Modeling
About Archicad's design tools, element connections, modeling concepts, etc.

V12 in general

Tom Krowka
Enthusiast
Have received my upgrades, but am hesitant to install until after the first bug fix. Got burned at the V11 upgrade due to bugs; lost productivity, hence $$, due to problems with the software. After the bug fixes, solved my problems.

Looking for input on this version in general; anyone found any major issues yet. I don't like being the tester for the developer at my expense.

Recommendation whether to move to 12 or stay with 11 for a while.
Tom Krowka Architect
Windows 11, AC Version 26
Thomas@wkarchwk.com
www.walshkrowka.com
14 REPLIES 14
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
Yes, please post anything you observe, Rick.

Here's the link to the US library docs - everyone in the US really should read the "ArchiCAD 12 New Features Document" before starting a project. IMHO this should have been in the 'read me first / new features' document.

http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/downloads/library_guide12/USA.html

Outside the US, find your local version by going to Help > ArchiCAD 12 Library Guide.

Pages 1 and 2 of the US 'new library features' document above apply to all users, as the behavior is part of the program.

Karl

PS If we have much more about the library to say, we should start a new thread to keep this as a 'v12 in general' thread - which I assume is supposed to be more like 'first impressions' or something...and we're clearly on to second impressions here. 😉
One of the forum moderators
AC 28 USA and earlier   •   macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Anonymous
Not applicable
Quick not/bug- I notice that my dimension text doesn't show sometimes. I can make it show by deleting the dimension and then undoing, or moving it, then undoing the move.
Eduardo Rolon
Moderator
If I remember correctly there were 2 bugs about this during beta about disappearing dimension text. The one that caused the text not to print was fixed, the other one that is mainly a display problem was not. Even though the text disappears when you are panning round it will print correctly but verify that that is the case.
Eduardo Rolón AIA NCARB
AC27 US/INT -> AC08

Macbook Pro M1 Max 64GB ram, OS X 10.XX latest
another Moderator

Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
Also - dimensions are treated differently in 12 based on the partial display options (core only, finishes, all)... these visibility modes are treated as tags - or super layers if you will, so that dimensions drawn in core-only mode will not be visible in full display mode.

I am not completely happy with this design decision by GS, as there are some dimensions that you would like to have visible in any display mode, but we have to recreate them for each mode. It would have made more sense to make the dimension visibility a function of the dimension tool itself rather than 'magic' IMHO.

Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 28 USA and earlier   •   macOS Sonoma 14.7.1, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
March_ Bruce
Enthusiast
In my opinion library management should/could be a non-issue if GS chose to make it so.

This 'make work' library management project would seem the basis of BIM. How many users are doing the work that might be done by a small team @ GS in a short period of time in terms of using the update library parts to assign GUID & correct older library parts to be transferred forward easily or even, as in v12 included - but for more than a single version!

Perhaps I am missing something however the number of issues that require workarounds in this software seem to undermine any sense of efficiencies that claim to be made with each upgrade & when tech support advises against migrating GS should realize that 'Houston we have a problem'...

There are objects as far back as v4.5 that were orphaned (chaise lounge comes to mind) that seem glaringly absent yet available in international libraries so much of the work has been done - of note a dining room table is now again available in v12 after losing it from v6.5...

While ArchiCAD has many great concepts the number of suppliers objects available online for competing applications seems one of the most compelling reasons for switching - it would seem to allow one to focus on design rather than CAD technology & trying to get things to 'look right' in 3D by fiddling with migrating old libraries or spending hours making objects that one can simply download...?