temporarily hide elements in floor plan

[Rogerio M]

One very useful feature of Bimcollab is the ability to temporarily hide an element. Archicad has implemented this function in 3D, but I miss having the same option in the 2D environment, particularly in floor plans.

When importing an IFC and using it as a base, it would be incredibly helpful to temporarily hide one or more selected elements to conduct studies, evaluate situations, or suggest alternative arrangements of elements.

[Mahmoud Qenawi]

Hi @Rogerio M,

I wished this before and was answered that this’ll be never applied in Archicad as element display in 2D view can be set by many other ways, like:

1) Layers.

2) Graphic Overrides.

3) Renovation Filters.

4) Design Options.

5) Model View Options.

[Rogerio M]

Hi @Mahmoud Qenawi,

I'm glad to know that more people feel the same need. Even though the solutions you've mentioned can help, I feel that they somewhat hinder the workflow.

We already use these solutions; however, when we're working with linked IFCs, just like with a module, we're stuck with the layer configuration that came with the IFC. So, if we turn off the wall layer, for example, all walls will be hidden. This doesn't work for us because we suggest different layout arrangements and often need to hide only some walls on a floor. Therefore, having an option in 2D plans like we have in 3D would be great.

It's possible to solve this by getting the IFC ID of that specific element and creating a rule for it or for the set, but this process takes a lot of time.

Overall, I don't understand why the 2D environment isn't as configurable as the 3D environment, allowing for sun shadows, surface textures (without relying on graphic overrides), distant area demarcation, etc. And all the possibilities of 3D do not exclude the need for view filters, as we already use in sections or 3D documents.

[Mahmoud Qenawi]

I’m not expert in IFC handling process but if you can select any elements and assign them to design options as a reflective way to use this feature, it’d be nice for creating layout arrangements.

Regarding sun shadows for floor plan, I think that will be similar to photoshop which isn’t CAD and at the same time you said you can achieve that by 3D Document & 3D Axonometric top view as in floor plan I expect to find lines & hatches or fills.

[RobPhill33]

I'm not sure a temporary hide element option would be any more convenient than pinning those elements to a different renovation filter.

[mthd]

I think all wishes like @Rogerio M should be seriously considered and we shouldn’t be suggesting work arounds because he would probably know many of them. A picture a diagram or a video can help us all see why this would be an important wish to consider.

[Rogerio M]

Hi guys,
Unfortunately, it is not possible to add any information to an IFC that is linked to Archicad. As I mentioned earlier, this linking process freezes the model as it was sent. Therefore, you cannot change the renovation status, project option, or layer of any element. The only viable method for view filters is using override rules, which can be exhausting when handling large-scale projects.

All the options you mentioned are very useful when working with elements modeled in that file or if we import the IFC through Interoperability > Merge. However, working this way with IFCs is not feasible for large-scale projects that include IFCs from different disciplines.

Before addressing the 2D vs. 3D issue, it's important to note that this is not the focus of this thread.

I wanted to express my dissatisfaction with the differences between 2D & 3D environments. For me, the closer the 2D environment is to the 3D environment, the better, as it provides more possibilities for manipulating and representing elements. I feel that Graphisoft has been making strides in this direction in recent years, with the implementation of texture visualization in sections and elevations, for example.

If we consider that we can handle drawings externally in other software, implementing texture reading in sections and elevations wouldn’t make sense. There would also be no need for override rules, as you can alter this representation in other software. I believe the opposite is true: the more options we have internally within Archicad, the better. This optimizes the workflow, reduces information loss, and helps us financially because it means fewer licenses to purchase haha

[mthd]

@Rogerio M, I am not a big fan of GOR’s and anything that can avoid the tedious work to set them up and monitor the resultant problems is very good for all of us.

Any pictures diagrams or videos to help us all understand better your wish will help it to get more likes and hopefully urgent attention.