Separate files for model and layouts

[David Collins]

The ArchiCAD 10 New Features Guide hints pretty strongly that using one project file for both model and layout information, for anything other than small projects, is asking for trouble. We are advised to keep two separate files for each project, one for the model and another for the drawing layouts. I really like the way Plotmaker has been incorporated into ArchiCAD, but this caveat is a little worrisome.

How small is small? What exactly happens when too much stuff gets loaded into a single file? Do things slow down and start to get squirrely or does the file size just get to be monstrous? If you're not trying to feed a project out over a network, is a large file size that serious a problem?

[Anonymous]

You're right Matthew. I guess I needed sleep, too. The little ones are keeping me up too late nowadays.

Let me revise my 9-step program to Merge-Away:

1. Save your Book Info to an xml file (did anyone notice you can do that?)
2. Open your template file
3. Merge the layout book from the original project into your template
4. Load the Book Info into the template file
5. Open Drawing Manager and sort the drawings by source file
6. Relink the drawings that pointed to the original project as required.
7. Save the template file as your new layout book file
8. Delete the layouts from the original project file and save it
9. Keep on truckin'

My preference is to merge the layouts into a clean template file, but that makes for a few extra steps. If you want you can simply open your project file and Save As to a new filename, delete the layouts from the original project and relink the drawings in the new layout book file.

Its just cumbersome to delete the model info from the new layout book file if you do it this way.

[Anonymous]

Eric wrote:
Let me revise my 9-step program to Merge-Away

Just three more steps and you will be fully recovered.

[Anonymous]

Matthew wrote:
Just three more steps and you will be fully recovered.

That would make me a Mergaholics Anonymous graduate! Oh, I can't wait!

[Anonymous]

Matthew wrote:

The file sizes in 10 are substantially smaller. This is due in part to the consolidation of PM and AC (compared to the combined sizes of the AC & PM files), and also due to improvements in the way AC stores its data. I haven't had a chance to do a direct comparison but I will check the sizes before and after once I get to converting some more substantial projects.

I've just converted an AC9 model + layout book into AC10 (using the method recommended in the AC10 manual) and found these results:

AC 9 .pln = 10.5 mb
PMK 9 .lbk = 10.9 mb
AC10 combined .pln = 43.5 mb!

The lbk alone, when opened and re-saved in AC10 went up to 20 mb.

I'm hoping this is down to user error - but where could I have gone wrong?

[Thomas Holm]

My combined file sizes in AC10 are consistently ca. 1/3 of the Ac9 size, after merging. Perhaps you have turned the default compression off?

[Anonymous]

i was right. user error. just resaved and my 45mb file is now 8.5.
Cheers.