archicad add-on

ARCHICAD ADD-ON
Version 1.6
DOKUMENTDATO: 2013-09-25
dRofus AS
Rådhusgata 17
0158 Oslo
Norway
Email: drofus@nosyko.no
Web: www.drofus.com
Tel: + 47 22 33 15 70
ARCHICAD ADD-ON
Table of Content
1.
Overview .................................................................................................................. 3
2.
Installation .............................................................................................................. 4
3.
The Add-On palette .............................................................................................. 6
3.1.
3.2.
3.3.
4.
4.1.
4.2.
4.3.
Viewing dRofus link info .................................................................................................... 6
Open RDS ............................................................................................................................ 7
Show room in ArchiCAD .................................................................................................... 7
Rooms ...................................................................................................................... 8
Linking zones ..................................................................................................................... 8
Placing zones ..................................................................................................................... 9
Synchronization ............................................................................................................... 10
Filter and Selection .................................................................................................................................. 10
Options ..................................................................................................................................................... 11
4.4.
4.5.
5.
5.1.
Linked zones status report............................................................................................. 12
Using dRofus room groups as filter .............................................................................. 13
FF&E ....................................................................................................................... 14
Linking ArchiCAD objects to FF&E items in dRofus ..................................................... 14
Link individual objects .............................................................................................................................. 14
Link objects and FF&E based on key parameters.................................................................................... 14
5.2.
5.3.
5.4.
6.
6.1.
Synchronize objects ........................................................................................................ 15
Linked objects status report .......................................................................................... 16
List of FF&E in rooms/level/model ................................................................................ 17
Attribute configuration...................................................................................... 19
Configuration editor ........................................................................................................ 19
Top section (1) ......................................................................................................................................... 19
Attributes not linked (2) ........................................................................................................................... 20
Linked attributes (3) ................................................................................................................................ 20
6.2.
Object ↔ FF&E configuration .......................................................................................... 20
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
1.
The ArchiCAD Add-On for dRofus is designed to aid ArchiCAD users to keep data in ArchiCAD
models up to date with dRofus.
It enables including data from models into reports generated by dRofus. It also allows to track
changes made by architects in the model for rooms and objects and to compare these
changes with planned data.
The Add-On works with ArchiCAD 16 and ArchiCAD 17. It is distributed with the dRofus client.
To access the ArchiCAD Add-On you need to run dRofus version 1.6. If you have an older
version installed, please download the latest version from the download page and install it.
The installation guidelines are given in Chapter 2.
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2.
As soon as you install the latest version of dRofus and run it, you will be prompted to install
the ArchiCAD Add-On if the ArchiCAD is installed on your PC. The dialog shown below will pop
up. The same will happen when a newer version of the Add On will be released together with a
new version of dRofus. Then you will be prompted to update the Add On.
Figure 1: A prompt dialog that suggests installing the Add-On
You can decline installation of the Add-On if you, for example, would like to keep its older
version. Notice
Remember my choice
the
not be asked to update the Add-On on this PC. In this case you will have to reinstall the AddOn manually each time its newer version is released, if you want to keep it up to date.
In order to install/update the Add-On manually, you have to open dRofus client and select
dRofusInstall ArchiCAD Add-On from the top menu. This menu item will be disabled if the
Add-On is already installed and up to date. You can also uninstall the Add-On by pressing
dRofusUninstall ArchiCAD Add-On menu item.
Remember, that all ArchiCAD instances should be closed at the time you install/update or
uninstall the Add-On.
Figure 2: Menu items in dRofus for installing/uninstalling the Add-On manually
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
The Add-On will be available next time you open ArchiCAD, if installation was completed
successfully.
Figure 3). Another part
of the Addofus
Read more about it in Chapter 3.
Figure 3: Installed dRofus Add-On
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
3.
The palette shows a status of elements selected in the model (zones and objects) in terms of
their relation with rooms and FF&E items planned in dRofus. It also provides an interface for
changing that status (linking and unlinking zones and objects) and a navigation tool (Open
RDS).
It does not appear automatically when you run ArchiCAD. You should explicitly open it through
the dRofus menu each time you open a model. Then you will be prompted to log in to a project
before you see the palette.
3.1. Viewing dRofus link info
It contains two parts: one shows information for zones and another one for objects. These
parts work independent from each other. When objects are selected at the same time with a
zone, you will see link information for both (see Figure 4c).
Figure 4: The Add-On palette in different stages depending on what elements are currently selected: a) a
single zone that is not linked b) a single or multiple object(s) that are not linked c) a zone and objects, both
are linked d) multiple objects that have different link statuses
It shows a Room Number and a Room Name attributes of a room that the currently selected
zone is linked to. For objects it is FF&E Number and Name attributes of an article that the
objects are linked to.
(Figure
4a, Figure 4b)
. Read more about linking and unlinking zones
and objects in Section 4.1 and Section 5.1.
If there are none or multiple zones selected at the same time, the top part of the palette
shows nothing (Figure 4a), because only one zone can be linked to one room in dRofus. The
same happens with the FF&E section when current selection does not contain any objects
(Figure 4b). Unlike zones, multiple objects can be linked to a single FF&E item in dRofus. If
selected objects are linked to the same FF&E item, their link info will be shown on the palette.
But if they are linked to different items or some of them are not linked, you will see a message
shown on Figure 4d.
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
3.2. Open RDS
If a zone is linked to a room in dRofus, you can navigate to its Room Data Sheet (RDS) directly
from the Add On palette.
Figure 5) when
the zone is selected. This will set focus to a dRofus client and open RDS of the room.
Figure 5
This feature works only if the room has RDS. Otherwise you will get a message saying that the
RDS is not created for this room in dRofus.
NB! Both dRofus client and the ArchiCAD Add-On should be open and connected to the same project in order
to navigate from one to another (to be able to open RDS in dRofus and select room in ArchiCAD).
3.3. Show room in ArchiCAD
Another way to navigate the rooms is to select a zone in the ArchiCAD linked to a room stored
in a room list in dRofus. This feature is now enabled in the dRofus client. So, while in the room
list, right click on the room that you want to see in ArchiCAD
(see Figure 6). The zone will be selected in the
model and you will be zoomed into it.
Figure 6
NB! The Add-On palette should be open in ArchiCAD when you try to select a room there.
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
4.
4.1. Linking zones
Each zone modeled in ArchiCAD can be linked to a room planned in dRofus. This is needed for
transferring room data from dRofus to the model and the other way around. Zones should
also be linked if you want to compare their objects placed inside with equipment planned in
dRofus.
The link operation can be done from the Add-On palette by doing the following steps:




