Libraries & objects
About Archicad and BIMcloud libraries, their management and migration, objects and other library parts, etc.

Viewing GDL Objects in Windows Explorer

Anonymous
Not applicable
When I go into Windows Explorer and look at GDL objects in the thumbnail view, all I get is a generic icon. I have seen on someone else's computer thumbnails of the actual objects. Does anyone know what setting I have to change or what program I need to make this work? Thank you.
14 REPLIES 14
David Larrew
Booster
Is ArchiCAD installed on the PC that you are trying to view the .GSM file as thumbnail?

Are you able to see other file-types (that have preview abilities) as thumbnails?
David Larrew, AIA, GDLA, GSRC

Architectural Technology Specialist

a r c h i S O L U T I O N S



WIN7-10/ OSX 10.15.7

AC 5.1-25 USA
Nick wrote:
When I go into Windows Explorer and look at GDL objects in the thumbnail view, all I get is a generic icon. I have seen on someone else's computer thumbnails of the actual objects. Does anyone know what setting I have to change or what program I need to make this work? Thank you.
View the object in 3D, photorender it, capture a SQUARE 2D marquee of that view, Copy,
then open the object, open the preview window, and Paste, it will be resized to 128x128 or near enough and will be your preview in GDL and your icon in the Browser.
(this may not work on older OS's but it works on OSX Mac and Windows XP PC)
Anonymous
Not applicable
David,

I am getting a QuickTime preview in all my library parts rather than the correct pictures or GS icons in OSX. Do you (or anyone else) know how to fix this?
Matthew wrote:
I am getting a QuickTime preview in all my library parts rather than the correct pictures or GS icons in OSX. Do you (or anyone else) know how to fix this?
I am in 9.2 at the moment, so will have to check OSX. Previews work perfectly in windows XP, needless to say.
On windows, .GSMis also used for a form of movie and often get given quicktime icons. Are you saying that this happens in OSX too?
Oleg
Expert
Nick wrote:
When I go into Windows Explorer and look at GDL objects in the thumbnail view, all I get is a generic icon. I have seen on someone else's computer thumbnails of the actual objects. Does anyone know what setting I have to change or what program I need to make this work? Thank you.
May be you need to register GS shell extension.
Read on it in the "Graphisoft Shell Extension" folder inside ArchiCAD folder.

Oleg.
Anonymous
Not applicable
david wrote:
On windows, .GSMis also used for a form of movie and often get given quicktime icons. Are you saying that this happens in OSX too?
Yes. I actually have yet to see proper previews in the OSX Finder. They work fine in the open file dialog in ArchiCAD though.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Go into Folder options/file types in explorer and change the GSM type to archicad instead of quicktime. Mine was the same.
Anonymous
Not applicable
This is fine for windows, anyone kwow how to fix it on the Mac?
Anonymous
Not applicable
i have the same problem (Windows 7), any ideas?