Collaboration e Guide

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module
Interactive Training Guide
Graphisoft
Visit the Graphisoft website at http://www.graphisoft.com for local distributor and product availability information.
Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide (International English Metric version)
Copyright 2007 by Graphisoft, all rights reserved. Reproduction, paraphrasing or translation without express prior written permission is strictly prohibited.
Trademarks
ArchiCAD, Virtual Building, Virtual Trace and Virtual Building Solutions are trademarks of Graphisoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Credits We used the following ArchiCAD projects in most of the training exercises: NHS OFFICE COMPLEX, 3100 S. FIGUEROA STREET LOS ANGELES, CA 90007 Architect: paastudio 17437 Posetano Road Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 POSETANO RESIDENCE, California, US Architect: paastudio 17437 Posetano Road Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 Armchair 42 was designed by Alvar Allto in 1931-32. Artek Art and Technology (www.artek.fi) is renowned as one of the most innovative contributors to modern design. Photo by Thomas A. Dailey
CONTENTS
Getting started with the ArchiCAD Interactive Training Guide _____ 5 Step 1: Download and install ArchiCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Step 2: Create the interactive training environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Step 3: How to use Movie Player in ArchiCAD? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import _____________________ 9 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Step 1: Setting up DWG, DXF Translators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Step 2: Collaboration using DWG, DXF files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 Step 3: Creating a new ArchiCAD object from an external 3D DXF file. . .22 Chapter 2: PDF export and import _____________________________25 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Step 1. Adding external PDF documents to the Layout Book . . . . . . . . . . .25 Step 2. Publishing the Layout Book as a PDF document set . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Chapter 3: Universal 3D Support ______________________________32 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Step 1. Creating a simple computer workstation design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Step 2. Placing the design views on layouts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 Step 3. Publishing a 3D PDF from ArchiCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 Chapter 4: External reference files (Xrefs) ______________________41 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Step 1: Attaching Xrefs to the project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 Step 2. Managing Xrefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Step 3. Nested External Reference Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Chapter 5: Project Hotlinks __________________________________50 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Step 1: Hotlinked drawings in the Model View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Step 2: Hotlinked drawings in the Layout Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Step 3: Updating and Managing Project Hotlinks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56 Chapter 6: Hotlinked Modules _______________________________ 58 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 Step 1: Setting up the host project. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 Step 2: Creating a typical design module unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Step 3: Designing a typical bathroom module unit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 Step 4: Compiling all design modules into the host project . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Step 5: Automatic Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 Chapter 7: Project Mark-Up _________________________________ 68 Step 1: Creating a new Mark-Up entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Step 2: Managing Mark-Up entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 Chapter 8: Project Reviewer _________________________________ 75 Step 1: Publishing a design documentation set to the Internet . . . . . . . . . . .75 Step 2: Reviewing the design set using an Internet browser . . . . . . . . . . . . .77 Step 3: Working with external DWF markup files in ArchiCAD . . . . . . . . .81 Chapter 9: TeamWork ______________________________________ 83 Step 1: Setting up a TeamWork project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 Step 2: Signing-In to a TeamWork project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 Step 3: Reserving Workspaces in a TeamWork project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 Step 4: Working in the TeamWork environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92 Step 5: Collaborating in TeamWork environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 Chapter 10: IFC: Industry Foundation Classes __________________ 97 Step 1: Exporting an ArchiCAD project in IFC2x2 format. . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 Step 2: Importing an IFC database to ArchiCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .101
Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide
Contents
Getting started with the ArchiCAD Interactive Training Guide
GETTING STARTED WITH THE ARCHICAD INTERACTIVE TRAINING GUIDE

This interactive training guide was written to ease and speed up your learning process, saving you time. Please read the three steps of this short introduction to familiarize yourself with the interactive training environment in ArchiCAD. Every chapter of the interactive training guide contains the following elements: a PDF Guide with detailed explanations and screenshots; narrated movie clips providing step-by-step instructions, an ArchiCAD training project file to complete the exercises. All you need to do is to start the installer and follow the instructions. The ArchiCAD 11 Student version is free to download for students and for professors from the Graphisoft website (www.graphisoft.com). Please feel free to contact Graphisoft or any of the worldwide partners for further information. Please note that there are separate installer packages for Macintosh and for Windows operating systems. Please make sure to use the appropriate installer. 1 Please install ArchiCAD 11 or later version on your computer.
The PDF guide can be printed and all the narrated movie clips can be launched from the PDF. However, we recommend that you play the movie clips within ArchiCAD, while completing the steps using the training project files.
STEP 1: DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL ARCHICAD

To best enjoy the unique benefits and simplicity of learning in an interactive environment, we recommended that you install ArchiCAD 11 on your computer.
STEP 2: CREATE THE INTERACTIVE

TRAINING ENVIRONMENT
Introduction.mp4 Watch Movie Please follow these simple steps to start using this interactive training guide: 1 Start ArchiCAD The simplest way to start ArchiCAD is by double-clicking its desktop shortcut. The ArchiCAD splash screen will appear shortly after you start the program.
The standard installation process installs the chapters of this training guide to the Graphisoft folder on your computer, next to the ArchiCAD 11 installation folder. The Graphisoft folder is located in the Applications folder on Macintosh, or in the Program Files folder on Windows operating systems. 3 Browse the chapters of this training guide and open any of the ArchiCAD Project archive (.PLA) files.
2 Activate the Open Project option in the Start ArchiCAD dialog and select the Browse option to locate the project file on your local computer. Do not forget to use Standard Profile for the active Work Environment.
4 Select the Read elements directly from archive option for Active Library Usage in the Open Archive Project dialog.
ArchiCAD will open the selected archive project and read all the library elements directly from the archive file. The ArchiCAD training project files are all saved as archive files. This is important because the library elements have different names in localized versions of ArchiCAD (localized meaning translated to foreign languages and customized to meet different local standards).
5 Activate the File > Save As command, and save an ArchiCAD Solo Project of the currently open design file to the folder in which the previously opened archive file was located. The Solo Project format and the correct library are selected automatically, so practically all you have to do is to click the Save button to proceed. This is an important step, since certain exercises will require a Solo Project file to be saved on your local computer. The Movie Player plug-in also requires this step for it to be able to open the necessary training clips automatically. Now that the training environment has been set up, and you are ready to proceed with any of the exercises! Please note that for certain exercises the training environment described above will not be available, since some of the steps of the exercises will be completed using other applications, such as an Internet browser or a PDF viewer. In such cases please play the corresponding training movie clip using Apples free QuickTime Player application. All the training movie clips are available from the chapter-folders of this guide.
STEP 3: HOW TO USE MOVIE PLAYER IN ARCHICAD?

Lets briefly look over the main features and functions of the ArchiCAD Movie Player. 1 Open the Movie Player by activating Help > ArchiCAD Movie Player.
2 The Movie Player will open and the first training clip will be automatically loaded. Feel free to reposition or re-size the movie player on your screen.
3 Click the Play button on the player to start the first clip. You can pause the movie at any time, or use the slider to repeat or skip any parts of the clip.
4 Once the movie is over and you have completed the current step of the exercise, click the Next button to proceed to the next step of the exercise and open the corresponding training clip. You can also click the Previous button if you wish to open the previous clip. The title bar of the movie player always indicates the number of the current step and the total number of steps available in the current chapter.
We hope that you will find this guide useful and will agree with what experienced architects worldwide say: ArchiCAD is easy to learn and fun to use. You are always free to contact Graphisoft and its worldwide partners if you have further questions: www.graphisoft.com.
Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import
CHAPTER 1: DWG DXF EXPORT AND IMPORT

INTRODUCTION
In this training chapter we will present how to export DWG and DXF files from ArchiCAD. We will explore Translators, which make it easier to apply a customized set of conversion rules to equivalent elements and functions of ArchiCAD and DXF DWG files. ArchiCAD provides DWG and DXF data import and export support out of the box. The ArchiCAD design project files contain both Model Views as well as Layout Books. This makes it easy to support both paper space and model space information during the export and import of DWG and DXF files. ArchiCAD also makes it possible to precisely customize and save Translator files and for an extended design team to use the same export and import settings throughout their data exchange. This makes the everyday work of CAD Managers much easier.
STEP 1: SETTING UP DWG, DXF TRANSLATORS

NHS OFFICE_01.mp4 Watch Movie Before exchanging any DWG or DXF data, you have to make sure that the project information will be handled or translated as is required by the engineers and other partners and project teams. ArchiCAD provides various ready-made DWG-DXF Translators out-of-the box to help your work. You are free to use these translators or to create your own translators if necessary. 1 Open the NHS OFFICE.PLA project archive file and select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog. Save the project as NHS OFFICE.PLN ArchiCAD Solo Project to your local computer. 2 Activate the File > File Special > DXF-DWG Translator Setup command to open the DXF-DWG Translator Setup dialog.
We will also present how to import or merge DWG and DXF files into the ArchiCAD project. Here we will introduce Smart Merge (or round-trip conversion), which enables designers to merge DXF or DWG file back into the ArchiCAD file of origin. This will provide additional benefits compared to the conventional Merge option since it allows us to work on the same project in ArchiCAD and AutoCAD at the same time. It also helps us exchange additional information with minimal loss and interference.
Translators
ArchiCAD is capable of importing and exporting DWG and DXF files right out of the box, since all the necessary file export and import add-ons are installed together with ArchiCAD and are smoothly integrated with the ArchiCAD user interface. ArchiCAD provides Translators to apply a customized set of conversion rules to equivalent elements and functions when saving or merging DWG and DXF files. The very same Translators can be used during DWG and DXF file import and export (by using Smart Megre (or round-trip) conversion) or when working with external reference files (e.g., XREF). These topics will be discussed in the following chapters of this training guide. Translators represent standalone XML files on your local computer, containing all the rules and various configurations that need to be executed when exchanging DWG or DXF files. These Translator files help CAD Managers to ensure standardized information exchange between the members of the extended design team. ArchiCADs DWG and DXF information exchange enables designers to: open, place or merge AutoCAD drawings into the ArchiCAD design (into both Layout and Model Views); import Blocks from an AutoCAD drawing and create ArchiCAD Library Parts out of them; save and/or export any ArchiCAD project view or layout in AutoCAD formats. 3 Note that there are four pre-set Translators in the list and one locked Special Built-in Translator that cannot be modified or deleted.
For as is output Description:

Use this Translator to save ArchiCAD layouts/views in DXF/DWG format if you plan to output them "as is", i.e., without further editing after conversion. (For example, to submit a Plan for Approval or to send to a plotter service.)
Explanation:
This Translator creates a DWG or DXF file with the same visual appearance as in ArchiCAD. This means that all the colors, lines, text fonts, fill and line styles will look exactly as they appear in the current ArchiCAD project. Save Options: The ArchiCAD layout will be saved into the Paper Space as Flattened Drawing; all complex ArchiCAD elements in the floor plans (Model Space data) will be exploded; Zone stamps will be saved as separate Stamp and Fill elements; 3D Data will be exported with simplified data structure.
Pre-set DWG and DXF Translators in ArchiCAD

There are four pre-defined Translators shipped with ArchiCAD to provide some help with your first steps when working with DWG or DXF files. These pre-set Translators were created using feedback from ArchiCAD users: they incorporate the most commonly used DWG and DXF import and export processes. Of course, you are free to set up your own custom Translators at any time. Attributes > Pens and Colors > Methods: For accurate color-matching, ArchiCAD Pens and AutoCAD Colors will be converted using their RGB color code should no exact matching Standard AutoCAD color exist. (Please note that RGB colors are only available from AutoCAD 2004.)
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For further editing Description:

Use this translator to save ArchiCAD layouts/views in DXF/DWG format if you plan to continue editing them after conversion.
Explanation:
When using this Translator, the exported DWG or DXF file might not have the exact visual outlook as its ArchiCAD source, but in this case AutoCAD users can edit the files with greater comfort and ease. For instance, ArchiCAD library parts will not be exploded, etc. Save Options: The ArchiCAD layout will be saved into Paper Space with Cropped Drawings Content, and drawings will be placed into the layout as Linked Xref drawings. Complex elements in the ArchiCAD floor plan views (Model Space) will be converted to AutoCAD Blocks. In everyday use this means that all ArchiCAD drawings on the layouts will be exported as separate DWG Xref (external reference) files, referenced from the main i.e., master DWG file. Since AutoCAD does not provide advanced teamworking functionality, working with Xref files provides access for multiple members of the AutoCAD user team for simultaneous access to the layout drawings.
Custom Functions > Save Extras: ArchiCAD Labels should NOT be converted to AutoCAD Leaders (if your For as is output Translator has this enabled i.e., if it is checkmarked then please disable it). Refer to the screenshot below. In everyday use this means that all the original ArchiCAD labels will be exploded to lines and texts, ensuring the very same appearance for these elements in the DWG file as in their source in the ArchiCAD project.
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Attribute > Layers > Methods: All ArchiCAD doors and windows will be placed on custom layers in the exported DWG or DXF files. This is important because ArchiCAD stores all openings in the corresponding walls they are placed in. Exporting these elements on separate layers helps the work of the AutoCAD users.
Attributes > Pens and Colors > Methods: ArchiCAD Pens will be converted to AutoCAD colors by setting the color and lineweight BYLAYER of all elements, since this is the commonly used approach in AutoCAD., Should no exact matching Standard AutoCAD color exist then Pens will be converted using their RGB color code. (Please note that RGB colors are only available from AutoCAD 2004.)
Custom Functions > Save Extras: ArchiCAD Labels will be converted to AutoCAD Leaders. This means that all the original ArchiCAD labels will be converted to AutoCAD labels (and will not be exploded). Converting these ArchiCAD elements to their AutoCAD equivalent will again ensure higher productivity for AutoCAD users when working with the exported DWG or DXF files.
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For editable import Description:

Use this Translator to open DXF/DWG content to continue editing after converting in ArchiCAD.
Explanation:
This Translator will ensure easier work for ArchiCAD users, since it will convert all AutoCAD elements to their ArchiCAD equivalent (instead of exploding them). Open Options: ArchiCAD blocks will be imported as Grouped 2D Elements, and all AutiCAD dimension chains will be converted to ArchiCAD dimension chains (instead of lines and text). Click the Associative Dimensions where appropriate checkbox to convert AutoCAD dimension chains to associated ArchiCAD dimensions whenever possible. This will provide even greater comfort since dimension values will be updated automatically if the dimensioned element is changed.
Keep pen index number Description:

