02 AC 12 Getting Started

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Getting Started with ArchiCAD 12



Graphisoft

Visit the Graphisoft website at http://www.graphisoft.com for local distributorand product availability information.

Getting Started with ArchiCAD 12

Copyright © 2008 by Graphisoft, all rights reserved. Reproduction,paraphrasing or translation without express prior written permission isstrictly prohibited.

Trademarks

ArchiCAD is a registered trademark and PlotMaker, Virtual Building andGDL are trademarks of Graphisoft. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

http://www.graphisoft.com/

http://www.graphisoft.com/



Getting Started with ArchiCAD 12 3

CONTENTS

Installation _____________________________________________________ 5

Hardware/Software Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5MacOS (PPC or Mac Intel) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Required Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Memory and Disk Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Required Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Memory and Disk Space. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Optional Hardware Peripherals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Licenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Commercial License. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Educational License. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Trial License . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Hardware Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Demo Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Compatibility Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Opening ArchiCAD Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Plotter and Digitizer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Saving Project Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Standard Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Updates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Additional Installations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

Create Installation Package for Predefined Company Standards. . . . . . . . . 17

Migration _____________________________________________________ 23

Migrating ArchiCAD 9 Projects to ArchiCAD 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Option 1: Create Two Separate Files in ArchiCAD 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Option 2: Create Single File in ArchiCAD 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Conversion Warnings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

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4 Getting Started with ArchiCAD 12

Conversion of Other Attributes/Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Drawing Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Drawing Name and Drawing ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Library Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Converted Model Views in ArchiCAD 12: Floor Plan Display Issues . . . . . . . . . . 35

Migrating an ArchiCAD 10 or 11 File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Note the Following. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Learn the Following . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Do the Following . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

How to Migrate Projects Containing Hotlinks to ArchiCAD 12 . . . . . . . . . . . 44




INSTALLATION

Hardware/Software RequirementsMacOS (PPC or Mac Intel)

Software

System software 10.4 and 10.5

Required Hardware

G5 series or Intel Mac required

Multicore processor is recommended to exploit ArchiCAD 12 performancecapabilities

Memory and Disk Space

• 1 GB RAM is required, 2 GB or more recommended

• 1 GB free hard disk space required for a full installation of ArchiCAD

• Additional 2 GB hard disk space required for work with complexmodels and 3D visualization

Display

• Resolution of 1024 x 768 is required

• Resolution of 1280 x 1024 or higher is recommended

• Open GL compatible graphic card with on-board video memory of 256 MB or more is recommended to fully exploit hardware accelerationcapabilities

You can find a list of recommended video cards at: http://archicadwiki.com/Video_Cards

http://archicadwiki.com/Video_Cards




Hardware/Software Requirements


Windows

Software

Microsoft Windows XP Professional; XP Professional x64edition Vista Business and Ultimate Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)

QuickTime 7 or later and Java 1.6.0 or later are required

ArchiCAD installer will automatically install Java 1.6.0 and QuickTime 7 if they are not present on your computer.

Required Hardware

Intel Pentium 4 or higher required

Multicore processor is recommended to exploit ArchiCAD 12 performancecapabilities.

Memory and Disk Space

• 1 GB of RAM is required, 2 GB or more is recommended

• 1 GB free disk space required for a full installation of ArchiCAD

• Additional 2 GB hard disk space required for work with complexmodels and 3D visualization

Display

• Resolution of 1024 x 768 is required

• Resolution of 1280 x 1024 or higher is recommended• Open GL and DirectX9 compatible graphic card with on-board video

memory of 256 MB is recommended to fully exploit hardwareacceleration capabilities.

• You can find a list of recommended video cards at:http://archicadwiki.com/Video_Cards

Optional Hardware Peripherals All major plotter, printers and digitizers can be used with ArchiCAD.





Licenses


Licenses

There are three types of ArchiCAD licenses: Commercial, Educational and Trial.

As part of the installation process, you will be prompted to choose one of the three licenses.

Choose the Commercial License if your package includes a hardwareprotection key (dongle) for ArchiCAD, or if you wish to install a Demo version.

Choose the Educational License if you are a student and you havereceived a Serial Number for ArchiCAD.

Choose the Trial License if you want to try out ArchiCAD for a limitedtime, and if you have registered for a Trial Version Serial Number.

Commercial License

To run the commercial license of ArchiCAD in full mode, a hardwareprotection key (dongle) is required. Depending on which package you havepurchased, the protection key will enable you to use ArchiCAD either as a

single user or as part of a network.Note: If you have the network version, the DVD will contain a Network Utilities program. See the accompanying Read-Me file for details.



Licenses


If you have a hardware protection key, your ArchiCAD will run in full modeas long as you work on files created with the commercial license. However,if you open a file created in educational mode, ArchiCAD will switch toeducation mode and a watermark will appear on the page whenever youprint/plot drawings.

Educational LicenseChoose the Educational license if you are a student and you have received aSerial Number for ArchiCAD. The file extensions of ArchiCAD filescreated in the Educational license are identical to those of files created inthe Commercial license (i.e., PLN for a “solo project” and PLA for a “solo

project archive”). However, if you print a file created in the Educationallicense, each printed/plotted page will display a watermark text.

An ArchiCAD file created in the Educational license can be opened by afull (commercial) license of ArchiCAD, which will then switch toEducational mode as long as the Education-license file is in use.

Installation of an Educational license ArchiCAD follows the same steps asthose detailed below (at Standard Installation ), with the following exceptions:

• Instead of installing a hardware protection key, you will be asked toprovide your serial number.

• If your serial number is that of an individual student rather than aneducational institution, you will not have the option to create a customInstallation Package.

• If your ArchiCAD is registered by an educational institution, entering that serial number will enable you to create a custom Installation Package.

See “Create Installation Package for Predefined Company Standards” on page 17 .

Trial LicenseChoose the trial license if you want to try out the full functionality of

ArchiCAD for up to 30 days. If you choose this option, you will beprompted to provide a serial number. You can register for a serial number atthe website address provided.



Hardware Protection


While the trial license is a full-feature license of ArchiCAD, there are somelimitations compared to the full commercial license:

• Every trial installation has its own unique file format, so that working inteams is not possible. (Full-license files opened with the trial license will

also be converted to the trial format.)• There is a watermark applied to the trial files.

• The trial license cannot save files in AC11 format.

Once you buy the full commercial license, you need only insert theprotection key into your computer: after restarting the program, the triallicense automatically switches to full mode, and the files created by the triallicense will be converted to ArchiCAD commercial files, but only on thecomputer on which they were created.

Important: After you convert your Trial version ArchiCAD intoCommercial version, make sure you open and re-save all your trial version files .

You can do this only with this copy of ArchiCAD. Once you uninstallthis copy of ArchiCAD, trial version files created with it can no longerbe opened at all.

Hardware Protection The ArchiCAD Hardware Protection Key represents your investment inthe full license of ArchiCAD, so please safeguard and insure it for the full

value of your software just as you would any other company asset. LostProtection Keys are not replaceable. The commercial license of ArchiCADcomes either with a stand-alone or a network type hardware protectionkey. The network protection is programmed differently than the stand-alonehardware protection key. Thus, the two keys cannot be interchanged.

If you are an upgrader from ArchiCAD 7.0 or newer version, your ArchiCAD package will not include the hardware protection key, because ArchiCAD 12 will run on your existing protection key after you upgrade it.