Select a single zone that is not linked
a
should be enabled, as it is shown on Figure 4a);
Click on the
Choose a room that you want to link the zone with from the list of rooms shown in the
appeared dialog (see Figure 7);
Press a
Once this is done, new link info will appear in the
4c) and the selected zone will become linked.
-On palette (Figure
NB! Remember to reserve a zone before linking if you work on a Teamwork project in ArchiCAD. The link
operation will not be available until you do that. Although you can see a link status of zones that are not
reserved.
The fact that a zone is linked means that the same value is stored in a key zone parameter in
ArchiCAD and in a key room attribute in dRofus. The key parameter and the key attribute are
defined in a Zone ↔ Room’ configuration that is currently used. Read more about using
configurations in Chapter 6.
NB! The key value should be unique across the entire project. That is why copying linked zones in the same
model will break the link in most cases.
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
Figure 7:
There are several options available in
If you right click in the list and select Add/Remove columns, you can choose which columns to
show in the window. Any room core or RDS attribute can be displayed here.
that is currently selected.
button is disabled when a general function is selected in a left pane. It will also be disabled if
for creating rooms in dRofus.
It is optional to update a room in dRofus when linking it to a zone in a model. There is a
checkbox in the left bottom corner that defines whether a room in dRofus should be updated
becomes available. Pressing this button, you will unlink a currently selected zone and clear all
imported from the model will be emptied).
4.2. Placing zones
Another way to keep zones linked to dRofus is to enable a
from the
dRofus Add-On menu, as it is shown on Figure 8. When you are in the place mode,
Figure 7) will appear each time you place a new zone in the model. Through
this you will be prompted to link all new zones created in the model.
Figure 8:
when you create a new zone in ArchiCAD. The same algorithm as described in the previous
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
4.3. Synchronization
This function will keep the rooms updated with data from dRofus.
You can synchronize zone areas and zone parameters with dRofus using the
option of the Add-On menu that is shown on Figure 3.
Data will be synchronized according to an attribute configuration defined by a project
administrator. The attribute configuration will control the bidirectional synchronization
between dRofus and ArchiCAD. Proceed to Chapter 6 if you want to know how a custom
configuration can be defined and used.
To start synchronization, press Synchronize zones with dRofus item of the Add-On menu in
ArchiCAD (see Figure 3). If you are not logged in to a project at this moment, you will be
prompted to do so. As soon as you pass a log in procedure, the following dialog will appear:
Figure 9: Synchronize zones window
Filter and Selection


