This is where you'll find all of your training videos and other files.WELCOME!
Here is a birds-eye view of all the training materials in the Best Practices Course.
Each module page has introductory text that tells you about the lesson. Please check each page for additional materials available for download such as PDFs or MindMap files.
Please add your comments and questions on the actual lesson pages. I read every one, and try to respond to them as quickly as I can. I appreciate hearing from you, and encourage you to add your voice to the Best Practices community we are building.
When new lessons are available, you’ll receive an email. Thank you for signing up for The Best Practices Course. I look forward to helping you get the most out of ArchiCAD!
Eric
Let us know how you feel... (60 comments so far)
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StevenNickel
12 years ago -
Is there a tutorial on schedules? I am trying your Master Template for the first time and I cannot figure out how the schedules work. I have been an archicad user for 15 years but have always generated my own schedules that are not interactive.
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ConorMoriarty
12 years agoI’ve been following Eric for about 1 1/2 years on youtube and his free tutorials before I decide to jump in and become a subscriber.
I started off by taking his “Internet Marketing for Architects Course”. I’ve recently set up my own practice so I’ve to wear alot of hats. It was excellent. It will allow me to take control of my own website and really set it up the way I want it. Eventually!!!
I then became a “Archicad Best Practices” subscriber & I baught his “Master Template”.All of the above is alot of money for a sole practicioner starting off, but I can honestly say that it has been some of the wisest money I’ve ever spent.
I used to be a lecturer of Autocad, 3DS Max and the Adobe Suite of products to Architecture students and since I’ve made the switch to Archicad Eric has been my “Go To Resource” for all things Archicad.
Thanks Eric, and keep up the great work,
Conor
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MarkNawrocki
12 years agoHi Eric,
I run ArchiCAD 15 on Mac OSX 10.7.4
I wanted to open an old file in ArchiCAD 8.0
so i downloaded ArchiCAD 10 Package from Graphologist site (according to the conversion table it’ll open 8.0 files)
but each time try to open the downloaded ArchiCAD it quits ! not sure what am I doing wrong
is there a special way to open these downloaded packs ?Thanks
Hany Khalil-
Eric Bobrow
12 years agoHany –
I’m not sure about what’s going wrong here. These downloadable packages of older software are supplied by Graphisoft and should be able to run on most current operating systems. I would check the system requirements that they list and see if there is anything you notice that doesn’t match your current OS.
You might consider trying this again with a later package, perhaps the ArchiCAD 11 or 12 versions from the same site, to see if they work OK. They should both be able to open AC8 files, as far as I recall.
You can also try doing this on another computer, to see if the problem is localized to your workstation.
Finally, you can contact Graphisoft tech support, since this is clearly a support issue – a software product that they offer is not able to be installed properly. They may be able to help you.
Let us all know what happens!
Eric
P.S. I almost forgot to mention – you could post the same question on ArchiCAD-Talk, where there are hundreds of knowledgeable people who may be able to shed some light on the situation.
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Noel
13 years agoHi bob,
Im producing a schedule of services for each room in a lab. I am listing items by the zone they exist in and the ID tag i assigned them . Everything that is an object is scheduling just fine under the correct zone, but walls, slabs, columns are not listing as per the zone they exist in (but rather they bunch up at the top of the schedule).
To give you an example, i modelled a gas tap and saved it as an gdl object (lists fine), but a GPO box modelled as a little wall does not list under the zone its in. (i have found however that a wall on the boundary of the zone will list correctly, this tho doesn’t really help me.) Anything you can think of to be able to list the GPO(walls), Lab equipment(slabs), to list correctly?-
Noel
13 years ago*Eric, sorry
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Eric Bobrow
13 years agoNoel –
I will have to look into this. I am traveling right now and don’t have access to ArchiCAD.
As a workaround, you might consider saving the GPO (by the way, what does this abbreviation mean??) as a GDL object like you did for the gas tap, and doing the same for the Lab equipment.
