Wishes
Post your wishes about Graphisoft products: Archicad, BIMx, BIMcloud, and DDScad.

Easy features Graphisoft HAS to implement

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi !

Here are a few simple features that would easy to implement but would make a HUGE benefit for the end user.

Archicad

1. Be able to enter basic math operations in every numeric text input.
Why do I have to copy/paste results from my calculator back into Archicad ?

2. Add convert tools (especially convert Hatch to Slabs).
How many times did I manually magic-wand hundreds of buildings outlines to have some decent 3D context ?

3. Have the gravity tool work on already create objects/slabs/walls.
What if I move those people/trees around my terrain ?

4. Integrate a "simplify" function in linework and hatch consolidation. Ideally, that should also work directly on slabs.
Or do I really have to own another Cad package (Rhino3D), export, simplify the features, reimport, and recreate all my slabs ?

5. A better object info palette that takes less space and shows the sum of area/volume
I so often want to know quickly the total net area of a flat by selecting all spaces. But to do so, I end up doing the addition in an external calculator...


BIMx

Export Layersets
I can't use BIMx to display project variants/stages to customer : I'd have to browser throught my long layer list and check/uncheck each layer...


Please consider this seriously for next release ! It will be almost no work compared to the main features you'll be preparing, but will make us gain so much time !

Thanks !!
4 REPLIES 4
Link
Graphisoft Partner
Graphisoft Partner
I agree with you on the BIMx layer combos. I asked for that when it first came out, along with the option not to be able to fly through a site mesh, and a bunch of other things.

No. 5 you can do with the Element Information palette, no?

Cheers,
Link.
Laszlo Nagy
Community Admin
Community Admin
1. and 2. makes me think you are coming from VectorWorks and you want your old tools in your new program as well. I might be wrong.
For 2. you can use the Magic Wand feature to convert any polygonal geometry to some other polygonal element.

3. This works in AC17 since it now has Surface Snap. It senses the surface points of elements, even Meshes. Maybe you need to turn off the display of the Editing Plane because that can interfere with it. But with the Editing Plane turned OFF and Options\Surface Snap turned ON, you should move an element placed along the surface of a Mesh to any other Surface point of that Mesh.

4. The Edit\Reshape\LineWork Consolidation and Edit\Reshape\Fill Consolidation menu commands do something like this.
Loving Archicad since 1995 - Find Archicad Tips at x.com/laszlonagy
AMD Ryzen9 5900X CPU, 64 GB RAM 3600 MHz, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 500 GB NVMe SSD
2x28" (2560x1440), Windows 10 PRO ENG, Ac20-Ac27
Anonymous
Not applicable
@Laszlonagy : thanks for your detailed reply. But I knew those tips (I'm not new to ArchiCad at all).

1. Maybe it is also possible in VectorWorks, but that doesn't make it a bad idea, does it ?

2. I know you can do it with the magic wand. But what if I want 400 hatches as slabs ? That means 400 clicks... We often want to model the urban context of our projects...

3. Again, that's a nice feature, but we need that to operate on many objects at once.

4. It's not quite the same : it is effective a reducing dupliates and useless points, but it does not actually simplify a geometry, based on a tolerance. A very common use is with site models : if the imported lines have too many vertexes, you need to simplify those lines.

5. It does not sum up the values. Selecting two slabs gives
1 Slab
Area on Plan, holes considered = 1'115.437 m²
Area on Plan, holes not considered = 1'115.437 m²

1 Slab
Area on Plan, holes considered = 1'098.244 m²
Area on Plan, holes not considered = 1'098.244 m²


An alternative if you really don't want to implement those features : GIVE US A PYTHON API ! I'd be so happy to develop those features as plugins...
Laszlo Nagy
Community Admin
Community Admin
OK, I think you should make wishes for these feature in the Wishes forum. You should make one thread per wish so people can vote how important they consider the wish.
By the way, ArchiCAD has an API using which you can program Add-On features for the application.
I would not count on Python being implemented in ArchiCAD anytime soon (I know it is in VectorWorks 2014).
Loving Archicad since 1995 - Find Archicad Tips at x.com/laszlonagy
AMD Ryzen9 5900X CPU, 64 GB RAM 3600 MHz, Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB, 500 GB NVMe SSD
2x28" (2560x1440), Windows 10 PRO ENG, Ac20-Ac27