ArchiCAD filter: Lets you choose whether to synchronize all zones, the selected zones or
the zones in the current floor.
dRofus filter: Lets you apply a filter on the dRofus side for which rooms to synchronize
against. Press
Example: Choo
dRofus.
to refresh a result of dRofus filter.
Function
and set 01.
The filter result can be viewed in a separate window. Press
to open the window. You will
see a list of linked rooms as well as rooms defined only in dRofus and zones defined only in
the model (see Figure 10). Only rooms shown here as linked will be synchronized.
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
Figure 10: A list of linked rooms limited to a scope defined by filters
Options




Update ArchiCAD zone properties from dRofus will update rooms in ArchiCAD with
latest data from dRofus. Only applies to linked rooms. This option cannot be unchecked.
In brackets you can see a number of zones in the model that will be synchronized with
rooms in dRofus. Not linked zones are not counted here.
Update dRofus with zone properties will update dRofus with information from the
ArchiCAD zones based on the current room configuration. The number in brackets shows
how many rooms planned in dRofus will be synchronized with zones in the model. It
not linked.
Clear ALL unmatched in dRofus
It implicates cleaning out all attributes
that are defined to be taken from the model for rooms in dRofus that are not linked to a
model.
want the same room planned in dRofus to be unlinked and cleared. The number in
brackets shows how many rooms in dRofus are not linked to the model and will be
cleared.
Using configuration shows a name of an attribute configuration that will be used to
perform synchronization. Each time you open the dialog, you will see a name of a
configuration defined by a project administrator as a default, but you can switch it to
another one by pressing on the label
See Chapter 6 to get more
information.
Tip: If you set a filter on dRofus items, only a collection of rooms defined by the filter will be cleared when you
NB!
defined by dRofus filter) are linked properly to the model.
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your project (or in a part of it
ARCHICAD ADD-ON
4.4. Linked zones status report
To get a detailed overview of dRofus rooms, ArchiCAD zones and linked rooms go to
dRofus Show linked zones status report in the menu shown on Figure 3. You can also
access the status report by clicking the magnifying glass symbol ( ) in the synchronization
window (see Figure 9). The main advantage of using the synchronization window for this
purpose is an ability to set a filter on rooms in dRofus (described in Section 4.3). When
opening the same window from the dRofus menu, it shows a link status of all rooms in the
project.
Figure 1: Linked zones status report for the entire project
The zone status report is divided in three lists:



