EBOOK

24
UNCOMPLICATING
O ARCHICAD

studio
EXCELLENCE IN ARCHITECTURE
EBOOK
24
UNCOMPLICATING
THE ARCHICAD

THE AUTHOR
Born in Londrina-PR in 1983, but a goiano at heart, Henrique Piza de Queiroz moved.
to Goiânia with the family as a child, where he has lived since 1990. Bachelor's degree in Law from FASAM
South American College (2008), and also graduated in Architecture and Urbanism from Uni-
Goiás - University Center of Goiás (2020), both in Goiânia, began its journey early.
professional, from office boy to businessman in the civil construction mode.

For over 11 years, he worked at the former IEPC - Institute of Teaching and Scientific Research, a school of
family-owned company specialized in preparatory courses for public competitions, where
responsible for the advertising and marketing area. Salesperson in a clothing and sports equipment store.
graphic designer, computer laboratory assistant at the same college where he studied
Bachelor's degree in Law, and then, Information Technology Assistant in the Computer Network,
also worked as a Web Designer and Marketing Assistant at the Associated Higher School (ESUP-
FGV). Technical Consultant of Projects at Criattiva Visual Solutions, since 2014 is a partner-owner.
from PIZAQUEIROZ Enterprises, a small business located in Goiânia, that operates
construction of residential works.

In 2007, shortly before graduating in Law and following in his father's footsteps, he began to nurture
interest in graphic arts, particularly in electronic models, with which one
it was impressive and I was curious to know how construction companies released images of
ventures even before they are completed. To satisfy the interest and curiosity, he/she took a course
Electronic Model through the 3dStudio Max software at Imageria Criativa, in 2008, coming to do
models for architects and designers, due to which, diverting from legal disputes, migrated
Architecture and Urbanism, areas to which it is currently dedicated.

The content of this material is protected by copyright law. It is not permitted to sell, copy, or distribute it for free.
reproducing in whole or in part the content existing here. Any type of violation of these rights will be subject to actions
penal
EBOOK
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UNCOMPLICATING
THE ARCHICAD

SUMMARY
SECTION 1 - INITIAL SETTINGS 04
CREATING A NEW PROJECT 05
WORK ENVIRONMENT 06
PROJECT PREFERENCES 07
DEFINITION OF PAVEMENTS 10

SECTION 2 - BASIC TOOLS 12

MESH (LAND) 13
WALL 16
SLAB 19
DOOR 22
WINDOW 23
OBJECTS 24
COVERAGE 25

SECTION 3 - DOCUMENTATION 26
TOOL ZONE 27
CUTTING TOOL 28
ELEVATION TOOL (FACADES) 29
TOOL DIMENSIONS 30
LEVEL QUOTAS TOOL ON PLAN 31
LEVEL CUTTING TOOLS 31
VIEW MAP 32
BOOK OF LAYOUTS 34
PUBLISH IN PDF 35
SHORTCUT KEYS 36
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SECTION 1

INITIAL SETTINGS
 CREATING A NEW PROJECT

When you open the program, click on New to open a new file.

In the next window, check the Template option and select the [Link]. If it is
using the program for the first time choose the option Standard Profile in the submenu of
Work Environment Profile. If you have used the program before and have
configured the work environment to your liking, choose the option Last Used Profile.
 WORK ENVIRONMENT

At the top of the screen is the main menu (1), the standard toolbar (2), and
below the logo information menu (3). On the left side is the Box of
tools (4) which is divided into 3 tabs: Design (modeling), Document
(documentation) and More. In the center is the workspace area. At the bottom
some information is shown such as drawing scale, layers, rotation of
drawing, set of pens, graphic overlays and others.

1
2

3
4

b a
c
TAKE THIS TIP
Enable the BROWSER menu so that it stays
always visible. This will make your life much easier when the time comes.
to organize the project and switch between drawing tabs
among plants, cuts, views. It also shows
the area frames, openings, worksheets for
reference, 3D documents, details, and much more. For
enable click on the blue little house that is in the corner
right of the screen just below domain of information,
then little black girl (b) and then inShow
Browser (c).
 DESIGN PREFERENCES

Now, let's edit the project preferences, such as the units of measurement and location.
land of the project.

