Continuous update of the surface text.

[Manlezl]

Hello, my office has Revit but we also want to implement Archicad.
We can't find a way to do something that seems very simple.
How can we see the area updated automatically every time we move a wall? Automatically, just like Revit does (see video attached).

The natural process that the program does (updating zones) is not very practical when you have a project with hundreds of rooms.

Is there a plugin, programming or something that allows us to see this number completely updated?

Thanks.

Operating system used: Windows 11 23H2

[JeffH]

If you select the Zone tool (making it active), you can CTRL+A, and it will select all Zones on that story.

With the zones selected, you can go to DESIGN->UPDATE ZONES....

I usually check the Keep Zone Stamp Position if Updated box

But click Update All Zones.

This works if your zone Construction Method is set to Construction Method: Inner Edge.

Its not automatic like you were after, and you have to do it story by story.  But it is quicker than manually updating each zone.

The problem in our office is that it seems most people don't ever change the construction method, and they are all set to Manual Polyline.

[Manlezl]

Thanks JeffH for your comments,
as you can see in the attached video, we have a key configured for updating the surfaces, which speeds up the process, but when you have to make many adjustments, it is tedious.

Also, the movement of the walls with the key is configured in jumps of 5 cm, 1 cm, etc... however in Revit these jumps are associated with the zoom, so that a distant view will provide larger jumps (10 cm for example) and when you zoom those jumps become 1 cm for example, which allows a very exact adjustment of the surface of the room simply by hitting the key.

It is something very basic that Archicad should implement.
Greetings.

[Laszlo Nagy]

Please do not expect Archicad to work the way Revit does. It is a different BIM application designed by different people with different backgrounds, resulting in different concepts and features, and if you expect another Revit you may deprive yourself of discovering Archicad's true capabilities. Yes, there will be things Revit does better, but there will be a lot of things Archicad does much better. I remember, in 1995, when I started using Archicad, I was switching from AutoCAD, and in the beginning, I disliked it very much because it was so different from what I was used to in AutoCAD. But then I understood it and began to love it.

About the move increments: there is a command called Nudge. Using it you can move your element up/down/left/right by a smaller amount (Up/Down/Left/Right keys) and by a larger amount (SHIFT+Up/Down/Left/Right keys) using keyboard shortcuts. The amounts can be defined in the Main Grid Spacing and Snap Grid /Nudge Spacing fields of the Grids & Background Dialog (Views > Grid & Editing Plane Options > Grids & Background menu command). So, the Nudge distance is not zoom-dependent; it is one of two predefined values, and both can be different horizontally and vertically. So, for example, horizontally, Nudge may be 50 mm,  Large Nudge may be 1000 mm, while vertically, Nudge may be 50 mm and Large Nudge may be 2000 mm, but each can be any value. See details here:

https://help.graphisoft.com/AC/28/INT/index.htm#t=_AC28_Help%2F030_Interaction%2F030_Interaction-70....

 

You can also change their keyboard shortcuts in the Work Environment Dialog's Keyboard Shortcuts page.

About the automatic update: I think it may be possible to write an Add-On using the Archicad API that "observes" these Zone elements and when it senses that any boundary element of a Zone changed, it automatically updates the Zone. However, this functionality would have to be programmed by someone proficient in the Archicad API.