Use this Translator to save ArchiCAD layouts/views in DXF/DWG format if you plan to continue editing them after conversion all while keeping pen index numbers. Note: when using this Translator, Pen Colors and Lineweights will not be retained.
Explanation:
This Translator was created based on feedback from those ArchiCAD users who collaborate using DWG and DXF files with AutoCAD users and who benefit from the advantages of the round trip conversion method (which will be presented later in this training chapter). Open Options: ArchiCAD blocks will be imported as Grouped 2D Elements, dimension chains will be converted as Single Dimension Units, and Associative Dimensions will be applied where applicable.
Custom Functions > Open Extras: AutoCAD Leaders will be converted to ArchiCAD Labels should the Leaders original content be in Text or MText. There are plenty of other options that will not covered in the frame of this training guide.
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The following examples will present an ArchiCAD project and its DWG Exports using different built-in Translators. This screenshot presents a part of the floor plan in an ArchiCAD project:
Attributes > Pens and Colors > Pen Color Conversion: The major characteristic of this Translator is that the ArchiCAD Pen AutoCAD Color conversion table has been filled out. This means that the color of the ArchiCAD elements will not be the in the exported DWG and DXF files, but in cases of round-trip conversion (importing back a DWG or DXF file which had initially been exported from ArchiCAD), the color of the elements in ArchiCAD will stay the same when importing or merging the files back to ArchiCAD. This screenshot presents the exported DWG file opened with Autodesk AutoCAD 2007, using ArchiCADs For As Is Output Translator. Note that all ArchiCAD Labels have been exploded to lines and text block references. Further, Library Parts with background fills have also been exploded to achieve the same visual appearance.
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This screenshot presents the exported DWG file opened with Autodesk AutoCAD 2007, using ArchiCADs Keep Pen Index Number Translator. Note that all ArchiCAD Labels have been exploded as AutoCAD Leaders, and all Pen colors have been changed according to the Pen-Color conversion table of the Translator. Using this Translator will help building engineers to continue their work using these DWG files: later these can be smoothly merged back to the original ArchiCAD project.
4 Select the For as is output built-in Translator from the list.
5 Open the Info tab page of the dialog to display this Translators summary.
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As explained earlier, this DWG-DXF Translator is recommended for printing and plotting. 6 Open the Settings in Selected Translator tab page of the dialog to display and browse all the various file export and import options. Notice that you can define or adjust not only the Drawing Unit, but also carefully fine-tune various export and import attributes (including Layer name conversion, Pen-color conversion, Font-style conversion) and define Fill and Line styles. 7 Select the For further editing built-in Translator from the list. As you can see in the Description of the Info tab page, this DWG-DXF translator is recommended for when saved ArchiCAD layouts or views will be used as the basis for continuous work by engineers and partners. Using this Translator will make it much easier to identify changed layers and elements when merging back the work of the engineers to the architectural design project. (Please see the section on Smart Merge below for further details.) 8 Open the Settings in Selected Translator tab page of the dialog and unfold the Attributes > Layers > Layer name and conversion option. 9 Click the New button to open the Edit the layer conversion item dialog to add a new method. 10 Select the Furniture & Equipment Layer from the pop-up list and notice that the name of this layer will be inserted to the ArchiCAD side of the conversion. 11 Now enter Equipment for the DXF/DWG side of the layer conversion. The result will be that the Furniture & Equipment ArchiCAD layer will be renamed as Equipment in the exported file.
12 Click OK to leave this dialog and notice that the new layer conversion item has been added to the list.
13 Click the Create New button in the Available Translators tab page of the dialog to save the modified Translator. 14 Enter My first DWG Translator in the name window and save the .XML file to your local machine. 15 You can also enter a short Description of the new translator in the Info tab page of the dialog for easy future identification. Notice that this XML Translator file can be freely distributed even as an email attachment and shared with the other members of the ArchiCAD design team. Using preset DWG-DXF Translators across the office will ensure seamless collaboration with the engineers and other consultants.
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16 Click the Save Settings & Close button to leave the DWG-DXF Translation Setup dialog.
1 Activate the 1 DWG Export view in the Navigator-View Map.
STEP 2: COLLABORATION USING DWG, DXF FILES

NHS OFFICE_02.mp4 Watch Movie ArchiCADs Smart Merge provides streamlined collaboration when exchanging DWG-DXF files with the extended design team. Smart Merge makes it easy to define and apply rules when merging external files to the current ArchiCAD design project, and ensures that only relevant information will be merged back to the project file (for instance only those layers that the engineers worked on, etc.)
2 Activate the File > Save As option to export this floor plan view as a DWG file. 3 Select the DWG File from the Format pop-up list of the Save Plan dialog. 4 Select the previously created My first DWG Translator from the Translator list.
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5 Enter Floor Plan 1 Export.dwg for the file name, and click Save to proceed and export the DWG file to your local machine. Please note that the My first DWG Translator Translator file was created based on the built-in For further editing Translator file. This will allow us to benefit from the Smart Merge options provided by ArchiCAD. 6 ArchiCAD will ask for an .shx (txt.shx, bigfont.shx or simplex.shx) AutoCAD file as part of the conversion process, to ensure more accurate reproduction of the imported file within ArchiCAD.
The role of the SHX files in the Conversion Process

The DXF/DWG conversion process relies on the availability of AutoCAD fonts including the SHX fonts. ArchiCAD will display a message asking for these fonts during the course of a conversion. If you do not have these fonts available, you might encounter inconsistencies in text formatting (such as incorrect line breaks). It is recommended that you acquire the SHX font files, which are part of the AutoCAD package, from an AutoCAD user. Distribution of these is allowed, and even encouraged. When working on designs you may ask for such SHX files from the engineer and members of the consultant team if they are using AutoCAD. However, these fonts are not available with the ArchiCAD package, nor with this interactive training guide, for proprietary reasons. True-type versions of all SHX fonts are also available in the AutoCAD package. Once you get the fonts, create a separate folder for them. When ArchiCAD asks for an SHX font file, select it from this collection. If you dont have the requested font, you may select another one. (In this case the conversion results may differ.) Once you have shown the folder to ArchiCAD, it will automatically search for the required SHX font files in that folder from that point on (but not in any newly created sub-folders).
Note on TrueType fonts:

You can use TrueType fonts in ArchiCAD without any problem on either Windows or MAC OS. (MAC OS users should copy the TrueType font files into the system drives Library/Font folder.)
Note on Fonts vs. Shapes:

AutoCAD uses SHX files not only as fonts but for other purposes as well. Complex line types insert shapes into their patterns. The shapes may be added to the drawings as simple symbols. Selecting an SHX of this kind instead of a font may cause problems so when ArchiCAD requests that you locate an SHX file, use the Skip option if you are not sure an SHX file you found is the right kind. The requested filename should give you a clue as to which kind is needed font or shape. 8 Lets suppose that the previously exported DWG file has been sent to the electrical engineers.
7 This file is not crucial to complete this exercise. Should you have the necessary .shx file on your local machine, please open it. Otherwise, press the Skip All button to proceed. (AutoCAD users are encouraged to distribute .shx font files. However we cannot provide you with such .shx in this training guide due to proprietary reasons.)
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The members of the external design and engineer teams as well as consultants often use conventional 2D files as the basis of their work. After they are done with their work they will send an updated DWG file back to us. We need to merge it back to the design project database to be able to analyze their work and to have enough information to make the necessary design decisions. We need to merge back only those items (layers and/or elements) that have been changed by the engineers. 9 Activate File > File Special > Smart Merge Options to open the Smart Merge Options dialog. This dialog enables you to fine-tune the Smart-Merge options. You can save the rules to a configuration file that can be easily opened and re-used later and even shared with other members of the team. 10 Open the Edit Rules for current configuration tab page to display and manage the Smart-Merge rules. Notice that the default.mcf Smart-Merge configuration appears with rules and actions. Every Rule is defined by IF THEN conditions relevant to the actual merged Element.
A Smart-Merge rule is made of a condition part and one or more Actions. If an element coming from the DXF or DWG file meets a condition of a rule, the actions of that rule will be executed on it. Those elements that do not meet any of the conditions in the list are ignored. For instance, the first Rule in the list consists of the following condition and action: If a certain Element is Unchanged in ArchiCAD and Deleted in the external file that is currently being merged, then Put Element on Deleted Layer.
We will create a new Smart-Merge configuration file based on the following example description: The lighting engineer after multiple rounds of file exchanges has added additional elements to the design (for instance, the layout grid of the reflected ceiling plan, lighting fixtures, and so on). It would be desirable for the architect to put these new elements on a specific layer in ArchiCAD for easy overview. The electrical engineers might also have changed some elements in the original design project (for instance, the positions of built-in furniture or slight changes in the layout of partition walls to match the reflected ceiling plan grid, and so on). It would be good to be able to review these changes easily, since they might influence other parts of the project as well. It is important to keep in mind that Smart Merge only examines visible and unlocked layers. It is also important to pay attention to the order of the Actions. Use the Confirm and zoom to merged elements. option if you wish to have a closer look of the merged elements after executing a Smart Merge in ArchiCAD.
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11 Click the Duplicate button and enter Electrical for the name of the new Smart Merge configuration file. 12 Select and delete all the available Rules one by one to start to define the new configuration from sketch. 13 Click the New Rule button to add two rules to the current configuration: If Element is Unchanged in ArchiCAD and Edited in external file then Put Element on Edited Layer. If Element is New from external file then Outline from Merged File. 14 Checkmark the Confirm and zoom to merged elements. radio button to zoom to the merged elements (in our example the merged content represents the new elements which have been created by the electrical engineer).
15 Once you are ready with the Smart Merge settings, dont forget to click the Apply button to activate them. Now you are ready to merge the files. 16 Activate the File > File Special > Merge command to merge external files to the current design project. 17 In the Merge dialog select the Floor Plan RCP.dwg file from the folder of this chapter and hit Open to proceed. 18 It the Merge DXF-DWG dialog select the Merge content of Model Space into current View option and click OK to proceed.
Merging DXF DWG files to Model Views (Model Space) vs. Layouts (Paper Space)
Every ArchiCAD design project file contains both Model Views (Model Space) as well as Layout Books (or Paper Space), and you need to decide which you want to merge. Choose the Merge content of Model space into current View radio button if you want the Model Space portion of the DXF-DWG file merged into your ArchiCAD project file. In this case the Merge DXF-DWG Model Space dialog will come up, just as presented in this exercise. If Model Space is merged to the ArchiCAD project, the Top View of AutoCAD elements located in the Model Space of the merged DXF-DWG file will be generated, and these Top Views will be placed into the ArchiCAD Model View as 2D ArchiCAD elements.
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Choose the Append Paper Space(s) to Layout Book radio button if you want the Paper Space(s) defined in the DXF-DWG merged file appended to the Layout Book of the ArchiCAD project file. In this case, click the Append Options button to set two DXF-DWG Import options in the Translation Setup. The Import Options for Elements on Paper Space dialog will come up. Note that this button will be available only if the DXF-DWG file to be merged contains Paper Space information. If Paper Space is merged, Paper Space definitions will be converted to Layouts in the Layout Book of ArchiCAD. A new Master Layout will also be created in case the DXF-DWG drawing contains Paper Space size definitions not already available in the Project file. The content of Viewports within the DXF-DWG file will be converted into Drawings in ArchiCAD and these Drawings will be placed onto their appropriate Layout according to their Viewport definition in AutoCAD. These Drawings are not editable entities: they will appear in the Drawing Manager of ArchiCAD, with embedded status. If there were elements drawn in Paper Space of the DXF-DWG file, these elements will be converted into ArchiCAD elements and will be placed directly into the Layout they belong to. At Import Options for Elements on Paper Space you can configure certain conversion options: Translate AutoCAD Blocks as: Just as in the Open Options portion of the Translation Setup Dialog, you have three choices: 2D Elements, Grouped 2D Elements or ArchiCAD Library Parts. If you choose 2D Elements or Grouped 2D Elements, all the references of all the blocks are decomposed into simple floor plan elements. Convert AutoCAD Leaders to Labels: Check this box if you wish this conversion to be performed during the Merge process. If you leave this box unchecked, AutoCAD Leaders will be converted to simple ArchiCAD 2D elements. This checkbox is also available in the Translation Setup Dialog, in the Custom Functions, Open Extras area.
19 Uncheck all three Specify On-Screen options in the Merge DXF-DWG Model Space dialog, make sure that or Further Editing is selected, and hit Merge to proceed. Check the results. Please note that ArchiCAD uses the previously presented Translator files for Smart-Merging DWG and DXF content.
As you can see, all the elements and artificial lights of the reflected ceiling plan designed by the electrical engineer have been successfully merged to the original project design database.
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STEP 3: CREATING A NEW ARCHICAD OBJECT FROM AN EXTERNAL 3D DXF

FILE
NHS OFFICE_03.mp4 Watch Movie Importing 3D DXF files as ArchiCAD objects can be useful if designers wish to add manufacturer-specific design content to the project. In this exercise we will present how to create an ArchiCAD object (an Armchair) from an external 3D DXF file (in this example from a web product catalog). 1 Visit the http://www.artek.fi/ website on the Internet. Artek is a furniture company in Finland. Click Products and then Armchairs and select the second armchair from the left in the first line of the page. (If you do not have an Internet connection, please proceed to point 3 below.)
Armchair 42 should be displayed on the screen now. This chair was designed by Alvar Aalto in 1931-32. If you chose any other piece of furniture by mistake, please enter 42 in the Search Product field on the Products page to find this chair. 2 Select 3D wire (dxf) from the Downloads pop-up menu, and download the 42-3d.dxf file to your machine. This DXF file contains the 3D wire of this chair. (Please fill the necessary info if you are asked to provide feedback about the use of this file).
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3 The Armchair 42_3D.dxf file is also available from the DWG Import folder of this exercise; please use this file in case you do not have an Internet connection, or if you encounter any obstacles during the download process. 4 Activate the pre-set 2 DXF Import entry from the Navigator View Map in the current project. 5 Activate the File > Libraries and Objects > Open Object command, and enable All GDL Objects. 6 Select the previously downloaded DXF file, or the Armchair 42_3D.dxf file from the DWG Import folder of this exercise. Select the For Editable Import Translator and click Open to proceed. ArchiCADs Object editor will appear and the 3D wireframe model of the Aalvar Aalto chair will be loaded. 7 Click the 3D View button bellow the preview window (fifth button) to display the 3D view of the chair.
8 ArchiCAD provides a state-of-the-art toolset for parametric object development and editing. If you are interested in this topic, please download the Advanced GDL Interactive Training Guide module. We will not get into details about the exact meaning and functionality of GDL editing now. 9 Activate the File > Save As command and enter Armchair 42 for the name. Please note that the .gsm extension will be automatically added to the name, since we are about to save the previously downloaded 3D wire frame as an ArchiCAD object. 10 Close this dialog and return to the floor plan. 11 Activate the Object Tool, open the Object Settings dialog and note that the previously saved Armchair has been automatically selected.
Currently, the parameter list is empty. For example, it is not possible to define materials. Please read the Advanced GDL Interactive Training Guide if you wish to customize this object with additional parametric options.
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12 Click OK to leave this dialog and click anywhere on the floor plan to place the new chair on the floor plan view. You can also open the 3D window to display the object in 3D.
This Armchair is now a standard ArchiCAD object, and can be freely used in any of your ArchiCAD projects. Building manufacturers often publish product catalogs in 3D DXF format, which is usually freely accessible for all designers and can be imported to an ArchiCAD project in seconds. Surveyors might also provide 3D DXF information about the building site. In this case the 3D site can be imported to the ArchiCAD project the very same way as was described in this exercise, and the design development can be started immediately.
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Chater 2: PDF export and import
CHAPTER 2: PDF EXPORT AND IMPORT

INTRODUCTION
In this training chapter we will present how to place external PDF drawings into the ArchiCAD layout book with the help of a pre-defined Drawing Grid. This will speed up the process of professional layouting. We will also present how easy it is to publish the new layout sheet from ArchiCAD.
STEP 1. ADDING EXTERNAL PDF DOCUMENTS TO THE LAYOUT BOOK

NHS OFFICE_01.mp4 Watch Movie
Portable Document Format:

PDF stands for Portable Document Format and is a proprietary file format developed by Adobe Systems Incorporated for representing two dimensional documents in a device-independent and resolution-independent format. PDF is the de facto standard for the secure and reliable distribution and exchange of electronic documents and forms around the world, with a ten-year track record. PDF is a universal file format that preserves the fonts, images, graphics, and layout of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. PDF files are compact and complete, and can be shared, viewed, and printed by anyone with free Adobe Reader software (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html). The free Acrobat Reader is also available from the ArchiCAD 11 product CD-Rom. ArchiCAD provides full supports for importing external PDF documents. PDF sheets can be inserted directly into the Model Views (model space) as well as into Layout Books (paper space). This makes it very easy to add any scanned or other PDF documents to the design with a single click. In this exercise we will add multiple PDF details to a layout sheet. 1 Open the NHS OFFICE.PLA project archive file and select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog. Save the project as NHS
PDF drawings are widely used for collaboration in the design process. These files might contain details from the manufacturers, but can also contain scanned documents from the client or even information from the consultant or engineer team. ArchiCAD provides PDF (Portable Document Format) export-import support out of the box. This means that designers can use (import) existing PDF documents (such as hand-drawn details, for instance), and they are also able to share (publish) the project design in PDF format with a single click. These PDF documents can be opened and printed by virtually anyone with the help of a free PDF viewer.
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OFFICE.PLN ArchiCAD Solo Project to your local computer. 2 Activate the A-01.1 External PDF Details layout in the A-01 PDF folder in the Navigator-Layout Book. 3 Select Arch-D Master Layout and open its Settings dialog. Switch to the Grid for Drawing IDs tab page and investigate its settings. 4 Create grid cells in 3 horizontal rows and 4 vertical columns to host detailed drawings by entering 3 and 4 for the number of cells. ArchiCAD enables us to create custom drawing grids on layouts. Custom Drawing IDs can be automatically provided to these grids cells: this speeds up the documentation process. Automatic Drawing IDs have further benefits that are discussed in the Documentation training module.
5 Drag-and-drop the Arch-D pre-set Master Layout on the previously displayed A-01.1 External PDF Details layout in the Navigator-Layout Book. 6 Double-click the A-01.1 External PDF Details layout in the Navigator-Layout Book and note that the previously discussed drawing grid appeared on the current layout.
Lets add some external PDF details to this layout. 7 Activate the File > External Content > Place External Drawing command to add external drawings to this layout. 8 Select all the PDF Details in the PDF Details to Import folder and checkmark the Store Path as relative to Project option. ArchiCAD can store the location (path) of external content through its Absolute location or through its path Relative to the current Project. Use the Store Path as Relative to Project option if you wish to open this ArchiCAD project on other computers (e.g., outside the office). In this case we recommend that you create subfolders next to the ArchiCAD project file, and store all external content in these folders.
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Storing an Absolute path as relative to the project can be useful if you wish to import external content form an external server and when the ArchiCAD project file might be opened on other computers in the office, which also can access this external server.
10 Choose the Drawing Manager dialog from the Navigator or activate the File > External Content > Drawing Manager command. 9 Click the Open button to import all twelve selected PDF details on the current layout and notice that ArchiCAD automatically placed the PDF details into the cells of the previously defined drawing grid. All the previously imported, external PDF documents are listed here among the other views and drawings of the current layout book. The Drawing Manager will be discussed in detail in the Project Hotlinks chapter of this training guide.
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STEP 2. PUBLISHING THE LAYOUT BOOK AS A PDF DOCUMENT SET