Click on Options in the main menu, then Project Preferences and then on
workunits.

In the next window, the units of measurement that you will work with will be listed. Here is the
time for you to set up as you usually work. I personally like to
use quotas in meters with two decimal places (1.23) for example, but if you use
centimeters, it was almost your criterion to choose, just like with the other units of measurement.
 PROJECT PREFERENCES

We will now define the location of the project as Archicad allows for solar study of the
projected edification. So it is essential that you tell him exactly (or as close as possible
possible) where your project will be implemented, so that it can simulate the shadows caused
through sunlight, 3d viewing window.

Click on Options in the main menu, then Project Preferences and then on
Project location.
 DESIGN PREFERENCES

ComajanelaLocation of the open project, let's configure:

In latitude and longitude, enter the geographic coordinates of the land that you will use.
(you get this through Google Maps)

(UTC-03:00) Brasília

Em altitude, coloque a altitude da cidade do terreno em relação ao nível do mar.(essa

you get information on Google

In Project North, keep it at 90º, as it points northwards upwards.

Click OK
 DEFINITION OF PAVEMENTS

Whenever we start a new project, it is necessary to establish the number of floors and
your elevation. There are 3 ways to do this:

1st In Modeling in the main menu, then Floor Definitions.

2nd Through the browser by right-clicking on the name of any floor and in
continue clicking on floor definitions.
3rd By the shortcut key Ctrl+7.
 DEFINITION OF PAVEMENTS

With the flooring settings window open, let's configure. The first field is the name of the
the ground, or the second is the height relative to the project's zero level and the third is the height up to the
next floor. To insert a floor, click insert above or below a
Floor already selected. To delete, select a floor and click on Delete floor.
Define the parameters as shown in the image below and click OK.

TAKE THIS TIP

Including or deleting pavements is a MOVEMENT IN CIRCLES!

Think carefully before making these changes to a project because here there is no Ctrl+Z and no
I regret going back.

My tip is: save a copy of the file under another name. That way, if something goes wrong, you can open it.
he again with previous configurations.
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SECTION 2

BASIC TOOLS
 MESH (LAND)

All set? Let's go to the field! Select the Mesh tool (1)(scroll the
scroll the mouse if necessary). Note that when hovering the mouse over the icon of each
tool, a little arrow appears, click on it to open the favorites window (all the
tools have favorites). By double-clicking the icon (of any tool), or
by pressing the shortcut key Ctrl+T (after selecting any tool), the window will open
Definitions of Standards (2).

1
 NET (GROUND)

On the left side in Geometry and Positioning, we have the altitude settings of the
mesh (1) and detachment from the point of origin (2) and also the option to choose the
flooring (3) that the object will be inserted into. On the right side, we see the structural options of
object(4) and below construction material(5).

1 4
2 5

In the Plant and Cut tab (6) are the configurations for pens, cracks, fillings.
Then we have the ModelOption (7) where we can choose the textures of the object according to the
icons (surface, core, and base). Right below in Classification and Properties (8) remain the
layer settings and object classification.

8
 MESH (LAND)

Note that the information menu (below the top toolbar) changes accordingly.
according to each selected tool. Position the mouse on this menu and scroll to see
more information. They are practically the same as those that appear in the Settings window.
Standard (the one we access by double-clicking the icon of each tool or pressing
the shortcut key Ctrl+T) however, the geometry method options also appear
(a) gives us the option to choose how to draw each object.

See below an example of land (in plan, section, and 3D) drawn with the method of
polygonal geometry (1), structural model of solid body (2), building material of
alone(3).

1 2 3

PLANT CUT

3D
 WALL

With the Wall tool (1) selected, observe the options in the information menu.
Among them, we have the Geometry Method (2), Location of the reference line (3) and
Structure(4).

in the first and second

options, click and hold
2 to see more

option to draw with the

internal line, external or
1 3 central

options for model of

basic wall, composite and
4 complex

See below 3 wall models with different configurations. Basic wall with line of
["internal reference (a). Composite Wall with central reference line (b). Complex Wall"]
external reference line(c).

a b c
 WALL

There are two ways to draw in Archicad. One of them is by clicking on a point and dragging the
mouse to the next point and click again, and so on. And the other way is to click on
one point, position the mouse towards the second point and type the desired value.
After typing the desired value for the length of the wall, press the TAB key and enter the
value of the intended angle

See in the example below, a wall with a length of 1.68m inclined at 21º.
origin point.

