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

Unified Project File Type; including PLN, PLA & PLP

Anonymous
Not applicable
In keeping with my pattern of BIG ideas I have a new suggestion.

I would like to see the unification of the PLN, PLP & PLA file types.

This is really a shorthand way of saying that I would like to see the consolidation of opening/signing-in to a project into a single standard process and a related improvement in the handling of libraries.

First; the combination of solo with shared projects.

A single procedure to open/sign into a project offers several advantages:

1. It is only necessary to teach/explain one proceedure for opening and saving files. I presently have to explain (and write standards for) two different ways to access a project depending on whether it is shared or not. It is not always easy for people to understand the distinctions. Just today I had to explain that closing the file and quiting ArchiCAD doesn't mean one is signed out of the project. I know this is a newbie kind of issue, but any office of more than few people (and some withe less) will always have some relatively new users around.

2. People become accustomed to a single standard way of working, increasing efficiency in work habits and reliability in file organization and maintenance.

3. Administrative controls can be set up as a standard practice so that whether someone is working solo or on a shared project the same protections are available to prevent casual changes in layering, pen or other office standards. (Auto-login could be set

4. Multiple backups and local drafts become a standard operating procedure on all projects, shared or not.

5. Open/sign-in can be kept simple by offering options to sign into part of the project (as in TeamWork), open with full access (with privledges to change everything), or open the entire project without access to the attributes etc.

I'm sure there is more but I am getting too tired.


Merging the PLA into the Standard Project File Type

The new unified project file would always contain it's own project library. Now that it is possible to read library parts directly from an archive this seems like the logical next step.

The file would initially load only the lbrary parts contained within itself greatly speeding up the library loading process. Additional (external) libraries are loaded as reference libraries available for browsing in the library manager. One a new part is placed in the project it is automatically added to the internal set.

The program (AC) alerts you if the part from the reference library are different from the installed parts and provides the option to update either way or not at all. This protects against undesired changes from updated or revised library parts.


This is all for now...
I am falling asleep.
21 REPLIES 21
Anonymous
Not applicable
In a blatant fit of egoism I am adding this post to my old wish topic to bring t back to the top. It's funny how it got lots of views and some positive votes but no responses.

Anyway, since I am nominating this for my number one new feature in AC10, I figured that I should drag it back out of the depths for a fresh viewing.
Anonymous
Not applicable
This is an excellent idea Matthew! I agree that this would be a great addition to AC. Simplifiying the number of file types has always been needed. I remember when I started on Archicad, I could hardly believe that it took 3 files just to get to a paper copy. (Not including the backups, archive, and teamwork files)
While we're talking simplification, it seems that in the Teamwork sign-in process I wish there was a button to just pick what is not already signed out. I dislike having to scroll and find all of the available parts.
(Somebody probably is going to quickly show me that this is already available)
Anonymous
Not applicable
I just created my first teamworked file in 8.1 and noticed that you can now pick layers by layer combination! This is a great fix GS. Thank you. I had been afraid to go to teamwork before this. Hope it works out OK.
Aussie John
Newcomer
That is a good idea Matthew. The whole temwork methodology is very hard to explain to newbies, especially when you throw in the client or draft file ( two names for the same thing!!)

at least GS got rid of .dor and .win etc inlieu of GSM.
We could also take that further, after all I have never really understood why there needs to be separate tool for doors and windows.
Cheers John
John Hyland : ARINA : www.arina.biz
User ver 4 to 12 - Jumped to v22 - so many options and settings!!!
OSX 10.15.6 [Catalina] : Archicad 22 : 15" MacBook Pro 2019
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Thomas Holm
Booster
I wonder why so few seem interested in this. We should ALL VOTE! For me, especially the library management part, as quoted below, would mean an immense improvement. Had it been in place, I would have probably have steered clear of this issue.

But above all, I think it would be huge benefit to all CAD managers trying to keep track of version libraries, localized libraries, office libraries and personal cystomized libraries, especially with the tighter one-year release cycle,

It is really time to do something about it. As time goes by, and more and more projects are realized with Archicad and other BIM tools, the need to access old projects for maintenance, refurbishment and additions will accelerate.

Think of it as a 'live' .pla - a workable archive file. As long as you don't need any new objects, you don't have to worry about libraries at all, everything is stored in one place. And if you want to add something, just load any library and go to work. If that library is lost later, no worries!

BTW, isn't this how Nemetschek's sister application Vectorworks works? Please correct me if I'm wrong!

I do think that the library management benefit is more important than the teamwork admininstration benefit - but I have little experience with that.

(I've added some emphasis of mine into Matthew's quote below)
Matthew wrote:
The new unified project file would always contain it's own project library. Now that it is possible to read library parts directly from an archive this seems like the logical next step.

The file would initially load only the lbrary parts contained within itself greatly speeding up the library loading process. Additional (external) libraries are loaded as reference libraries available for browsing in the library manager. One a new part is placed in the project it is automatically added to the internal set.

The program (AC) alerts you if the part from the reference library are different from the installed parts and provides the option to update either way or not at all. This protects against undesired changes from updated or revised library parts.
AC4.1-AC26SWE; MacOS13.5.1; MP5,1+MBP16,1
Thomas Holm
Booster
Hey moderator, this poll should be transferred to the Open Archicad wishes!
AC4.1-AC26SWE; MacOS13.5.1; MP5,1+MBP16,1
Anonymous
Not applicable
Hey Thomas,

Thanks for the bump. This still remains on top of my list of desired features. It solves so many day to day operational problems and would make training, management and administration so much easier. I think it would be one of the biggest productivity upgrades ever. More so than multi-processor support.

And while I'm wishing...

If we could add externalized attributes libraries when we internalize the library parts and manage them all in a slick asset manager I would be ecstatic.
Thomas Holm
Booster
Matthew wrote:
If we could add externalized attributes libraries when we internalize the library parts and manage them all in a slick asset manager I would be ecstatic.
I'm just agreeing!
AC4.1-AC26SWE; MacOS13.5.1; MP5,1+MBP16,1
TomWaltz
Participant
I thought it was a bad idea then and I think it's a bad idea now.

Archives are just that: archives. You're not supposed to edit them.
PLP files make it readily obvious that a file is shared. No one can try to open with any other way than signing in.

It makes no more sense than making MOD, GSM, and BPN files all the same as well.

Library management requires that: MANAGEMENT.

Old parts may not work on new versions. Continuing to load them forever is just asking for problems. At some point, you will have to revise objects for current usage.

This entire idea sounds like one giant workaround. Instead of fixing any problems it just makes do with the ones we have.
Tom Waltz