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Better controls for Graphic Overrides for replacing surface materials, or better Renovation filter

Chris Hough
Booster
So, the renovation tool is great for doing remodels, but lacking if you want to leave the wall itself, but change the surface material. So (as an example) if I want to show a blue paint for the interior of a wall for an existing version, but a red paint for the wall on the "Planned Status" version, there does not seem to be a good way to model this. You have to show the entire wall as demo and then add a new one if you are using the renovation filter, which isn't really showing a true picture of demo vs. new construction if you are simply doing a material chance. And adding a "new wall" (say 1/2" thick) that represents the new material over the existing one is time consuming and difficult if you have openings in the existing wall that you'd then have to line up with the existing one.

I also had the thought to use graphic overrides to set up rules to rework certain surfaces between new and old, (overriding one existing surface with another). Unfortunately, the override section right now overrides the surface for the entire wall (both sides) as opposed to being able to select an outside skin or an inside one to replace. You can use the inside or outside skin as parameters for selecting the walls to be overridden, but then the option for what happens to that wall is the entire wall (inside and out) gets overridden with the new surface.

Better control for overriding individual surfaces given certain conditions, or adding an option to replace a specified surface within the renovation filter without demoing the entire wall is needed I think, as I don't see a way to do this in the current version of the software (unless I'm mistaken).
Owner, Heritage Design Studio
AC 4.5-26
Maco OS Monterey | 2.4 Ghz i9 | 32Gb | AMD RX 6800 XT
13 REPLIES 13
Anarchiteckt
Contributor

Hello Everybody, 

GO have brought a real change in the visualisation of information and the communication around the Project. Unfortunately, the limitations described here pose certain limits.

You have suggested some good ways to get around these limitations.
But sadly the surface painter is definitive not a option when you work with Hotlink modul.
 
For Example : 
 
You have similar 8 House in a Row. 
You created a Hotlink Modul for the prototype and integrated the eight mod.file on the Site model.
The client want to explore combination of different color.

You can filter the graphic Override with the Hotlink ID Master and change the surface on the exterior wall. But both side or all the components from Complex Profil will be override. And the surface painter doesn't affect the Modul file...

We know all that it will be a very big effort for the developer to make the GO available just for a component from a system. ( Curtain Wall / Railings / Composite etc...) 
But it will be a huge Step for the flexibility and the possibility of our creative instrument. 
Please make it as a ticket for the developer teams 😉
 

----
Gwenael Tripodi, Architect | BIM Manager
AC 8.1-24
MacOS Big Sur | 3,8 Ghz i7 8Core | 24GB | AMD 5500 XT

 

 

Gwenael Tripodi, Architect | BIM Manager
AC 8.1-26
MacOS Big Sur | 3,8 GHz i7 8Core | 24GB | AMD 5500 XT

A few work arounds for your scenario until the wish is one day granted:

 

If all 8 houses will keep the same surface, but you want to show different variants: create multiple building materials and swap out the building materials in the composite / complex profile. You can hotlink your houses to different variant PLN files to show these.

 

If you need multiple unique houses in a row: split up the exterior and interior into two modules and make variant modules. You can nest the interior module back in to your exterior module. You can change the hotlink of the houses to the different hotlinks with the different finishes.

 

These do take a little bit more time than 'just an override', but are still reasonably fast and hopefully helpful if you hadn't figured out a similar approach yet!

Erwin Edel, Project Lead, Leloup Architecten
www.leloup.nl

ArchiCAD 9-26NED FULL
Windows 10 Pro
Adobe Design Premium CS5

@Anarchiteckt wrote:
And the surface painter doesn't affect the Modul file...

 


No, it won't.

Just like any other change you want to make to a hotlink module, you would have to do it in the original module file and then update the module in the master.

 

If it is just a case of exploring materials in the overall master file, then maybe work on a copy of the mater file, break the hotlink and then surface paint your changes.

Once you have decided on the correct materials, you can then go back and edit the original hotlink, and then update the original master which still contains the un-broken hotlinks (hence working on a copy).

 

Barry.

One of the forum moderators.
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derekjackson
Enthusiast

Surely the simplest solution would be to allow a GO to work at the polygon level? Ie search the scene to find any polygons using Surface A and override them with Surface B. I use them a lot for visualisation 'styles' but windows and curtain walls are a real issue - using a GO to change the glass surface also changes the frame. This is a real limitation, but working at the polygon level would solve this without any extra complexity in the GO interface.