To activate or upgrade the hardware protection key, please visithttps://upgrade.graphisoft.com and follow the steps. If you have purchased new

ArchiCAD licenses, your ArchiCAD provider has given you an activationcode. If you are upgrading an existing ArchiCAD license, your key will beupgraded automatically. Contact your local dealer for help with activation.

If you upgrade from pre-7.0 versions of ArchiCAD, please contact yourlocal ArchiCAD provider to receive the protection key.

https://upgrade.graphisoft.com/

https://upgrade.graphisoft.com/



Compatibility Information


If you have the network protection version of ArchiCAD, you have toinstall a special server software on the computer where the network hardware protection key will be connected.

Warning: Before starting to install network software, please read the

installation instructions accompanying the Network Utilities for ArchiCAD on the DVD.

The Protection Key must be properly installed at all times when ArchiCAD is running, otherwise you will not be able to continue your work or launch ArchiCAD, except in Demo mode.

Demo Version

If you received a copy of ArchiCAD for evaluation purposes, your packagedoes not contain a hardware key and you will be able to run ArchiCAD indemo mode only.

The Demo mode is for exploring ArchiCAD’s functionality. However, youcannot save your work, nor can you cut/paste elements from the clipboardor use the Teamwork function. These commands and menu items aredisabled, and the ArchiCAD 12 titlebar changes to ArchiCAD 12 Demo.

Your ArchiCAD program may also be restricted to Demo mode for thefollowing reasons:

• no key is attached to your computer, or

• all of your ArchiCAD licenses are in use, or

• your protection key is defective.

In these cases, an alert message will appear when you start ArchiCAD,informing you about the problem with the protection key. You can run

ArchiCAD in Demo mode or quit and resolve the problem.

Compatibility Information We suggest that you use previous versions of ArchiCAD to work on yourcurrent projects, until you feel comfortable and productive with the new

version. We recommend that you keep your existing ArchiCADenvironment for a time, even if you are using ArchiCAD 12.

ArchiCAD 12 provides downward compatibility with limitations: allinformation based on the new features and functions of ArchiCAD 12 will



Compatibility Information


be lost in a file saved in ArchiCAD 11 format. Also, you cannot use library parts of newer versions in previous ArchiCADs, which means that projectssaved in ArchiCAD 11 format will not be able to use ArchiCAD 12 library parts. ArchiCAD 12 library parts cannot be saved in earlier file formats.

When migrating earlier version files to ArchiCAD 12, you should load theSubset Library or Migration Library, in addition to the ArchiCAD 12 library.

See “Incompatible Library Parts” on page 42 .

Opening ArchiCAD Files ArchiCAD 12 can open ArchiCAD 8.1, 9, 10 and 11 project files only.

You cannot open earlier versions of project files directly in ArchiCAD 12.Please use ArchiCAD 8.1 or later version to convert them to a usable fileformat. We strongly recommend that you create an archive file (.pla) of eachproject you worked on with older ArchiCAD versions. Move a project onto

ArchiCAD 12 only if you have archived it with the previous version.

If you are opening a project from ArchiCAD 9 or earlier in ArchiCAD 12, see Migrating ArchiCAD 9 Projects to ArchiCAD 12 in this document.

Plotter and Digitizer SupportPen plotters (or pen-plotter mode on raster plotters) are no longersupported beginning with version ArchiCAD 8.1. Users who wish to use apen plotter should keep an earlier ArchiCAD version. ArchiCAD 12 doesnot support earlier Graphisoft digitizer drivers; however, manufacturers’digitizer drivers work fine in the new ArchiCAD version in mouse-mode forsketches.

Saving Project Files ArchiCAD 12 can back-save project files in ArchiCAD 11 format only (among previous ArchiCAD file formats).

You cannot use library parts of newer versions in older-version ArchiCADs.



Standard Installation


Standard InstallationInsert the ArchiCAD DVD into your computer’s DVD-ROM drive.

On PC: A start-up presentation will be launched, giving you a short visualintroduction to the capabilities of ArchiCAD.

Click on Install Graphisoft ArchiCAD 12 in the menu to start theInstallation Wizard.

If the start-up presentation is not launched automatically on PC, double-click on the “Setup” application in the DVD root directory.

On MacOS: the “ArchiCAD 12” volume will be mounted on your desktop.Open this volume and click the “ArchiCAD 12 Installer” icon to begin thestart-up presentation. Click on Install Graphisoft ArchiCAD 12 in themenu to start the Installation Wizard.

The ArchiCAD Installation Wizard guides you through the steps of installing ArchiCAD on your computer.

On the PC platform, the installer will first check your Java environment. ArchiCAD installer will automatically install Java 1.6.0 if it is not present onyour computer.

License Type Selection

Choose ArchiCAD 12 Commercial license, Educational license or Trial license.

For more information, see “Licenses” on page 7 .

Serial Number (Educational and Trial licenses only)

If you choose Educational or Trial license, you will be asked to provide your

registered user name and serial number.

Program Folder Selection

After accepting the license agreement, you will have to define a location onyour computer’s hard drive for installing ArchiCAD 12. You can eitheraccept the default location offered by the Installer, or point to an existing folder or create a new folder.





Choose Setup Type

There are three types of installations available:

• The Typical option installs all components of ArchiCAD 12. It isrecommended to use this option when first installing ArchiCAD.

• The Custom option installs only the selected parts of the full package.Choose this option only if you are experienced in installing and using

ArchiCAD.

• A third option, Installation Package Creation is also available. Usethis only if you have already configured and saved ArchiCAD defaultsin a separate folder.

See details in “Create Installation Package for Predefined Company Standards” on page 17 .

Work Environment Profiles

As part of the installation process, if the installer detects an earlier versionof ArchiCAD on your machine, you will have the option of importing any customized Work Environment Profiles from ArchiCAD 9, 10 and 11 to

ArchiCAD 12.

Shortcuts

As part of the install process you can create an “ArchiCAD 12” Desktopshortcut. On PC, you can also create a QuickLaunch shortcut, and onMacOS, a Dock icon.

Protection Key

After installing ArchiCAD, insert the hardware protection key into the USBport of your computer and restart your computer so that the hardware

protection key will function properly.For more information, see “Hardware Protection” on page 9 .

On the PC platform, you must have QuickTime 7 or higher installed onyour computer to run ArchiCAD 12. If it is not already on your system,QuickTime 7 will be installed automatically, and its license agreement willbe displayed for you to accept.





Modify and Repair

If you already have ArchiCAD installed, and start the Installation Wizard,you are provided with two options:

1) Add will add new features to your current installation. You will see all

available features in a list and you can check features to be added toyour current installation.

2) Repair will reinstall ArchiCAD with the features of your currentinstallation. You can choose to save your preferred files in a backupfolder. If you select this option, a “backup” folder will be created inyour ArchiCAD 12 folder. The name of the backup folder will containthe ArchiCAD version and the date of creation; and will include:

• your previous Add-on settings• your previous ArchiCAD 12 Library

• your previous default work environment schemes

After the repair process is complete, you can either delete these preferredfiles or reuse them by copying them back into your repaired ArchiCADenvironment:

• copy your Add-On settings back to the respective sub-folders of your

‘ArchiCAD 12/Add-Ons’ folder

• replace the library in the ‘ArchiCAD 12/ArchiCAD Library 12’ folder

• replace your ‘Defaults’ folder in the ‘ArchiCAD 12’ folder (thereby including your current Work Environment, Translator and Template data)

Project files you saved into the ArchiCAD 12 folder will not be deleted oroverwritten by the repair process.

Uninstall To uninstall ArchiCAD 12 from a PC, it is best to use the “Add or RemovePrograms” utility, accessible from the Control Panel.

