wishlist, but the embedding of AddOns is beside installing the serials not good solved in ArchiCAD. It seems to become more and more AddOns for the all-in-one-software ArchiCAD. If it has to be that way a GS certified and in AC implemented mechanism of requesting and installing AddOns is necessary. Look to open source. Look at FF. That I have to download even GS published AddOns manualy is a strange way for a software of the 21th century.

I agree very strongly with this. We need a single, simple way to register add-ons. Perhaps GS could get together with Cigraph and Cadimage to sort something out. It is important that people be compensated for their good work, but it serves no one if the process that ensures this is too difficult.

I am sure it would be complicated by each vendor's understandable desire to retain control of their customer list, but it would be best to have a single website where one could register and maintain all their purchased add-ons. Perhaps GS could host such a site with separate areas maintained by each vendor. This might even help more people sell add-ons that don't have such a wide market as stairs, etc. by reducing the cost of managing the registration process.

The problem is that the value of extending ArchiCAD with add-ons is seriously diminished if they are not easily maintained. It would be in everyone's interest to sort this out.

Frank,

If you haven't already I think you should post this to the wish list.

[Gerald Hoffman]

I agree very strongly with Matthew and Frank on this one. I have quite a few add-ons and find the registration with CadImage is not too bad. I just bought the upgrade for ArchiStair for AC10 and am now waiting for a valid serial number to put in to register from ObjectsonLine. They say they are having trouble getting ahold of Cigraph but it should just not be this hard.

Just my 2 bits worth while we are in a bitchin mood.