Old ArchiCAD Libraries Available for EVERYONE!
We all now know about the free file converters that allow us to open old ArchiCAD files, but what about digging up old libraries…
Did you know you can download ALL the old ArchiCAD libraries? Well all the libraries from 4.55 to 9.0. ArchiCAD 10 to ArchiCAD 14 libraries are included in ArchiCAD 15 as Migration Libraries, so you don’t need to download them in their entirety. I believe all versions starting with ArchiCAD 11 come with migration libraries for ArchiCAD 10 and above.
I wish I knew about these library downloads 6 months ago when I was trying to look at an old 6.5 file. It was a pain because I could open the file with 8.1, but I didn’t have the old libraries on either my machine or the server. Oh well. I know now. This just reminds me that Graphisoft has a ton of useful information out there for us. Sometimes it’s just a treasure hunt to find them.
Here are the (now dead) links:
http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/downloads/libraries/USA.html
http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/downloads/libraries/INT.html
I presume there are similar links for the other language versions of ArchiCAD. If you find them, let me know and I’ll add them to the list above.
UPDATE 4/4/2023:
Sometime in 2023 GRAPHISOFT updated their download page. As of today there are links to download versions back to Archicad 18. Who knows what this will look like in the future, but at least as of today, if you need any version of Archicad released since 2014, you’re in luck. It’s worth noting that only Archicad 20 and newer have their updates available. Here’s the link.
UPDATE 10/19/2020:
The links above to the old libraries are now dead. That’s super frustrating. There’s no reason that GRAPHISOFT needed to take those down. As of right now, if you need ancient Archicad libraries, you are out of luck. If you need the USA or INT Library from Archicad 18 or newer, I can help you. The Shoegnome Open Template FAQ has a download link for USA and INT libraries as far back as Archicad 18. I’ll of course update this post if/when I get new information.
UPDATE 02/11/2020:
There used to be a trick to download old versions of ARCHICAD via Myarchicad.com. Unfortunately that’s no longer working. If you ever downloaded an old version of ARCHICAD via Myarchicad.com you can still access those downloads, but the links to other versions are no longer as easily accessible as they once were.
Because of that change I’ve deleted the instructions on this post that explained how to access those files. If I ever learn of a new way to access old versions of ARCHICAD, I’ll update this post again.
UPDATE 04/11/2015:
Need the INT or USA Library for the current version of ArchiCAD (ArchiCAD 18 as of this update)? I can help you out. Check out the Shoegnome Open Template FAQ for download links. You are familiar with the Shoegnome Open Template, right?
Want more ArchiCAD tips, tricks, help, advice, tutorials, etc? Follow Shoegnome on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube for more…
vistasp mehta
Was version 4.55 Mac only?. The library for windows users is “coming soon”. 😉
Jared Banks
Actually… 4.55 was the first version for both Mac and PC. http://www.archicadwiki.com/ArchiCAD%20versions Odd that it needs to be “coming soon”. Like it’s still in development. 🙂 I’ll have to do some checking, but I wonder which version was the first to have a USA build. I think that might be 4.55 as well.
Ender Aydin
Maybe you should update the link for INT.html
Regards.
Jared Banks
Ender, thanks for catching that. The link is updated.
daniela
Question: I have now ArchiCad 15 .. but old projects with ArchiCad 11 and 14 libraries.. but I can’t see the objects! Anyone knows what can I do?
Jared Banks
Your old libraries probably aren’t loaded in your old projects. Are you seeing a lot of big dots on the plan? When you open an old file in a new version of ArchiCAD you either need to manually load the old library or load the new library with the migration libraries. Sometimes ArchiCAD does this all automatically, usually not.
samuel
can i load archicad15 library on archicad 16?
Jared Banks
Samuel,
Yes. You can most definitely load the 15 library in ArchiCAD 16. However you don’t want to load both libraries as that will cause issues. Also if you just load the 16 library instead of the 15 library most/all of the objects will translate properly to their 16 counterparts.
Zinki
I was working on an Acad15 project on Windows 7 and when I opened it with Acad15 on my mac it said some of the library parts were missing. How can I resolve this?
Jared Banks
This really should have nothing to do with going from a PC to a MAC. What’s happening is that whatever library you’re using on the PC isn’t identical to the one on the MAC. Find out what’s missing (the library report manager will tell you) or just copy the library from the PC to the MAC. Also make sure that when you open the file on a different machine it knows where to find all the library parts. If folders get moved around, ArchiCAD won’t automatically know where to look. Check out this link for more info:
http://www.archicadwiki.com/TransferProjects
yipyipper
Hi! I know this is kind of an old post already but I was searching online for how to download the US library and this came up in the results.