Alternatively, navigate to the “Uninstall.AC” folder in your ArchiCAD 12folder, and select the “Uninstaller” application. The Uninstall Wizard willhelp remove files which were installed by the ArchiCAD Installation Wizard.

If you have more than one ArchiCAD installed, you may want to leave the WIBU driver and components installed on your system. In this case, makesure that the Remove WIBU hardware protection driver option is un-





checked. The uninstaller doesn’t remove any files you have created in the ArchiCAD main folder - e.g. ArchiCAD project files that you saved into the ArchiCAD main folder.

Important: Do not remove the Java Runtime Environment before

uninstalling ArchiCAD. A “silent uninstall” method is also available.

See “Silent Uninstall” on page 21.

Updates

To check for available updates of your localized version of ArchiCAD and/or ArchiCAD libraries, start ArchiCAD 12 and go to the Help menu:

The Check for Updates command will open your internet browser and will guide you to the Graphisoft update website. If there is no new updatepatch available for your release and language version of ArchiCAD, the webpage will inform you that you are using an up-to-date version of ArchiCAD.If there is a new update patch available, the web page will automatically offer you the updater package that fits your current ArchiCAD installation.

You can choose to run the Check for Updates function automatically on aregular basis by setting the options at Options > Work Environment > Web

Options.

Note: If you have an updater patch installed and use the Add/Repair function of your original ArchiCAD 12 Installer DVD, you will beprompted to re-apply the updates after the modification or repair iscarried out. The ArchiCAD update option is available to holders of thecommercial or educational ArchiCAD 12 license.

You can find other downloadable materials (example files, goodies etc.) at

www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/downloads .

http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/downloads

http://www.graphisoft.com/support/archicad/downloads





Additional Installations

With the ArchiCAD 12 installer, the following utilities can be installed:

For more information about additional utilities, open the folders of the applications in the ArchiCAD main folder to find detailed descriptions.

Java runtime

environment

Java 1.6.0 or newer is necessary to run

ArchiCAD 12 installer/uninstaller. On MacOS, Java comes with the operating system. On PC,the ArchiCAD 12 installer will detect your Javaenvironment and will install Java 1.6.0 if needed.

WIBU systemcomponents

Hardware protection key driver is necessary torun ArchiCAD 12. If not found on your system,the WIBU driver will be automatically installed

with ArchiCAD 12.

QuickTimeinstaller QuickTime 7 or higher is necessary to run ArchiCAD 12. On the MacOS system, it is partof the operating system. On PC, if QuickTime

version 7 or higher is not found on your system,QuickTime 7 for Windows will be automatically installed with ArchiCAD 12.

Adobe Reader Adobe Reader is necessary to read the PDFdocumentation provided in the ArchiCAD 12/Documentation folder. On the MacOS system,

Adobe Reader is part of the operating system.On the PC platform, you can install it by inserting the ArchiCAD 12 CD and selecting the “Adobe Reader” caption. in the

ArchiCAD 12 installation dialog box.

Plotter Drivers With a typical install, ArchiCAD 12 will includea number of built-in drivers for a wide variety of HPGL compatible plotters.

Graphisoft ShellExtension

Optional, for PC only. Utility for extendedGraphisoft file property information on

Windows.

PlotFlow Optional, utility for managing plotting innetworks



Create Installation Package for Predefined Company Standards


Create Installation Package forPredefined Company Standards

With a Commercial and certain Educational licenses, it is possible to createa custom installation package that contains all the company standardenvironment settings, such as:

• Work environment settings

• DXF/DWG Translators used by default

• Project templates

Distributing this installation package in the office makes it possible for allassociates to have a copy of ArchiCAD customized according to thecompany standards determined by the CAD Manager.

Note for Educational Institutions: If your ArchiCAD license isregistered to an educational institution, you can use the InstallationPackage Creation process to create a recorded installation and simplify the installation of multiple identical copies of the program - even if you

wish to use factory defaults instead of custom-defined settings.

To do this, you (the CAD Manager) must first install ArchiCAD on yourown computer, following the standard installation process, and configuring the program according to company standards, following the steps below.

Then you will quit and re-install the program on a server (or differentmachine). This time, you will choose a special installation option whichautomatically records your installation process and creates an installpackage: a single executable application file to be launched on each enduser’s machine.

To create a custom installation package, follow these steps:

1) Install ArchiCAD 12 onto your own computer following the stepsunder “Standard Installation”. Choose the “Typical” Setup.

2) Use Options > Work Environment dialog boxes to set up yourcompany standard work environment settings. Most such options arefound in three dialog boxes of Company Standard Schemes: DataSafety; Web Options; and Special Folders.

To save these settings in company-default profile for the office, go toOptions > Work Environment > Work Environment Profiles.





3) Create and save any number of template files. Template files includelibraries loaded through Library Manager (e.g. “Office StandardLibrary”). Templates can also include Project Preferences (e.g. Working Units, Zone calculation preferences), and such items as Master Layouts,Project Info, placed elements (e.g. Elevation markers, entire buildings).

4) Use the Translation Setup dialog box (File > File Special > DXF-DWG Translation Setup) to set up Translators and save them to ashared folder on a server that is accessible to all users. (In this case, a

TranslatorList.xml file is created, which is a list of references to thesetranslators.) You can also create local translators that you want to installon the hard disk of each user.

5) Quit ArchiCAD.

6) Create a new folder entitled “Defaults”. Following the hierarchy below,copy the following files/folders into the “Defaults” folder:

Defaults

ArchiCAD

WorkEnvironment

ArchiCAD 12 Template.tpl

Translator List.XmlDxf-Dwg Translators

7) Uninstall ArchiCAD from your machine before running the Installer,or run ArchiCAD Installer on the server or on another machine.

8) When you get to Choose Setup Type, choose the InstallationPackage Creation option. The screens of the Installation Wizard willnow show the message “Recorded Installation.”

9) Proceed through the screens of the Installation Wizard and set optionsfor the content of the recorded installation package:

Feature (Component) Selection

Choose the components you wish to install.

Company Standards Defaults

Use the controls of this screen if you wish to include company standardcomponents as part of the install package.





Note for Educational Institutions: If you are using the InstallationPackage Creation process to create a recorded installation that does notinclude customized settings, do not check the box on this screen. Yourrecorded installation process will then skip to the end of the process.

Check the Install company standard defaults box.

Use the directory dialog box to indicate the path of the Defaults folder onyour system which contains previously defined company standard content.

The folder and its contents should take form defined in Step 6 above.

The program will check to ensure that the Defaults folder indeed containsdefault content. (If it does not, you will see a warning notice.)

ArchiCAD Work Environment Selection

Use the pop-up menu to define which Work Environment profiles shouldbe included in the install package:

• ArchiCAD Factory Default Profile Set; or

• Predefined Company Standard Profile Set.

The selected profiles (referred to in a single .xml file) will be copied to thefollowing location on each end user’s machine.

On PC: Documents and Settings\user\ApplicationData\Graphisoft\ArchiCAD 12\Defaults\WorkEnvironment folder.

On MacOS: Library\Preferences\Graphisoft\ArchiCAD 12\Defaults\ WorkEnvironment folder.

Note: This panel will appear only if the components to be installedinclude ArchiCAD; and you have activated the Install companystandard defaults checkbox; and the defined Defaults folder includesa WorkEnvironment subfolder.

DXF-DWG Translator List

Use this screen to specify the path of the translator list you want to includeas part of the install package.