NHS OFFICE_02.mp4 Watch Movie Lets see how easy it is to create and publish a PDF document set with ArchiCAD.
Microsoft Word at File > Page Setup if you wish to create a PDF file from your word document. Please note: The Amyuni PDF Converter is not available for Windows XP 64-bit OS.
Macintosh Operating Systems:

For the Macintosh platform, you do not need to install any PDF driver on your machine. Apple provides PDF read and write capabilities integrated with the MAC OS system. This means that you are ready to create and open PDF files right out of the box using MAC OS. ArchiCAD also uses this built-in, MAC OS system integrated PDF creator engine. 1 Open the Organizer from the Navigator. The Project Organizer is discussed in the Documentation Interactive Training Guide Module. 2 Activate the Create New Publisher Set option from the pop-up list, and type PDF Set for the name of the new set.
How to install PDF printers on your computer? Windows Operating Systems:

If you have Windows XP 32-bit OS installed on your computer, then you can use the ArchiCAD 11 installer application to install the optional Amyuni PDF Converter on your machine. This PDF converter is part of the standard installation process, but in case it is not yet installed on your machine, you can do this any time using the ArchiCAD install CD-Rom and selecting Custom Installtion in the Installer dialog.
3 Open the Publisher Set Properties dialog and select the Save files Publishing method from the pop-up list. 4 Define a publishing path on your local computer (on the Desktop, for example) and click OK to leave this dialog. The Amyuni PDF Converter is a virtual printer for Windows XP that creates PDF file output. This means that when you install this application, a new virtual printer will be added to your local printers: it is called Amyuni PDF Converter. This printer can be used from any of your applications to create PDF file output. For example, you are free to select the Amyuni PDF Converter from
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5 Create a new folder called PDF Document Set (on the right, in the Publisher Sets area) and drag and drop some layouts from the Layout Book area on the left.
6 Drag and drop the previously created A-01 PDF layout as well as the A-02 Plans, A-03 Elevations and the A-04 Sections subsets from the Layout Book to the new PDF publisher set. 7 Click on the PDF Document Set container on the right side to select it, and define PDF in the Format tab page of the dialog. 8 Checkmark the Merge to one PDF file checkbox to publish all layouts into one PDF file. If you wish to publish multiple layouts corresponding to the same design project, we recommend that you activate this option and merge all published layouts into the one PDF file. As a result ArchiCAD will create one PDF file with multiple pages (corresponding to the layout sheets you published). Leaving this unchecked will publish each file in the folder as a separate PDF file. 9 Activate the Document Options dialog and investigate all the options provided to create PDF document sets. The Format tab page of the Publisher provides more options to customize the published documentation set. For the PDF file format you can use Page Options as well as Document Options to define further, special options for the PDF set.
At the Page Options dialog you can define the exact paper size you wish to use and also define the orientation of the paper sheets. The Paper-Size pop-up list provides various standard paper sizes, but you can also define your custom paper size.
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combinations, Model View Options, as well as various other pieces of information (e.g., user name, date and time, etc)
Use the Document Options dialog to define various other options for the set. You can add Headers and Footers to the pages, or create a black-and-white set for monochrome printers. You can also decide if you wish to include ArchiCADs drawing grid on the sheets or if you wish to use hairlines (uniform thin lines) when creating the PDF set. You can define the exact scale you wish to use and decide about the exact position of the drawing on the sheet using the Arrangements options. You can publish all texts and markers of the drawings using their original, fixed text but you can also resize these to the scale of the publishing.
Open the PDF Options dialog to publish a password-protected PDF document set. The Quality pop-up list lets us define the exact quality for the PDF set.
The Header/Footer dialog enables designers to fully customize the header and footer texts of the layouts by automatically including the project name, name of the current story, applied Layer
PDFs created with ArchiCAD can include standard PDF features including thumbnails, bookmarks and an optional password. Please note that you can also output data from ArchiCAD to PDF format using the Print command. 10 Hit the Publish button to proceed. Notice that the publishing speed of this PDF documentation set is fast even with large project and numerous layouts.
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11 Once all layouts and drawings are published, click the Close button to proceed. 12 Open the newly created PDF Document Set.Pdf document from the desktop using any free PDF viewer application (such as Adobe Acrobat PDF Reader) to display the results.
Notice that all the selected sheets of the layout book have been included in this PDF documentation set.
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Chapter 3: Universal 3D Support
CHAPTER 3: UNIVERSAL 3D SUPPORT

INTRODUCTION
In this training chapter we will create a simple computer workstation and then present how to export this ArchiCAD Worksation Project to a Universal 3D file format. At the end, we will open the results using Adobes free Acrobat viewer to display the results. ArchiCADs advanced publishing features support various file formats and standards so that architects can easily share design information with virtually anyone with a single click.
STEP 1. CREATING A SIMPLE COMPUTER

WORKSTATION DESIGN
U3D Presentation_01.mp4 Watch Movie Lets create a simple interior design proposal in ArchiCAD. In this example we will use only a couple of objects to create a computer workstation. Typically, the plan views of such design elements do not provide obvious and easy-to-understand information for the client. It is much more preferable to provide an easy-to-understand 3D project presentation. 1 Open the U3D Presentation.pla ArchiCAD project file. If you have an International English ArchiCAD library installed on your machine, use this library. Otherwise, please select the Read Library Elements directly from Archive option in the Open ArchiCAD project dialogue. Save the project file on your local computer as an ArchiCAD Solo Project file: U3D Presentation.pln. 2 Activate the 01 Plan view from the Universal 3D folder of the NavigatorView Set. 3 Open the Slab Tool by double-clicking its icon in the Toolbox and adjust the settings as the screenshot presents. The slab thickness should be 10 mm, the Structure should be Solid Fill and the materials in the model page should be set to Mtl-Aluminum.
Direct support for the popular Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) was presented in the previous chapter of this guide. Besides the standard PDF format, ArchiCAD also supports the new state of the art Universal 3D (U3D) format. This enables designers to share 3 dimensional information through PDF document sets, providing all the benefits of the 3D design view and details to clients, and enabling easier understanding of the design idea.
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Lets create a computer workstation over this simple Slab by adding a couple of standard ArchiCAD library parts to it. 6 Switch to 3D view by activating the 02 Perspective view from the Universal 3D folder of the Navigator-View map. 7 Open the Object tool from the Toolbox, open the Object Browser tab page on the left and select the Find library parts option from the pop-up list. 8 Type computer as your keyword, select Contain keyword from the Find all files names which: pop-up list and hit Enter to start the search. 9 Select Computer Table 10 from the search results and hit OK to leave this dialog.
4 Switch on the Construction Grid Snap and the Grid display in the Standard toolbar . 5 Create a new Slab starting from the origin (x,y=0,0) and have it span over one grid unit in the x and y-directions.
Note: If you are not using a localized version of ArchiCAD 11, or if the default, English metric ArchiCAD 11 library is not loaded, the search result may vary. In this case, please select any desired table from the available Library Parts. 10 Switch on Gravity and select Gravity to slab in the Standard toolbar.
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11 Click above the previously created Slab in the 3D window to place the Computer Table on it. Feel free to move the table in 3D with the relevant feature of the Pet-Palette if you wish. 12 Open the Object Settings dialog again and search for library parts containing design in their name.
Lets add a monitor, a keyboard and a computer to the workstation design. 14 Switch back to the Floor Plan view and open the Object Settings dialog again, and type Apple for the keyword. 15 Place all the available Library Parts containing Apple on the existing table. These are a display, a Cube computer, a keyboard and a mouse. Arrange the new objects to the positions shown in the screenshot. 13 Select Design Chair 01 10 and place it on the Slab, with the Gravity feature on. Move and rotate the chair in 3D and create an arrangement similar to that on the screenshot.
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All these objects have been placed on our base Slab, thanks to the Gravity feature. Lets switch to the 3D view now, and elevate them up to the top of the desk. 16 Open the 3D view and select all the Apple computer parts in the 3D view. Activate the Arrow Tool and switch on the Quick Selection selection method. 17 Click any of the hotspots of the selected element, activate the Elevate option from the Pet-Palette and elevate them to the top of the existing table. The intelligent cursor will change to a checkmark as soon as any of the table hotspots are detected.
STEP 2. PLACING THE DESIGN VIEWS

ON LAYOUTS
U3D Presentation_02.mp4 Watch Movie Lets place the plan and the 3D views of the previously created design on a layout. 1 Switch to the Floor plan view, de-select all selected items (if any), right-click on an empty area and activate the Save View and Place on Layout option from the context menu. ArchiCAD will immediately switch to the Layout Book and the A.01 U3D Presentation layout will be displayed. 2 Place the plan view over the left area of the layout. 3 Select it and open its settings by activating Drawing Selection Settings from the context menu. 4 Adjust the drawing scale to 1:20 on the Properties tab page and hit OK to apply the settings.
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5 Move the drawing around the layout if necessary and use the Offset edge option in the Pet-Palette to adjust the frames to resemble the screenshot.
7 Select U3D File for the file-type and enter U3D Presentation for the file name and hit the Save button.
8 Right-click on an empty area in the 3D window and again select the Save View and Place on Layout option from the context menu. 9 Place the 3D view of the design next to the plan view on the previously used A.01 U3D Presentation layout in the Universal 3D Presentation Layout Book. 10 Zoom-out, select the 3D view, open its settings and enter 50% for magnification in the Properties tab page of the Drawing Settings dialog. 11 Adjust the drawing frame and re-position the drawing on the layout to resemble the screenshot.
This 2D plan view is already on the layout. However it is not informative and expressive on its own. Lets add the 3D view of the design as well. Since ArchiCAD supports the industry standard Universal 3D option, we will add not only a regular, static 3D view of the design, but enhance this view with some extras. Thanks to the Universal 3D (U3D) technology, we can enhance our Adobe Acrobat PDF documentation with some extra, interactive content. 6 Activate the 02 Perspective view from the Navigator-View Map and activate the File > Save As dialog. Define a path on your local machine (and remember this path, since you will need this file later on).
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STEP 3. PUBLISHING A 3D PDF FROM ARCHICAD

U3D Presentation_03.mp4 Watch Movie Now lets publish our layout in Adobes Portable Document Format (PDF) with smart Universal 3D content.
4 Drag-and-drop the A.01 U3D Presentation layout from the Layout Book list on the left to Publisher on the right. Select this layout and choose PDF from the Format dialog below. 5 Hit the Document Options button in the Format dialog and activate the PDF Options button in the Document Options dialogue.
Universal 3D
U3D is a new open file format for 3D data. The goal is a universal standard for three-dimensional data of all kinds, to facilitate data exchange. Universal 3D will simplify the transformation of complex 3D data into a format that can be streamed, compressed and viewed on affordable, nonproprietary software/hardware platforms while providing a high quality viewing experience. U3D was selected by Adobe as the native 3D format implemented within the Acrobat family of products. U3D allows viewers to navigate in the 3D model embedded in a PDF document. Please note that U3D technology is relatively new, and that at this time only small project models can be shared seamlessly using the Universal 3D format. Project models with relatively large numbers of polygons might result in lower navigation and display performance when opened as 3D PDF documents in Adobe Acrobat applications. 1 Open the Organizer from the Navigator palette and switch to Publisher Sets mode. 2 Activate the U3D Presentation Set from the Publisher-set Chooser pop-up list. 3 Open the Publisher Set Properties dialog by clicking the Publishing Properties button in the Organizer-Publisher. Make sure that the Save files publishing method is selected and define a publishing path on your local machine.
6 Checkmark the Embed 3D content option in the PDF Options dialog and browse to define the location of the previously saved U3D Presentation.u3d file on your local machine.
7 Hit OK twice, return to Publisher and hit the Publish button to save the layout in PDF format with embedded Universal 3D content on your local machine.
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8 Once the publishing is complete click Close in the Publishing dialogue.
10 Move the cursor over the 3D image on the right and notice that the cursor shape changes to a pointing hand indicating that Acrobat found additional content behind this conventional 3D rendering. 11 Click on the image now and notice how the content changes. A menu appears on the top of the view.
Now lets open the published PDF document with the free, cross-platform Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 (or later) application, and lets review the benefits of Universal 3D content. 9 Start Adobe Acrobat Reader 7 and open the previously published A.01 U3D Presentation.Pdf layout.
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12 Try out the different features of the menu bar by clicking them. Use the Rotate, Move and Zoom options to navigate. Hit the Views pop-up menu to save any custom view for later. You can also switch between perspective and axonometric projection, change the rendering mode of the model, enable extra light, modify the background color and even toggle cross-sections.
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ArchiCAD and Universal 3D technology enables designers to provide valuable additional 3D content and features for standard PDF sheets. The result will provide clients the sensation of 3D navigation in a regular PDF document and a fuller understanding of your design, even if they are not experienced in reading regular plan sections and other engineer-like drawings.
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Chapter 4: External reference files (Xrefs)
CHAPTER 4: EXTERNAL REFERENCE FILES (XREFS)

INTRODUCTION
In this training chapter we will present how to work with External Reference Files (Xrefs) in ArchiCAD. We will attach some external drawings to an ArchiCAD project and learn how to manage these Xrefs.
STEP 1: ATTACHING XREFS TO THE