To draw curved walls, click the mouse at the desired point, then move the cursor to the menu
Choose a desired design method.

To edit a drawn wall, click on it and select one of the hot points (little dots)
blacks) then select the desired edition from the floating menu. You can stretch, decrease or
until moving the hot spots, rotating the object (Ctrl+E), moving (Ctrl+D), mirroring
(Ctrl+M), raise the floor or multiply.

TAKE THESE TIPS

Hold down the Shift key to draw straight lines or at angles of 45, 90, 135, and 180º.

To cut a wall that is extra, or is between two other walls, hold the
teclaCtrle clique naparte quedeseja cortar.

Press the Q key (2) at a desired point to mark it and serve as a magnet for the
mouse positioning.
 WALL

Double-clicking the wall icon or pressing the shortcut key Ctrl+T (with the
The selected tool) will open the wall pattern settings window. Inside
we can edit the height of the wall (1), the structure (2), construction material (3),
width(4)reference line(5), and texture(6).

2
b
1 3
c 4

Still within the settings window, we can choose which floor object
will be applied.

Observe que aaltura da parede (1)está com valores zerados, no entanto, ela congurada
to be designed on the Ground Floor (a) and connected with the Roof Floor (b). The
our project is configured so that the floor has 2.88m (h) of ceiling height so
The drawn wall will automatically have this height. If I modify the height of the foot.
The floor definitions will also affect the walls that are connected.
 slab

With two clicks on the tool icon Laje (1), open the settings box. On the side
In the upper left are the thickness options (2), elevation in relation to the level of
flooring (3) and the origin of the drawn object (4). On the left we have the option to
type of slab (5), construction material (6) and reference line (7). Right below the
the configurations are the same, as we saw in previous tools, such as:
texture, set of pen, hatching, etc.

2 5
3 6
1 4

7
 Slab

Just like in the wall tool, the Slab can be drawn in different ways.
(polygonal, rectangular, and rotated rectangular) (1). Choose whether the slab will be drawn.
above or below the line of the floor (2).

With the slab designed and selected, click on the hot spots (black dots) to
open the floating menu (3) with options to (delete or chamfer), give offset, add and
remove polygons and the others you saw earlier in the wall tool. The menu
The floating appears in all the objects you select, just like the hot spots.

Take this tip

You can easily duplicate an object when moving, rotating, or mirroring it.
object: press the Ctrl key (after selecting an action, whether with mouse or key)
shortcut) to show a signal + just below the mouse pointer.
 Slab

Another way to draw slabs (and some other objects) is with a magic wand. Let's go to a
practical example: you have drawn 4 walls and now you want to draw the slab inside it
environment. Select the tool in the toolbar (1), press and hold the bar
space out and position the mouse inside the frame walls, (you will notice a blue line (2)
showing exactly the design that the slab will have) click with the mouse and your slab is ready
(3).

1
3

TAKE THIS TIP

In addition to the magic wand, there is also the dropper. With it, you can copy the
configurations of an object such as height, thickness, hatching, building materials, line of
reference, etc. to apply in another same type.

Take the test: draw two slabs with different thicknesses and materials. Now without selecting
no tool and no object, position the mouse over one of the slabs and press the
ALT key. Note that the mouse pointer turns into a dropper. Keep it
Press and hold the ALT key and click on the slab. Next, press Ctrl + ALT.
holding down, click with the mouse on the other slab and check. They will now have the
same configurations.
 DOOR

Double click on the tool port (1) to open the Standard Settings window
Door. On the left side, we see the list with various types of doors (2). On the right side in the tab
Previews and positioning (3) we have the configurations of width (a), height (b),
elevated threshold(c) and also options for visualization in plant, view, 3D, and image (d).

3
a
2 b
c d
 WINDOW

Click twice on the Tool Window (1) to open the Standards Settings window.
from Window. On the left side we see the list with several types of windows (2). On the right side
In the tab Preview and positioning (3), we have the width settings (a),
height (b), sill height (c) and also visualization options in plan, view, 3D, and
image (d).

