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New to ArchiCAD; What the hell is GDL?

dcerezo
Advocate
Hey guys,

I have been trying to make the switch from Revit to ArchiCAD for several reasons that I won't go into here.

I am trying to recreate a project I completed in Revit, in ArchiCAD.

In the project I have some 4 panel folding doors by NanaWall. Boy was I floored when I dug into how I would recreate these doors in ArchiCAD.

GDL? Dude. Really. What the f*$% is that! I mean, really, c'mon, you have to learn to program to create a window or door that currently doesn't exist in the library.

This fact alone has me really reconsidering whether I should stick with Revit.

Is Graphisoft looking at abandoning this? Is importing Sketchup models a workaround? Are those imported Sketchup models parametric once inside ArchiDAD?
ArchiCAD 26 - iMac 27, Late 2019, 3.7 GHz Intel Core i5, 32GB Ram, Radeon Pro 8GB, macOS Sonoma
26 REPLIES 26
Da3dalus
Enthusiast
We (try to) use keynotes as well, and ArchiCAD is a little behind on this. We're hoping that version 13, due out in the summer, may finally tackle the issue. In theory, ArchiCAD has all of the groundwork you could possibly need to do this and more. You can embed information in each part, link that information to a database, and even interactively scheudle much of that information. Unfortunately, not all of the dots have been connected. Cadimage Tools has the best solution.

Some other discussions about ArchiCAD and keynotes:
http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=140062&highlight=#140062

Regarding your other questions about ArchiCAD:
1. Dimensioning is awesome. stings are a single entity, always associative, and very reliable.
2. Site stuff is tough for most "Architecture" packages. Applying treatments to a non-flat base plane involves a whole new set of tools. ArchiCAD has decent meshes, but if your site isn't pretty flat, you'll need an add-on, like ArchiTerra by Cigraph (another purveyor of add-ons, like CadImage, but Italian instead of Kiwi). Then it's pretty good.
3. Though no full-featured word processor, I've never had a problem (tabs, formatting, and autotext fields work well).
4. The 3D documentation thing is new and wonderful. It's a prime example of Graphisoft listening to their user base!
5. I hear there's some revamping going on, but the material editor in ArchiCAD has always been pretty intuitive. Lightworks makes it a bit more complicated. It's not as good as 3DStudio or Parenesi, but then again those aren't BIM.
6. I believe the RoofMaker and TrussMaker utilities still come with ArchiCAD, and there are free downloadable "Goodies" available in your Help menu (used to be included on the DVD), including the Accessories, that have, among other things, a Wall Framer. These are a little tricky to master, but if you use them all the time, they're very functional.
7. With a lot of options for layouts and viewports, plus support for PDFs and about any image format, I've found it a good platform to do presentation boards. It's also pretty easy to create fly-through movies, do real-time 3D navigation, or create Quicktime VR Panoramas and Objects. Lightworks rendering is, in my opinion, pretty decent.

One other thing I've heard from Revit users is that it's a resource hog. Several firms have had to buy a lot of new computers just to run it. ArchiCAD (especially 12, which was tweaked for speed) will run acceptably on a Pentium 4 with 1GB of RAM. It flies on a Core2Duo.

As far as GDL, you really don't need it, at least not all of it. There are degrees of object making, and you can do a lot without typing a line of code. You can make vignettes of objects you need using walls, slabs, and even other objects, then save as an object, lamp, door, or window. With a tiny bit of GDL (like "ROTX 90"), you can make it do about anything.

However, if you play with the available parametric objects, you can probably make what you need without modification. For Nanawall (I love that stuff, but it's expensive), you can just use a bifold door, give it full-height windows, and you're there. Who cares that the object was intended to be a closet door? Architects often alter things beyond their intended use.

