Polylines and Fills are simple but powerful drafting tools in Archicad. However, they remain limited in how they can contribute to data workflows. With a few small improvements, they could become valuable tools for quantity takeoffs, annotations, and integration into BIM data reports.
Proposed improvements:
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Allow user-defined IDs for Polylines (like Fills already have), to make them listable in schedules.
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Enable assignment of custom Properties (from Property Manager) to both Polylines and Fills.
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Include basic dimensional data (length, perimeter, area) directly as native schedule fields.
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Allow Polylines and Fills to be read from Section and Elevation views, not just Floor Plans,
with a “source view” parameter to identify where they were drawn from and make them filterable.
Why this is useful:
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Boosts modeling speed with simple 2D tools that feed into data and quantity workflows.
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Enables “hybrid” workflows where schematic elements can still be tracked and quantified.
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Great for compiling supplementary data for construction estimates, where not every element needs to be modeled in 3D.
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Gives more control and traceability for annotations, graphical conventions, and custom visual logic.
Bonus benefit:
Sometimes the simplest tools are the fastest. Enhancing these basic elements would empower users to speed up many parts of the process—without relying on heavier modeling just to get quantities out.
Open