1
3
2 a
b
c d
 OBJECTS

To finalize the floor plan, we will place the objects in the environments. Open the tool.
Objects (1). On the left side you find the list of objects. On the right side, with one object
selected it is possible to edit some parameters such as the distance below the floor of
origin (2), the origin floor (3) and the dimensions of the object (4). Just like in other
tools it is possible to visualize the object in plan, view, and 3D (5) and right below are the
individual configurations of each object (6).

1
a
2
3
5
4

You can search for objects through the

list or search by your name. So
type in the search field
italsoworkswiththeothers
tools) and choose the Tank model
of Washing Clothes 24. After choosing and
configure the object place it in position
indicated.
 COVERAGE

Open the Coverage Pattern Settings window of the coverage tool. In the tab
From Geometry and Positioning, we see the options for Withdrawal from the axis of rotation to
["Floor of Origin (1)","Floor of Origin (2)","Roof Structure (3)","Thickness of"]
Coverage (4), Construction Material (5), Geometry Method (6), Slope of
Coverage(7), Coverage Contour Angle(8).

1 3 4
2 5
6 7
8
With the coverage tool selected, the first step is to draw the pivot line. It
marks the lowest part of the roof, meaning it points to the side of the slope. See in the image the
below the pivot line and blue.

a
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SECTION 3

DOCUMENTATION
 ZONE

The Zone tool (1) is used to generate information such as the name of the environment,
volume, area, etc. Open the tool's favorites window and notice that the models are all
the same when viewed in 3D. Now, click on the gear (2) and select Pre
2D visualization. Now, notice that the models are different. With two clicks, choose
modelSharedZone-Default.

1 2
To draw an area we can use the internal deconstruction method (b). This method
it works in closed environments. Click once inside the environment, position the icon of
materlinho wherever the caption appears and click again, the result is in the
image next to. (4). For open environments use manual methods (a). Just go
clicking on the desired points and drawing the shape of the environment.

4
a b

If you need more information in the caption of the zone, within the Definitions window of
Zone patterns can edit which information will appear, including the order in which
they appear. In the image below, there is an example of the information that may appear in
legend. Note that the settings are being made for scale 1:100, that is, it is possible
you can configure different patterns for each scale so that the legend fits the design
and it is not too loaded with information.
 CUT

Select the Cuts (1) tool in the toolbox. In the information menu, note that
There are three types of horizontal reach: infinite (a), limited (b), and zero (c). The infinite goes
show everything that is in the direction the cut points. The limit is you who decides how far
the cut will show. Ozero shows only where the line passes. To draw the cut click on the
starting point (d) then click on the ending point (e) and note that an arrow will appear in the middle of the
cut line. When moving the mouse, this arrow changes from one side to the other of the cut line,
Indicate where the cut will show. Follow the image below to draw the cut.

1 a b c

d e
Now let's configure the symbol and the cutting line. In the information menu change aID to
A1. Then access the Selected Cut Settings window (Ctrl+T) and in the tab
Select marker type Axis Line-Dash and Point and mark the Continuous option.

In the Markers and Text tab, choose the submenu Geometry and Marker Style
chooseCircle3.

To quickly view the cut, double-click on your project list name on the project map.
 ELEVATIONS (FACADES)

When starting a new project, Archicad automatically creates

elevations (facades) and as in the sections, to visualize the
facades click twice on your name (1) on the map of
projects. They are named as Elevation 1, 2, 3 and 4 but you can
change the names as you wish. It is important to design the
project always within the limits of the elevations, remembering that you 1
can create more, if necessary.
 COTAS

Select the tool Quote (1) sidebar, choose the construction mode
Then just click on the points of the drawing you want to mark.

1 2

To add points to an already drawn dimension, select the dimension line, hold
press the Ctrl key and click on the desired point in the drawing. In addition, you can add
points, move the call lines, and perform several other actions through the floating menu.
To exclude the process is similar to adding, however you must click on the point of the
quota as compressedCtrl.