If you have defined company standard translators and have placed theresulting Translator List.xml in the defined Defaults folder, check InstallPredefined List of Translators. The paths of the translator files are

displayed on the screen. The chosen .xml will be copied into the ArchiCAD 12/Defaults folder.





After the package is installed on the end users’ machines, the users will haveaccess to read-only templates of these referred translators (which arelocated on a server). To edit them, the users should create editable copies by duplicating them in DXF-DWG Translation Settings.

If you want to use ArchiCAD’s factory default translators, do not check the box.Note: This screen will appear only if the components to be installedinclude ArchiCAD; and you have activated the Install companystandard defaults checkbox; and the defined Defaults folder includesa file called TranslatorList.xml.

Local DXF-DWG Translators

If you have defined company standard Translators which you want to install

on each end user’s machine, check Install Company Standard Translator(s). The names of these translators are shown in the box below.

Upon installation on the end users’ machines, and when the program is firststarted, these translators will be copied to the following location on eachuser’s machine:

On PC: Documents and Settings\user\Graphisoft\DXF-DWG Translatorsfolder.

On MacOS: Library\Application Support\Graphisoft\DXF-DWG Translators.

Note: This panel will appear only if the components to be installedinclude ArchiCAD; and you have activated the Install companystandard defaults checkbox; and the defined Defaults folder includesat least one file called Translator.xml.

Template Projects

If you have defined company standard Templates which you want to installon each end user’s machine, check Install Company Standard Template(s). The template files that you have copied to the Defaults folderare listed on the screen.

Upon installation on the end users’ machines, and when the program is firststarted, these templates will be copied into the following location on eachend user’s machine.

On PC: Documents and Settings\user\Graphisoft\ArchiCAD Templatefolder.

On MacOS: Library\Application Support\Graphisoft\ArchiCAD Templates





When creating a new project in ArchiCAD with the “Use a Template”option, end users will find these company standard templates listed in thepop-up, together with other, recently used template files.

Note: This screen will appear only if the components to be installed

include ArchiCAD; and you have activated the Install companystandard defaults checkbox; and the defined Defaults folder includesat least one Template file.

Complete Recorded Installation

After viewing a summary of your installation choices, click the Installbutton on the screen to initiate the recorded installation.

On the next screens, three additional options will be added to the recorded

installation, and will be carried out on each end user’s machine:• if the installer detects customized Work Environment Profiles from

earlier ArchiCAD versions (9, 10 or 11) on the end user’s machine,decide whether these should be imported to ArchiCAD 12 or not.

• decide whether an “ArchiCAD 12” desktop shortcut should be createdon the desktop

• decide whether the end user’s system should reboot automatically

following the installation

Finally, define the path to which the recorded file - an executableapplication - should be saved.

You have now created an installation package. When users launch this .exeapplication on PC (for example, AC12_Int_157.exe), or “ArchiCAD Installer”on MacOS, on the server, the usual queries posed by the Installation Wizardare skipped; the installation begins immediately. The installed copy of

ArchiCAD will have the previously defined default settings.

Silent Uninstall

For both PC and MacOS, a silent mode is available for uninstalling ArchiCAD. Use this mode to run the uninstall process from beginning toend without any further user input.

On PC: open the “Run” window from the Start menu. In WindowsExplorer, navigate to the Uninstall.AC folder in the ArchiCAD folder. Drag uninstaller.exe into the command line; the path is copied to the commandline.





Type the following after the path:

-W play.auto=YES

e.g.:

C:\Program Files\Graphisoft\ArchiCAD 12\Uninstall.AC\uninstaller.exe-W play.auto=YES

On MacOS: open Terminal window, navigate to the Uninstall. folder in the

ArchiCAD install folder, then type:

uninstaller.app/Contents/MacOS/uninstaller –W play.auto=YES

e.g.: /Volumes/MyFolder/MySubfolder/ArchiCAD 12/Uninstall.AC/uninstaller.app/Contents/MacOS/uninstaller –W play.auto=YES



Migrating ArchiCAD 9 Projects to ArchiCAD 12


MIGRATION

Migrating ArchiCAD 9 Projectsto ArchiCAD 12 This chapter contains detailed information about how to migrate your ArchiCAD 9 plan files and PlotMaker 9 Layout Books into ArchiCAD 12.

In version 9, the Project Model is always located in a PLN file, and the layoutsin an LBK (Layout Book) file. As of ArchiCAD 10, ArchiCAD contains both

Model Views and Layouts in an integrated environment in a single file.Since ArchiCAD 12 Projects can be divided among multiple ArchiCADPLN files, there are two basic ways to migrate your ArchiCAD 9 Projectsand PlotMaker 9 Layout Books to ArchiCAD 12:

1) Create Two Separate Files in ArchiCAD 12: The ArchiCAD 9Project file should be placed into its own Project File in ArchiCAD 12(this file would contain only Model Views, plus the default Layout

Book), and the PlotMaker 9 Layout Book should be placed into asecond, separate Project File in ArchiCAD 12 (this file would containall Layouts with no Model information).

2) Create a Single File in ArchiCAD 12: If the Project is small enough,both the ArchiCAD 9 Project File (PLN) and the PlotMaker 9 LayoutBook (LBK) can be merged into a single file in ArchiCAD 12.

The following sections outline how to carry out both options.

Option 1: Create Two Separate Files in ArchiCAD 121) To migrate the ArchiCAD 9 Project File, simply open the PLN file in

ArchiCAD 12 and save it. Although there are several settings which canaffect how elements are displayed on the Floor Plan, these are allautomatically set during the conversion so that the same look ispreserved in ArchiCAD as far as possible. Because of new settings in

ArchiCAD 12, it is possible that some elements will look slightly different than they did in ArchiCAD 9.





For detailed information, see “Converted Model Views in ArchiCAD 12: Floor Plan Display Issues” on page 35 for a detailed list.

2) To migrate the PlotMaker 9 Layout Book, use the File > Open command.In the Dialog, select PlotMaker Layout Book (*.lbk) as File Type and select

the desired LBK file. Click the Open button to start opening it.

3) Since Title Types of PlotMaker 9 have become GDL Objects in ArchiCAD 12, the program will convert all Title Types defined in theLayout Book File into Library Objects (GSM Files). ArchiCAD willprompt you to select a Folder into which these created Library Partsshould be placed.





Please note that these generated Title Types have become non-parametric GDL Objects in ArchiCAD 12, displaying the sameinformation as the source Title Type in PlotMaker 9. However, if youused default Title Types in PlotMaker 9, you will find the counterpartsof these in the ArchiCAD 12 Library and you may change the

generated Title Types into parametric ones shipped with ArchiCAD 12.4) While these GSM files are being generated, the program will alert you if

a GSM file with the same name already exists in the specified folder. Atthis point, you can choose to Skip the file and not save it (retaining theone already in the folder); you can Skip All, so all files with a name thatalready exists in the folder will be skipped; you can choose CreateNew , in which case the existing file will be kept and another one with asimilar name will be generated (e.g. if you had an existing file named

‘Simple Title.gsm’, the name of the newly created Title will become‘Simple Title~001.gsm’); or you can instruct the program to CreateNew All, which will automatically do the same for every such Title

Type file.

5) When ArchiCAD is finished converting the Layout Book data, anInformation Dialog will alert you to data that could not be convertedbecause of essential differences between the features of ArchiCAD 12and PlotMaker 9. For more detailed information, press Show DetailedReport in Browser to launch your default web browser containing a

fuller explanation of what could not be converted and why, plus whatyou can do about it.