Eric
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DavidBerg
13 years agoHi Eric,
Will you be covering BIM? Specifically, generating material schedules (door & window) and some overview cost and material quantities so as to have the ability to generate cost estimates as projects are developing, or for comparing options.David Berg
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Eric Bobrow
13 years agoDavid –
I will be covering door and window schedules as well as some of the basics for material quantities. Currently this is planned for Week 25 – Project Data.
Eric
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JosephArchibald
13 years agoHi Eric:
I signed up for the Quick Start and then, quickly after viewing 2 videos, the Best Practices Course. Being a sole proprietor, I did not have the advantage of learning ArchiCAD from co-workers or in-house training. The basic training from the reseller was good to get started but I was barley using the capabilities of the program.
Your course has made learning ArchiCAD easy, exciting & fun. I have learned to use so much more of the program than I ever thought, and I haven’t even gotten past Week 10. (I haven’t been as diligent as I should be.) The Coaching Calls are another great way to pick up information, learn tricks and develop skills. I would highly recommend your courses to anyone looking to expand their knowledge of ArchiCAD.
Thanks and I’m looking forward to the next 10 weeks of trainings.
Joe
PS – I’d second Patrice’s comment about learning how to develop quantity and take-off information, even as a separate training if needed. I haven’t looked deeply into but realize the capability is one area where BIM software can significantly change the process integration of design with construction.
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PatriceBelle
13 years agoHi Eric,
Many thanks for the lessons to date.
A little background: I am a sole practitioner and have self-taught myself since AC5 or 6 (can’t remember which)….always on the basis of figuring out ‘what & how’ relative to the current project. I am fully aware that I do not use AC to anywhere near its full potential – hence signing up for your course! Your content to date is great, and allows many (I believe) to re-assess method and process from starting principals. The one aspect of AC I would like to get a grip on is the ‘quantities’ generation, i.e. for generating a bill of quantities that one can price against. Having bought the only book I can find on the subject (Archicad from CAD to Quantity Survey by Eric Wilk), I’ve yet to gather the courage and time to tackle it…..too dry & daunting!.
Is this something you can cover in the course? I feel it is a subject that would come across far better in a video than endless pages dragging up nightmare memories of the most dreary school homework! ( I do not intend to belittle Eric’s book – its rather my failing & lack of time that is at the root of the request…)
Many thanks. -
KENNETHANDREWS
13 years agoEric:
Week 12 – EXCELLANT!!! I do a lot of master site plans and site planning for projects this group of lessons have helped me improve my skills, especially this last one on setting the grades for the topography. I was doing a steep site as this lesson came in so again perfect timing on your part.
Keep up the Great Work!
Thanks
Ken Andrews-
Eric Bobrow
13 years agoKen –
Thanks for your kind words – I’m always glad to know that the course material is proving useful for real world projects!
Eric
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JackHillbrand
13 years agoEric,
I may currently access 11 out of 29+ Best Practice seminars which are indexed.
Do you have a calendar for completion of the remaining seminars and will access become automatic?
Thanks,
Jack-
Jack –
As I wrote below in response to Jonathan’s question, I plan to resume development of course materials shortly. Access to all of the lessons will be automatic for all course members. I always announce when new lessons are posted, so make sure you open my emails to stay informed…
Are you getting my emails OK?
I send them out to course members at least once or twice a week.Eric
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JonathanWeaver
13 years agoERIC
When will the remaining weeks be posted?
Jonathan-
Eric Bobrow
13 years agoJonathan –
I am finally going to dig in and create the remaining content this winter. A combination of some health problems and other complications slowed things down. Coming soon, I promise!
Eric
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PAULHIGGS
13 years agoERIC,
Signed up for the best practices course 1 year ago – but I can only find 9 weeks of the course – am I missing something?
Paul-
Eric
13 years agoPaul –
As I’ve stated in numerous emails, and in replies to questions such as the one immediately below to John Williams, the production of the Best Practices Course has taken longer than anticipated.