Linked in dRofus and ArchiCAD: Shows linked rooms.
Not linked in dRofus or duplicate in dRofus:
linked with ArchiCAD zones. Either because there is no match on key values or duplicate
key values in dRofus
Not linked in ArchiCAD only or duplicate in ArchiCAD: Shows zones in ArchiCAD that
are not linked to dRofus rooms. Either because there is no match on key values or
duplicate key values in ArchiCAD.
In all three lists you can right click and either add/remove columns or export the list to Excel.
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
4.5. Using dRofus room groups as filter
Using groups in dRofus as filters is a good way to control which rooms to synchronize. dRofus
groups, as well as all other parameters, can be used as filters in several use cases. If your
project is divided into several design files, it is recommended that you have information about
which room belongs to which model in dRofus, because this is the only place to manage all
the rooms and you can ensure that each room belongs to only one model.
Then in ArchiCAD you can set up a filter based on the attribute that says which model a room
belongs to and ignore the rooms planned for other models when doing synchronization or
linking.
Figure 11: Using room groups to organize distinguish rooms by models
Figure 12: Groups as filter when placing/linking rooms
Tip: You can also combine a filter with selecting a room function. Then you will see rooms that satisfy the filter
condition and are a part of the selected function.
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
5.
With the ArchiCAD Add-On you will be able to synchronize information about dRofus FF&E to
ArchiCAD objects and keep equipment lists for ArchiCAD zones in sync with dRofus. To use
this functionality you must have rooms linked and synchronized with rooms in dRofus. The
ArchiCAD objects must also be linked with dRofus FF&E items. This chapter describes the
equipment handling for rooms.
5.1. Linking ArchiCAD objects to FF&E items in dRofus
Link individual objects
To link an object to a dRofus FF&E, first bring the dRofus panel to front and select an object in
the model. The panel will tell you whether the object is linked or not. To link the object press
This will open a dialog window with an overview of FF&E items planed in
dRofus. Find a suitable FF&E either by navigating the structure or search for it using a dRofus
filter, as you did it for rooms (see Section 4.1)
Figure 13: Link ArchiCAd object to dRofus FF&E
by choosing
To be able to create new in dRofus you need access rights to create
new FF&E item
will also be able to set a
responsibility group for the new FF&E item created in dRofus.
NB!
create a new item in the dRofus FF&E overview. In order to
update quantity in rooms you need to either add it explicitly to the room equipment lists in dRofus or use
feature of the Equipment in Room list in the Add On (will be described further in Section 5.4).
Link objects and FF&E based on key parameters
If you have established objects in ArchiCAD and FF&E items in the FF&E overview in dRofus
you can link them together based on key parameter with values that are apparent in both
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
places. Key parameters can be any parameter set on the FF&E in dRofus and any parameter
on the object in ArchiCAD.
set
-> O
Add-On so a correct parameter is used as a key. In the example below we have used the
a placeholder for a Library Part name of objects.
Figure 14: FF&E specification window in dRofus
Then the key parameter in the configuration should be defined as it is shown on the picture:
To change the configuration to match your key parameters you need a super user access to
dRofus. See how you can change the configuration in Chapter 6.
5.2. Synchronize objects
(see Figure 3).
The appeared synchronize objects dialogue box gives you following options:
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
Figure 15: Synchronize objects




ArchiCAD filter: Lets you choose whether to synchronize all objects, the selected object,
objects in the current floor or objects of the same library part.
dRofus filter: Lets you apply a filter on the dRofus side for which FF&E to synchronize
against.
Options:
the objects with values from dRofus. Which parameters to be update will be based on
used configuration. The quantity in the brackets will show how many FF&E items that are
linked to ArchiCAD objects. To view the complete status report, select the
symbol
(see Section 5.3 for a more detailed description).
Using configuration: Choose the configuration to use for matching and synchronizing
FF&E. The default configuration will use the dRofus BIM ID and Library part name in
ArchiCAD as key parameters for matching.
5.3. Linked objects status report
Figure 16: Linked objects status report
Linked in dRofus and ArchiCAD:
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
Not linked in dRofus or duplicate in dRofus: Shows the FF&
with ArchiCAD objects. Either because there is no match on key values or duplicate key values
in dRofus
Not linked in ArciCAD only or duplicate in ArchiCAD: Shows objects in ArchiCAD that is not
linked to a dRofus FF&E. Either because there is no match on key values or duplicate key
values in ArchiCAD.
In all three lists you can right click and either add/remove columns or export the list to Excel.
5.4. List of FF&E in rooms/level/model
When zones and objects are properly linked to dRofus you can view the dRofus FF&E list for
If an item is not linked or the counts does not match it will be marked with red text, though
only if the FF&E item in dRofus is m
From this window you can both examine, export and correct deviations. You can right click on
one or more occurrences in the list and do actions and updates. You can also choose to
update all occurrences in the list by using the Update dRofus button at the bottom of the
window.
Figure 17: Show equipment in model list
From the top menu you have the following options:


Model room filter: You choose to check and compare equipment for entire model,
current floor or selected zone;
Show: Filter the list on different deviations;
You can right click on a row in the list and:




Delete from dRofus: Remove occurrence from dRofus if linked object is not in the
ArchiCAD zone;
Add to dRofus: Will create a missing occurrence in the room for an FF&E item that is
linked to the object;
Create in dRofus: Will create a new FF&E item and add its occurrence to the room in
dRofus if selected object is not linked;
Update dRofus: Update dRofus to model quantity if there is a deviation
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON



Select: Zoom to the object in model;
Add/remove columns: Add/remove both dRofus and ArchiCAD parameters as columns
in the list;
Export to Excel: Exports the list to Excel.
Some of these options may not be available
the FF&E list or in equipment in room list in dRofus.
t have rights to do changes either in
In the bottom menu you can see:




Options..: Hide/show subchange configuration and filter on responsibility group;
Columns: Add/remove columns in the list;
Export: Exports list to Excel;
Update dRofus: Updates dRofus with model quantities. Note that this option will only
work for rooms with unique equipment list in dRofus.
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON
6.
Attribute configuration is an essential concept in the Add-On. This is where you define what is
the key (e.g. how do we know that a room/FF&E in dRofus is the same as a zone/object in
ArchiCAD) and specify what data should flow from ArchiCAD to dRofus and what data should
flow from dRofus to ArchiCAD during synchronization.
In order to create or edit attribute configurations use the following items of the Add-On menu
(see Figure 3):


Objects <-> FF&E Configuratio
6.1. Configuration editor
The dialog has three areas (example from the Zone<-> Room Configuration):
1
2
3
Figure 18: Configuration editor
Configuration properties:
Top section (1)




Chose configuration: Drop down list of existing configurations
Create new: Create new configuration
Copy: Copies selected configuration
Available to users: If this is checked all users can see/use this configuration. If not, only
those who have administration rights can use this configuration.
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ARCHICAD ADD-ON

Is default configuration: You can mark one of the configurations as default by checking
this item. This means that it will be the default configuration used in all dialogs for this
type (e.g. for rooms this will be default for synchronization, link room, place room etc.) for
all users.
NB! The configuration that is set as default will be used by all members in the project. Please be careful with
changing configuration settings, because it will affect the entire project. Instead of changing a default
configuration, you can select which configuration to use at a time when doing Link/Sync or viewing a model
equipment.
The Add-On always has one configuration called Default
. This
cannot be edited, but you can copy it and make changes to the copy. If you make another
configuration default, th
will be hidden from this view.
Attributes not linked (2)


dRofus attribute: This is a list of all the available dRofus attributes that you can
synchronize data to/from that is not already in the current configuration.
ArchiCAD parameter: This is a list of all the available ArchiCAD parameters that you can
synchronize data to/from that is not already in the current configuration. This list is
created from available parameters in zone stamps currently in use by a Zone Category.
Common for both lists of attributes: If the attribute end
(?) you can hold your mouse
over it to get a description of the attribute. If it is gray this means that it is a read only
attribute in the Add-On and therefore can only synchronize data from this attribute and not
to.
Linked attributes (3)
This is a list of all the attributes in the current configuration. You can manage the list by doing
the following operations:
Creates a key element for the configuration. Each configuration must have one
(and only one) key element. A key value is taken from dRofus and written to ArchiCAD unless
the ArchiCAD parameter is read only or the dRofus parameter is empty.
Link --> Creates a configuration element with a data flow direction to ArchiCAD. It means
that that a value from the selected dRofus parameter will be written to the selected ArchiCAD
attribute.
Link <-- Creates a configuration element with a data flow direction to dRofus. It means that
a value of the selected ArchiCAD parameter will be written to the selected dRofus parameter.
Removes selected element from the configuration.
6.2. FF&E <-> Object configuration
The main difference between configuration for objects and configuration for rooms is that
objects do not have a common set of parameters, as zones do. That is why the list of available
ArchiCAD parameters in the configuration editor contains parameters of a currently selected
object (or a default library part if there are no objects selected or if selected objects have a
different set of parameters).
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NB!
↔ FF&E
editor.
It also means that you can build a configuration based on parameters from different groups
of objects. An example of such configuration is shown below.
Figure 19: A configuration for objects with different parameters
When you create a configuration for one type of objects (e.g. Chairs) and then switch to
another type (e.g. Beds) and open the configuration editor again, you will see that some
eans that the
current object type does not have these parameters. Still, this configuration can be used for
linking and synchronizing objects.
for the rest at the time of synchronization.
It is also not necessary that a key parameter is common for all object types in the project. It
when such
configuration is used.
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