Beginners user interface wishes

[Anonymous]

Hello everybody at Graphisoft.

I have some user interface issues that I would like to air out.

I am an architecture student and I am using the educational version of Archicad, Version 10 and 11 until now, and just installed version 12. I would consider myself a beginner in using Archicad. I have made some school projects with it and tried some GDL scripting and of course done all the Tutorials that were easily accessible.

I consider myself a relatively computer oriented person. I use several 3D applications, doing everything from Product Design to architecture to animation. I believe 3D programs are tools and as such, the more tools you know how to use, the more you can do.

During my studies, Ive tried learning Archicad several times. First time I did so, I gave up after a week. This I believe was version 8 I found on a university computer. I could not get anything to work and there were no materials to find anywhere to learn anything.

After this, some time went past and I got tried Version 10, which turned out to be just as hard to use, and I remember thinking that I needed surgically add more fingers just to be able to hold down all the buttons needed to draw the wall I wanted.

This spring I finally enrolled to a course which specifically said that we had to use ArchiCAD to model with. So I bit down on the lemon and did all the video tutorials and bit by bit made my building. I thought that, hey now I can use Archicad, but it was just too slow to use for any school work.

And so now I installed the new version 12 and Lo And Behold! the same UI that is still just as slow.

Now I noticed that some others have expressed their frustration over this UI before (they do indeed have an entire section of the forum dedicated to this). They write, "why oh why, doesnt Archicad do this like every other program does it?" to which some experienced user replies "Ha! it is your own foolishnes you have to thank, for it is merely setting up this and this and this and this" Heres my problem.

First a note to all the experienced users: Everything can be learned. Someone who has done double sumersaults all his life has no problem doing them easily and with grace. It is however very painful for someone not accustomed to them to try one.

This is pretty much the same vibe i get from the UI in Archicad. I have no doubt that if you use it day in and day out and tweak every single setting so that it works exactly how you want it to, you can work fast. The problem is that the UI is so poor that I gave up 3 times before I even did a single building.

So please Graphisoft: Could you please re-do the UI? It is a complex software, I understand that, but that shouldnt be an excuse. The more complex the program, the better the UI needs to be.

The most horrible bit is the selecting, use this tool, not this, dont click here but here, but click here if you want something else, but with that tool-system. I am very sure there is a pattern behind it, but for the love of god, I cant figure it out. I have spent so many hours trying to select doors that I think I could have built the buildings in the garden faster.

The other thing that seems to be ridiculous is some of the naming. Everybody else calls it plugins, so why not call it Add-ons just for the sake of it? Solid element operations? Why not booleans?

The icons are undescriptive and so ugly I dont think ive seen uglier since DOS. What does the bloody axe beside the scissors do? Why are there icons in the menus? It is clearly written what this menu option does, why on earth does it need a icon?

And then theres the menus: File special. That one sounds interesting.

And what is this thing that the 3d view opens in a separate window on a mac which then needs to be picked to the front with expose or resized? Can I fix it? yes. Should i have to? No. Can we get viewports like every other 3D program? Docked ones?

All in all, i think the UI is so outdated that it is very hard for a beginner to start using archicad. There are clear established solutions in 3D programs, names, ways of doing things, and these are ways we expect a program to behave. For instance you wouldn't suddenly want a program to use the scroll wheel to select objects and the left mouse button to exit the program?

So here is my grand idea: Call Maxon, get them to help you out on your UI, Cinema 4D is atleast as complex as Archicad but has an exemplarily well thought out UI. This way (If you get the plugins for Version 12 updated in the next few months (why werent thet released at the same time with V12?) Architects could start using both programs and they could compliment each other very nicely, at least if you get Archicad to handle more polygons, since you cant really do a freeform bit in Cinema 4D yet since Archicad cant handle the polygons on anything more free than a rough mesh.

Regards, A

[Anonymous]

I totally agree with Aalto.

I am also a guy of the generation who uses quite many different programs for architectural design. Concerning the interface most of the architectural programs are quite far behind compared to those in the graphics- or 3D-industry.

Unfortunately ArchiCAD for Mac needs a completely redesigned interface. At the moment it doesn’t look like a proper Mac-program at all. At the moment it is not even ugly, it is really difficult to understand and all these single windows and tool-palettes are really annoying. The Windows-version looks a little better than the Mac-version.

AutoCAD dared to start all over with the new interface and it is beautiful now. Unfortunately just for Windows. Long-time users probably hate it now, but they can still switch to the old interface. ArchiCAD desperately needs a fresh and easier interface. Good examples would be the new Adobe CS4 products or Cinema4D.

Gerald