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

spreadsheet in archicad

Anonymous
Not applicable
It would be very usefull to have a tool for spreadsheets just like for text and labels. With basic calculation features. And the possibility to insert gdl parameters values and expressions. We would than have a much simpler approach to calculation.

What do you think?
13 REPLIES 13
Anonymous
Not applicable
As I am fairly new to archicad, not sure if it is possible, but the simplest way to deal with this is to have an import facility from spreadsheet programs, i.e. direct linking to microsoft excel, thus allowing you to work on the data in excel and then it prints out with your drawing as an automatic link.
Anonymous
Not applicable
OLE is usefull but not very reliable.
anyway even if it was reliable there should be a basic spreadsheet editor built into ac
Oh how I miss the spreadsheet capabilities Minicad had back in 1996 and probably way earlier.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Would it not be better to have a direct software link rather than try to make archicad work as a spreadsheet.

i.e. have some like a preference tab, which allows you to have choices of text editor, spreadsheet editor, and these be linked back to your choice, for instance, MS word and MS Excel, or Appleworks...

So these programs are used, but in a direct way with archicad, the information actually been inputed direct into your drawing rather then OLE.

The reason for this would to prevent archicad become bloated, and why have the archicad software writers write yet more software that is already installed on your computer in some form.

This might not be possible of course and would be interested in comments from a software engineer's point of view.
Anonymous
Not applicable
no it woud be not !
Sometimes even comunication between archicad and plotmaker is tricky. do you think a link between archicad and excel will work?
i don't think so.
even if comunication was perfect in ac we need special tools adapted for our needs not link to general editors like word excel or corel.
i woud prefer spreadsheets, better text blocks and hatching with bitmaps, transparecy and other effects built into archicad.
Anonymous
Not applicable
zucoc wrote:
no it woud be not !
Sometimes even comunication between archicad and plotmaker is tricky. do you think a link between archicad and excel will work?
i don't think so.
even if comunication was perfect in ac we need special tools adapted for our needs not link to general editors like word excel or corel.
i woud prefer spreadsheets, better text blocks and hatching with bitmaps, transparecy and other effects built into archicad.
Glad to see your an expert on software development..
have to agree with you on the text blocks, if it is not on the wish list maybe someone should start that one.

The point I was trying to make is, why should graphicsoft spend the time starting from scratch to write the spreadsheet software, when they could incorporate it into archicad direct from another source, so when you click on the spreadsheet option in the menu in archicad, it brings up the display etc within archicad, not take you out of the program. Therefore borrowing the technology and expertise from another software developer. At least then you may get something with limited function sooner rather than later.

I would also be interested in what would users actually use the spreadsheet facility for?

The reason I ask, is simply to find out how other practices work in other counties, as I have never found the need to use a spreadsheet, except for preparing door, window, lintel schedules etc, but when preparing these, we never use the calculation facilities of the program just the fact it sets up a table format very easily. We never prepare for instance schedules with quanities, mainly as we have seperate surveyors for that task, who use their own specific software, and even for small projects where a surveyor is not used, the burden would fall upon the contractor to ensure they know the quantities they need for each item taken from the drawings. (thus limiting our liability... )

When it comes to preparing calculations then we would not expect graphicsoft to add this into the program as these change and often the software requires to be certified by the building control authority. For instance the thermal and energy calculations have changed in format twice in the last five years, and require the software used to be certified by the approriate authority.

So I am curious to see why it is so important to have this facility, and get an insight in how other offices in other countries work..
Lighting90 wrote:
I would also be interested in what would users actually use the spreadsheet facility for?
For example you are doing area calculations with gross, usable, use categories, area ratios, parking ratios, whatever, and you bring everything into neat spreadsheets usable for communication. Today you can get lists or schedules in ArchiCAD, but you need to go to Excel to bring it all together and make it readable, and then import that back into the Graphisoft environment.

Same thing when you are doing costs. You always need comments, subtotals, ad-hoc factors, whatever. Simple math, functions and formatting save a lot of time and trouble. You only need to go to Excel for real spreadsheet work, just as you only need to go to Word for real text work and not annotations and keynotes.

Check out how VectorWorks handles spreadsheets when you have the opportunity.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Can understand the room areas, we often just leave the room areas within the rooms only, and have a gross and net areas, and nothing more. But have seen firms do more detailed break downs for some clients, so can see advantage of this.

Costs, we don't do this, as mentioned in my previous post, we have the quanitity surveyor who does all that for us, and takes the liability for it too... (now there is a good add on package for your design team wish list... )
On small projects we will check costs provided by the tendering contractors, but will not have done a full costing, only prepared a project cost to the client based on the total gross floor and a current per metre square rate from other recent projects.

Some differences I think between countries, so some would see spreadsheets far more important than others I think.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Vectorworks. been a while since I last used it, maybe need to get a current copy to have a play again..