PROJECT
NHS OFFICE_01.mp4 Watch Movie 1 Open the NHS OFFICE.PLA project archive file and select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog. Save the project as NHS OFFICE.PLN ArchiCAD Solo Project to your local computer. 2 Activate the 1 Floor entry in the Stories container of the Navigator-Project Map. Activate the Fit in window option to display the complete first floor of the project.
ArchiCAD provides advanced external reference file so-called Xref support out of the box. This allows us to attach external DWG and DXF files to the actual design project and makes enhanced collaboration with the extended design team possible using DWG and DXF design information.
We will attach two DWG files to the project as External Reference Files. Lets suppose that the electrical engineer is ready with the layout of the lighting fixtures in the ceiling. To be able to efficiently use this
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information we have been provided with not only the reflected ceiling plan with the position of the lighting fixtures but also with the electrical engineers simplified structural grid, which will allow us to coordinate the lighting fixtures layout.
Xrefs
External Reference Files (Xref) are similar to hotlinked modules (these will be discussed later, in a separate chapter of this guide), except that they are DXF or DWG files and not ArchiCAD project files. The External Reference File management system in ArchiCAD has been developed to streamline collaboration between architects who use ArchiCAD and engineers or consultants who use applications supporting DWG and DXF file formats. Externally referencing DWG and DXF files to the ArchiCAD project can be extremely useful when designers have to incorporate design information from external DWG-DXF sources during their everyday design development work, but when they do not necessarily want to permanently merge this information to the design project. The referenced DWG and DXF files will be displayed in the ArchiCAD project. Their layer structure will be also visible and editable. Architects are able to use ArchiCADs standard features when working on the design (the Smart Cursor will snap to the referenced drawing elements, etc.) External DWG and DXF Reference Files are typically used to provide information about the site plan (provided by the surveyor), pipe and machinery layouts of the HVAC systems provided by the building engineers, positioning of lighting fixtures in reflected ceiling plans provided by the electrical engineer, road and parking layout provided by the traffic engineer, and so on. The content of the External Referenced Files is continuously updated as the project design develops, so it is important to efficiently update the Referenced External content in the ArchiCAD project. As soon as a new version of the referenced DWG or DXF file is available from the engineers, ArchiCAD understands this and automatically updates the corresponding content in the project file so the latest data is always available.
As soon as the External Referenced Files are no longer needed, they can be easily detached from the ArchiCAD project. ArchiCAD works with External Reference Files in the same way as AutoCAD. You can attach and detach Xref files in ArchiCAD, unload and reload them, bind them to the project file, and view information about them. 3 Activate the File > External Content > Attach Xref command to open the Attach Xref dialog. 4 Click the Browse button and select the Electrical Grid.dwg file from the Xrefs folder and click Open to proceed. 5 In the Attach Xref dialog, make sure that: a Attachment is selected for Reference Type; b none of the Specify On-Screen radio buttons are checked at Insertion point;
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c Drawings own origin is selected for Anchor Point; d 0. 1 floor is selected for Place on story; e For editable import has been selected for Translator. Please note that we are using the very same DWG DXF Translators for attaching the External Reference File that we presented in a previous chapter of this guide. The Attach Xref dialog: a The Reference Type radio button determines how nested Xrefs will be handled. Attachment: All levels of nesting can be displayed in the Project file. Overlay: Nested Xrefs from the referenced file will not be visible in the Project. (Nesting occurs when you load an external reference to a file that has external references loaded to other files.) b The Insertion Point, Scale and Rotation options let you fine-tune the placement parameters of the external reference file. You can enter specific X and Y coordinates but you can also determine these coordinates by specifying them On Screen with the help of the cursor, relative to existing design elements on the plan. c Use the Anchor Point controls to define which point of the Xref the drawings placement will be based on. d Use the Place on story pop-up list to choose the story upon which to place the Xref. e Select the appropriate Translator to be used during the conversion. Please check out the DXF-DWG Import-Export chapter of this guide for further details. When you attach an External Reference File to the ArchiCAD design project, a layer will be created for it. The resulting layer names will have the following format: Xref_NAME|LAYER_NAME. For example, in the previous case, the layers Constru_57|0 and Constru_57|Construction Grid__F were added as new layers. 6 Once all the settings match those in the screenshot above, click Attach. If you do not have any AutoCAD .SHX files on your local computer, please click Skip All to proceed. The functions of these files are discussed in the first chapter of this training guide.
As you can see, the content of the Electrical Grid.dwg has been successfully Xref -ed to the design project. This simplified construction grid was used by the electrical engineer to coordinate the layout of the lighting fixtures across stories.
Lets continue by adding another Xref file, and attach the layout of the lighting fixtures in the reflected ceiling plan as designed by the electrical engineer. 7 Activate the File > External Content > Attach Xref command once again and this time select RCP Story 1.dwg from the Xref folder. 8 Set the options in the Attach Xref dialog the same way as before and click the Attach button to proceed. As you can see, the reflected ceiling plan of the first story has been successfully attached to the project.
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STEP 2. MANAGING XREFS

NHS OFFICE_02.mp4 Watch Movie ArchiCADs Xref Managr enables designers to review and manage all the Xrefs of the actual design project. 1 Activate the File > External Content > Xref Manager command to open the Xref Management dialog. The View Mode Buttons at the top determine how the list of attached Xref files is displayed: the left button will display all Xrefs in the order they were attached; the right view mode button will display attached Xrefs in a hierarchical tree structure. This also indicates nested relationships between Xrefs. If an attached file refers to other files, a + sign will appear on its left. Clicking the + sign reveals the names of the associated files. 2 Add another Xref by clicking the Attach button. The Attach Xref dialog will open. Attach Lease Space Story 1.dwg using the very same settings as earlier. As you can see, the leasing space information is immediately visible on the floor plan. The leasing space information can be useful from time to time, but we might not want to display it on the plan at all times. Pretend that we do not need the reflected ceiling plan any longer, since the client decided to use an entirely different lighting system. So the ceiling grid will be modified.
9 Zoom in to the floor plan and activate the Arrow Tool and also make sure that Quick Selection is also activated.
10 Move the cursor over the lines of the electrical grid and the RCP elements, and notice that both are part of an external reference file (Xref).
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6 Click the Remove Xref s Attributes button to remove all these attributes. 7 Select the Electrical Grid Xref entry from the list and click the Bind button to merge its entire content to the project.
At the same time, it would be desirable to make the electrical grid layout an integral part of the design project, since this grid layout has been provided by the electrical engineer, and will be the same for the new lighting fixture distribution as well. 3 Activate File > External Content > Xref Manager once again to display the Xref Management dialog. 4 Select the Lease Space Story 1 Xref entry from the list and click the Unload button to temporary unload it or hide it for the time being. 5 Select the RCP Story 1 Xref entry from the list and click the Detach button to remove it from the project. ArchiCAD will immediately ask you if you also wish to remove i.e., delete all the corresponding attributes of the RCP Xref drawing (layers, linetypes and fills) from the project.
8 Click the Show Log button to review the latest actions and then click OK to execute these Xref modifications. The result will be immediately visible on the screen: the RCP plan and the Lease Space information have disappeared from the plan, and the construction grid layout has been merged to the project.
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Note: Clicking the Bind button will merge the content of the external reference to the Project and delete the external reference to the file from the list. Binding will make all instances of the Reference File part of the Project. ArchiCAD cannot bind only one instance of any given Xref file. When you bind an Xref, the layer names of the Xref will reflect the change, taking on following format: Xref_NAME $ NUMBER $ LAYER_NAME. Please keep in mind that all layers of the external referenced drawings will be displayed in ArchiCADs Layer Settings dialog (all will be locked). This enables architects to show only certain layers of the external drawings and hide all unwanted layers, even if the drawing is not bound to the project. The following screenshots presents a Layer Settings dialog at the beginning of the current step of this exercise, and one at the end.
STEP 3. NESTED EXTERNAL REFERENCE FILES

NHS OFFICE_03.mp4 Watch Movie Lets continue with the previous exercise and suppose that a new set of DWG drawings has arrived from the consulting engineers. Some of them contain Nested External Reference Files. We received an update of the lease space arrangement, but the new drawing has a different file name and is located in a different folder. Lets see how we can update this external file attachment, while also keeping the previous version of the DWG file. Obviously: changing the file name and overwriting the existing DWG file would be a possible solution. In this case, however we would lose the content of the original file, which might be necessary for future design evaluation; attaching the updated leasing space drawing as a new reference file would be another option, but in this case we need to pay attention to the Attach Xref dialog and make sure that the insertion point, scale, rotation, etc., are correct. We will present another alternative solution to solve this update situation. 1 Activate the File > External Content > Xref Manager command to open the Xref Management dialog. 2 Select the existing Lease Space Story 1, which is currently unloaded. We will specify a new source for this entry, while leaving all other configuration unchanged. 3 Click the Browse button to open the Directory dialog box and to select a new source file for this drawing. 4 Browse, and open the Lease Space Story 1 Update.dwg file in the Updated Xrefs folder of this exercise and click Open to proceed.
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5 Click the Reload button in the Xref Management dialog. ArchiCAD will reload the content from the new file, which will then be associated with the given Xref name. 6 Click OK to return to the floor plan and notice that the updated lease space plan is immediately visible. This feature is particularly useful when you have an Xref in your project whose original file was changed and saved under a new name. There is no need to re-configure the attachment settings (insertion point, scale, rotation, translator, etc.)
Suppose we also received an updated reflected ceiling plan with a new layout of the lighting fixtures. The RCP layout, however, contains nested Xrefs (other External Reference File attachments). Lets see how can we integrate this information into the design project. 7 Activate the File > External Content > Xref Manager command to open the Xref Management dialog, and switch to tree view. The right view mode button will display attached Xrefs in a hierarchical tree structure. Since DWG files used as external references can also contain additional external references, nesting can occur. This nesting can be quite complex, reaching down several levels. The hierarchical view mode lets you see which files refer to other external files, indicating what should load into the project when attaching an External Reference File. If an attached file refers to other files, a + sign will appear on its left. Clicking the + sign reveals the names of the associated files. 8 Click the Attach button to attach the new RCP design to the project. Browse and select the RCP Story1-Update 2B.dwg file from the Updated Xrefs folder of this exercise and click Open to proceed.
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9 Specify the very same settings as before in the Attach Xref dialog: a select Attachment for reference type; b make sure that all On-Screen radio buttons are unchecked; c use the Drawings own origin; d place the Xref on the 0. 1 floor; e use For editable import Translator. f Finally, click Attach to proceed.
11 Click OK to return to the floor plan and to investigate the updated RCP design as well as the nested Xref content (bathroom fixtures, stairs and furniture).
Please note that we selected Attachment for Reference type, since we wish to display all levels of nesting in the project file. Selecting the Overlay option would result in the nested Xrefs from the referenced file not being visible in the project. 10 The Xref Management dialog displays not only the new Reference File for the external ceiling plan, but also all the corresponding nested Xrefs as well.
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Updating Xrefs:
If a newer version of an existing Xref is available, you can simply overwrite the existing file with the new content in the appropriate folder. In this case you will need to make sure that the file names are identical. In the case of project hotlinks as well as hotlinked modules, ArchiCAD immediately informs you when the source content is updated and automatically updates the design project as well (this will be presented in the following chapters of this training guide). For Xrefs, however, this update is not automatic. If a newer version of an External Referenced Drawing is available, you need to open the Xref Management dialog, select the appropriate Xref in the list, and click the Reload button to update the content in the project as well. This means that architects similarly to AutoCAD users need to update Xref content manually.
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Chapter 5: Project Hotlinks
CHAPTER 5: PROJECT HOTLINKS

INTRODUCTION
In this training chapter we will present how to insert external drawings or documents (Project Hotlinks) to the ArchiCAD design project (model views as well as layouts). The appearance of these drawings can be fully customized and their content is automatically updated as soon as their external sources are modified. Since ArchiCAD always stores their content in the project design database, their latest available stage will be always displayed in the project, even if their external sources are temporarily unavailable. Project hotlinks can be internal ArchiCAD views as well as external files of various types and formats that have been placed into the actual project project. Hotlinked or imported drawings can be set to update automatically to reflect all changes in the source file. Their size, scale and framing options can be customized. In this chapter we will present how easy it is to create a design development set about an elevator design that is ready to be discussed with the engineers or with the client.
STEP 1: HOTLINKED DRAWINGS IN THE MODEL VIEW

NHS OFFICE_01.mp4 Watch Movie Hotlinked drawings placed into ArchiCADs Model Views can be any supported external files (such as DWG, PDF files and image files). However they cannot include ArchiCAD Views. We would like to add some external information to this project to help to work out the construction details of the elevators. 1 Open the NHS OFFICE.PLA project archive file and select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog. Save the project as NHS OFFICE.PLN ArchiCAD Solo Project to your local computer. 2 Activate the 1 Model view entry from the Project Hotlinks folder of the Navigator-View Map and make sure that the Hotlinked Drawings layer is selected. 3 Click once on the Drawing Tool in the Toolbox to activate this tool to place external hotlinked content into the Model View of the current project. 4 Click next to the elevators on the empty floor plan view with the cursor to select the anchor point of the new hotlinked content. Alternatively, use the File > External Content > Place External Drawing command to access the same Place Drawing dialog box.
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5 Make sure that All Available Types are enabled in the Link To dialog. Also note the variety of file types that can be inserted into the Model View of the project. 6 Browse the External Files folder on your local machine and select Machine Room Detail.dwg file for insertion. Click Open to proceed. As you can see, the drawing is immediately visible on the screen, but its scale still needs to be adjusted. 8 Select the new drawing on the floor plan and open its Settings dialog and enter 1:2 for Drawing Scale on the Properties tab page. Notice that the Magnification value has changed to 50.00.
The External Drawing File contains construction specifications provided by the manufacturer regarding how to design the elevator machinery room and its surroundings. 7 The Place of Drawings dialog will ask you to specify the unit conversion of the DWG drawing. Select 1 meter from the pop-up list and click Place to proceed. The external drawing is placed with the anchor point that you selected in Drawing Settings dialog (by default, its center point).
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9 Click OK to leave the dialog and note the results of the scale adjustments on the floor plan.
The previously described method could be used to place the external hotlinked drawing as an underlay and to modify the current elevator shaft and add the necessary machinery room in accordance with this. Lets continue by adding the manufacturers corresponding specifications from a PDF document. 10 Click again on the empty area of the floor plan (while still having the Drawing Tool activated) to open the Link To dialog. 11 Select the Hydraulic Elevators.pdf from the External Files folder and click Open to proceed. The selected PDF document contains multiple pages, but only page 6 is relevant for us, so lets insert this page only on the floor plan. 12 Select page six in the Place PDF page dialog and click the Place button to place it in the Model View.
Hotlinked external drawings placed in ArchiCADs Model have some advantages over regular images (placed with the Figure tool), since external hotlinked drawings retain their source file and therefore can be automatically updated if the source content changes. Now we have all the necessary information available in the floor plan view. We are ready to continue the design development of the elevator shaft and machinery room. This is a nice and elegant way to do your everyday design development work.
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STEP 2: HOTLINKED DRAWINGS IN THE LAYOUT BOOK

NHS OFFICE_02.mp4 Watch Movie Hotlinked drawings placed onto ArchiCADs Layouts can include existing ArchiCAD views (from the current project file and other project files), as well as all other supported external files (such as DWG, PDF and various raster image files). Lets continue with the previous example and place the previous floor plan view on a layout and add some more hotlinked external content. 1 Activate the context menu on the Floor Plan View (left-click over an empty area) and select the Save View and Place on Layout option.
elevator specifications sheet. We will need only the elevator area and the previously added drawings. 3 Select the floor plan drawing and click its perimeter with the mouse. Use the Offset Edge option in the Pet Palette to adjust all four drawing frames, so that only the necessary part of the floor plan will be visible. 4 Place it at the top left area of the layout.
ArchiCAD will immediately switch to the Layout Book and the cursor shape will change, indicating that you are ready to place the previously displayed Floor Plan View on the currently empty A01.1 Elevator Specifications Layout Sheet in the Project Hotlinks subset. 2 Click anywhere on the layout to place the previously edited 1 Model view here. As you can see, the floor plan view is larger than the current layout. However, we will not need the entire floor plan to develop our
Lets proceed and add some more external hotlinked drawings on this layout. We received a hoistway detail and specifications from a subcontractor as a plotter file. There is also an existing elevator door-detail in a DXF file and some raster images. All these drawings are in different scales and in different formats. 5 Click on the empty are of the layout with the mouse while the Drawing Tool is still activated (the very same way you did before). 6 The Place Drawing dialog appears. As you can see, there are two options: place an existing, internal model View on the layout (as we placed the 1 Model view floor plan before), or choose an external file. 7 Select the Link drawing to an external source option and click Browse to select the drawing file.
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8 Make sure that All Available Types are enabled and then select the Hoistway detail.plt file from the External Files folder and click Open to proceed. 9 Click on an empty space on the layout to place the hoist detail plotter file and zoom out. As you can see, this drawing is too small for this layout, so we need to change its scale/magnification. 10 Select the new drawing and open its Settings dialog. Change the drawing scale to 2:1 and notice that the magnification value automatically changed to 200.00.
12 Click on an empty area of the Layout Book (while the Drawing Tool is still selected) and once again use the External Source to place the next drawing. 13 Select Elevator Door Detail.dxf from the list and set the Set value of 1 Drawing unit in 1 meter in the Place of Drawings dialogue. (Click Skip All if the Locate simplex.shx dialog comes up, since we did not receive this .shx file from the subcontractor.) 14 Zoom out and notice that the elevator door detail is much larger than our layout, so we need to change its scale/magnification to reduce its size. 15 Select the door detail and open its Settings dialog. Change the Drawing Scale to 1:10 (the magnification automatically changes to 10%) and click OK to proceed. Lets continue by adding a couple of raster image files (photos and figures) to the layout. 16 Add the external Elevator Photo.jpg and also the Explanation Figure.png images to the lower right area of the layout. Set the Magnification value to 150% of the second figure. The layout should look like the following screenshot:
11 Click OK to proceed, and move this drawing toward the lower corner of the layout. Lets continue by placing the Elevator Door Detail drawing, which is available in a DXF file.
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19 Click OK to leave this dialog and notice the drawing titles on the layout. Now all the drawings have titles. However, the elevator photo and the explanation figure displayed scales underneath. This is irrelevant in this case, so we should hide these. 20 Select the Elevator Photo and the Explanation Figure with the Arrow Tool and open the Title page of their Settings dialog. 21 Uncheck the Show Drawing Scale radio button in the list and notice that the display has changed to Off . Click OK to proceed.
Notice that none of the drawings and images have titles. This can be easily fixed. 17 Select all the drawings on the layout with the Arrow Tool and open the Drawing Settings dialog. 18 Open the Title tab page and select Basic Drawing Title from the pop-up list. Set the font size to 10 mm, uncheck Uniform Symbol Pens and select blue for pen-color.
Notice that the Scale value has been removed from the title of the raster images.
22 Once you are done, save and close this ArchiCAD project file.
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STEP 3: UPDATING AND MANAGING PROJECT HOTLINKS