For example, in PlotMaker 9, you could define custom line weights for eachindividual drawing element (e.g. Lines, Fills, etc.). In ArchiCAD 12, you candefine line weights only for Pens, and all elements using a certain Pen will bedrawn using the line weight defined for that Pen. Because of this difference,

specific line weights defined in PlotMaker 9 will be converted back to theirline weights as specified in the Pens & Colors Dialog of ArchiCAD 12.

Please see “Conversion Warnings” on page 30 for a detailed list of possible conversion warnings.

6) Now your new ArchiCAD 12 Documentation Project File (a filecontaining only Layout Book information) is ready for use. One Story

will be created as default, but no model data will exist in any Model Views. All Layouts will be displayed in the Navigator’s Layout Book.

Option 2: Create Single File in ArchiCAD 12Use this option for relatively small projects, to merge both the Layout Book from PlotMaker and Project File from ArchiCAD 9 into a single project filein ArchiCAD 12.

When creating a single PLN file in ArchiCAD 12, you will merge Layout Datainto a Project File. In ArchiCAD 12, every Project File must contain both





Model Views and a Layout Book as default. This means that the PLN file into which Layout Book data is merged will already contain one or more Layouts, with their own attributes and settings. For this reason, the procedure followsthe usual rules of merging, which means that in case certain settings exist inthe receiving file, existing data is used, and are not overwritten by mergeddata. Therefore, when merging Layout Book data into a PLN file, thefollowing settings of the Layout Book are not carried through:

• Book settings

• Project Info

• Grid settings

• Default Master Layout setting

Also, settings in the Layouts page of Project Preferences in ArchiCAD 12 will not be modified by data of the imported Layout Book.

The program will compare the names of the Attributes and Master Layoutsof the merged file and the host ArchiCAD 12 file. Please note that theprogram compares only the names (but not content or definition) whenchecking for matching Attributes/Master Layouts. If the Attribute orMaster Layout names in both files are identical, they will be considered

identical by the program, and the existing files in ArchiCAD 12, along withtheir settings, will be kept.

The structure of the merged Layout Book (its Layouts, Subsets, MasterLayouts and placed Drawings) is inserted into the existing Layout Book structure of the ArchiCAD 12 PLN file.

The steps are the following:

1) Open the PlotMaker 9 LBK file in ArchiCAD 12 and save it as an AC

12 PLN file.2) Open the ArchiCAD 9 PLN file in ArchiCAD 12 and save it as another

AC 12 PLN file.

You now have two new ArchiCAD 12 files; these two must now be merged.





3) In the latter active Project File (the one containing model data), use theFile > File Special > Merge command to merge data from the othersaved ArchiCAD 12 file (the one containing Layout Book data). In theappearing dialog box, choose Layout Book to merge Layout Book dataof the file into your active Project File. Click the Merge button.

If you open the Organizer from the Navigator, you will see that all Layout

Book data has now been merged into the Project File.

Note: You should follow the route specified in this guide, that is,merge the PLN File containing Layout Book data into the PLN Filecontaining Model data, and not the other way around. This is becauseof the rules of merging, and because Views and certain other data

would not come through if you merged the Model data into the filecontaining Layout Book data.





In case you do not wish to merge the Layout Book in its entirety, only someof its Layouts, do the following:

1) Open the ArchiCAD 12 PLN File containing the Model data.

2) Open the ArchiCAD 12 PLN File containing the Layout Book data.

3) In the PLN file containing Model data, open the Organizer in such a way that you see the Layout Book of both files. In the illustration below,the PLN File containing the Model data is on the right.

4) Using drag-and-drop, move the desired Layouts from the Layout Book PLN file (on the left) into the Model PLN file (on the right).

If you have Drawings placed into the Layout Book PLN which point to theModel PLN as their source, then the Drawing references will automatically switch from external file references to internal references after the Layoutsare merged.

Note: Such drawing links will not be redefined as internal references if the name of the source project file has changed since the drawings wereplaced. In this case, you should select all such drawings in the Drawing Manager and use the Link To button to re-link these Drawings to their

source PLN (the renamed project file).





Conversion Warnings When you migrate a PlotMaker 9 Layout Book file, ArchiCAD 12 may warnyou of some project elements that will not be reproduced in ArchiCAD 12,

due to changed feature sets. The following is a list of all warnings that may be displayed by the programduring conversion. The warnings displayed always apply to the file currently being converted.

1) Printing/Plotting Publisher sets should be reviewedSome Print/Plot Options in PlotMaker 9 have no equivalent in ArchiCAD,so these settings need reviewing before Printing/Plotting them.

2) Original output color of Elements drawn or pasted into Layouts hasbeen restoredIn PlotMaker 9, in the Book Settings Dialog box, output color of elementson Layouts may be set to grayscale or black. This option has no equivalentin ArchiCAD, so elements will appear in their original color.

3) Fill-related display and output options could not be convertedIn PlotMaker 9 you may apply global settings to Fills. These options haveno equivalent in ArchiCAD, so they cannot be converted. Therefore, all

fills are displayed as defined in the Fill Settings Dialog Box.4) OLE Drawings could not be converted

ArchiCAD does not support OLE technology, so OLE drawings within the LBK file cannot be converted properly. (If the OLE drawing was embedded in the LBK file, with no live link to the sourceapplication, you will see the drawing, but you cannot update it.) Youcan identify OLE drawings using the Drawing Manager palette: look for the OLE icon in the Type column. It is recommended to replacethese OLE Drawings with PDF files in ArchiCAD 12.

5) Edited drawing Layers are restoredIn PlotMaker you could modify the show/hide status of Drawing Layers. This option does not exist in ArchiCAD, so these drawing Layers will be displayed according to their original show/hide status.

6) Text and Markers size changesIn PlotMaker, you could set the size of Texts and Markers to retain

their original size even after the Output Scale was modified. (Youchecked the Fix Size option for Text and Markers in the Drawing





Settings dialog box.) This option does not exist in ArchiCAD, so Textand Markers will be resized according to the scale change, just like any other element in the drawing.

7) Custom line weight is restored to pen line weight

In PlotMaker you could assign a custom line weight to lines, circles andsplines. In this case the color of the line came from the assigned pen,but the weight was custom set in the element's settings dialog box. Thisoption does not exist in ArchiCAD, so the line weights of lines, circlesor splines will be set to values specified in the Pens & Colors Dialog.

Conversion of Other Attributes/SettingsLayers, Pens, Fills: The ArchiCAD 12 PLN file will inherit the Layers of the LBK Layout Book. The PlotMaker Layer will be renamed to ArchiCADLayer. Pens and Fills come through unaltered.

