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

What do we want in Plotmaker 4?

tsturm
Newcomer
1) Active Hot Linking to outside sources----
I want the ability to link details and sections created in other PLN or PLP files to section markers and detail holders in plan or section drawings.

I want linking like that of GO Live or InDesign. You create a series of reference marks in the plan file. Then you can link drawings created elsewhere to that reference, then Plotmaker connects the two and fills in the appropiate informtion.

2) Picture Holders---
The new colored vectoral image is nice. I however liked the bitmapped version from PM2 which allowed for fast panning around of the drawings with no wait for double screen redraws. OK, you can keep the feature around for those who want to see all the color. But for the rest of us not using 6 Ghz machines make the default the bitmapped like that of PM2.

3) Multiline Auto Labels----
I want to have Autotext which can be bound to a text wrap box. I want to be able to enter First Floor Plan and General Notes without having my text run beyond my label box. I want it to read

First Floor
Plan and
General Notes

4) Layout Names----
I want to be able to name my drawing using more than 31 characters. If I am stuck to 31 characters then don't let me enter more than that and drop them off when I close the file.

Everyone else jump in here. I am sure there are more.
Terrence Sturm, Architect
_______________
MBP OSX 10.15.4 Quad Core Intel i7 2.2hz
AC 17 build 5019
AC 22 build 7000
AC 23 build
AC 24 build 5000
28 REPLIES 28
TomWaltz
Participant
5) More than one level of Undo
6) Autosave
7) Teamwork-like sharing
Tom Waltz
Anonymous
Not applicable
Here is my list:

► Paths to all imported projects & files should be relative. Absolute pathing requires completely relinking all imported views whenever the project is moved to a different server or project folder.
► The editing tools should be comparable to those available in ArchiCAD. I have had to edit Master Layouts to change things, and tools like Resize, Multiply, Trim, etc are very necessary.
► Construction tools such as the special snap points, the parallel, and the perpendicular should be available.
► Make it so we can pan while we are dragging drawing view(s) around.
► More custom fields in the Book Info. A dozen or so would be nice.
► Eliminate cursor mode problem with resizing or moving drawings. Check mark doesn’t appear until you zoom or pan once.
► Put some sort of indicator next to the preferences that are layout book specific so we can tell what is stored locally, and what is stored in the layout book. See graphic below.
► Make OLE workright. I hate breaking Word documents into one-page chunks. Same with Excel.
PreferenceIndicator.gif
Jon Oxman
Contributor
The ability to place PDF files in PlotMaker Layout Books. This would be extremely useful!

One example: as an alternative to working with non- ArchiCAD CAD files from others this would allow an alternate, easier workflow. PDFs are a universal file type that should not be ignored by PlotMaker.
Eduardo Rolon
Moderator
autotext tool to create layout index from the layout navigator and have the page number as part of it.
all tools to work like AC
Eduardo Rolón AIA NCARB
AC27 US/INT -> AC08

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

Geoff Briggs
Mentor
I agree with everything posted here but I want to comment on Terrence‘s #1 wish. I have no problem with seeing that wish granted. Indeed I hope we all enjoy the power to live link almost any type of document into PM—text, spreadsheets, images, PDFs, SketchUp, OtherCad, everything.

But this functionality is as much needed in ArchiCAD as PlotMaker, perhaps more so. As collaboration increases we will be sharing and publishing the AC model more, the PM Layout Book less. The need to link all the diverse project resources together will only become more pronounced as time goes on. Maybe it’s better to do this in ArchiCAD, at least in certain circumstances. To enable larger projects and larger teams Graphisoft will need to strengthen existing collaboration tools like Hotlinking and Teamwork. What we’re talking about here is XREFing. Expanded support for other file types is a logical extension with two way editing the next evolutionary step.

Overall, what I’m advocating is expanding ArchiCAD’s role as project information database and improving it’s ability to do so using a distributed file structure as well as the more typical single file. At the same time PlotMaker would be tuned specifically for printing and plotting. The latter being a much simpler and somewhat static goal, I think it reasonable to expect a near perfect application.
Regards,
Geoff Briggs
I & I Design, Seattle, USA
AC7-27, M1 Mac, OS 14.x
tsturm
Newcomer
TomWaltz wrote:
7) Teamwork-like sharing
Very necessary due to the number of sheets being added to PM. Now that all the pages are done from one PM layout book, one needs to share access to the book. One person cannot work on the all the time.

Perhaps this could be elimated if a better linking mechanism could be implimented.

The idea of linking details and sections from AC to PM is a real time saver. Then time gets lost yelling around for the person who has the only PM layout open just so you can get a page printed. If a Teamwork version of PM or a cross linked version were issued then more people could work on more files with better coordination and less errors due to coordination of drawing numbers and locations.

good suggestion Tom
Terrence Sturm, Architect
_______________
MBP OSX 10.15.4 Quad Core Intel i7 2.2hz
AC 17 build 5019
AC 22 build 7000
AC 23 build
AC 24 build 5000
tsturm
Newcomer
10) An option for choosing 30" roll sizes for Roll fed machines.
Terrence Sturm, Architect
_______________
MBP OSX 10.15.4 Quad Core Intel i7 2.2hz
AC 17 build 5019
AC 22 build 7000
AC 23 build
AC 24 build 5000
Anonymous
Not applicable
11) A mechanism for spacing imported views to fit a grid instead of stacking them on top of each other...

so I can import 12 details on a 24x36 sheet and have themspace themselves out on the page. this has always been a pain, and I would consider it a GREAT new feature.

of course, one should always have the option to NOT spread out the imports...
Anonymous
Not applicable
2) Picture Holders---
The new colored vectoral image is nice. I however liked the bitmapped version from PM2 which allowed for fast panning around of the drawings with no wait for double screen redraws. OK, you can keep the feature around for those who want to see all the color. But for the rest of us not using 6 Ghz machines make the default the bitmapped like that of PM2.
fwiw, this option can be set for each placed drawing (selcect a drawing/cmd-T/frame and output color section/preview on layout pulldown menu). what we do need, however is...

12) A setting underpreferences/drawing attributes that sets the default preview method that PM4 places an imported drawing with.