NHS OFFICE_03.mp4 Watch Movie Lets now suppose that that after a couple of days some of the external project hotlinks are updated. For instance, we received a new PDF catalogue, a new photograph and an explanation figure from the manufacturer. If all these new files are saved from the very same directory and with the very same names as the previous ones (i.e., older files are overwritten with the new ones) then ArchiCAD will understand the change and immediately inform us. 1 Change the content (or at least the creation date) of the previously inserted Hydraulic Elevators.pdf document, the Elevator Photo.jpg, and the Explanation Figure.png raster image files on your computer. 2 Open the previous ArchiCAD training project again and notice the Update Drawings dialog. This lists all the modified project hotlinks.
3 Click the Open Drawing Manager button to display the Drawing Manager of ArchiCAD. You can also activate File > External Content > Drawing Manager to open ArchiCADs Drawing Manager at any time.
Notice that all the previously inserted project hotlinks are listed here, and the modified drawings are indicated in the list. Drawing Manager provides various options to manage external hotlinked content. 4 Select Hydraulic Elevator.pdf in the list, and click the Update button to update this drawing in the ArchiCAD project from its source file on your computer. Notice how its status also changes in the Drawing Manager (its content on the Layout Sheet also changes). 5 Select the Elevator Photo.jpg from the list and click the Chain button to re-link this drawing and to read the image from a new source file. Select the Elevator Photo 2.jpg image from the External Files folder on your computer.
You can choose to Update All content and ArchiCAD will update all the linked contents. You can also choose to Skip All if you do not want to decide about the update at this moment. The Drawing Manager contains all the most important information about hotlinked external files, and it also provides various updating and editing options for hotlinks.
Re-linking an existing project hotlink to a new content source can be useful if you wish to keep all the previously defined drawing settings
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and drawing positions in the project (e.g., drawing title, scale, etc.) but you wish to change drawing content. As soon as you have provided a new hotlink to this ArchiCAD project hotlink, the Drawing Manager will immediately change the Status and update all the relevant information. 6 Click the Settings button while the new Elevator Photo 2.jpg is selected. This will immediately display its Drawing Settings. Change the Magnification value to 125.00, since the new photo is slightly larger than the previous one.
As another option you can use the Delete button to delete any of the hotlinks from the current project. This will permanently remove the hotlinked drawing content from the design project. 8 Close Drawing Manager and open the previously created layout sheet and note the updates. Select the Explanation Figure and note that its status is indicated as Embedded (i.e., not hotlinked anymore).
7 Select the Explanation Figure item in the Drawing Manager and click the Chain icon crossed out button to break its hotlink. Click the Break Link button to confirm the operation.
Project Hotlinks or external drawings stay linked to the ArchiCAD design project. ArchiCAD immediately senses if their source content changes and provides the possibility to update their content automatically or manually. ArchiCADs Drawing Manager provides all necessary and up-to-date information and various options to manage hotlinked content.
All the hotlinked external drawing files are stored in the ArchiCAD Project File. This means that even if their source content is not available, ArchiCAD will store and display their latest available versions in the project. The very same happens if you intentionally break a project hotlink: ArchiCAD will display its Embedded copy (or last updated version) in the project.
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Chapter 6: Hotlinked Modules
CHAPTER 6: HOTLINKED MODULES

INTRODUCTION
In this training chapter we will present how to work with hotlinked modules and save considerable time and management effort on large projects consisting of typical, repetitive units (hotels, hospitals). In this exercise we will build a multistory building using various hotlinked module design elements and will explain their functionality. Using Hotlinked Modules allows you to insert the contents of external ArchiCAD files (sources) into the currently open Project (host). Module elements usually easy-to-handle smaller design units inserted into the host follow all modifications of the source files.
Hotlinked Modules
A Hotlink is a logical pointer to a single story of an external source file, called a Module. A Module is a set of construction elements placed on the Floor Plan using a Hotlink. Elements belonging to a selected Module will have hollow square marks on their hotspots. The source file can be an ArchiCAD Solo Project, a Team Project or a Module File. The host file can include any number of Hotlinks. The term Module File (which refers to an ArchiCAD file type with a .mod extension) is not equivalent to the term Module (which refers to a smaller, typical design unit).
Module files (.mod file types) are a simplified type of ArchiCAD project file. They contain no Section or Elevation data, active Library or preferences information, and only refer to attributes actually used by their elements. Hotlinked Modules can be used, for example, to manage the repetitive structures of buildings such as hotels or offices with a large number of identical rooms by modifying all instances in a single step. Moreover, the same structures can be used in multiple Projects. This is a good way to subdivide large Projects into easier-to-handle smaller files. Hotlinked ArchiCAD module project files are efficient to use when working on large design projects with repetitive units such as hospitals, hotels, office buildings, etc.
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If you use a localized version of ArchiCAD, you are free to change the active library and add the available ArchiCAD Library 10 from your local computer to the project. (Use the File > Libraries and Objects > Library Manager dialog if necessary.) Please note that if you use a localized ArchiCAD library, the library search results might differ from the results described in this guide. As you can see in the Navigator-Project Map / Stories folder, this project already has a Ground Floor and four additional stories. However, all these stories are completely empty. 2 Activate the Navigator-View Map / Hotlinked Modules / 01 Plan overview pre-set view to switch to the Ground Floor. 3 Activate the Design > Structural Grid command to create a multistory structural grid with load-bearing elements in the currently open Host design project. 4 Click the Form and Size tab-page and adjust all the options as seen on the screenshot below. Hotlinks are handy when the architectural design project has numerous typical units, rooms or blocks, and the design development of these units is handled with different architects. Using ArchiCADs hotlinked modules functionality ensures that the master (or host) project file always and automatically updates when the design of the typical units are changed.
STEP 1: SETTING UP THE HOST PROJECT

Host Project_01.mp4 Watch Movie Lets set up the host project by creating a multistory load-bearing frame using ArchiCADs Structural Grid. 1 Open the Host Project Start.pla project file, select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog and save the project as an ArchiCAD Solo Project on your local machine using the same file name.
Select the Orthogonal Grid button to create a rectangular structural grid and select the button to place the grid directly on the plan, without any rotation. Select the bottom-left corner as
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the anchor point of the grid. Make sure that the Place Grid and Elements on all Stories option in checked: this will ensure that the entire load-bearing frame which we can place automatically with the grid will be present on all stories without any extra work or effort. In the Spacing dialog, enter 4.80m for all the Vertical grid lines, and hit the Insert button to add more vertical grid-lines. We need nine vertical grid-lines altogether. In the Horizontal Grid Lines dialog, enter values as follows: X1 < 4.80m > X2 < 3.60m > X3 < 2.40m > X4 < 3.60m > X5 < 4.80m > X6. 5 Click the Attributes and Elements tab-page and adjust all the options as seen on the screenshot below.
6 Hit OK now and click the Origin (x,y = 0,0) on the floor plan it is marked with a bold x to place the insertion point of the structural grid.
Because we checkmarked the Place Grid and Elements on all stories option in the Structural Grid dialog, ArchiCAD automatically generated elements (columns, beams and dimension chains) on not only the currently active Ground Floor, but also on all other existing stories to speed up the work. 7 Click Continue in the Information dialog. This dialog warns you about the previously described issue: beams, columns and dimension chains as parts of the structural grid have been placed not only on the active story but also on all other stories of the project. Make sure that all the three element types (that is all Columns, Beams and Dimension Chains) are selected their buttons are depressed in order to generate these elements along with the structural grid lines. Checkmark the bottom and the left options in Create Markers.
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8 Open the 3D window by activating the 02 Perspective view from the Hotlinked Modules folder of the Navigator-View Map to display the multistory structural grid in 3D.
If you have selected elements in the floor plan of the ArchiCAD design project, you can save these selected elements as a Module. In this case only the selected elements will be included in the Module, and not the entire design project. You can copy elements from several stories by using the Marquee tools multistory option. 12 Make sure that the Change the Hotlink to the saved file option is NOT checkmarked.
9 Return to the Floor Plan window and make sure that the Suspend Group button is not activated (not depressed). The result will be that all the grouped elements will be automatically selected whenever any of the group members is selected. 10 Select the new structural grid by Shift-Clicking (notice that all grid lines and markers are also automatically selected). 11 Activate the File > External Content > Save Selection as Module option to save the selected gridlines as an external ArchiCAD module file and enter Structural Grid Lines.mod for its name.
If this option is check-marked, ArchiCAD will not only save the selection-set as a module file but will also replace the elements in the selection set with the hotlinked module that has been created from them. This will be explained and presented in a subsequent section. Please note that if the selection that you wish to save as a module contains elements that cannot be modified (i.e., that or locked, located on a locked layer, or reserved by another) and the Change the Hotlink to the saved file checkbox is marked, an alert will warn you. This is common in Teamwork project, which we will discuss in a subsequent chapter. You will then have the choice of either creating the module with the editable elements only (and at the same time replacing the selected elements with this module), or canceling the operation altogether. Saving the Grid lines as an external module will help other members of the team to work on typical units of the design and to use this master gridline to coordinate their work. 13 File > Save this project now by entering Host Project.pln as the file name, and make sure that the ArchiCAD Solo Project format is selected. 14 Activate the File > Close command to close this project.
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STEP 2: CREATING A TYPICAL DESIGN

MODULE UNIT
Typical Unit A_01.mp4 Watch Movie In this step we will create a typical design unit in this case a design of a simple room with the help of the previously created structural grid module. Lets assume now that this design is developed by another member of the design team on another computer, perhaps even in another studio. 1 Open the Typical Unit Type A.pln file. Notice that this project is completely empty. 2 Activate the File > External Content > Place Hotlinked Module command to open the Place Module dialog. 3 Hit the Choose Hotlink button and then the New Hotlink button and enable Module File in the New Hotlink dialog. 4 Browse the previously saved Structural Grid Lines.mod file and hit the Select button to link it to the current project. 5 Select the Ground Floor Level and hit OK in the Choose Hotlink dialog. Then hit the Place Module button in the Place Module dialog. 6 Make sure that the Paste to Original Location and Keep Current View options are selected in the Pasting dialog.
7 Click outside the marquee to finalize the module placement. Lets start to develop a typical room design using the structural grid. We will add some walls and openings. You can follow the steps below, but you are also free to modify the proposed design in accordance with your own tastes! 8 Add a couple of walls along the gridlines and insert a few openings as presented in the screenshot. Use a wall width of 30cm and a wall height of 2.70cm and dont forget to activate Center Wall Construction Method.
Make sure that all wall intersections are accurate, and that the external walls of the unit are drawn using the intersection of the grid lines and the Center Wall Construction Method. We will soon insert and multiply these typical units in the host project, so do not create an external, vertical wall along the second vertical grid line, since this wall will be provided by the second unit when multiplied. 9 Save and close this project using the File > Save and then the File > Close options from the main menu.
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STEP 3: DESIGNING A TYPICAL

BATHROOM MODULE UNIT
Bathroom Unit_01.mp4 Watch Movie In this step we will create a typical bathroom unit. We can assume that this project is being developed by yet another member of the team, at another location. 1 Open the Bathroom Unit.pln file and notice that this project is completely empty. To be able to start designing the bathroom unit, we need to have some data about the existing structural grid and some information about the typical room design. The easiest way to effectively gather and automatically update such project information is to insert the previously created Typical Unit into the current project as a hot-linked project module. 2 Activate the File > External Content > Place Hotlinked Module command to open the Place Module dialog. 3 Hit the Choose Hotlink button and then New Hotlink and select ArchiCAD solo project type from the Enable: pop-up list. 4 Select the previously created Typical Unit A.pln in the New Hotlink dialog, and hit OK in Choose Hotlink. Make sure that the Ground Floor Level will be inserted. Finally, place this module into the current project with the Place Module button. 5 In the Pasting dialog, make sure that the Paste to Original Location and Zoom to Pasted Elements options are selected. Hit the Paste button.
6 Click outside the marquee to finalize the module placement. As you can see, in one step we have inserted not only the design of the previously created typical unit, but also the structural grid, even though we did not separately insert this module into the current Bathroom Unit project. The reason for this is that ArchiCAD is able to handle so-called nested modules (i.e., modules inserted into other modules). The Structural Grid module is a nested module in the Typical Unit A project. So, when we insert the Typical unit into the current bathroom design, the structural grid as a nested module will also be inserted. The presence of nested modules can be managed. 7 Activate the File > External Content > Hotlink Manager dialog to manage the presence of Hotlinks in the current project. 8 Click to select the Typical Unit A.pln module in the list and notice that its status is OK. 9 Checkmark the Skip Nested Modules option and notice that the status of the typical unit has been changed to Update. Hit OK to proceed.
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STEP 4: COMPILING ALL DESIGN

MODULES INTO THE HOST PROJECT
Host Project_02.mp4 Watch Movie Now we will insert several copies of the previously created typical room design module and the bathroom module into the host project. 1 Open the previously saved Host Project Start.pln ArchiCAD file, and activate 0. Ground Floor in the Navigator Project Map. 2 Activate File > External Content > Place Hotlinked Module > Choose Hotlink and select the Typical Unit A.pln project file as your hotlinked module. 3 Hit the Place Module button and select 0. Ground Floor in the Choose Story dialog. Place it on the Ground Floor of the currently open host project. 4 Select Paste to Original Location and Keep Current View in the Pasting dialog and place the module on the ground floor. 5 Repeat the same steps to insert the previously created Bathroom modul.pln. Hotlink the Ground Floor Level of this module as well. 6 Activate File > External Content > Hotlink Manager and checkmark the Skip Nested Modules option for both hotlinks to avoid duplicated content in the Source project file. Hit OK to leave this dialog. 7 ShiftClick both modules on the ground floor to select them and notice that the selection hotspots are rectangular to indicate hotlinks.
10 Notice that the hotlinked content on the floor plan changed immediately. Now only the Typical Module A is visible, and the Structural Grid being a nested module disappeared. Lets continue designing and create a bathroom unit using the geometry information provided by the hotlinked typical design. 11 Create a partition wall as seen in the screenshot. Then add a door to the new partition wall as shown in the screenshot. 12 Add a basin, a bathtub, a WC unit and some fill for the floor representing tiles, just like in the attached screenshot. You are free to create a different bathroom arrangement and design. 13 Save and close the Bathroom Unit project file.
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8 Activate the Edit > Move > Multiply command, select the Drag action and enter 7 for number of Increment copies.
9 Define the drag reference point by clicking the end node of the first vertical grid line with the intelligent cursor. Then click the end node of the second grid line: this will serve as the drag-to reference point. There will be eight identical copies of the room and the bathroom hot-linked module units on the floor plan, matching the axes of the grid lines.
Lets create now an extra external wall at the last vertical gridline, since the typical design unit does not have this wall on purpose. 10 Zoom-in to the top-left corner of the design and use the Pipette to load the properties of the external wall of the typical room design module. 11 Draw a new vertical wall along the last vertical structural grid line with the help of the Intelligent Cursor Notice that ArchiCAD will automatically create clear wall intersections not only between the walls of different external hot-linked module files, but also between the structural elements of the host project and the external hot-linked projects. This provides designers with more time to focus on design. ArchiCAD automatically ensures the quality of the documentation. 12 Activate the Slab Tool, open its settings and create a 30cm thick Slab using the Rectangular Geometry Method. You can do this by clicking the top-left and bottom-right corners of the columns on the current story. 13 Activate Design > Story Settings and select the Ground floor in the Story list.
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14 Uncheck All Types in the Edit Elements of Selected Story and check only Wall, Object, Slab and Fill in the element list. Hit the Copy All button. 15 Select First Story in the list above and hit the Paste Selected Types button. Repeat this for all the other stories above. Notice that the Event List on the right lists all the actions.
STEP 5: AUTOMATIC UPDATE

