Archicad - Doesnt Do What It Says On The Tin!

[Anonymous]

I am so frustrated with Archicad generally not doing loads of things that I need or doing things that I dont need that I thought I would start off a thread to see what concerns other people have with Archicad. I dont know if Archcad v11 has these features (probably not) but here goes for a starter:

1. This is the most important - a confirmation dialogue to save before you exit a project. I dont know about anyone else but the fact that the DONT SAVE button is so much larger than the SAVE button has caused me to lose countless hours of work. Would it be so much to ask for a confirmation when you click DONT SAVE that asks you whether you really want to do this!! And vice versa.

2. Walls that actually join together correctly. I have major problems with cavity walls and even single block walls not connecting properly when there are three walls meeting especially if one is at an angle. Archicad should have this sorted by now. Its fundamental to the way the program works. At the moment we have to do all our walls black filled becuase they look rubbish otherwise what with all the lousy connections etc. This is terrible in a professional CAD package!!

3. Decent hatching. I really hate the hatching in Archicad - Autocad hatching is so much better. Why cant we flood fill an area with hatching? Why cant we select the hatch for walls etc and change it really easily ie scale, direction etc. Hatching is a nightmare in Archicad.

4. More tools for those of us who dont draw in 3d! Yes none of us here draw in 3d because we have found it doesnt actually work (unless you are a programmer and have loads of time spare). So where are all the tools for us lot who draw in only 2d such as OFFSET for example which was the single most useful tool in Autocad I ever used. To not have it in Archicad is criminal!! There are loads of other tools I could do with like being able to stretch boxes, etc but the most frustrating thing with AC 10 is the sheer number of slections you have to make to draw and alter lines etc. MOVE, COPY, STRETCH, ROTATE etc should all be reachable with one click!

5. Decent titlebox info - what is the point in having date associated with the project rather than each individual drawing? Come on Graphsoft think about these things! When I do a drawing I want to have the date on the ttile block when I actually did the drawing not when I started the job! Same goes for pretty much all the rest of the project info - its completely useless.

6. Zones that flood to boundary lines whether 3d or 2d. At the moment zones only flood out to walls but this is really dependant on having the whole drawings drawn in 3d which we dont - ie stairs are usually drawn in 2d becuase they dont work properly in 3d (ie it takes ages to get one to look right and the balustrades never link up correctly).

Thats all that I can think of for the moment but there is a lot more! I know this sounds like a rant but I think its about time Graphsoft got its act sorted in terms of getting a decent flexible product not just adding daft little flashy addons and calling it a new version. And just for the record to release a new version of the software and expect everyone to buy it a year after the previous one is pretty criminal in my book.

Personally I would not recommend anyone buys Archicad with problems in it like the ones above. I hate the software myself as you can probably tell, give me something straight forward like Autocad anytime!

[Karl Ottenstein]

nats wrote:
And what should I expect as most people like myself wouldnt even know this board exists never mind how to post on it!

Nats,

The phrase "most users" seems to provide you with great comfort in so many of your posts, even though you clearly have no knowledge of what most users do or know...if you did, you would know how to use ArchiCAD instead of whinging.

Note the AC 11 splash screen below, basically identical to the one in AC 10. Every user who installs AC sees this until they turn it off ... including the link to ac-talk, the wiki, etc. Those links are also under the Help menu for those who seek help.

I guess the accurate statement would be "most users who cannot read do not know that these forums exist"...

Karl

[Anonymous]

Nats

You sound very similar to me. I had a Sinclair ZX81 when I was at school (couldn't manage the 16k memory upgrade though), started with early AutoCAD (2.4?), even worked in England for a few years. Came back home, got a job in an Archicad office (v6.5 I think) and hated it. Couldn't see the point. Changed jobs to an AutoCAD office, stayed for a few years. Then the big moment came. Left my AutoCAD office and came to where I am currently, have used Archicad ever since and there's no way I would go back. I don't know what was different, but the second time I actually "got it". Have been "drawing" in 3D ever since, but still have a job getting others to do the same.
Get some proper training. It will save you a lot of stress. And think laterally. A wall doesn't have to be a wall. A slab doesn't have to be a slab.

Oh. And the reason the "Don't save" button is bigger than the "Save" button - two words...

The Save button is highlighted, just hit ENTER rather than clicking the button if you want to save. (I have got into the habit of saving before exitting anyway, just to be sure)

[Anonymous]

Re the subject title you have to be in the UK to get my very lousy attempt at humour on this point which refers to a UK advert for a woodstain doing 'exactly what it says on the tin'.

