BIM After Dark + Shoegnome
On March 9th, 2023, I'll be chatting with Jeffrey A. Pinheiro of The Revit Kid on BIM After Dark. We're going to talk Archicad vs Revit, BIM for residential, and much more.
ARCHICAD Elevations: turning on and off color
With the latest update to ARCHICAD 20, we can now turn color and shadows on/off with Graphic Overrides in any ARCHICAD elevation.
A Tale of Exploding PDFs
Guest blogger Ferenc Traser returns to talk about exploding PDFs in ARCHICAD. When Ferenc isn't guest blogging, he can be found working as a Product Designer at GRAPHISOFT.
Showing Section Markers in Elevations in ARCHICAD
Do you know how to show Section Markers in Elevations in ARCHICAD? Here's a video showing you the most efficient way to do it.
Control Joints and Strong Air in ARCHICAD
Getting the most out of ARCHICAD and/or BIM is about finding the balance between the automation provided by the program and manual processes that give you complete control.
The Wedge Between Us
One other pet peeve of mine is to hear architects
Building Better BIM Libraries
Jon Buerg talks about his experiences building BIM Libraries for both Revit and ARCHICAD. To him, it's the key to any successful project.
gbXML export add-on (for free from Cadimage)
The ArchiCAD community is awesome. Cadimage has a free gbXML export add-on for you.
ArchiCAD Basics: Undo and Redo
In this blog post I convince you to watch an (almost) 11 minute video on the Undo and Redo commands in ArchiCAD by talking to you about time travel.
ArchiCAD Basics: Align and Distribute
Align and Distribute are nothing new and I'm sure these commands are rarely (if ever) on anyone's Top 10 Most Important ArchiCAD Features list. But they are still quite valuable. Let me explain why, plus show you some basics in
Interior Elevations in ArchiCAD
Do you need to create Interior Elevations in ArchiCAD? Of course you do. We all do. Are you creating them in the best possible way? Watch this video and find out. Got something to add? Share your tips in the
BIM Templates: When ‘If I have to’ becomes ‘I always do it’
If you use BIM and don't have a good BIM Template (whether for ArchiCAD, Revit, etc.). You Are Doing It Wrong.
It Happened Again: someone reminded me that Computers are Just Tools
Today on Twitter, in response to this post about the most amazing BIMx model I've seen, I saw a Tweet that went like this: "4all their power computers are just tools #architects still need 2do the hard work of #design" Yes, but.
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
Tips, Tricks, and Cheats… ArchiCAD Dimensions
Dimensions in ArchiCAD are super basic, right? Well here's a video on some tips, tricks, and cheats regarding this essential tool. I cover about 15 to 20 different aspects of ArchiCAD's Dimension Tool. So clearly not an exhaustive or comprehensive
Simple Addon – seriously all of them for $19.95?
I will no longer listen to anyone bitch about how much it sucks that in ArchiCAD we can't copy 3D elements in Sections or Elevations. I'm sure one day Graphisoft will give us this feature, though it's not high on
New User Trouble
Mr. New User, Don't forget that you still need to produce printed documents I find many new users get obsessed with modeling and don't want to hear about the 2D world. This is both great and a disaster. I love to
Moving Windows and Doors Between Walls – I bet you didn’t know this trick worked
Glitch Or Hidden Magic? When exploring ArchiCAD, I often find things and need to ask myself "Glitch or Hidden Magic?" Sadly this post about Conditional Operators is an example of a great glitch. Hopefully Graphisoft will either remove it so I
Flexible, Fast and Functional – A Review of Master Script’s Total Keynote
This guest post is by David Jefferis. “Someone finally made a good keynote object.” The reaction by a former co-worker sums up my feelings about the new Total Keynote object by Master Script. The object has a deep level of functionality and
TWO videos on Complex Profiles
Tonight I recorded two videos. Making these videos reminds me of how I first learned ArchiCAD. I spent a fair amount of time sitting behind one of my coworkers, just watching him work. It was very enlightening. And as I rewatch
THREE graphic shortcuts for Sections and Interior Elevations
Over the past year and a half of blogging I've had many small ArchiCAD tips and tricks that I wanted to share, but could never find the proper way to write about them. The aggregate of these tricks help me
Zumbro Zen
I'm particularly proud of this project. It's the Star Tribune's Home of the Month for September 2011 and is going to be on the Homes By Architects Tour in Minnesota on September 17th and 18th, 2011. I did the drawings
CADspeed talks Computer Performance & ArchiCAD
CADspeed has two articles on their blog about ArchiCAD and computer performance. They are both quick reads and well worth it. I will now be sending people to read both these articles when they ask me about upgrading ArchiCAD and
Greater than the Sum of the Parts – guest blogger David Jefferis talks about Hybrid Notation
This guest post is by David Jefferis. My preferred style of notation breeds the Full Text Note with the Full Keynote to produce the Hybrid Note. The primary problem with both styles of notation presented last week is the lack of
Key Notes – guest blogger David Jefferis takes us from Conventional to Exceptional
This guest post is by David Jefferis. In these posts, I will focus on general techniques of standardized representation and strategies for producing construction documents so that our conventional drawings can be exceptional. An important but rarely discussed part of starting an