Lets further develop the design of the typical units and explore the immediate and automatic updating of their content in the host project file. 1 To further develop the design, open the Typical Unit A.pln project file again using the File > Open option. 2 Activate Special Snap Points and select Divisions (3) from the pop-up list. 3 Activate the Window tool and select a window from the library (in this example we will use a regular double sash window. 4 Insert two windows along the external perimeter of the horizontal wall of the typical unit with the help of the Special Snap Points and the Intelligent Cursor.
16 Once you are done, open the 3D window to display your work. Do this by activating the 02 Prespective view from the Hotlinked Modules folder of the Navigator-View Map. It is clearly visible that the typical units are now placed across all the stories of the host project. However, there are no openings in the walls. 17 Save and Close the Host Project.
5 Save this Typical Unit A design project and open the Host Project Start.pln project file. ArchiCAD will immediately understand that some of the hotlinked content has been modified and prompt you for an update. 6 Click the Update button in the warning dialog to automatically update all hotlink instances in the project.
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Notice that the floor plan was immediately updated with the modified typical unit design. 7 Switch to the 3D window again and notice that the typical units on each floor were automatically updated with the latest design.
Feel free to complete the empty spaces with your own hotlinked external designs!
Missing Hotlinks:
All the hotlinked module files are stored within the ArchiCAD design project. This means that all the latest available stages of the external hotlinked modules will be always visible in the ArchiCAD host project, even if their source files are temporarily unavailable. ArchiCAD will immediately warn you if you open a design project with missing hotlinks.
After selecting a missing hotlink in the list you have different options: Click the Change Hotlink button to modify the link and point to another available external project file; Click the Save As Files button to create a new Module file with the currently available content of the missing hotlink. By checking a box in the Save as dialog box, you can even switch the hotlink to the newly created file. This way, you can restore missing files from the host file. Click the Break Hotlink button to break the link between the original file(s) and the instances placed in your Project. The elements that make up the module will then be incorporated as plain elements and will become individually editable. Click the Delete button to break the hotlink and delete all its instances placed in your host project.
Please note:
If the Modules Master Layer is locked, the Break and Delete operations will have no effect. Unused Hotlinks will not be saved with the Project, but will be available for placing Modules even after closing the Project. This is so until the next time you choose New and Reset, or quit ArchiCAD.
The Hotlink Manager will indicate missing hotlinks. It also provides different options for handling such missing external project files.
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Chapter 7: Project Mark-Up
CHAPTER 7: PROJECT MARK-UP

In this training chapter we will present how to use ArchiCADs Project Mark-Up (redlining functionality) to suggest design correction, open discussions about design alternatives or review design proposals.
STEP 1: CREATING A NEW MARK-UP

ENTRY
NHS OFFICE_01.mp4 Watch Movie Lets suppose that a dedicated project architect is responsible for all the architectural design development in this project and a team leader or chief designer is reviewing the work. Using traditional means this would require printing or plotting certain areas of the design twice a week. The chief designer would use a red pen and indicate suggestions on the print out. The project architect would then process this information. This conventional method is cumbersome and takes a great deal time and paper. There is always a chance that not all the suggestions will be noticed, especially when there are numerous sheets. ArchiCAD provides an elegant, streamlined and paperless solution for this collaboration issue. 1 Open the NHS OFFICE.PLA project archive file and select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog. Save the project as NHS OFFICE.PLN ArchiCAD Solo Project to your local computer. 2 Activate the 1 Mark-Up entry in the Navigator-View Map to display only the staircase and elevator area of the floor plan. The chief designer had a meeting with the client. It turns out that the office area needs to be modified, since the client requested that a coffee machine be placed in the elevator area. The chief architect will create a new Mark-Up entry in the design to pass this information to the project architect.
ArchiCADs Project Mark-Up is an advanced collaboration tool to facilitate communication between designers throughout the design development stage of the project. It enables architects to point out redline problematic design elements, add new elements, open discussions and manage change history. In the following exercise we will present how can designers benefit from ArchiCADs Mark-Up tools and how to facilitate a design discussion and consider alternative design opinions. We will use a practical example, where the chief designer and the project architect are discussing a design request of the client.
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3 Activate the Options > Element Attributes > Mark-Up Styles command to open the Mark-Up Styles dialog to manage Mark-Up styles and attributes. 4 Click the New button to create a new Mark-Up style and enter Client Request for the name. Define Pen 88 for Correction Elements, and Pen 85 for Highlighted Elements.
Please note that it is also possible to import project Mark-Up information from the Project Reviewer, using an external DWF file. This option will be explained in the next chapter of this guide. 8 Notice that a new Mark-Up Entry has been immediately added to the Mark-Up Entries list: all the corresponding details are visible here.
5 Activate the Document > Mark-Up Tools command to display the Mark-Up palette on the screen. The Mark-Up palette collects all the tools necessary to create, edit and manage discussions in the design project. 6 Open the Mark-Up Entries tab page and click the Add Entry button to add a new Mark-Up Entry. 7 In the New Mark-Up Entry dialog enter Coffee Machine as the name, select the previously added Client Request for Style, and checkmark the Create New Mark-Up Entry for Scratch and the Start New Mark-Up Thread radio buttons.
9 Activate the Start Correction (redlining) mode by pressing its button in the Mark-Up Tools dialog. The result will be that all new elements you now add to the project will be part of the new Mark-Up Entry, and they will be drawn in the previously defined Correction color (Pen 88 in our case).
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Now in the name of the chief designer lets indicate the clients requested change on the first floor plan. 10 Pick-up the settings of the existing gypsum-board partition wall from the floor plan using the eye-dropper (Option+click or Alt+click) on the wall. 11 Create two new walls as shown on the screenshot and notice that these walls are drawn in the previously defined correction pen-color.
12 Activate the Arrow tool and select the necessary elements (walls and opening) that need to be modified. 13 Notice that as soon as you selected the first existing element, four buttons (Turn into Corrections, Remove Corrections, Highlight Elements and the Remove Highlight) were activated in the Mark-Up Tools tab page. You are able to add as well as remove any elements from either group. All you need to do is select the element and click the necessary button. ArchiCAD makes it possible for you to add these selected elements to the Corrections group and turn their colors to red (pen 88). Or you can just highlight them (using pen 85). Lets just highlight these selected elements for now and explain the situation to the project architect by adding a text note to this Mark-Up Entry. 14 Click the Highlight Elements button and notice that the color of the selected elements has immediately changed. Notice that all the correction and highlights buttons have been deactivated, since no element is selected at the moment.
Lets also indicate that some existing walls need to be modified.
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15 Open the Tag and Discussion tab page in the Mark-Up Tools palette. Enter Susanna, please modify this area to be able to place a coffee machine here! and click the Place on Plan button to place this Tag Text on the floor plan.
16 Activate the Object Tool and open its settings dialog. Search the loaded libraries by entering the keyword cloud, and select Redline Cloud Rect 10 from the list. Place this cloud on the plan as part of the correction and resize the cloud if necessary.
Traditionally a Redlining Cloud would be also drawn with red pencil on the drawing, indicating the place of the correction. Lets add a redlining cloud from the ArchiCAD library.
Another possible option is to open a discussion about the current design issue. Discussions make it possible to enter longer texts. These text entries are kept in the Markup discussion list, which can be opened at any time by any of the designers. 17 Click the Add Comment button to add a new comment to the Mark-Up discussion, and enter a detailed explanation about the current change request: I had a meeting with the client, and it turned out that he wants to place a coffee machine on every floor, next to the elevators. Please hide the column in this space with a fin-wall!
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The Mark-Up Entries tab page lists all markup entries in the project by their location in the project map. You can easily sort the markup entries by Name, Date, Style, Thread or Views. Use the eye icon to show or hide any markup entry in the list (hiding an entry will present the design in its original stage).
18 Click the Show discussion button to read all the various participants comments about the current design issue.
19 Close Markup Discussion and the MarkUp Tools dialog and zoom out.
STEP 2: MANAGING MARK-UP ENTRIES

NHS OFFICE_02.mp4 Watch Movie Lets suppose that the project architect Susanna is back to work the next morning, and she is ready to proceed with the design development and follow up on all change requests. 1 Open the Document > Markup Tools dialog and switch to the Mark-Up Entries tab page. Click Show Report of All Entries to display a detailed Markup report about all the Mark-Up Entries in the project. The report contains the name, style, location, date, the number of corrections and highlighted elements, and the Tag discussion.
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2 Make sure that the Coffee Machine Mark-Up Entry is selected and its display is on (i.e., the eye-icon is turned on). 3 Click the Focus on Elements button to zoom into the elements that belong to the current entry, also called the Active Entry. You may also click the Select Elements button to select them. As you can see, all the elements of the previously added (and currently active) Coffee Machine markup entry are visible on the screen.
Lets start to modify the design to fulfill the request of the client. 4 First, switch off the Show on Plan radio button in the Tag and Discussion tab page to hide the Tag Text, since it disturbs the work. 5 Select and delete the Redlining Cloud from the plan. 6 Reduce the length of the vertical currently highlighted existing wall until the edge of the steel column, and create two more new gypsum partition wall segments to hide the column. 7 Highlight the previously created elements by selecting them and pressing the Highlight Elements button. 8 Create a new, horizontal wall segment next to the elevators and place a door in it. 9 Press the Turn into Corrections button in the Mark-Up palette to indicate that the previously created elements are corrections, since it is not certain that this wall is needed. 10 Delete the existing i.e., currently highlighted horizontal partition segment and the highlighted door. 11 Select the currently red partition walls which were created by the chief designer and press Remove Correction , since these walls should belong to the project from now on. 12 Activate the Line tool and draw a rectangle to the corner and add the text Coffee and refreshment machine. Highlight these elements. 13 Change the Tag text and enter: Here is the coffee machine! Please check the new partition and door! Show it on the Plan and position it as shown on the screenshot. 14 You can also Add a comment to the Mark-Up discussion and enter: The coffee machine is added. The column is hidden between the partitions. This should also comply with the fire regulations.
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15 To keep all the Highlighted elements (and revert these to their original settings) and to delete all the Correction elements in any Mark-Up Entry, simply delete the actual Mark-Up entry using the relevant button in the dialog.
The design correction is ready and the coffee machine has been added. But the chief designer still has to approve it and decide about the new wall and door next to the lift. Lets suppose that at lunch break while Susanna is out eating the chief designer has some time to review the design development. He agrees with the location of the coffee machine and with the hidden column (these entries are Highlighted blue color), but he does not want to insert a new partition and new door next to the elevator (these elements are in Correction red color). So, lets keep the coffee machine and the partitions around the column and lets delete the wall and the door next to the lift.
ArchiCADs Project Mark-Up feature set enables designers to communicate and discuss design issues digitally, and it saves designers the task of printing or plotting numerous sheets throughout the design development phase of the project. Project Mark-Up also ensures that no comments or design suggestions will be ignored or forgotten. Even multiple comments on the same design issue can be handed and reviewed seamlessly and easily.
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Chapter 8: Project Reviewer
CHAPTER 8: PROJECT REVIEWER

In this training chapter we will present how to facilitate streamlined, paperless collaboration using ArchiCADs Project Reviewer. In this short example the architect will publish a design set for the Internet, and the client will review this using a regular Internet browser and correct the drawings. These corrections will then be merged back to the source ArchiCAD design. online Mark-Up entry can be inserted smoothly back into the ArchiCAD project. The designer will be ready to address all the clients requests.
STEP 1: PUBLISHING A DESIGN

DOCUMENTATION SET TO THE INTERNET
NHS OFFICE_01.mp4 Watch Movie Lets start the design review process by creating a client review design documentation set in ArchiCAD and publishing this to an FTP site on the Internet. Lets also send an email to the client and inform him/her that the design is available for his/her review and comments. 1 Open the NHS OFFICE.PLA project archive file and select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog. Save the project as NHS OFFICE.PLN ArchiCAD Solo Project to your local computer. 2 Open and browse the content of the Client Approval View Set in the Navigator-View Map. Activate the different saved views to display their content.
ArchiCADs Project Reviewer provides an advanced, streamlined toolset for the entire design team (including the client) to share and discuss design ideas and suggestions, even if they do not have any ArchiCAD skills. In fact, ArchiCAD does not even need to be installed on the participants computer. After the architect has published a set of design development documentation sets from ArchiCAD to the Internet, the Reviewer e.g., the client only needs a regular Internet browser (such as Explorer, Safari or Firefox) to view the published documentation set. The Reviewer can immediately start Redlining (adding corrections to the design) online using the browser. The best part is that the Clients
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Notice that this View Set contains floor plans, sections, elevations and even a couple of details. 3 Open Project Organizer from the Navigator and make sure that the View-Map is visible on the left side and Publisher is visible on the right side of the dialog.
4 Select New Publisher Set from the pop-up list and type Publisher Set for Client Review as the name. Click Create to proceed. 5 In the Publisher Set Properties dialog, activate the Include Project Reviewer web environment radio button and click the Options button for further adjustment. 6 Select Graphisoft Style from the Style sheet (and notice that there are various styles available: you can even publish the set including the banner of your company) and enter Client_Review for the Index Name of the site.
7 Provide all the details necessary to access the FTP site where you will upload the set, and notice that you can even send an email to client, right here from within ArchiCAD (this requires that you configure email options).
Now lets create a new Publisher Set with all the previously saved design project views. We want to ask the client to approve this. Once this Publisher Set is created, it can be used again later in the design process.
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8 Drag and drop the existing Client Approval View Set from the left side of the Organizer to the newly created Publisher Set for Client Review publisher set on the right side. 9 Click to select the uppermost folder (Client Approval View Set) and select DWF from the pop-up list on the Format tab page. Notice that all the icons of the entries have become the DWF icon. DWF stands for Design Web Format, which is an open, secure file format developed by Autodesk. DWF allows CAD users to communicate design information and design intent to anyone needing to view, review, or print design information. DWF is a highly compressed format, making it ideal for web-based publishing. 10 Once you are ready with all the settings, simply click the Publish button to start the publishing procedure. ArchiCAD will regenerate all the design views from the central project database and upload the set to the specified FTP site. It will even send an email with a custom text if you wish right here from Publisher. 11 Please note: in case you dont have access to an FTP site at the moment, you can simulate the process by selecting Save Files for Publishing method in the Publisher Set Properties dialog and define a path on your local machine. ArchiCAD will publish the very same content on your local computer, as if it were an FTP upload.
STEP 2: REVIEWING THE DESIGN SET USING AN INTERNET BROWSER