As of today, I am finishing up the last piece of the QuickStart Course, and then will immediately move on to work on Week #10 and beyond for the Best Practices main course lessons. I am still aiming to finish these up by the one year anniversary of the course at the end of November.
Eric
P.S. Are you getting my emails?
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JohnWilliams
13 years agoEric,
I have logged out and in again and can only see up to week #9 for download.
I haven’t been logged in for a while but thought we would be well past week 9?
Any tips?Cheers,
Sally-
Eric
13 years agoSally / John –
Due to a combination of circumstances, including my hospitalization in June, the production of the Best Practices Course lessons has been delayed. I sincerely apologize for the extended time-frame for completing the preparation of all of these course materials.
Recently I have been working on the QuickStart Course, and produced several hours of new lessons in the past few weeks. When the QuickStart Course is completed in late August (estimated date) I will turn my focus back to the main Best Practices Course lessons and try to complete them by November.
In my emails to course members, I have mentioned this more than once. Are you getting the emails? If not, let me know and we can troubleshoot to make sure you are kept in the loop.
Eric
P.S. While you’re waiting for more of the main lessons, please take a look at the QuickStart videos. Although they’re intended as an intro course for ArchiCAD, many of our veteran members (who are NOT beginners by any stretch) have commented that they’ve found them interesting and useful, and learned quite a few new things!
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MarkMoscrip
13 years agoThank you for placing all the Video Segments on one ‘Download’ page for speedy access. Is it possible to create similar pages for the recently created mp3 and PDF files? As always thank you for the thoughtful coursework.
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SalmaMussa
14 years agoHi Eric
I can’t download the coaching calls.
How can I do it?Thanks,
Salma-
Eric
14 years agoSalma –
In some browsers instead of clicking on the Download button or link, you need to right-click on it and choose Save Linked File As or Save Target As.
Let me know if this helps, or if you’re still having a problem.
Eric
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Timothy Ball
14 years agoEric, not sure where to post these queries, so hopefully you can pick them up in the correct part of the course.
Depth cue distance settings – can you explain how to set up particularly how the distance relates to the actual model measurements. Is the depth cure distance from the camera to the origin or to the target of the camera?
Sloping top walls using complex profiles – any ideas?
Again on complex profiles, if I set up a symbol type fill, in 2D I can decide where the origin is located. In complex profiles I don’t have that facility. So if I want to use a brick coursing hatch as part of a complex profile, I can’t set the coursing origin. Any ideas around that?
I’m enjoying the challenge!
Tim Ball
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Eric
14 years agoTim –
These questions are ideal for one of the next coaching calls.
Quick answers:
1) I’m not sure what you are referring to by Depth Cue. Where are you seeing this term or setting?
2) There is a new article on the ArchiCAD Wiki on this topic:
http://archicadwiki.com/ModifyTheSideContourOfTheWall
3) Use the Design menu > Align 3D Texture > Set Origin. This will affect the 3D window visualization (OpenGL), renderings, as well as Elevation drawings (3D Hatching).
Eric -
Timothy Ball
14 years agoThanks Eric, I need to explain in a bit more detail:
1) The depth cue setting is in the Lightworks Rendering section and applies a kind of haze depending on how far away the different parts of a building are to give aerial perspective.
2) I took a look at the article, but I am already using a complex profile for the wall and want to create a sloping top. I guess the only way is to use the solid element operation
3) I don’t mean changing the hatch origin in 3D, I mean in the edit window for complex profiles. I can’t seem to change the origin of any of the hatches, they all default to 0,0 in the editing window. I want to set the coursing origin separately in each hatch within the complex profile editing window.
I really feel that using complex profiles is a very creative way of making Archicad work harder and so I am essentially trying to detail in 2D, then extrude the detail as a complex profile. The basic idea works very well and there seems to be no limit on how complex the profile can be, but these are just refinements to the basic idea I am trying to work out. I agree it may be a good coaching call option.