Seriously though I do appreciate the comments I have received and am trying to look outside the envelope of 2d but it is difficult because I am working in a solely 2d environment in this firm and even if I actually ever 'got it' there are another ten people who would still be working in 2d. And the requirement of cross working would make it very difficult for anyone else to understand the 3d workings if I ever tried a 3d model. It would take the whole firm to jump to 3d for it to work and we are quite computer basic in this office. I can see if I worked in a more imaginative office the whole 3d archicad thing would be far easier to get into.

We'll see, but I can see myself being in exactly the same poition in a years time when v12 in released. Perhaps this year I might try a few 3d models in my spare time.

I can see the benefits, still am not convinced its not just a 'fad' for the geeks, and am interested in exploring the possibilities at some point. Thanks anyway for the responses.

[Richard Morrison]

nats wrote:
It would take the whole firm to jump to 3d for it to work

Well, OF COURSE it would. It sounds like the boss doesn't fully understand the benefits of 3D. Rather than imagining that the 3D is just for "pretty pictures", it helps to understand that when you draw in 3D, essentially you are also drawing the elevations and sections at the same time -- drafting on steroids.

If you were to watch a competent person draft in Archicad, using 3D elements, and then almost magically have the elevations and MULTIPLE sections done automatically, you (and the rest of the office) would become converts. [Unless, of course, you are billing clients by the hour, in which case you should stick to 2D to maximize revenue.]

[Dwight]

The firm did a good thing buying Archicad.

Too bad there's no champion coming in after hours to properly learn and demonstrate Archicad's benefits.

Why isn't this person you?

[Anonymous]

If you are interested in pursuing the 3D benefits of archicad, maybe you can make the argument to your boss (who afterall purchased this software) that the best, most profitable use of AC is 3D. I'd tell him that using it only for 2D is a bit like trying to use basic autocad for 3D and just as inefficient.

Then see if you can find a real project in the office - a small one that's not under a huge deadline to use as a test case. This can be tricky but in my past experience, trying to learn new software at home on pretend projects has never worked - I end up trying to invent scenarios and if I get stuck on something, I get frustrated and give up. But if it's a real project then you are given the specific challenges for your project type and must solve them.

Now all this is going to cost non-billable time, but your boss needs to know that you have invest in your business - not just in software and euipment, but also in people) to be efficient and competitive. I'd add that if you can make your case and get him board and become the leader on this - it may serve you very well. I often had that role at past jobs and it was helpful both in those jobs and in getting hired at later ones.

Another thing I've been doing as new user is reading the posts here people have put up about specific problems - that way I'm constantly learning about issues I may face later and new tools that I haven't figured out yet. Then I'll often go spend 5-10 minutes with AC to try out the tool.

good luck to you

[TomWaltz]

nats wrote:
...because I am working in a solely 2d environment in this firm and even if I actually ever 'got it' there are another ten people who would still be working in 2d. And the requirement of cross working would make it very difficult for anyone else to understand the 3d workings if I ever tried a 3d model. It would take the whole firm to jump to 3d for it to work and we are quite computer basic in this office.

Obviously they must have some ability to learn, or else they would not be using CAD at all (or are they still using a drafting board?)

We'll see, but I can see myself being in exactly the same poition in a years time when v12 in released. Perhaps this year I might try a few 3d models in my spare time.

I can see the benefits, still am not convinced its not just a 'fad' for the geeks, and am interested in exploring the possibilities at some point. Thanks anyway for the responses.

Call it a fad all you want, I've got two dozen people in my office making 3D construction documents all day long. Not one wants to work in "more 2D". They are enjoying the speed and accuracy that come from working in 3D instead of 2D.

[Anonymous]

Not every thing should be created or can be created in 3D window. Still trying to create a list of what to be created in 3D and what in 2D and WHEN? May be some of the veterans can shine a list on this.
Thanks,
Joseph

[Anonymous]

I would suggest reading the "Project Framework" text. I'm not the ArchiCAD greybeard that some of these guys are but when I got serious about the app with version 7, it was an epiphany. A blinding flash of white light, a choir of angels and it began to make sense.

It is still available I am sure but I don't know if it has been updated past AC9. None the less, it is still tops on my list along with "ArchiCAD for AutoCAD Users". As dated at that is, it still gets to the underlying logic of the app.

Gary Bley
Portland, Oregon USA

[Anonymous]

gbley wrote:
I would suggest reading the "Project Framework" text. I'm not the ArchiCAD greybeard that some of these guys are but when I got serious about the app with version 7, it was an epiphany. A blinding flash of white light, a choir of angels and it began to make sense.

It is still available I am sure but I don't know if it has been updated past AC9. None the less, it is still tops on my list along with "ArchiCAD for AutoCAD Users". As dated at that is, it still gets to the underlying logic of the app.

Gary Bley
Portland, Oregon USA

I think you mean "Project Framework" book. I will try that for the list of 3D vs. 2D implementation.
Thanks,
Joseph