NHS OFFICE_02.mp4 Watch Movie Once the design set has been published, it is ready for the clients review. Project Reviewer is a Java applet that lets you view DWF, JPG, GIF, and TXT files published from ArchiCAD. It also provides you with the functionality to add Redline information to DWF files with ease-of-use and without any preliminary skills or knowledge. This is an extremely convenient way of communicating with clients and decision-makers, without forcing them to learn or even install ArchiCAD. Reviewer runs in an Internet browser environment and displays the views that you published. Comments, corrections and other information added with the tools of the Redlining palette can be incorporated in your design by importing them with the Project Mark-Up feature described below. 1 Click the ArchiCAD generated link in the email message, or open the Client_Review.html file in your browser from the previously saved location. 2 Click the Trust button to accept the Java applet when using Apples Safari browser. The applet has a Graphisoft digital signature. Simply click the Start Reviewer button to proceed.
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Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer might block the content of the previously published document set. To resolve this, select the Allow Blocked Content option after clicking the notification bar in Explorer.
As you can see, all the previously published project view sets are visible in your browser in the very same structure as in ArchiCADs Publisher. The list on the left side provides instant access to any of the drawings. The main horizontal banner contains all relevant data about the selected drawing as well as a preview picture. The buttons in the middle provide online access to various features, including saving Redlined files after corrections, navigation (pan, zoom, fit in window, etc), as well as printing or measuring. Lets add some corrections to certain drawings, and then lets send this Redlined information back to the architect to integrate the clients suggestions into the design.
Click Yes in the Security Warning dialog once again to confirm the prevous action.
Finally, click Run in the Warning-Security dialog (which informs you about the verified Graphisoft digital signature). If you checkmark the Always trust content from this publisher option, Explorer will open the published document sets automatically.
3 Open the 2nd Floor Plan drawing in the Floor plans folder of the Client Approval View Set. 4 Use the Zoom-In and Pan buttons to display the central area of the second floor. 5 Click on the Layers button to display the layers of this drawing and hide the _SF Interior and Floor Finishes layers for a cleaner display of the floor plan.
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6 Open the Redlining toolbar by clicking its button, and notice that this toolbar provides various Redlining functions: you can use freehand sketches, lines arrows, as well as clouds, text and labels for correcting the selected drawing.
7 Lets define or customize the Redlining style we want to use by opening the options panel with the last button in the Redlining toolbar. 8 Click the Color button to define a custom color. In the Colors palette, open the Swatches tab page and select purple as the color for the current Redlining entry. Select Arial, bold, fourteen-point for font style.
9 Use the Line , Cloud and Label tools from the Redlining Toolbar and add a new markup entry to remove the internal partitions and enlarge the middle kitchenette area.
Note: Please feel free to use the Group- and Ungroup Selected Shapes buttons to group selected corrections. This will ease your work, especially in larger projects where multiple Redlining information must be added to the same project view. 10 Activate the Arrow tool to modify the size or location of the Redlining entries you have created, if necessary. Project Reviewer is based on the DWF data format, which means that the drawings can be accurately resized, printed or plotted with any data loss. This also makes it possible to accurately measure various quantities (distances, areas) right here in the Project Reviewer environment of your browser. Lets continue and measure some distances, then add another Mark-Up entry to the project. 11 Zoom out of the currently active 2nd floor plan using the Fit in Window button in the Reviewer Toolbar. Hide the RCP Lines layer to get a clearer view of the floor plan.
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12 Activate the Surveyor Toolbar and notice the various surveying options provided. The Surveyor Toolbar provides various measurement tools: Tape Measure Tool, Room Surveyor Tool, Boundary Tool and Protractor Tool. 13 Activate the Tape Measure Tool from the Surveyor Toolbar. Zoom in and measure the distance between the glazing and the internal partition walls in the floor plan as shown in the screenshot.
Once weve added all the necessary corrections on the active drawing, lets send the Redlined information back to the architect. You can choose the Save As option in the Reviewer Toolbar to save the corrected file in DWF format into a dedicated folder on your local machine. This will collect all Redlined files of a given project. You can send these files back to the designer on a CD or as an email attachment.
Note that you can continue the measurement: each additional click defines a new segment. The info tag displays the length of the current line segment as well as the total length of all segments. 14 Activate the Redline Toolbar and enter a new Mark-Up Entry as shown in the screenshot. You can also choose to upload the Redline information (DWF Mark-Up Entries) directly to the architects FTP site using the Upload Redline option in the Reviewer Toolbar.
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As a third and perhaps easiest and fastest alternative you can email the Redlined data to the architect right from Project Reviewer, using its built-in email client. Important: When saving DWF files (containing Mark-Up Entries) please make sure that the names of these files correspond to the initial ArchiCAD design view to which they are refer. This will be important when importing corrections as external DWF files to the appropriate project view in ArchiCAD. 15 Switch to the built in E-mail option of Project Reviewer, enter the necessary email addresses and enter a short message to the email body you wish to send to the architect. Note that the previously created Redline information 2nd Floor Plan.dwf file has been automatically attached to the email message.
STEP 3: WORKING WITH EXTERNAL DWF MARKUP FILES IN ARCHICAD

NHS OFFICE_03.mp4 Watch Movie Lets suppose that the previously published project documentation set has been sent out not only to the Client, but also to the engineers and the consultants who are involved in various fields of the building design. The architect received the Redlined DWF files from the Client (downloaded from the FTP site or from the email attachment or perhaps from a CD) as well as from all the other participants of the extended design team. All these corrections (DWF files from the different participants) need to be merged back imported as Mark-Up Entries into the initial ArchiCAD design. In this exercise we will import and manage all corrections and Redline information that correspond to the second floor of the project. 1 Switch back to the same ArchiCAD project we used at the beginning of this chapter, and activate the 2nd floor review entry from the Reviewer folder of the Navigator-View Map. 2 Activate the Document > Mark-Up Tools command to display the Mark-Up Tools palette. 3 Open the Mark-Up Entries dialog and click the Add Entry button to add a new Mark-Up Entry to the project. 4 In the New Mark-Up Entry dialog enter Client Review for name and select Client Request for style. Select the Import from Project Reviewer/DWF File option, and browse and select the previously created 2nd Floor Plan.dwf file from your local machine.
16 Use the E-mail Toolbar to specify the necessary Mail options, add more file attachments, and to send the email once you have completed the message.
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Engineer for the Name and select Structural Engineer for the Style of this Mark-Up entry. Notice that the 2nd floor of the Mark-Up Entries list lists all three Mark-Up Entries, and all of them are also displayed on the floor plan in accordance with the corresponding Mark-Up style.
Lets repeat the previous step and add two more Mark-Up entries that also correspond to the second-floor plan of the design. Lets import the corrections received from the Interior Designer and from the Structural Engineer. 5 Click the Add Entry button and select the 2nd Floor Plan.dwf file from the Corrected Drawings/Interior Designer folder. Enter Interior Designer for the Name and select Interior Designer for the Style of this Mark-Up entry. 6 Click the Add Entry button again and select the 2nd Floor Plan.dwf file from the Corrected Drawings/Structural Engineer folder. Enter Structural
The architect can continue developing the design and process all Mark-Up Entries using the Mark-Up Tools as explained in the previous chapter of this guide. ArchiCADs Project Reviewer and Mark-Up tools enable designers to facilitate streamlined paperless collaboration processes not only with their colleagues within the office, but also with the extended design team including engineers, consultants and even the client.
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Chapter 9: TeamWork
CHAPTER 9: TEAMWORK
In this training chapter we will present how to setup a TeamWork environment in ArchiCAD and how this can help manage different possible roles and responsibilities. Once the TeamWork environment has been set up, we will present how a teammate can reserve a workspace and start to work in the environment. We will also present how to start design discussions and corrections between teammates, using the previously discussed Project Mark-Up feature set. the people working on the same project are in face-to-face contact, can designate a large amount of freedom for team members. There are five possible roles in TeamWork: Administrator, Team Leader, Teammate, Mark-Up and View Only. The first two have to be defined in advance by the person sharing the project. He/she can either allow free access for any teammate or set up a strict cast of members who may access the project with centrally set passwords. The Graphisoft TeamWork concept provides an effective and integrated solution for sharing building information modeling (BIM) data between project team members: Central file contain the complete virtual building database Team members work on local copies Team members have dedicated workspaces Team members send and receive changes regularly
ArchiCADs Codie Award winning TeamWork functionality enables architect and designer teams of large practices to work simultaneously on various aspects of the same design project without continuous network dependency. A team using TeamWork functionality can be organized along a wide variety of principles. The flexibility of ArchiCAD makes it possible to use rigorous sets of house rules by defining strict hierarchical access privileges. This is relevant in larger offices. Smaller practices, where
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Chapter 9: TeamWork
Benefits
Effective: Team members can work simultaneously on the same project Secure: No overlapping workspaces. Team members cant modify or accidentally delete others work Organized: Team members have dedicated roles and rights Transparent: Team members can check the actual status of the project at any time Controllable: Team leaders can revise changes made by the project team
Limitations
Team members cant send and receive changes simultaneously The CAD manager has to set up a schedule for sending and receiving times
Grids and Display Options Active Libraries In this example of TeamWork we will share an existing Solo ArchiCAD design project. 1 Open the NHS OFFICE.PLA project archive file and select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog. 2 Activate the File > Save As command and save this project as NHS OFFICE.PLN. This will be a regular ArchiCAD Solo Project on your local computer. 3 Activate the TeamWork > Share option to display the Project Sharing Setup to start the sharing process. 4 Click the Set Key Passwords button to open the Set Key Passwords dialog. Enter Administrator for Administrator Name and enter 123 for both the Administrator and Team Leader password well use these in this exercise.
STEP 1: SETTING UP A TEAMWORK

PROJECT
NHS OFFICE_01.mp4 Watch Movie To start to use TeamWork, we first need to set up the necessary TeamWork environment, or in other words, create a shared ArchiCAD design project, so that design team members can start signing-in. Note: We recommend you share a TeamWork project at the very beginning of design development work. We also recommend you define certain project settings before sharing the project (since it is more difficult to change these once more team members are already working in the TeamWork environment): Project Scale and Measurement Units Stories and Layers Attributes (Pen Colors, Line and Fill Types, Composites, Materials)
Note: The Administrator and the Team Leader can be the very same person, however there is an important difference between these two roles: Team Leader can actually work on the project, while Administrator cannot. There can only be one Administrator this is the person coordinating the team and sharing the project first. When signed in
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Chapter 9: TeamWork
as the Administrator, it is not possible to work on the project or reserve areas. His/her only privileges are to: Allow the signing in of other Team Members Disconnect Team Members Alter other Team Members passwords Handle the Administrator and Team Leader passwords Define or modify backup options The Team Leader is responsible for the project. There can only be one person signed in as Team Leader at a time. Some attribute modifications are permitted only with exclusive access to the Project, which means that nobody else can be signed in at that moment and that the Team Leader reserves the entire project. He/she has exclusive rights to: Modify and delete Layers Modify and delete Layer Combinations Create, modify and delete Stories Modify and delete Pen Color, Material, Fill Type, Line Type, Zone Category or Composite attributes Define or modify measurement Units and Methods Create or modify the structure and the basic components of the Layout Book, including Subsets and Master Layouts Reassign abandoned Mark-Up Entries Modify the loaded Library Set used by the Team 5 Select the Registered Members Only radio button. Note: Only Registered Team Members can add Mark-Up Entries to the workspace of any Teammate, either when signed in as another Teammate or in special Mark-Up mode. In the latter case, they cannot create, edit or delete any elements, but only mark them or add corrections. Teammates can either be defined by the Administrator or are self-registered. 6 Use the Add new member button to add Teammates to the project and enter James and Maria for their names.
7 Select both members in the list and use the Change Password button to provide passwords for them (you can enter 123 for both passwords in this exercise).
Note: A Teammate can be any designer who will work in his or her dedicated reserved part called the Workspace in the shared project. 8 Click the Backup Options button to bring up the Team Project Backup Options dialog and investigate the Team Project Backup Options. Team Backup Options lets you store or archive different versions of the shared, central project file. You can set the frequency to create new backups of the central project file, and you can define how long to keep the previous versions of the team project file. If you want to keep and archive all versions of the team project file throughout design development, click the appropriate button on the left to create a new backup after every modification, and click on the right to keep all older versions.
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Chapter 9: TeamWork
9 Do not modify these settings for now. Simply click OK to proceed. 10 Click the Share button once you are ready with all the settings and enter the Administrator password when prompted.
STEP 2: SIGNING-IN TO A TEAMWORK

PROJECT
NHS OFFICE_02.mp4 Watch Movie As soon as the ArchiCAD design project is shared, team members can start start to work on it simultaneously, starting by Signing-In to the TeamWork project. 1 Start up ArchiCAD by double-clicking its desktop icon on your desktop.
11 In the Save Team Project as ArchiCAD TeamWork File dialog, enter NHS OFFICE TW.plp for the filename and notice that the file format is ArchiCAD TeamWork Project. Note: Once a design project has been shared, its file will have the extension .plp. However, no teammate can open the .plp file directly. This will be the central design database, which should be located on one of the servers in the office, since this contains the central project information that will be accessible by others. You do not need to use another computer to store the central project file to successfully complete this exercise. It will be adequate to create new folders for the local TeamWork drafts when team members will start signing-in in the next steps. 12 Hit Cancel now in the Sign In dialog, and quit ArchiCAD to complete this step of the exercise.
2 Select the Sign In to a Team Project option in the Start ArchiCAD dialog and open the previously created NHS OFFICE TW.PLP TeamWork project file. 3 In the Sign In palette, select Teammate from the available roles. Enter James for the name and enter the corresponding password you defined in the previous section. Click the Next button. 4 The next page of the Sign In dialog will provide the Teammates (James in this case) the option to reserve certain parts of the project to work on. Checkmark the All radio button to reserve all Stories, and select the Partition Plan Layer Combination from the pop-up list to reserve the given layers in the project.
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Chapter 9: TeamWork
Note: The following options are available for making reservations: Working on any or all stories Working on any or all layers Working on any or all sections/elevations Working on any or all detail drawings Working on any or all camera/animation paths Working on any or all layouts Working on a physical area defined by a rectangular or polygonal marquee Any combination of the above
6 Select All Sections and Elevations and none of the Animation/VRs, then click Next. 7 Skip All the Detail Drawings and Layouts on the next tab page. 8 On the last tab page of the Sign In dialog you can overview all the reserved options. You can also use the Create LAN/Local Library in radio button to create a working copy of the active Libraries of the Team Project (this is important if you wish to continue the work on your laptop without network access).
Library Management in TeamWork

Proper management of Library Parts those indispensable elements of your day-to-day work with ArchiCAD is significant when working in a team. In general, when managing libraries, keep everything as simple as possible. The following recommendations will help you avoid problems: Avoid overloading the network. Keep the paths to the Libraries standard on each project. New, project-based Library Parts should be saved in the Project Library. Always retain the Standard ArchiCAD libraries (provided as part of the ArchiCAD package) in their original installation location (in the ArchiCAD folder). Remove the Custom Text Folder from the ArchiCAD Standard Library and place it in your Project directory template. Establish and adhere to an office rule stating that the Libraries as installed must NOT be moved or modified. Place the Project Library on the server machine in the appropriate Project Directory. Place any Add-On Libraries on the Server Machine. On Macintosh OS: if you are moving from 10.2.xx to 10.3.xx, save and re-share your Project after youve reloaded the libraries as PLNs.
5 Activate the Marquee Tool in the Toolbox and draw a marquee rectangle to reserve a part of the project as shown in the screenshot. Click Next in the Sign In dialog to proceed.
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Central Library
We recommended you use a central library (accessible by all team members) only when you have fast and efficient networks. When working with a Central Library, new elements created by any user can be immediately used by the other teammates after reloading the Libraries, while modifications of Library parts can be seen after rebuilding a project view. Benefits: There is only one copy of all elements; it is easier to administer; changes are more apparent thanks to the live connection. Limitations: It can increase communication time in slower networks.
If a Library Part is deleted from a Central Library, a warning appears. It is possible to either delete the part from the local cache, keep it in the local cache, or copy the part from the local cache back to the Central Library. Benefits: Easy-to-use; can be used in a mixed computer platform environment; supports off-line work; does not put an extra burden on the network. Limitations: The preparation takes longer; it needs local computers with large hard disk capacity every library for every project must be on every computer during the projects lifespan.
Local Cache Library

Local Cache Libraries work well for all local networks. All teammates have their own local copy of the Central Library on their own computers. This can be set up in the very last tab page of the Sign In Wizard as presented in this exercise. As a result of this action, a clone (exact copy) of the Central Project Library will be created and a link between the libraries will be established. If there is a live connection to the network, newly created or modified and saved Library Parts will appear in the Central Library immediately. If there is no live network connection, the new or altered elements will only be copied into the Central Library after choosing Send & Receive Changes, Sign In or after reloading the Library using the Library Manager. Other teammates using their own Satellite Libraries can see changed or newly created Library Parts after choosing Send & Receive Changes, Receive Changes, or Sign In, or after reloading the Library with Library Manager. However, if any additional Library is loaded next to the originally generated Satellite Library folder, the elements in this Library will not be transferred to the Central Library automatically. This either has to be done manually (see Separate Libraries below), or the Library Part should be opened with the File > Libraries and Objects > Open Object command and saved into the Satellite Library folder.
Separate Libraries
This traditional method works with any kind of network (or even without a permanent network). The Central Library is copied onto the local computer manually before signing-in. During the first sign-in, the local Library has to be specified in the Library Manager. (If Library Manager does not appear during the sign-in process, it has to be manually opened and the Loaded Libraries must be checked.) After selecting the local Library, the Draft will have no link to the Central Library, which means that all changes must be followed up and administered by the user. This entails manually copying the modified and new Library Parts from the local computer to the Central Library and vice versa. Benefits: Does not put an extra burden on the network and can be used in a network-down situation; modifications are easier to monitor and manage; this is the traditional ArchiCAD method and thus more familiar to users. Limitations: Preparation takes longer; requires local computers with very large hard disk capacity; requires disciplined workflow. 9 Click the Sign In button after creating a LAN/Local Cache Library on your computer to complete the sign in process.
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For instance, you should NOT sign out when you wish to go home and continue working on your laptop using your local draft TeamWork project file. If you do this, you will not be able to send back your latest design development to the central project file anymore! 10 Activate the File > Save As command and save the current project as NHS OFFICE TW-James.plc on your local machine and make sure to use ArchiCAD TeamWork Draft for the format.
Notice that the previously defined area on the floor plan has been reserved for James. As you can see in the Layer Settings dialog, only the layers defined by the Partition Plan layer combination are accessible to this Teammate. Continuously relying on the network may sometimes be troublesome: the more people use the network simultaneously, the more it may slow them all down. Moreover, some team members may need to work at home or in a remote location. You may also want to save changes in a state of the Project that is not yet ready for sending and receiving changes and being made visible to other Teammates. ArchiCADs TeamWork always creates local Draft copies of the Shared central design Project, preserving the Sign In reservations made earlier. This local TeamWork draft (.plc) project file is your working project file to be used for your regular design development. It is also important that you NOT Sign-Out (and release your previously reserved workspace to others) while you are working on your local draft project.
This TeamWork Draft project is ready to be worked on further work by James, but lets close it for the time being. 11 Close this project by activating the File > Close command.
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STEP 3: RESERVING WORKSPACES IN A TEAMWORK PROJECT

