Complex Profiles

[Anonymous]

Hi all. I'm sort of new to architalk. Had an account a few years ago but let it go dormant. I'm currently on ArchiCAD version 10 and looking into upgrading to version 12. I'm also trying to learn some of the new features within version 10 that are also in version 12 like Complex Profiles. Is it just me or is the complex profile feature buggy in version 10? I can't get the walls to clean up no matter what I do. I have a ppu key for version 11 and when trying to use the same complex profile the walls cleanup fine. The profile is just a simple exterior stud wall configuration showing plywood on the exterior, single bottom plate, double top plate, gyp. on interior, base trim and crown moulding. I am truly amazed with this complex profile feature and I'm beginning to see the endless possibilities that can be done with it. Also, if some more advanced individuals could elaborate on the pros and cons of creating walls this way that would be great, or if you could direct me to another link that might talk about it. Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

Hi Michael, Welcome back!

Can you post some screenshots of complex profiles not joining correctly? I know they can go a bit weird if you try to join 2 very disimilar profiles, but generally they more or less work as expected.

If profiles are not joining in 3d correctly you may get better results if you try splitting them down into simpler units.

If the problems are 2d only, one thing to check are the individual skin priorities. They will be inherited from the composite of the wall it is based on so make sure these are correct. Also check that 'Enable Skin Priorities' is ticked in the wall settings for these to work.


I wouldn't call myself an 'advanced' user but here are a few pros I can think of. I'm sure others will add their own!
- Infinite possibilities for shapes and materials.
- Edit a particular profile and all walls with the same profile are updated at once for both material and form.
- Complex material control for all faces.
- Use profiles applied to walls for horizontal extrusion, beams for tilted extrusion with vertical ends, and columns for vertical (and tilted) extrusion with horizontal ends.
- The ability to form arbitary shapes for carving out of other geometry. Check out some of Dwights posts for ideas about this and other innovative uses. He da profile man!


Cons and things to watch out for.
- They disappear in section occasionally for no reason, usually when you are trying to get work out the office!
- Insufficient control of the materials that form the reveals of windows/doors and wall ends.
- The symbolic plan view of doors can occasionally be inaccurate depending on where the wall is cut by the FPCP.
- You can't see the individual skins when in the 3d openGL window, although the new 3d document in AC12 does allow you to see the skins in a static 3d view.

There are also a couple of articles on ArchiCADwiki about complex profiles that may be useful - here and here.

Hope that helps!

[Anonymous]

Here is what is happening in 3d window. In plan the walls all clean up fine.

[Anonymous]

Version 10 did have some quirky behavior in the (new) complex profiles. Particularly in mitering. I vaguely remember sorting out how to get the dodgy corners to behave, but I can't recall the details. AC12 is much better (in many ways besides the profiles too).

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your response. That is what I was thinking. It seemed from my testing that AC 10 is kind of buggy but 11 and 12 work much better. I have a few more questions in regard to complex profiles.

If I was wanting to show crown and base trim on the interior of my walls as I was trying to show in the image I attached would complex profiles be the easiest, most organized, and most efficient way to accomplish this?

Also, for some exterior detailing like stone walls with a stone water table and trim under the soffit of the roofs would it be better to do it similar to the way I did the interior trim. For the stone wall and water table, would it better to use a complex profile for just the stone wall and do a separate wall for the stud wall behind it or do the whole thing as one complex profile.

Also, sort of unrelated, but thought I would ask anyway. What is the easiest way to do trim under the rake of the roof that would align cleaning and wrap under the soffit?

[Anonymous]

Cons and things to watch out for.
- They disappear in section occasionally for no reason, usually when you are trying to get work out the office!

This is the problem I am having except in ArchiCAD 12. One of the profiles I am using won't show the cut lines. I had been opening and closing sections and the profile looked fine but then all of a sudden, I opened up a wall section and all the cut lines were gone, Bermuda Triangle like. I can see and select the fill it creates so I know the object is in the wall and building sections and it shows correctly on the plan. I hadn't changed the object's parameters nor those for the sections but checked them anyway and they look fine. I also tried closing down ArchiCAD and reopening the file, but no joy. How can I fix this problem?

[Anonymous]

Josh wrote:

Cons and things to watch out for.
- They disappear in section occasionally for no reason, usually when you are trying to get work out the office!

This is the problem I am having except in ArchiCAD 12 ... all the cut lines were gone... How can I fix this problem?

The technique that seems to work for me (until it happens again ) is to move the section by a set distance on plan, open the section so it regenerates to display its new position, then move the section back again to its original location and open it again.

I seem to remember Karl(?) narrowed down the problem to when you have the same profile on different walls being cut in two directions but I can't find the thread, so I may have imagined it!

[Anonymous]

Just done a bit of a search, and one possible cause that I didn't think of was little inaccuracies in the profile leaving slight gaps, so zoom in fully in the profile editing window to double-check all joins.

I still can't find the thread I was thinking of, but here are a few links to other with the same problem.

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=20846

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=117252

http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?t=21214