cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 
Installation & update
About program installation and update, hardware, operating systems, setup, etc.

Can't identify a .pln’s originating Archicad version before opening on macOS

LukaS
Booster

Since updating to macOS Sequoia 15.7, Finder’s Preview no longer shows the version for .pln files, and mdls returns nothing—making it impossible to tell whether a project was saved in AC27 or AC28 (sometimes AC26) without opening it. When working across the last 2–3 Archicad versions, choosing the correct version before opening is critical to avoid unwanted migrations or file bloat. Please restore a working Spotlight/Quick Look integration for .pln (kMDItemVersion) or provide an official lightweight tool/CLI to read the originating version safely.

 

Operating system used: Mac Apple Silicon Sequoia 15.7

Mac Studio 2023 (M2 Max), macOS 15.7, AC 27/28 (Silicon-based) INT
6 REPLIES 6
Djordje
Moderator Emeritus

I know this does not help, but for the people on Windows, the Properties/Info&Preview gives this info. Yes, it is critical, since the projects are usually lasting longer than an Archicad version, and it is not always a good idea to change up... 

Djordje_0-1758361736835.png

 

Djordje



ArchiCAD since 4.55 ... 1995
HP Omen
Lee Hankins
Virtuoso

This was a really annoying change to macOS Sequoia. Tahoe still doesn’t show the information anymore. What we do is add the Archicad version used to work on the file in to the file name. 

Lee Hankins
ArchiCAD 4.5 - Archicad 29 Tech Preview
macOS Tahoe (26.0)
Barry Kelly
Moderator

If you have Archicad running already, and you browse to open a file, you should see the version in the open dialogue.

If you don't it means that the file is for a newer version than the Archicad version you are currently using.

 

I know that is not the answer you want, but it may help if you already have a version of Archicad running.

 

Otherwise is the Finder information that is shows customisable? (I know nothing about Macs).

 

Barry.

One of the forum moderators.
Versions 6.5 to 27
i7-10700 @ 2.9Ghz, 32GB ram, GeForce RTX 2060 (6GB), Windows 10
Lenovo Thinkpad - i7-1270P 2.20 GHz, 32GB RAM, Nvidia T550, Windows 11
Lingwisyer
Guru

If you are not already utilising it, you could set the AC version logo as the Project Preview.

 

Lingwisyer_0-1758519221418.png

Lingwisyer_1-1758519280320.png Lingwisyer_2-1758519340564.png

 

Ling.

 

 

AC22-28 AUS 3110Help Those Help You - Add a Signature
Self-taught, bend it till it breaksCreating a Thread
Win11 | i9 10850K | 64GB | RX6600 Win11 | R5 2600 | 16GB | GTX1660
LukaS
Booster

Yes, the suggestions above are helpful (we also started saving filenames with AC number), but all require additional manual step, which should not be the case.

I’ve tried to create Quick Action with Automator, but heuristic .pln file scans/scripts gave no reliable solution.

I think it’s more of a macOS problem, but was hoping Graphisoft could do something with files so Spotlight/Preview could read more metadata.

Mac Studio 2023 (M2 Max), macOS 15.7, AC 27/28 (Silicon-based) INT

I made it part of our template for each version of AC we use, so I only do it once each time we want to start using a new version. But yeah, given the file version is visible to the OS, I wish it would automatically use the correct AC version, rather than always needing to "open with"...

AC22-28 AUS 3110Help Those Help You - Add a Signature
Self-taught, bend it till it breaksCreating a Thread
Win11 | i9 10850K | 64GB | RX6600 Win11 | R5 2600 | 16GB | GTX1660

Setup info provided by author