Autotext items: All Autotext entries are converted. The name of some of these items will change. The following Autotext items (located inPlotMaker 9’s Book Info Dialog) are now found in the Project Info Dialog of ArchiCAD 12:

• Client

• Project Name

• Street

• City

• State/Country

• Postal Code

• Company

• Project Number• Architect

• Draftsman ( CAD Technician in ArchiCAD 12)

• Project Status

• Date of Issue

• Custom1

• Custom2• Custom3





The following Autotext items are also converted. They are available in ArchiCAD 12 while editing a Text Block in either a Model View or on aLayout. Some names have changed. Some no longer apply, so these areconverted into their closest match:

• Layout Name• Layout Number ( Layout ID in ArchiCAD 12)

• Subset Name

• Subset Number ( Subset ID in ArchiCAD 12)

• Page Number ( Layout Number in ArchiCAD 12)

• Number of Pages ( Number of Layouts in ArchiCAD 12)

• Book Name ( File Name in ArchiCAD 12)

• Book Path ( File Path in ArchiCAD 12)

• Drawing Name

• Drawing Name with Extension ( Drawing Name in ArchiCAD 12)

• Drawing Number ( Drawing ID in ArchiCAD 12)

• Drawing Path ( File Path in ArchiCAD 12)

• Drawing Scale ( Original Scale in ArchiCAD 12)

• Output Scale ( Drawing Scale in ArchiCAD 12)

• AC File Name ( File Name in ArchiCAD 12)

• AC File Path ( File Path in ArchiCAD 12)

• Last saved at

• Last saved by

• Long Date

• Short Date• Time

Master Layout: Layout size is defined differently in ArchiCAD 12. InPlotMaker 9 and earlier versions, the size of the Layout means the printablearea of the page (the full size of the paper minus margins on all four sides).In ArchiCAD 12, the size of a Layout means the full size of the paper. Thischange does not affect either the full size of the Layout (printable area +Margins on all four sides) or the sizes of the printable area or any of theMargins. They will be the same as in previous versions; only the names havechanged to better approximate real-world practice, where a Layout is the





whole paper used for printing/plotting. So Master Layout sizes areconverted accordingly. The Grid for Drawing Numbering and MasterLayout default come through unaltered.

Layout settings: comes through unaltered.

Subset settings: comes through unaltered.

Book settings: comes through unaltered, except Output Color settings, which does not come through (no equivalent in ArchiCAD 12 - see Warning 2 above).

Drawing settings: all settings come through (Title is converted into GDLObject), except for Attributes Update Rules, which have no equivalent in

ArchiCAD 12. Layer changes are not carried through (see Warning 5 above).

If the Text and Markers option in PlotMaker has been set to Fix Size, Warning 6 above is displayed. If a placed Drawing had its own Pen Set, the same PenSet will be created in ArchiCAD 12 and the Drawing will continue using it.

The Output Scale setting will be converted into Drawing Scale.

Note: In ArchiCAD 12, Drawing Scale is the scale of the Drawing onthe Layout, which will be output, while “Original Scale” is that of theDrawing’s source view.

If several Drawings in PlotMaker 9 used the same Pen Set, ArchiCAD 12 will

create only one Pen Set for all the Drawings. This Pen Set will have the samename as the first converted Drawing which uses this Pen Set, but all theconverted Drawings which used it in PlotMaker 9 will use it in ArchiCAD 12.

Publishing Contacts: If you have saved your Publishing Contacts fromPlotMaker into a file, you can open that Contacts file in ArchiCAD 12 afteropening the PlotMaker 9 LBK file.

Grid settings: comes through unaltered.

Project Preferences: Working Units, Mouse Constraints, Publisherpreferences, Uniform Pens and Colors setting, Miscellaneous settings comethrough. (Since there is no Uniform Pens and Color settings checkbox in

ArchiCAD 12, this means in effect that all Drawings will refer to the samePen Set). If cache data was stored in the Layout File in PlotMaker 9 (theoption is in Preferences > Cache Folder), the Drawings will be stored in theProject File in ArchiCAD 12 (see Drawings placed on Layout below).Custom line weights do not come through (no equivalent in ArchiCAD 12 -see Warning 7 above).





Drawings placed on Layouts: In PlotMaker 9, Project links are saved withthe Layout Book File (Preferences > Cache Folder > Include Cache inLayout Book). By default, external links (e.g. PMK files, bitmap files) arenot saved with the Layout Book File.

If a Drawing was saved with the Layout in PlotMaker 9 ( Include all linkedfiles checkbox of the Save as Dialog in PlotMaker 9 is checked), theDrawing generated from it in ArchiCAD 12 will be set to be a manual-update Drawing, and will be saved with the ArchiCAD 12 Project File (theStore Drawing in the Project file checkbox will be checked in theDrawing Settings Dialog).

If a Drawing was not saved with the Layout in PlotMaker 9 ( Include alllinked files checkbox of the Save as Dialog in PlotMaker 9 is not checked),

the Drawing generated from it in ArchiCAD 12 will be set to be an auto-update Drawing, and will not be saved with the ArchiCAD 12 Project File(the Store Drawing in the Project file checkbox will not be checked in theDrawing Settings Dialog).

Drawing StatusIt is recommended that you perform an update of all placed Drawings

after opening or merging a PlotMaker 9 LBK file in ArchiCAD 12.Background: The modification status checking of Drawings has beensignificantly enhanced in ArchiCAD 12. In PlotMaker 9, the programmonitored the last modification date of the Drawings’ source files. If thelast modification date of the file had changed, the program assumed that allDrawings coming from that file would need updating.

In contrast, ArchiCAD 12 can monitor the modification status of each

Drawing with a PLN source separately. When opening a PlotMaker 9 LBK file in ArchiCAD 12, a transitional stateexists: the LBK file does not contain all information necessary for

ArchiCAD 12 to decide the modification status of Drawings in the LayoutBook file. (This transition state can cause Drawings with “OK” status inPlotMaker to have “Modified” status in ArchiCAD.)

In this case, the status checking will be performed according to the oldmethod (which assumes all drawings from a modified PLN source require

updating). Only after the first update performed in ArchiCAD 12 will thestatus checking mechanism run on the drawing level instead of the file level.





Drawing Name and Drawing IDNot all Drawing Names and Drawing IDs coming from a PlotMaker9 LBK file will have their exact equivalent when opened in ArchiCAD12. Therefore it is recommended to review Drawing Names andDrawing IDs to make sure everything came through correctly.

For checking Drawing Names/IDs and updating Drawings, it is highly recommended to use the Drawing Manager of ArchiCAD 12, which hasmany customizable columns listing information about Drawings.

Background: In PlotMaker 9, the Drawing Name was always the same as thename of the View from which it was created. In ArchiCAD 12, a View Nameconsists of two parts: View Name and View ID. For this reason, Drawing

Name can be either “View Name” or “View Name + View ID” (or Custom).

In PlotMaker 9, the value of Drawing ID (which was called Drawing Number inPlotMaker 9), could come from the Layout or from the ArchiCAD Viewpoint,or it could be set to a custom value. In ArchiCAD 12, the ArchiCAD Viewpointoption is not available. Instead, the View ID value is used.

Library Objects When merging an LBK file into ArchiCAD 12, all elements placed on Layouts,including library parts, are merged. However, the libraries used by the mergedproject are not automatically loaded into the ArchiCAD 12 project. Thus, if after a merge you find that any library parts (such as Drawing Titles) aremissing, you should load any missing libraries to resolve the problem.

Converted Model Views in

ArchiCAD 12: Floor Plan Display Issues ArchiCAD 12 offers more sophisticated Display Options for elements than ArchiCAD 9, but predefined settings will ensure that files migrated from ArchiCAD 9 will have compatible displays in ArchiCAD 12.

While display options have changed since ArchiCAD 9 (they are now calledModel View Options), the following information should help you recreatethe same display in ArchiCAD 12 for migrated projects.





In ArchiCAD 12, options for Doors and Windows are set separately in Docu-ment > Set Model View > Model View Options, Options for ConstructionElements Panel, giving you more flexibility in applying model views:

• If you choose the Show On Plans radio button, but leave the with

Markers checkbox unchecked, it will achieve the same result as theShow on Plans option in ArchiCAD 9.

• If you choose the Show On Plans radio button, and check the withMarkers checkbox, it will achieve the same result as the Show withDim. option in ArchiCAD 9.