Thanks
Tim
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Melissa
14 years agoHi Eric,
A tip for some users maybe: when I first logged in this morning the site remembered me as I had asked, but I could only see weeks 1, 2, 3, 5 & 7 (as well as the coaching calls).
I then logged out and logged back in again and I can now see all the weeks files in front of me. So if anyone has the same experience, try logging out and then back in again.
Regards,
Melissa-
Eric
14 years agoMelissa –
Thanks for the tip!
I’m sure it will help other course members – thanks for posting it…
Eric
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Marshall Rossiter
14 years agoEric, there seems to be a problem with Part 2 of week 6 video…I have tried several times to play it both from your site, and by down loading it, but always get the same message saying to that there is a problem and to close…??? Can you look into it? Thanks Marshall
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Eric
14 years agoMarshall –
I downloaded the file and it plays fine on my computer. Of course, that’s not surprising. I just posted a comment on that page asking other course members to say whether that file works OK for them.
I don’t know what’s happening for you, but perhaps you need to clear your cache and download it again. Sometimes if a download doesn’t finish up properly, the browser doesn’t know, and when you ask it to download the file again it thinks it already has the file and doesn’t actually retrieve the file from the internet. The way to fix this is to clear your temporary internet files or cache for your browser, then try downloading or playing the video again. Clearing the cache can usually be done in your Preferences or Options command, depending on which browser you’re using.
Eric
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Theresa Hatton
14 years agoHi Eric,
I was wondering, I am just starting over and was wondering if I could see the The Best practice Quickstart Course first??
Thankyou
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Eric
14 years agoTheresa –
I came up with the idea of the QuickStart Course a few weeks ago, and announced it on Monday. I plan to create the course in April. Sorry…wait a few weeks, and you’ll start seeing some of the modules posted.
Eric-
Theresa Hatton
14 years agoHi Eric,
Thank you
Look forward to seeing the modules
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PANAGIOTIS TSIKOS
14 years agoHi Eric,
Here i see the first 5 weeks. I supose these are the final videos. When can i see the next. There be an announcement for the next coaching call? And one stupid question: what you mean “MindMap files”?
Thanks-
Eric
14 years agoPanagiotis –
Welcome to the Best Practices Course. At this point, the first 5 weeks of the course have been created and posted. I will be resuming the creation of new course materials within the next week or so, and be able to post at least one week of materials every calendar week – more if I can do it.
The next coaching call will be held in early April. I’ll announce the spring dates a little later in March. We’ve been doing them at 11 am California time on the first Wednesday of the month, so that would put it on April 6 – but I may need to change the date so I’d rather not set it right now.
Your question about MindMap files is not stupid – don’t worry! A mind-map is a creative diagram that shows concepts and their relationship to each other, often with lines connecting them. When you watch the video which is on the same page as the MindMap files, you’ll see how this tool is used. You can open up the PDF file and view or print an example of a mind-map I created for this lesson, but if you want to play around and use a mind-map creatively, you’ll need to use special software. I recommend some free mind-mapping tools on that page.
Eric
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David R Olufs
14 years agoWell, I added a new Avatar… Hope it works.
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David R Olufs
14 years agoThat’s me on the left… doing an accompaniment with a blues harpist.
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Eric
14 years agoHey Dave –
Thanks for uploading your photo to the Gravatar site! Are you a musician as well as doing building design?
Eric-
David R Olufs
14 years agoLooks are deceiving… no.
My mother was a singer/pianist, my brother has done Summerfest in Milwaukee the last few years as a blues singer/harpist. I, to my mother’s chagrin, gave up 3 years of piano and band at the wise age of 11.
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Ross Cahill-O'Brien
14 years agoOk I figured it out where the weeks were. Question is whether I should download them to a hard drive or wait for the CD’s. Thanks Ross.
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Eric
14 years agoRoss –
You will have permanent access to the materials, since you paid for the course. You don’t have to download anything. However, if you wish, the download option is available, and this will allow you to watch the videos even if you’re offline (how often is that?).