I’m based in the Philippines and using the International version, but I found that the Electrical Symbols included are British/European symbols. In our country we mostly follow the US Electrical Symbols.
So now I was hoping that I could download the US Library for AC16… Any ideas? Or is it possible for me just to get the Electrical Symbols from the US Library 16?
Thanks and would appreciate any insights on this.
Jared Banks
Send me an e-mail: jared @ shoegnome.com and I’ll tell you what to do.
P. Michael Fisher
How come the USA version of ArchiCAD 16 does not have the “Basic Window” folder that is included in the INT version…? Can I get them into my USA Library (In fact I just now noticed there are a lot of differences between the two window libraries) I used ArchiCAD 15 USA version, then we upgraded to ArchiCAD 16 INT. I thought the new Basic Windows available in that version were the new standard across the board. So I had to manually change all of our projects windows because the INT Library was Different. Now we are going to move back to ArchiCAD 17 USA, am I going to have the reverse issue now with the Libraries…?
Jared Banks
The simple answer is yes, you’ll have to reverse the issue now that you’re switching back to the USA library. The USA library is developed by Graphisoft North America specifically for the US market. As such the basic USA window is not only different from the basic INT window, but ArchiCAD views each as a unique library part (with different GUIDs). This also means you should be able to load both windows into the same project.
I think the situation you’re running into is very rare since I haven’t heard of many (any) other firms switching back and forth between the two libraries. You should talk to the reseller that upgraded you to ArchiCAD 16 INT and see about getting the ArchiCAD 17 INT library, if you enjoy using that. In the end, my advice would be to stick with either the USA or INT, as I’m sure there are some other issues with converting projects between the two libraries (because there are many different/unique objects in each library). But again if you find a few objects in one library that you prefer over the other you should be able to just copy them into another file (using the other library) and use them as embedded objects.
GB
I downloaded the 6.5 library and added it using lib manager ( I am running archicad 9)
still comes up with a number of dots indicating missing lib parts. what am I doing wrong ?
Jared Banks
Could be a few things. If the missing parts are definitely from 6.5, try adding the library when you open the file (when the library manager warning pops up) and not after the file is fully loaded. I have seen instances where ArchiCAD won’t replace the missing parts after the file is open. If some of the parts are replaced, but not others, then that suggests that those missing parts are not from the standard library. You should be able to select one and see what it is supposed to be.
Nathan Hildebrandt
There are a few things to reduce risks of not being able to get your hands on library parts on your old projects. Firstly save PLA files at all critical stages during the project and Secondly we have all the libraries from previous releases kept on our BIM Servers as a BIM Server Library therefore if someone needs to call upon an old Library you just load it is a BIM Server Library. For further risk management make sure that the libraries are saved in a second location and are part of a back up process, BIM Server Hardware failures aren’t fun to fix and having all your backups in place make it easy to rebuild.
Nathan
carl
Hi,
I’ve just upgraded from AC 15 to AC16, when i opened up my project the first time in 16 it was complete so then i deleted AC 15 from my machine, when i now open up my project the windows and doors are missing, is their any where i van get the missing AC15 library. i have completely deleted it and don’t have another copy. dumb i know, lesson learnt. i have searched every where. on mac.
carl
Jared Banks
Carl, Oddly enough the issue you’re dealing with was partially addressed in a post I published yesterday over on BIM Engine. You can read it here. But the easiest way to get the ArchiCAD 15 library is to reinstall ArchiCAD 15, and either keep it installed or copy the library out into a safe location before redeleting the program. I actually advice keeping it installed. There are occasionally instances when you want to be able to just work in the original version of software a project was created in. For instance it might be easier to finish or rework or view an ArchiCAD 16 project in 16 instead of 17 (Because of how Building Materials will rework composites).
Anyways, to get ArchiCAD 15, log on to http://www.myarchicad.com and follow the steps i outline in the post above. Specically you’ll need to go to: https://myarchicad.com/profile/ac15.aspx and redownload ArchiCAD 15. Should be painless and easy. Good luck.
matiu
i have archicad 15 and have used 11 prior for some reason i dont have any lamps for ceilings in my libraries. i downloaded some grom BIM websites i can use them but have to search for the file every time
how can i get the lights that come with A15 or prior and for the downloads to stay on list???