• If you choose the Show Opening Only radio button, but leave the withContours checkbox unchecked, it will achieve the same result as theHide on Plan options in ArchiCAD 9.

• If you choose the Show Opening Only radio button, and check the with Contours checkbox, it will achieve the same result as theReflected Ceiling options in ArchiCAD 9.

• The Hide on Floor Plan radio button is a new choice: it means thatDoors/Windows will not be shown on the Floor Plan at all, just as if there were no Doors/Windows in Walls. In Section, Elevation, andInterior Elevation, the Door/Window hole will be visible.

Regarding the display of Cut Fills (Document > Set Model Display >Model View Options > Override Fill Display), you will notice that there isno option to set Bitmap Patterns. A bitmap display is available for on-screendisplay only: Bitmap or Vectorial is set globally using the Show as VectorialHatching option of On-Screen View Options.

When you check Override Cut Fills and the Show Skin Separator Lines box, you will achieve the same result as the Separators Only option in

ArchiCAD 9.

If you check Override Cut Fills and click Solid Foreground, it will achievethe same result as the Solid w/o Separation Lines option in ArchiCAD 9.

Also, the Show Skin Separator Lines checkbox is enabled. Check this toachieve the same result as the Solid option in ArchiCAD 9.

The next area in the lower left corner is for Drafting Fills.

If you check Override Drafting Fills and click the Solid Foregroundoption, you will achieve the same result as the Solid option in ArchiCAD 9.

The next area in the upper right corner is for Cover Fills.



Migrating an ArchiCAD 10 or 11 File


To adjust Cover Fill display, check the Override Cover Fills box and chooseone of the following options:

• Solid Foreground: This replicates the Solid option in ArchiCAD 9.

• Solid Background: A new option; this creates a cover fill over the

element, displayed in the background color defined for the element’scover fill.

• No Fill: A new option; this draws no fills at all, and displays only thecontour if any.

The last area is for Zone Fills and Zone Stamps. The options in this areaachieve the same as the Zone Polygons Display Options and ZoneStamps fields achieved in ArchiCAD 9.

Zone Stamp: Check Hide Zone Stamp to hide it.If you leave the Override Zone Fills box unchecked, this corresponds to theCover Fill Display Option for Zone Polygons from ArchiCAD 9.

To adjust Zone Fill display, check the Override Zone Fills box and chooseone of the following options:

• No Fill: This replicates the None option in ArchiCAD 9.

• Solid Category: This replicates the Category Color option in

ArchiCAD 9.• Solid Background: This replicates the Solid Background Colored Fill

option in ArchiCAD 9.

• Category Background: This replicates the Fill Pattern on Category option in ArchiCAD 9.

• Hide Background: This replicates the Fill Pattern Only option in ArchiCAD 9.

Migrating an ArchiCAD 10 or11 FileMigration issues in this section are presented in three categories:

Note the Following

These changes in ArchiCAD function require no input from you.





Learn the Following

These migratory issues involve functions that now work differently, butrequire no input from you.

Do the Following These migratory issues require you to check or adjust your project before orafter converting it to ArchiCAD 12.

Note the FollowingInterface changes and new features in ArchiCAD 12 will affect theseparts of your older version files, but the conversion is seamless and

requires no input from you.

ACIS Import

A new function allows you to convert AutoCAD 3D Solids, Regions andBodies into GDL Objects during open or merge.

Attribute Purge

When saving an ArchiCAD file as DWG, only those ArchiCAD attributes will be included which are actually used in the project.

This is an automatic process, reducing file size.

However, if you are using a DWG template file, all attributes from thetemplate file will be saved as part of the DWG project, regardless of

whether they are used or not. To purge unused attributes which originatefrom the template file, click the Purge all unused Attributes checkbox in theMiscellaneous tab page.

LTScale

The LTScale variable used in DWG files will now be correctly interpreted when opening or merging DWG files in ArchiCAD. New line types will becreated as needed, regardless of the length of the original line pattern.

Saving Layout Content to DWG Format

When ArchiCAD Layouts are saved to Paper Space in DWG format, the content of every Drawing in the AC project is transferred into the DWGModel Space, regardless of the drawings’ status and source. Even the





content of external Drawings and internal-source Drawings which are notin updated condition is transferred to Model Space, because this content isnow assigned to layers in DWG Model Space.

This works if the DXF/DWG Translator Settings for “Save Layout Into”

are set to either “Paper Space with Cropped View’s Content” or “PaperSpace with Full View’s Content.”

Learn the FollowingDue to new features in ArchiCAD 12, these parts of your older version file

will work differently, but you do not have to adjust anything manually):

Default Template File Location When installing ArchiCAD 12, the default template file is not copied to the Templates folder, but remains in the Default sub-folder in the ArchiCADfolder. This template is listed at the top of the list of choices when youcreate a new project. Other template files, located in the Templates folder,are listed below, and are followed by the 3 most recent template choices.

Reopen Frontmost Window Only

If your project had more than 20 windows open when you last saved it, thenthe next time you open the project, ArchiCAD 12 will give you the optionof opening the frontmost window only.

New Names for Standard Fills

Fills formerly named “Solid” and 100%, 75%, etc. are now called Foreground fills. The fill formerly named “Empty” is now called

Background Fills. All Model View Options are renamed accordingly.See also New Model View Options for Fills .

Drawing Order of Linked Elements

Earlier versions of ArchiCAD had some discrepancies between the defaultdrawing order of linked elements (e.g. a wall and the doors/windows itcontains) on screen and on the output.





In ArchiCAD 12, the screen representation and the output of linkedelements is always consistent. To achieve this, the following changes weremade in AC12:

Walls and their linked doors/windows are now always drawn in one run

on the screen. Consequently, on-screen display will no longer show windows placed in a wall that is obscured by another wall. To display a wallobscured by another wall, you should bring it forward by using theappropriate drawing order commands.

The drawing order of associative labels is now “disassociated” from thelabel’s parent element on the output. This means that, by default, elements

will never cover each other’s associative label. (An associative label may beobscured only if you bring forward an element in the drawing order so that

it covers another element’s label.) Display of associative labels on outputs isnow the same as on the screen.

Additional Quick Options

The Quick Options palette now includes three additional options: ChangePartial Structure Display settings; Change Pen Set; Change Dimensioning Standard.

Door/Window/Object Dialog Boxes

The basic size and location parameters of objects, doors and windows arenow set in the Preview and Positioning panel of their respective Settingsdialog boxes, rather than in the Parameters panel.

Model View Options: Curtain Wall Options

Two new options affecting Curtain Wall display have been added to Model

View Options > Options for Construction Elements: “Curtain WallOptions: Full” and “Schematic” will affect the display of Curtain Walls in the 3D and 3D Document windows only .

Advanced Redraw Options (Work Environment)

This is a new page in the Work Environment dialog box (right below MoreOptions). These options are designed for advanced-level users or ITmanagers familiar with processing and memory issues. In addition to the

“Model Display in 2D Navigation” control, it allows you to manually set the2D Drawing Hardware Acceleration Level and to optimize Memory Usage.





Interior Elevation Horizontal Range

Two options for defining the viewpoint’s horizontal range have been addedto the General panel of Interior Elevation Settings: “By Limit Lines” and“Add bounded area.”

In migrated projects, Interior Elevations are set to “Add bounded area” by default. (This corresponds to the way ArchiCAD 11 interpreted the limit line:if an unseparated area is detected next to the Limit Line, and it appears to bepart of the room logically, it will also be displayed on the Interior Elevation.)