The videos are about 100 mb each, give or take, and with three per week that’s about 300 mb. The first 5 weeks of the course will take no more than 2 GB of hard drive space. Most people have plenty to spare, so this shouldn’t be a problem, however you can also buy a cheap external hard drive – I recommend these for backup purposes anyway.
I am finishing up preparation of the first month’s DVD and you’ll get your copy in a little while.
Eric
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Ross Cahill-O'Brien
14 years agoHi Eric, Did you take down some of the older weeks from the course site. Now we have one three and five. I did not manage to download the courses as I was afraid that they would take up to much space on my computer. What do you recommend doing? I did order the extra cd’s when you send them out. Or should i get a hard drive and download them to that? What should I do ? and are you putting back the earlier weeks again
yours Ross.-
Eric
14 years agoRoss –
I think I replied to you earlier, but don’t see my comment posted here, so I’ll reply again. All the course material should be available for you at all times. I’m not sure what happened at the time you made your comment, but I believe it was a temporary issue that was resolved quickly. Please let me know if you have any further problems accessing the materials.
Eric
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Grace
14 years agoHI Eric,
Course is great so far. I appreciate being able to download the videos, as I have re-watched a number of the tutorials with archicad open so I could practice the techniques shown.I realize that this course is designed to assist all level of users to use Archicad more efficiently, but, following along with your reply to a previous comment, I would really love a short basic tutorial for us novice users, such as:
1. “using the screen in a coherent and organized manner” ie example of what tools, palettes, etc might be most useful to have set up on screen, and an efficient way to put them there
2. Some basic drafting techniques.This course is a wonderful value, and I appreciate the energy and experience you are investing in it, and sharing with us.
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Eric
14 years agoGrace –
As I’ve indicated in our phone conversations recently, I’ll be announcing a new QuickStart series of course modules that will cover many of these more basic topics, so that newer users may get started in a way that will be consistent with Best Practices principles. Stay tuned!
Eric
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Michael Reynolds
14 years agoIt would appear weeks 2, 3 & 4 are not posted? Is there a reason for this and or am I not looking in the right place?
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Eric
14 years agoMichael –
All of the lessons are showing up properly for me. I even tried logging in under your account, and they appear OK.
I’m not sure what is going on that’s causing your issue. I did just recently set up access for Preview Membership to Weeks 1 & 5, so if someone logs in with a free preview account they will not see weeks 2, 3 and 4. However, this should not affect normal members of the course. Since your comment seemed to indicate you were logged in under your regular account, you should have full access.
Please try quitting your browser and then starting it up again, then login, and see whether this clears up the issue. I am taking a couple of days off, with very limited email and web access, so I will not be able to really diagnose this and help you out until Wednesday.
Eric
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Earl Applegate
14 years agoEric,
Please explain the relationship between the Project Map and the View Map. How should each be used? In the process of working “downhill” would one always return to the Project Map for drafting or editing of building components? Also, I need to keep resetting my dimension preferences; for example to 1/8″ (keeps returning to 1/64″). I have reset the preference in Project Preferences, but it will not stick. Also, placing a view on the layout sheet will revert to a different preference; for example 1/16″ even if the preference is set to 1/8″.Excited about the Best Practices Course; you are doing great.
Thanks, Earl
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Eric
14 years agoEarl –
I will be dedicating at least one full week’s materials to describing the relationship between the Project Map and the View Map, and explaining how to set up and work with Views properly. Your questions will be answered at that point.
I’ll give a short answer here. It’s good to spend most of your time “in the View Map” rather than the Project Map, because that guarantees that when you are working you have the intended context (layer combination, model view option, even dimension preferences) in place.
For example, the View records your dimension preferences – so if you don’t set (or redefine) the View properly, you will have the dimensions revert to 1/64″ rather than stay at 1/8″.
