New Users

Skill vs Power: Learning BIM

If you have six minutes, please do yourself a favor and watch this video. But instead of thinking about video games, think about BIM adoption in firms. Specifically think about people learning ArchiCAD, Revit, or one of the other BIM authoring tools out there. Here’s the best analogy from the video, or an approximation at least. If you’re under 40, you’ve probably played Street Fighter II. Or something very similar.

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Creating keyboard shortcuts in ArchiCAD, a quick and helpful video

I regularly get questions about keyboard shortcuts. Probably the top two questions are “Is there a keyboard shortcut for Function A?” or “How do I make a keyboard shortcut for Function A?“. Well to answer both those questions and some others as well, I’ve created this short how-to video on creating keyboard shortcuts in ArchiCAD. Enjoy! For more information on Keyboard Shortcuts in ArchiCAD, check out these links: Keyboard Shortcuts

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Why you failed at BIM (you were impatient)

While writing a post about a former coworker, I paused to create a few diagrams explaining why others in his position often fail to make the switch to ArchiCAD and BIM. These three diagrams help illustrate what causes people to panic during their early adventures with a new way of working. A note about the fail line. People who give up at this point typically keep spinning their wheels without

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Switching to BIM? Emulate Paul’s Mindset

Part 1 “I just want you to know that computers are my life now.”                                              -former coworker who loves hand drafting Paul never used AutoCAD or any other CAD program. In mid-2011, he got the go ahead from our bosses at SALA Architects to start learning ArchiCAD. Paul was (and still is) a project architect at the firm. It was a bold move on the part of

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A good list, for Beginners to ArchiCAD…

…and those of us wanting a quick reminder of some basic ArchiCAD skills on this last day of the year. I always like reading through top 10 or top 20 lists of tricks. Especially for new users. I’m often reminded of something I forgot (or never knew). And I’m always looking for better ways to explain the fundamentals. Thanks to Othon Dafos for sharing this on the ArchiCAD Users Association

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I want to see your plan Printed Out. And Soon.

FACT: Ugly drawings are the bane of many people in the early stages of using understanding BIM. Don’t fight your coworkers. Instead draw them in. Teach them. When starting a project, whether it’s new construction or a remodel, I always want to see a clean plan as soon as possible. Whether that means adding 2D or 3D place holders to the model, I get to a spot where I can

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The Artlantis Attitude

Are you familar with Dwight Atkinson’s books? He’s got two great ones for ArchiCAD users. There’s the Artlantis Attitude which obviously covers rendering with Artlantis. And for people looking to do all their rendering within ArchiCAD (yes it’s possible), he also has The LightWorks in ArchiCAD Book. From everyone I’ve talked to, both books are the bible for rendering in their respective application. Semi-related, you can find Dwight commenting on

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Little Clues

You say “you know what you’re doing in ArchiCAD”. You might not be the best, but you’ve got a really good system. You’re fast and efficient. But how quickly can an ArchiCAD Expert tell if you’re a good judge of your own skills or just horribly deluded? That all depends on how long it takes for ArchiCAD to open your file. Because once it’s open, a pro will need less

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