Add-on for finding solid element operators - Available now!

[Davor P]

Addon is now available from my website: bim4bim.com
Version for Archicad 26 Windows and Mac is available for free. 27 is available for $50.

[Barry Kelly]

Always interested in a good add-on.

Especially if offered free of charge.

The more you charge for it, the fewer people will be interested.

Barry.

[Davor P]

As much as I would enjoy releasing it for free and getting lots of love from the community, that won't pay the bills unfortunately. Having said that, it doesn't mean that the add-on couldn't be free for end users. If Graphisoft (‌‌ @Viktor Kovacs 😉) would be interested in leasing the add-on and then making it a standard feature in Archicad, I would be open to discuss that idea.

Overall my plan is to develop more add-ons and besides the SEO one I have two more in the works.
Second one is a library of thousands of high quality objects. Furniture, light fixtures, sinks, taps, plants. Currently I am working on lower poly (simplified) option that would complement the detailed version of each object and respond to Archicad MVO LOD: detailed, simplified, schematic, box. And I am making sure 2D is clean and not projected from 3D. I will have a small, free demo library soon.
The third add-on will enable BIM managers to regularly, with one click, do one (of many) things we almost never have time to do.

[Botonis]

Really interested to try them even in a beta release! 

[Davor P]

Hi Barry,
Your reply got me thinking and in the end I decided to offer it for free for Archicad 26. It shouldn't be too difficult to save back a file from 27 to 26 if it is a single use case. And on the other hand if anyone would use it more often then I hope saving a bit of time would be worth paying a small fee.

[Ricardo Lopez]

Hi @Davor P 

Thank you very much for sharing your addons with us. 🤗
I definitely recognize the value and effort required to create them. However, in order to decide if it's worth buying, it would be great if you could show how it works in a short video within your website.
Thanks again.

Regards.

[Davor P]

Hi @Ricardo Lopez,
Thanks for the feedback.
I will be creating a video as a guide to the functions. In the meantime, if you want to try before buying, you can download the 26 version for free.

[schagemann]

Barry,

Could not agree more ob being interested in any good Add-on that does what Archicad arguably should do out of the box or provides additional functionality that originally was not anticipated.

However, I am repeatedly puzzled that some Archicad users seem to expect others to share their efforts with them for free.

As both of us are longtime Archicad users and having contributed a lot to this Forum (you much more than me... ;0) and presumably to the overall GS AC development, it really interests me where you think that...

A. this perception comes from and...

B. how you think it may be overcome.

Apart from the obvious factors of providing reasonable pricing and compelling features... hint to Graphisoft to review their AUS Licensing costs.

Looking forward to your reply.

Daniel.

[Barry Kelly]

I can't speak for others, but I personally don't like add-ons that are charged for.

Especially when more than just a few $.

Add-ons are version specific, so every new version, you must get a new add-on to do the same thing.

Sometimes you can get the upgrades for free, other times you have to pay all over again.

In fact I don't really even like to use add-ons that are free either.

What happens when the 3rd party provide just decides that they don't want to do it any more and no longer provide new versions?

You now rely on that add-on and can no longer use it.

I would much rather purchase a good object, knowing I should be able to use it in future versions as well, rather than an add-on I have to keep updating.

Don't get me wrong, I totally understand why someone would want to charge for their time invested in creating the add-on.

I myself create a lot of objects, specifically for the company I am working for.

Over the 25 years they have been using Archicad, they would have invested millions in developing their libraries and templates.

All of that development is not something that should just be given away for anyone to use.

I too wish that Graphisoft would include more of these add-ons in the default program.

Something like finding the SEOs as mention in this thread would be quite simple for Graphisoft to develop themselves (I would think).

But would that be fair on Davor P?

It would be nice if they could say to Davor, that was a great idea, and offer him a development fee and then include it in the program.

Whether that will ever happen or not though, I have no idea.

Barry.

[schagemann]

Thanks for your thoughts.

And yes agree that Add-ons are tricky business.

Even agree more on Graphisoft needing to develop and implement such features themselves, particularly frustrating since loads of feedback typically gets provided in the beta testing periods.

Regarding Davor's approach and to a big extent our own, you eventually just have to get on and end up doing it yourself... a shame though that most practices still seem to think they have to do this development themselves - just imagine the millions not spent on making Archicad do what you need it to, but instead invested in designing even better Architecture more efficiently!

Daniel.