To resolve that issue, you’ll need to define and name a Dimension Preference that gives you the desired 1/8″ setting; then double-click to activate the floor plan View that you are using, next right-click on the View and select View Settings, then select the preferred Dimension Preference by name, and resave the View. Then every time you activate that View it will remember your preferred Dimension setting of 1/8″ – and this WILL carry forward to the Drawing of that View that is on the Layout sheet.
I hope this helps a bit – we’ll get to the section on View Map vs. Project Map soon, which will go into this in more detail.
Eric
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Earl Applegate
14 years agoThank you.
Looking forward to the next lesson.Earl
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Jim Lohmeyer
14 years agoAs a small firm incorporating ArchiCad into our workflow … we need all the help we can get. We’re confident your best practices course will provide us with the information to get back to the designing buildings in lieu of trying to ‘outsmart’ a piece of software. Too often we find ourselves working for the software in lieu of making the software work for us.
tutorials on the curtainwall tool would be appreciated. Very powerful tool but not very intuitive. Ditto on complex profiles.
we look forward to the rest of the course!
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R.Bruce Germond
14 years agoAn inspiring first look at what to expect from the “Master of Templates”. Building the “Seven Keys” along the “top down”, “general to specific”, approach you’ve admonished user’s to embrace, is very clever, as well as referring too and presenting the “why and how” the AMT was developed. The template approach to ArchiCad you advocate could make everyday work almost intuitive. The AMT is a great teaching tool all by itself and, for those who own it, will provide an excellent core to hang the “how to’s” on. Taken together, this could be the final “over the top” learning experience.
You have a dancer’s presence on screen and it is enjoyable to watch your face to face presentation. Taking notes as you moved along is pretty easy. Providing additional props and visuals to refer to might help the visual learners as well as downloadable script for the reading inclined.
Well done Eric, this will be a great resource.
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Eric
14 years agoBruce –
Thank you for your enthusiastic comments!
Your idea of creating a downloadable script is a good one. I will get the audio transcribed and posted for those who would like to read and refer to a printed version. I’ll announce when the transcripts are ready.
Eric
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Hector Baylon
14 years agoEric,
Good input, but perhaps a little more on the actual usage on the program would be better.-
Eric
14 years agoHector –
Rest assured – this week’s content was an introductory overview – the course will explore the actual usage of ArchiCAD in detail.
Eric
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Chris Sinkinson
14 years agoGreat stuff. You have given us the basic ideas as to what we should expect over the coming weeks. How we should use the programme and what we should expect out of it.
I know that I have learnt a lot of the ‘hidden stuff ‘ already since taking on board your master template earlier this year.As an aside can you tell me what kind of graphics card is best for Archicad. I had a computer built for me about 12 months ago and I am sure the pair of graphics cards in it (as you know I use 4 monitors), are a bit overblown. They were sourced on the basis that the builder of the machine thought that archicad used the same technologies as high end games. What card would you recommend for archicad 14 64 running on Windows 7 in a desktop machine
Regards Chris, UK
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Eric
14 years agoChris –
I have not been keeping up with graphics cards, so I can’t really advise you beyond what Graphisoft posts on their system requirements. There is a page on ArchiCAD-Talk where you can check out reports from other users about specific cards – http://archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/compatibility.php
ArchiCAD uses OpenGL extensively, of course. I don’t believe it will take advantage of other specialized video technologies that you may find on higher end cards aimed for playing computer games.
ArchiCAD definitely will be happier with more video memory, particularly in larger projects that require showing and calculating more polygons. In general though, any of the current cards you can find will probably work OK – it’s now easy to find a card under $100 USD with 1GB video memory!
The more critical thing as far as I’m concerned is having a second monitor (or more, I suppose) and using the screen space in a coherent, organized manner.
Eric
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Michael Jackson
14 years agoGreat introduction to the course look forward to the actual content as i know i have alot to learn, being a novice it is nice to learn the correct way towards best practices.
Did I miss something? Are Weeks #18 through #20 somewhere else?
Steve Nickel
Estes Park, Colorado