NHS OFFICE_03.mp4 Watch Movie Lets continue this exercise and suppose that the second teammate Maria also signs in to this shared project and reserves her workspace for further design development. 1 Activate the TeamWork > Sign In command to start the sign in process and Sign In to the NHS OFFICE TW.plp TeamWork project file using the name Maria. 2 Select Teammate, enter Maria for the name and enter the password you created in the fist step of this exercise. 3 Use the Marquee tool to reserve a floor plan area as shown in the screenshot, and notice that the James area (colored red) is also visible in this floor plan view.
5 Click OK in the Conflict Details dialog and check the Limited by Marquee radio button and click Next to proceed. Note that all the reserved Project Map and View Map entries are indicated in the Navigator with special icons.
4 Click Next to proceed and reserve All stories and layers. Checkmark Entire Plan for Area and note the conflicts among the Stories and the Layers. Click the Show Conflicts button to display all the details about the conflicts.
6 Select Skip All for Reserve Sections/Elevations, but note that all the Sections and Elevations had been reserved already.
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7 Skip All the Detail Drawings and the Layouts on the next tab page. 8 Checkmark the Create LAN/Local Library in radio button on the last page of the Sign In dialog and define a folder on your local machine for the working copy of the Library. 9 Click the Sign In button to complete the sign in process.
11 Select any of the elements in the workspace of the other teammate and notice that you are not able to modify them, since they are not in your workspace. 12 Activate the File > Save, and then the Close command, to close Marias TeamWork draft project. 10 Note that the floor plan now indicates two teammate-reserved areas (your reserved area is always green and the color of the others is always red). Save this TeamWork draft project on your local machine, using the name NHS OFFICE TW-Maria.plc.
Maria being one of the teammates of the ArchiCAD TeamWork project can freely continue the design development on her
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TeamWork draft project. This project file contains the entire design project, all the library elements, and all the modifications that other teammates has done up to the last update. This also means that team members can carry on their work using their personal, local draft copy of the project without having a constant network connection to the central project file. They need to be connected to the central design model only when they decide to share their work with the other team members and when they want to receive changes by other team members.
STEP 4: WORKING IN THE TEAMWORK

ENVIRONMENT
NHS OFFICE_04.mp4 Watch Movie Now lets continue the design development in the Marias name on a remote laptop computer and see how can we continue the design in her reserved workspace. We will become familiar with project Mark-Up, corrections and discussions in the TeamWork environment. 1 Open the previously created NHS OFFICE TW-Maria.plc TeamWork draft project. In the Library Manager, make sure that the previously created Local Cache Library is the current active one and enter the previously defined password for Maria when asked. Before you start to continue working, it is always a good idea to get the latest changes and updates from the other members of the team. 2 Activate the TeamWork > Receive Changes command to get the latest stage of the central design project (including all the changes and updates of the other team members to this point).
It is necessary to have a live data connection with the server that hosts the central design project file (created in the beginning of this chapter). Activating the Receive Changes option will ensure that you are working on the most up-to-date version of the project available at this particular time. You can also activate the TeamWork > Show My Workspace Only command to hide all the elements from the workspaces of the others and to provide a clearer overview of your workspace.
Activate the Project Sharing Info dialog to display information about the other teammates as well as the date and time when they sent their design development updates to the central project database.
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3 Zoom-in to the center of the 1st floor plan and add some gypsum partitions and doors to connect the two office areas as seen on the screenshot.
6 Start the Correction mode and add a new wall. Also, indicate the position of a new door in the workspace of the other teammate. You can also place a comment as shown on the screenshot on the floor plan and even start a discussion.
Note that you are free to use the eye-dropper tool to pick-up element attributes (such as partitions and door settings) from other teammates areas. However, you are not able to modify these elements. This means that we are not able to add any doors to the partition walls that are located in the reserved area of the other teammate James in our case. The ArchiCAD Project Mark-Up toolset can be really convenient in such cases, since besides the previously presented features it has some extra functionality dedicated to help the communication of teammates in the TeamWork environment. 4 Activate the Document > Mark-Up Tools command to open the Mark-Up Tools palette and note that it has an additional TeamWork tab page. 5 Create a new Mark-Up Entry (please refer to the Project Mark-Up chapter for further details). Enter Marias Mark-Up #1 and select Remarks for style.
7 Open the TeamWork tab page of the Mark-Up Tools palette and assign this Mark-Up entry to James (select James from the Assign to: pop-up list). Team members will be notified whenever a Mark-Up entry has been assigned to them when sending/receiving changes to/from the central project database.
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Any registered team member can add Mark-Up entries to the workspace of any Teammate, either when signed in as another Teammate or in special Mark-Up mode. In the latter case, you cannot create, edit or delete any elements, but only mark them or add corrections. You can also use the TeamWork > Add Comments option to enter text comments about the actual stage of the design work and share it with the other teammates.
Once you are ready with your work for the current section, remember to send your latest design updates to the central TeamWork database so that all other team members will also have access to them. 8 Activate first the File > Save command to save your work to your local machine. 9 Activate the TeamWork > Send and Receive Changes command to send your work back to the central TeamWork project database and to receive the latest updates from the others.
will be warned about it. In this case, sending changes requires that you get a new Sign-In ID. After this, any local drafts you created for this Project will be outdated. Save a new draft and continue working on that one. 10 Click the Send Changes Anyway button to proceed. The Send & Receive Changes dialog will appear. Here you can enter Comments about the latest design work and share this with others. You can place any comments in the area and these will be available for other Team Members in the TeamWork Notes. In case the changes you have made were also reviewed and verified by another Team Member, enter his/her name and password to the Changes Reviewed by field. In this example we leave this field empty, since Maria did not review her changes with any other teammates this time. 11 In the Send & Receive Changes dialog, enter a custom text for comments (the screenshot displays an example) and click the Send & Receive button to continue.
ArchiCAD will display a warning message now, reminding you that you have assigned Mark-Up Entries and placed corrections on the workspace of other teammate(s). If your Mark-Up Entry contains not only highlighted elements, but also new, correction elements in the other persons workspace, you
Changes reviewed by: If your changes have been reviewed and verified by another Team Member, enter his or her name and password here. This information will be added to the Project Discussion list and will be available to all participants. 12 Activate the File > Close command to close Marias current TeamWork project draft.
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STEP 5: COLLABORATING IN TEAMWORK ENVIRONMENT

NHS OFFICE_05.mp4 Watch Movie Now lets continue the design development in James name on a remote laptop computer and see how can we share design changes as well as Mark-Up Entries between team members. 1 Open the previously created NHS OFFICE TW-James draft TeamWork project file in James name. As we mentioned before, every team member should start to work on his or her TeamWork draft project only after getting the latest updates from the central design database. 2 Activate the TeamWork > Receive Changes command to get the latest updates from the other team members from the central design database.
ArchiCAD will now inform you that another team member has created elements in your workspace and has released them for your use. 4 Click the Include in My Workspace button to proceed and to access the new elements. The Get Mark-Up Entries dialog will appear now, providing you access to the markup entries that have been assigned to you.
ArchiCAD will display a warning message now, informing you that you need to activate the Send & Receive Changes command in order to access those elements in your workspace that were created by other team members. 3 Activate the Send & Receive Changes command to proceed.
5 Select Marias Mark-Up #1 in the list and click Get Checked Entries Now to proceed. 6 Activate Document > Mark-Up Tools to open the Mark-Up Tools palette. 7 Select Marias Mark-Up Entry in the list. Select all the Mark-Up elements on the plan and zoom in on them as was discussed in the Project Mark-Up Chapter of this guide.
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8 Make the necessary design update: select the new wall and remove the correction from it. Create a new door as described by Maria and edit the Tag Text on the floor plan as shown on the screenshot.
9 Feel free to continue the design development in James name. 10 Once you are done, activate the TeamWork > Send & Receive Changes command as we did before and close the TeamWork draft project in James name. ArchiCADs TeamWork functionality ensures streamlined paperless collaboration between all the members of the project design team without continuous network dependence.
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Chapter 10: IFC: Industry Foundation Classes
CHAPTER 10: IFC: INDUSTRY FOUNDATION CLASSES

In this training chapter we will present how to save an IFC building model information database from ArchiCAD. We will export the structural model of our ArchiCAD design project in IFC format, which can be immediately used for instance by structural engineers to prepare accurate structural analysis and develop detailed structural design. We will also present how simple it is to open an existing IFC database with ArchiCAD.
Highlights of using IFC

Provides a universal industry standard data exchange format Bi-directional connection between diverse applications Building elements preserve BIM information during data transfer The IFC model represents not just tangible building components such as walls, doors, beams, ceilings, furniture, etc., but also more abstract concepts such as schedules, activities, spaces, organization, construction costs, etc., in the form of entities All entities can have a number of properties such as name, geometry, materials, finishes, and relationships.
The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) is an object oriented file format with a data model developed by the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) to facilitate interoperability in the building industry. The Alliance (IAI) now has chapters in Europe, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australasia and America with over 650 member companies. IFC is the ISO standard that supports building model based construction activities. It shares rich building information among disciplines and professionals dealing with all phases of the facility development lifecycle.
Thanks to its focus on ease of interoperability between software platforms, governments in some countries (Denmark, Singapore) have made the use of IFC format(s) compulsory for publicly-aided building projects. Because IFC is an open data exchange format that captures building information, it can be used by commercial building-model based
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applications to exchange data. This requires that the given application be "IFC-compliant," which means that it is capable of importing and exporting IFC files. In order to facilitate smooth flow of model based data and related information across the design, build and management process, Graphisoft offers the IFC mechanism to exchange rich building information.
ArchiCAD has an embedded, one-button publish and import capability that allows users to send and receive design project data in IFC format.
STEP 1: EXPORTING AN ARCHICAD PROJECT IN IFC2X2 FORMAT

Graphisoft has been a member of the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) since 1996, paying close attention to adhering to its Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). For users, this means that they can safely work in ArchiCAD without fear of being isolated from consultants, clients or other specialists using other software. NHS OFFICE_01.mp4 Watch Movie Graphisoft has been a member of the AIA since 1996, and ArchiCAD provides the most comprehensive support to users of IFC model based data sharing. Every IFC release to date has been supported. IFC2x Edition 2 Addendum 1 (IFC 2x2 for short) has added new functionalities for: Structural design and analysis HVAC design and performance simulation Electrical design
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Facilities and property management Visualization (rendering and lighting) The latest IFC Add-ons for ArchiCAD are always available for free download from the Graphisoft website: http://www.graphisoft.com/support/ifc/downloads/ In this training guide we will not discuss IFC specifications and other related details in depth. We will focus instead on how easy it is to share an ArchiCAD design model in IFC file format with the other members of the extended design team, or even provide it to the authorities. 1 Open the NHS OFFICE.PLA project archive file and select the Read elements directly from archive option in the Open Archive Project dialog. Save the project as NHS OFFICE.PLN ArchiCAD Solo Project to your local computer. 2 Activate the 1 NHS Office Project pre-set view to display a floor plan view of the project. 3 Open 2 Generic Perspective to display the project in the 3D window. 4 Switch back to the floor plan and use the Navigator-Project Map to switch between the stories, to get an overview of the size and design complexity of the NHS Office Building ArchiCAD project. We want do not want to export any elements of the site, so lets hide all the site-related layers in the ArchiCAD design project. 5 Activate the Document > Layer > Layer Settings... command to open the Layer Settings dialog and hide all layers of the Site (their names starts with Site & ...).
6 Activate the File > Save As option from the main menu. 7 In the Save Plan dialog, select IFX 2X2 from the Format pop-up list.
8 Enter NHS OFFICE IFC Export.ifc for the name and click Save to proceed.
9 The IFC 2x Edition 2 Option dialog will appear, providing various options to fine-tune the IFC information and configure the design data to best fit the requirements of the authority or application that will work with it afterwards. The exact title of this dialog may depend on the actual IFC add-on installed on your machine. The latest IFC add-ons are always available for free download from the Graphisoft website. 10 Investigate the different tab pages of the IFC export dialog. Switch to the Filter page and select All visible from the Save element list. Do not modify anything else this time.
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You do not need to understand the exact meaning and details of all these settings and configurations. All these settings will be configured depending on the application and exact purpose for which the IFC design database will be used afterwards.
11 Click OK to export all the visible layers of the project as an IFC 2X2 design database. ArchiCAD will now process the entire project design database and export the IFC database to your local machine.
The exported IFC2X2 file is ready to be processed by any application that also supports this standard. 12 Activate the File > Close command to close this project.
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STEP 2: IMPORTING AN IFC DATABASE TO ARCHICAD

NHS OFFICE_02.mp4 Watch Movie Lets look at a quick example of how easy it is to import an existing IFC design database to ArchiCAD. 1 Select File > Open from the main ArchiCAD menu and enable IFC_* from the pop-up list.
2 Browse and select the IFC Project.ifc file from the IFC Import folder of this chapter of the guide. Click Open to proceed. 3 ArchiCAD will start the conversion process. The Conversion from IFC Product window displays the conversions of the different levels found in the IFC file.
As soon as the conversion process is completed the floor plan view of the project will be displayed. 4 Open the 3D window to display the project in the 3D view. Note its complexity and navigate in the 3D window.
If you display various stories in the floor plan view you might notice that certain objects are displayed across multiple stories. This can be easily fixed by adjusting their display settings. 5 Switch to the 0. Piles story and select all objects by activating the Object tool and then the Edit > Select All Objects option. 6 Open the Object Selection Settings dialog and select the Own Story Only option from the Show on Stories: pop-up menu.
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7 Click OK to apply the new settings and notice that the floor plan representation is now correct. Graphisoft ArchiCADs Virtual BuildingTM technology, with its supporting standard IFC, has reached a point critical maturity. As an international standard, the IFC model is the definitive open model for the representation and exchange of information in the construction industry.
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Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module

Interactive Training Guide

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Getting started with the ArchiCAD Interactive Training Guide

GETTING STARTED WITH THE ARCHICAD INTERACTIVE TRAINING GUIDE

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD AND INSTALL ARCHICAD

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Getting started with the ArchiCAD Interactive Training Guide

STEP 2: CREATE THE INTERACTIVE

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Getting started with the ArchiCAD Interactive Training Guide

STEP 3: HOW TO USE MOVIE PLAYER IN ARCHICAD?

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Getting started with the ArchiCAD Interactive Training Guide

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

CHAPTER 1: DWG DXF EXPORT AND IMPORT

STEP 1: SETTING UP DWG, DXF TRANSLATORS

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

For as is output Description:

Pre-set DWG and DXF Translators in ArchiCAD

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

For further editing Description:

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

For editable import Description:

Keep pen index number Description:

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

4 Select the For as is output built-in Translator from the list.

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

1 Activate the 1 DWG Export view in the Navigator-View Map.

STEP 2: COLLABORATION USING DWG, DXF FILES

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

The role of the SHX files in the Conversion Process

Note on TrueType fonts:

Note on Fonts vs. Shapes:

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

STEP 3: CREATING A NEW ARCHICAD OBJECT FROM AN EXTERNAL 3D DXF

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chapter 1: DWG DXF export and import

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide

Chater 2: PDF export and import

CHAPTER 2: PDF EXPORT AND IMPORT

STEP 1. ADDING EXTERNAL PDF DOCUMENTS TO THE LAYOUT BOOK

Portable Document Format:

Chater 2: PDF export and import

Graphisoft ArchiCAD 11 Collaboration module Interactive Training Guide