TAKE THIS TIP

Before quoting, position the mouse over the desired point and wait until a appears.
blue circle (a), thus the quota will be directly related to this point and when you
the wall movepiece will go and come off together.

a
 LEVEL QUOTAS ON FLOOR PLAN

This type of quota automatically recognizes the height of the slab on the floor. Click on the
level quotas (1), choose the type of marker (2) and then click on the slab that
wants to quote.

1 2

LEVEL COTAS IN CUT

Open the cut and select the tool dimension (3). In construction method (4) select the
last type (elevation). Choose the type of insertion (5) of one or 3 clicks (in this case
we will use the one-click) then choose the type of quota symbol of your preference
(6). Position the mouse on the top of the page, click and see the result.

3 4

5 6
 MAP OF VIEWS

Note that within the browser there are 4 submenus. Until

now we have been using the Project Map (1) and
1 2
we had to use the View Map(2).

UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE

The project map is where we model the plants and
we access the codes, facades, details, etc. In
Meanwhile, it is often necessary for us to create views.
different from the same plant such as
cover plants, layout plan, plant of
implementation, all of the ground floor, and this is only
can be done on the view map, where the plants
they can be represented with various information
different.
Note that there are folders and views already configured following
the common stages of an architectural project, that is,
preliminary study, legal project and executive project.
Each of these folders has view settings
different. Open the Ground Floor of the Study folder
Preliminary. Note that it is at a scale of 1:100
with a set of pens 1:200. This way the
project becomes illegible.
 MAP OF VIEWS

Now open the Ground floor plan from the Executive Project folder and see the difference. Although it is the
same plant, notice that the scale is different, as well as the set of pens and so on
It makes it much easier to read and understand the project.

On the bottom bar of the workspace are all the elements that control the views.
They are: scale (1), vegetables (2), structure (3), set of pens (4), visualization of
model (5)geographic overlapping (6).

1 2 3 4 5 6
The intention here is just to show that it is possible to create different views for each plant, section,
elevation etc. However, the default views provided by Archicad offer
sufficient information to present and approve a project. Feel free to create new ones.
views of agreement with their need.
 BOOK OF LAYOUTS

We now move on to the assembly of boards. To

Yes, yes, we will use the Layout Book (1). Note that
1
there are theLayouts (2) that are the boards where we are going
place the drawings, and there are Master Layouts (3)
what are the standardized board models that
contains the stamp of the city hall configured for
automatically show project information.
VCrie um novo Layout (a). Na janela que abriraltere o
2 c
name (b) of the board to one of your preference. In
followed by choosing Layout Master(c). 3

b
c
a
The master layouts A0, A1, and A2 - Preference of Goiânia
they were created by me and are already configured with the
approval stamp from the city hall of Goiânia-GO.
Note that when creating a board and choosing a layout
Master, the borders and the stamp will be in red. This
This means that these elements are not editable. Note that
there is information with the symbol #, this information
will be automatically filled according to the
project information that we filled out at the beginning of
course.
 PUBLISH IN PDF

Now let's go to the publishing stage. Click on

Publisher Sets (1) then in Layouts in 1
PDF and DWG (2)(however we will only publish in
PDF). Then click whoProperties a
Publish (3) and configure in the properties window
according to the image below and choose the location to save the 2
file. Note that the option Real folder structure
(4) is marked. In this case, Archicad will create folders
inside the location you chose to save the
boards. Now click twice on Layouts in PDF and
DWG (2) and see that PDF A0 Sheet 1 is inside
from a folder with subfolder (5). These will be the folders
automatically created by Archicad. If you prefer
save only the board in the chosen location, mark it
flat file structure option in the window of
properties.

Finally, select the PDF A0 Board 1 and then click 5

in Sets for Output (6) and choose the option items
selected. With this, the publication of
project in PDF. To publish in DWG, it is necessary to create
a translation file in PLN format from Archicad
for DWG of AutoCad that we will see in the module
intermediate course.

And it's done! Project finalized and published. Open the PDF to
See how my first project in Archicad turned out!

6
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
EBOOK
24
UNCOMPLICATING
THE ARCHICAD

The content of this material is protected by copyright law. Selling, copying, and distributing freely are not allowed.
reproduce in whole or in part the content existing here. Any type of violation of these rights will be subject to actions
penal