If you do want to get into GDL later, it's a really easy language. Most of it is based on BASIC, which I learned in 10th grade (it amazes me that they let people out of college without a programming class!). In my opinion, it's easier and more robust than LISP or ARX, or even VisualBASIC. It has commands for geometric objects, but you can cheat... create the object in ArchiCAD and have it generate code that you can copy and paste. The trick is to start small, and figure out what you really want before creating it. There are a lot of resources out there.

Good luck coming over to the Dark Side!
Chuck Kottka
Orcutt Winslow
Phoenix, Arizona, USA

ArchiCAD 25 (since 4.5)
Macbook Pro 15" Touchbar OSX 10.15 Core i7 2.9GHz/16GB RAM/Radeon Pro560 4GB
owen
Newcomer
Da3dalus wrote:
..We're hoping that version 13, due out in the summer, may finally tackle the issue. In theory, ArchiCAD has all of the groundwork you could possibly need to do this and more. You can embed information in each part, link that information to a database, and even interactively scheudle much of that information. Unfortunately, not all of the dots have been connected. Cadimage Tools has the best solution
(bold added for emphasis)

and IMO this is the reason we will never see a fully-functional keynote solution built into ArchiCAD ... i just do not believe Graphisoft will either license the software from Cadimage, nor completely eliminate the market for a product of their biggest developer. It is the same situation with Stairmaker vs Cadimage Stair Builder v Cigraph ArchiStair ....
cheers,

Owen Sharp

Design Technology Manager
fjmt | francis-jones morehen thorp

iMac 27" i7 2.93Ghz | 32GB RAM | OS 10.10 | Since AC5
Anonymous
Not applicable
And so we come to a rather interesting subject; some of the 'add-ons' are becoming intrinsic to ArchiCADs survival in the marketplace.
Falling significantly behind Revit in feature set, the add-ons help the software to compete. In fact, it is some add-on tools which I have heard users define as the key choice makers....toward ArchiCAD

At the price point to pay extra for all these other tools is painful. At what point will GS have to buy them out? Or enter some profit share scheme?
Anonymous
Not applicable
rwallis wrote:
At the price point to pay extra for all these other tools is painful. At what point will GS have to buy them out? Or enter some profit share scheme?
That's basically what Autodesk etc do. Why develop something when they can just buy out something that already works great. eg Autodesk bought Revit, Google bought Urchin analytics..... & grab huge chunks of the market at the same time.
Anonymous
Not applicable
I use Archicad since version 6.5 and I NEVER hat to use GDL!
You can build your objects with native archicad tools and save it as Doors, Windows or Objects, on the 3D Parallel view.

GDL is usefull when you want a parametric object, other than that you will not have to learn how to program to create objects to your libary.
Tom Krowka
Enthusiast
So Revit is not as easy as you might assume....what the heck are Boolean operations. How long will it take me to learn how to Boolinate in order to make a door that should be in the library anyway?
Tom Krowka Architect
Windows 11, AC Version 26
Thomas@wkarchwk.com
www.walshkrowka.com
Da3dalus
Enthusiast
Boolean operations are not as complex as they sound. It's refers to logical operations AND, OR, and NOT, and is often called Solid Element Operations.

Simply put, if you create an object (Target) upon which you want to put a reveal, trim, texture, bas relief, or other surface feature, you can create another intersecting object (the Operator(s) can be anything... a wall, slab, or even a parametric shape), and fuse it to or cut it out from your original object. The resulting object is based on the intersection of the two, and from that you can create just about any shape you can think of. The operators are typically invisible (hidden layers), but can be brought up to adjust the new creation.

This is a common modeling tool in most 3D software, and is actually an important part of machining parts. The palette in ArchiCAD is quite simple, and only takes a few tries to get a hang of.

And 98% of the doors you'll need are in the library in ArchiCAD... but if you want the one with a hand-carved dragon on the face, you'll need booleans.
Chuck Kottka
Orcutt Winslow
Phoenix, Arizona, USA

ArchiCAD 25 (since 4.5)
Macbook Pro 15" Touchbar OSX 10.15 Core i7 2.9GHz/16GB RAM/Radeon Pro560 4GB