Jared Banks
If you used the standard lights from the default libraries they should be there. Are you perhaps using a different localization of the library? Say your v11 library was from the INT version and the v15 library was from the USA version?
matiu
v11 was used on a different computer so i know the exist. but on mine the lights are a no show. teh only lights i have used are the ones i downloaded and i have to load then copy paste to project since they aren’t found directly
also get… archicad 15 libraries duplicate message every time i open program
Jared Banks
Oh it sounds like you just need to load the 3rd-party lights via the Library Manager (or embed them) and re-save the file. As for the duplicate message, if you have both the v11 and v15 libraries loaded that would cause lots of duplicates.
matiu
sounds simple
how do i do that
haha
Jared Banks
http://helpcenter.graphisoft.com/guides/archicad-17-int-reference-guide/configuration/libraries/embedded-library/add-objects-to-embedded-library/
bobo
Does anyone know if these older library archives have added GUID reference numbers for use in AC7+?
The developer menu of the migration gave an error notice of about 50% GUID failure rate of my last attempted object upgrade.
Thanks!
Jared Banks
I’m sure they don’t have anything added to them. They are just archives of what was, AFAIK.
bobo
…dear santa…
www.decoreart.pl
Where can I find more objects?
Jared Banks
In addition to BIMcomponents.com, I have a list on my ArchiCAD Resources page.
foe
Hello,
I have a problem….
is it possible to load an newer library to an older version and if yes how is it possible?
download the ifc file, load it with libray manager but does not load anything!
Jared Banks
Older versions of ArchiCAD can’t read Objects designed for newer versions of ArchiCAD. You can however open older files in newer versions of ArchiCAD and load whatever libraries/objects you want.
foe
thanks…
im been trying all day now!
anyway…i ll use the ones my versions has!
Takn J Carter
Is there any one who can help me with how or from which site should i get free archicad stair type and handrails please?
Jared Banks
The default stair tool in ArchiCAD, while not the greatest is worth trying. Or you could check out the technique of using Complex Profiles to create stairs: https://shoegnome.com/2012/01/02/two-videos-on-complex-profiles/
If you are willing to pay, Cadimage also has a stair tool that I’ve heard good things about.
Cadimage
You can try the 30-day trial of the Cadimage Stair tool (plus all the other tools) from http://www.cadimage.com. Any stairs created with it will remain viewable but not editable after your 30-days are up. Check it out at: http://cadimage.com/Tools/Stairs
Patrick Vindi
i have a 32 bit windows operating system, where can i get the link to download archicad 16 and below
Jared Banks
Follow the instructions outlined above. Log into the myARCHICAD website, then copy and paste the URL above, replacing the XX with any version number between 12 and 19.
Luis Martinez
Do you have the AC15 Library? Could you share it please? I’ve tryed to install the AC15 version but it’s imposible to do so on Windows 10 and really canf find anyone with Windows XP :/
Thanks in advance.
Jared Banks
Every version of ARCHICAD comes with migration libraries for ARCHICAD 13 and newer, so opening an old project and migrating the library should give you everything you need. If that won’t work, send me an e-mail. I do have the ARCHICAD 15 USA library, if that’s what you need.
Juan Pablo Hoyos
HI, I NEED ARCHICAD 9 SPANISH LIBRARY AND ARCHICAD 10 SPANISH INSTALLER I HAVE PPC MACS MANY OF THEM THANKS
Jared Banks
If the solutions described above don’t help you find what you’re looking for, I’d recommend you reach out to your local ARCHICAD reseller.
nwanebu4
Does Archicad has library to design event hall?
Jared Banks
Yes. The out of the box ARCHICAD library should provide all the basics you need for most building types.
Eric
Hi Jared, thanks for share lot of thing about archicad, i just new in archicad
i saw on lynda.com course their AC have windows casement and many other library, how to get those library??
and for this:
“”you can just download the old installation files from myarchicad.com. To access old versions here’s what you do:
Log-in to myarchicad.com (or register if you haven’t already).
go to: https://myarchicad.com/profile/acXX.aspx. Replace the XX with the version number you need. So for ArchiCAD 16, you’d type …/profile/ac16.aspx.
Download.”
i try this method and did not work, where they move the old library??
thank’s
Jared Banks
Sadly that method no longer works. And I don’t know of another way to access the old files. If you are looking for USA or INT libraries since ARCHICAD 18, I have links to those (see the post above). Also every installation of ARCHICAD comes with migration libraries. Between all that and the very old libraries also mentioned above, you should be able to get access to all the USA and INT objects you need.
Brian
Graphisoft support has most versions from 4.55 up to version 9 available on a Box.com account. Hope this helps!
https://app.box.com/s/2k78xo1z28nj3c5haow5nqb1u6a3upko
Jared Banks
this is a gold mine! Thanks for sharing.
Andrew Ross Thomson
Thanks @Brian – I’m missing AC20 (mac) but that one isn’t in your list?
Andrew Ross Thomson
Doh!! Page 2!