“By Limit Lines” means that the Interior Elevation view boundary is exactly at the Limit Line and does not include any extruded bounded areas.

GDL Attributes

Some GDL object scripts include custom attributes. When you load suchobjects into a project, and if the Attribute definition is contained in theindividual library part scripts, then the following custom attributes are now merged into the project’s attribute set as follows:

• Fills and Line types are merged into the ArchiCAD project attributes.

• Material and Texture attributes are not merged.

Output Structural Grid Coordinates (.txt)

ArchiCAD 12 no longer saves projects to this file format.

Do the FollowingDue to the new features in ArchiCAD 12, you must adjust these parts of

your older version file to make them work smoothly:

Display of Section/Elevation Markers Set Individually (NotModel View Option)

For both Section and Elevation Markers, the Marker appearance is set inSection and Elevation Settings for each individual Section and Elevation.(Place Marker at either or both ends of the S/E line, or place one Marker inthe middle.)

The Section/Elevation Marker display option is no longer a Model View Option, so a given S/E Marker’s appearance will be uniform throughout theproject, regardless of which view it is saved in.





When migrating an older-version file in which you used any Section/Elevation Marker Model View Option other than “As in Settings,” youshould adjust individual Markers as needed.

New Model View Options for Fills

The Model View Options panel, formerly called “Options for Fills andZones,” is now called “Override Fill Display.” As in earlier versions, thispanel is used to globally define the Fill Backgrounds, the display of Cut,Cover, and Drafting Fills, and the display of Zone Fills in the project.

The various options have changed somewhat, but when you migrate anolder-version file to ArchiCAD 12, the program will assign corresponding Model View Options to ensure that fills are displayed correctly in

ArchiCAD 12. However, you should double-check the fill display in ArchiCAD 12 and make any adjustments necessary.

DXF/DWG Translator Changes in Converting ArchiCAD Fills

When saving an ArchiCAD 12 file to AutoCAD-compatible format, theresults may vary from earlier version conversions. You should check theseconverted files and make any changes necessary.

Possible Differences in Fill Conversion within ArchiCAD 12:• When converting ArchiCAD fills, a new option in the DXF/DWG

Translator enables you to manually set up a custom Fill Conversion table.

• Also, Fill types in ArchiCAD 12 are converted by default as follows:

- Image: converted to a solid fill (technically a background-color hatch)

- Gradient: converted to a solid fill (technically a foreground-color hatch)

- Symbol: are converted into Blocks if you chose “Convert all fills as

Solid”; they are converted into Blocks plus a Background-color Solid fillif you chose “Convert Fill Backgrounds as Additional Solid Hatches”

Incompatible Library Parts

If you are migrating earlier-version ArchiCAD projects, some of yourlibrary parts will be incompatible with new library parts in ArchiCAD 12.

These new library parts have separate GUID numbers and therefore do notmatch the older parts.





If you want to keep the old library objects, but also use the new library objects, do the following:

• load the AC 12 library .lcf file

• load the subset libraries from AC 10 and 11, as appropriate.

- For projects migrated from ArchiCAD 11, this is called the ArchiCAD11 Migration Library and is available from the ArchiCAD 12 DVD.

- For projects migrated from ArchiCAD 10, this is called the ArchiCAD 10 Subset Library, and is available from the Goodies page,accessible from the Help menu.

- For projects migrated from ArchiCAD 9: certain localized versionsdelivered an ArchiCAD 9 Subset Library. In this case, you should load

all of the following libraries: ArchiCAD 9 Subset + ArchiCAD 10Subset + ArchiCAD 11 Migration Library.

This way, the compatible “old” elements will be automatically replaced by AC 12 library elements. The incompatible “old” elements will remain inplace, and will not conflict with the AC 12 objects.

If you want to continue working on your project using the new objects:

• Load the AC 12 library .lcf file

The non-compatible elements in your migrated project will be shown asMissing library parts; you must replace them one by one (and reset theirparameters). The compatible elements will be automatically replaced by AC12 library parts.

Older-Version Doors and Windows in Partial Structure Display

Doors and Windows migrated from older-version projects into ArchiCAD12 will not be displayed properly if you use Partial Structure Display. These

Door/Window objects are incompatible for the purposes of PartialStructure Display, so you should manually replace these Doors/Windows

with their counterparts in ArchiCAD 12.

Hotlinked Modules Must Be Re-Saved

If your older version project contains hotlinked modules, ArchiCAD 12cannot convert them as-is.

You must first open and resave the Hotlink modules’ source files in ArchiCAD 12 format.





If you open an ArchiCAD file with hotlinks to older-version source files, a warning appears with information on how to proceed.

For details, see the next section: How to Migrate Projects Containing Hotlinks to ArchiCAD 12 .

How to Migrate Projects Containing Hotlinks to

ArchiCAD 12

When you open a project in ArchiCAD 12 which contains hotlinks tolegacy source files, you will see the following warning:

Open Hotlink Manager to View Hierarchy of Project's Hotlink Sources

• To get a list of all the files that are hotlinked to the current project,open the project in ArchiCAD 12. Go to Hotlink Manager (File >External Content > Hotlink Manager). The “Hotlinked Modules” list(in the top half of the dialog box) displays the hierarchy of moduleshotlinked into the current project. The “Hotlink Sources” list displaysthe sources of the hotlinked module files together with their status.





• For a more comprehensive and printable display of the hotlinkedsource files, click the “Show hierarchy in browser” button. This willopen your default internet browser in a separate window, showing thehotlinked source files in a hierarchical format, together with filelocations that are hyperlinked.





Conversion of a project with Hotlink Source files available intheir original locationIn this workflow, you will open the hotlinked source files one by one andsave them in ArchiCAD 12.

Suppose you have the following hotlinks linked into Project A:1) Open the project (A.pln)

2) In the warning dialog which appears, choose the “OpenHotlink Manager” option.

3) The Hotlink Manager contains a list of Source files.





4) For each Source file shown as Legacy or Missing - B.pln, C.pln andD.pln in our example - you must open the file in ArchiCAD 12, making sure to use the “Launch a new instance of ArchiCAD” checkbox aspart of the Open process. Then save the opened file (File > Save.)

We recommend that you save the files in this order: go through thehierarchy file by file from bottom to top in branch. (In our example,start with D.pln.)

Note: It is possible that the opened source files contain other hotlinksthat are not used in A.pln. (for example, if the module is placed on a story that is not shown in A.pln, or if B.pln contains nested modules, yet theHotlink Manager for A.pln has checked the “Skip Nested Modules”box). If these nested modules are in legacy format, ArchiCAD willdisplay a warning when they are opened. In this case, you should

continue the conversion process, treating B.pln as a separate project thatcontains legacy hotlinks: you must save those hotlink sources in

ArchiCAD 12 as described in this document - by resaving the files,locating missing sources, resaving nested legacy source files, etc.

5) In the Hotlink Manager, click the “Refresh Status” button. If you havesuccessfully re-saved all the Legacy files from the Source list (asdescribed in Step 4), then the Source list should not show any files in“Legacy” status.




6) Select the files whose status is shown as “Modified”, and issue theUpdate command.

7) Click OK.

Note: If a Hotlink Source is listed as Missing, you must locate the

missing file and place it into the directory location where ArchiCAD isexpecting it. Otherwise, in the upper section of Hotlink Manager (thelist entitled “Hotlinked Modules),” select the modules that come fromthe Missing source and click “Break Hotlink”.